Wacom Drivers For X.org Updated

For Linux users

Find all the drivers and everything else you need for configuring and running Wacom tablets under the Linux operating system.

The awesome folks in the linuxwacom project silently released an update last week that they've been working on for past half a year or so.

The new version marks the return of supporting each additional pen as a separate device. This feature was earlier lost in the X.org driver when hotplug settled in. The resurrection chant was sung by Alexia of GIMP fame.

via libregraphicsworld.org

 

Review of the Cintiq 24HD

You can find it on this site at Wacom Cintiq 24HD review.

Digital Signature Capture Solutions

To small business owners, it's time to upgrade to digital signature capturing. Who wants to keep track of a bunch of paper anyway?

Many industries are dependent on capturing a signature on a document as part of a transaction. For very small businesses the easiest way to get a signature is to have the person signing, to sign a paper form. However, this manual process means that the capture signature is often not able to be capture throughout the organization and stored for future retrieval.

via businessinsider.com

GameDev.net Forum Thread About Wacom

More proof that Wacom is the preferred tablet of graphic designers and digital artists! Read the full thread at GameDev.net.

I considered buying a tablet. I’ve heard here and there that WACOM is one of the best choices to make. Since I am planning to use a tablet mainly with Photoshop and rarely Autodesk products I read the certifications in the official websites. I, however, thought it would be better if I asked “know how” people about the choice of a tablet.

via gamedev.net

'Made in Japan' Brand May Be Threatened By Japan

I'm not sure how this will affect Wacom.

It could lower the tablet prices depending on where they choose to move manufacturing. Hopefully Wacom won't compromise on quality.

The "Made in Japan" brand is at a crossroads as more firms face a tough choice over whether or not to move production overseas to escape the impact of the relentless rise of the yen, say analysts.

According to the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, some 46 percent of large manufacturers it surveyed in August said they would move production bases abroad if the yen stays around 76 yen against the dollar for half a year.

Currently near 77 yen to the greenback, the unit's strength risks causing the "collapse" of the Japanese auto industry, Toyota executive vice president Satoshi Ozawa said last week.

via google.com

Chance to Win a Wacom Intuos4 Tablet from PowerMax

PowerMax's mascot design contest gives you the chance to win a Wacom Intuos4 tablet.

PowerMax is a large authorized reseller of Mac / Apple computers.  They are based in Portland, Oregon and are in need of a mascot design and that mascot is Max the sasquatch. Currently, they only have a photo of a guy in a bad sasquatch suit. 

Normally I don't recommend entering design contests. I feel like the companies running them are just looking for free work. That's sort of the case here, but they are offering some good prizes. Along with the small Intuos4 pen tablet, you could win a MacBook Pro, Adobe Premiere Pro CS5, Bose speaker system, LeCie hard disk and Klipsch head phones.

This is probably a good contest to enter if you are looking to practice or build your design resume. Or if you have extra time on your hands. You don't have to worry about any competition from me since I'm not going to enter. And I'm sure you were all worried. ;-)

Good luck to those who enter! Be sure to read all the entry rules and fine print first!
http://www.powermax.com/mascot-contest 

 

Art Inspiration Wednesday!

Wacom Tablet Review doesn't seem to have much to do with sculpture, but I think Wacom tablets do. Many artists use Wacom tablets to design 3D renderings of their sculptures before even starting a piece. I don't know if the following artists did specifically, but I found them inspiring regardless.

Haroshi - Hammerhead shark made out of recycled skateboards.

Allen and Patty Eckman - Paper sculpture using a method they invented.

CLAES OLDENBURG, COOSJE VAN BRUGGEN - aluminum, stainless steel, paint
credit: Walker Art Center

Wacom Bamboo Comic Pen Tablet

Wacom Bamboo Comic pen and touch for aspiring anime artists is exclusive to Japan.

On my recent trip to Japan, visiting the famous electronics district in Akihabara was a must and it was amazing! One particularly large store was selling the Wacom Bamboo Comic pen and touch tablets. I hadn't even heard of them before. If I had the extra money to spare, I would have bought it, but it's possible it wouldn't be compatible with my OS anyway. It is a drawing tablet specifically for manga artists and features the Pixia Edition. Illust Studio Mini, Comic Studio Mini, Corel Painter Essentials 4 and Pencil LITE. These applications replace the standard Adobe Photoshop Elements and other software that come with the U.S. Wacom Bamboo packages.

There is no word on whether the Wacom Bamboo Comic will ever be available anywhere besides Japan. The closest version we have to the Bamboo Comic is the Bamboo Pen and Touch. We don't benefit from the comic and manga specific software. That doesn't seem to stop artists from being able to create manga using any of the Wacom pen tablets though.

For example: http://youtu.be/I0-Je3brwvs

Wacom Tablets Used in Schools

It's great to see high schools using Wacom drawing tablets. Teaching them design skills that will help them when they want to find jobs.

Joseph Sliger, with beard, an applications specialist for Wacom, demonstrates the use of the pressure-sensitive digital pen on one of several newly purchased Wacom computer tablets to Union High School students, from left, Russell Beaver, Austin Klein, Aaron Siegel and Trey Cornish. The students are in a game design class at the school in Camas.

via columbian.com

Samsung Highlights the Galaxy Note’s Wacom Digitizer

I'm glad to see that we will be able to use Photoshop Touch and possibly other drawing apps on more than just the iPad.

Galaxy Note is the first device that incorporates their pen input experience into a smartphone form factor. Samsung is taking advantage of the tech with modifications to its TouchWiz interface, plus custom note, writing and art apps that allow for true graphics tablet functions on the five-inch device. Imagine using something like Photoshop Touch on that sensitive screen. Samsung’s SDK will allow third-party developers to take advantage of the hardware as well.

via androidcommunity.com

Art Inspiration Wednesday!

My husband is in the hospital with a collapsed lung. He's okay and will hopefully get to go home soon. Needless to say, it has kept me away from working on this site.

Since this has been the third week where I've needed to post "Art Inspiration Tuesday" on Wednesday, I'm officially moving it to Wednesday. Maybe it's a sign. ;-)

I thought it would be fitting to have today's theme inspired by lungs. I tried not to be too literal, but it was hard since it's constantly on my mind.

Photo-realistic pencil drawings bu Paul Lung. I hope you like cats!

Anatomy of a game controller by Madspeitersen.

Eric Zener's Underwater paintings.

Lungs of the City by riddleture.