Oly85 Posted February 26, 2020 Share Posted February 26, 2020 Apologies if this has been covered. I've searched but not found it. What are the benefits of using a tablet in conjunction with AP (so should I be thinking of getting one)? If I decide to get a tablet, what type should I get? I think there are three options (before we get into size and manufacture): A 'simple' sensor and pen, a touch-sensitive display, or a more intelligent tablet (iPad) which can run native software. It all seems rather confusing but I'm hoping that someone will have direct experience to share. Quote 16" MacBookPro Catalina, Affinity Photo 1.8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Bruce Posted February 26, 2020 Share Posted February 26, 2020 If you mean Affinity Photo then the advantages are you will be able to draw selections, use brushes to fade, use brushes to dodge and burn, mark out masking areas more accurately, vary the width and amount of colour a brush puts down ... The advantages are myriad. I take it you have never used one before so I will warn you that there is a muscle memory learning curve. Plan on about a month of an hour a day training (it is the total hours, not the month) where you use the pen and tablet for everything you currently use a mouse/trackpad for and you will be happy with it. I use a Wacom tablet and just look at the screen and ignore my hand moving around, I don't have any experience with the different Display drawing surfaces/tablets so I won't comment. Quote Mac Pro (Late 2013) Mac OS 12.7.4 Affinity Designer 2.4.1 | Affinity Photo 2.4.1 | Affinity Publisher 2.4.1 | Beta versions as they appear. I have never mastered color management, period, so I cannot help with that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oly85 Posted February 27, 2020 Author Share Posted February 27, 2020 Yes, Affinity Photo. (I was trying to be cool by referring to it as AP) Thanks for the above - and the warning about training (muscles) - that's much as I had thought. I was looking at Wacom Intuos Pro Medium for use with MacBook Pro (MBP) but then drifted towards iPad Pro where I could see exactly where to put the pen... Quote 16" MacBookPro Catalina, Affinity Photo 1.8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Bruce Posted February 27, 2020 Share Posted February 27, 2020 6 hours ago, Oly85 said: then drifted towards iPad Pro where I could see exactly where to put the pen... You would need to be running Catalina Mac OS 10.15.xx and have a MacBook Pro which would support the Sidecar feature of that OS and have an iPad Pro running the most up-to-date iOS. I have zero experience with using them. (I do have the iPad and pencil but don't use the Affinity iPad apps.) The Wacom you mention is a good choice in that I have no problem placing the pen/cursor exactly where I want it due to the excellent 'hover' of the pen over the tablet before placing the pen on the tablet. Quote Mac Pro (Late 2013) Mac OS 12.7.4 Affinity Designer 2.4.1 | Affinity Photo 2.4.1 | Affinity Publisher 2.4.1 | Beta versions as they appear. I have never mastered color management, period, so I cannot help with that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fixx Posted February 27, 2020 Share Posted February 27, 2020 If you want to paint to your images wacom or XP-pen (or iPad Pro) is the way to go. If you get by using simple pointing tool in your work mouse is enough. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oly85 Posted February 27, 2020 Author Share Posted February 27, 2020 1 hour ago, Old Bruce said: You would need to be running Catalina Mac OS 10.15.xx and have a MacBook Pro which would support the Sidecar feature of that OS and have an iPad Pro running the most up-to-date iOS. I have zero experience with using them. (I do have the iPad and pencil but don't use the Affinity iPad apps.) The Wacom you mention is a good choice in that I have no problem placing the pen/cursor exactly where I want it due to the excellent 'hover' of the pen over the tablet before placing the pen on the tablet. Thanks. I presume that the position of the pen appears on screen, before you start an action. Thus the luxury of a screen to move the pen over is a luxury. Quote 16" MacBookPro Catalina, Affinity Photo 1.8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Bruce Posted February 27, 2020 Share Posted February 27, 2020 14 minutes ago, Oly85 said: I presume that the position of the pen appears on screen, before you start an action. Correct, that is what I meant by the word hover. Obviously if the pen is very high (about one inch (or two cm)) from the surface of the tablet the cursor doesn't move. Quote Mac Pro (Late 2013) Mac OS 12.7.4 Affinity Designer 2.4.1 | Affinity Photo 2.4.1 | Affinity Publisher 2.4.1 | Beta versions as they appear. I have never mastered color management, period, so I cannot help with that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oly85 Posted February 27, 2020 Author Share Posted February 27, 2020 Great. Many thanks indeed. I'll get the Wacom! Quote 16" MacBookPro Catalina, Affinity Photo 1.8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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