Draw smoother lines

[Al S]

Hello,

I am just starting on using a graphics tablet. When I draw lines they are pretty shaky and wavy. I was wondering if there is a setting for drawing smoother lines with a graphics tablet pen.

TIA 

[firstdefence]

Use the Stabiliser control that appears when you have the Brush Tool selected

Depending on the brand/model tablet you have, there may be settings in the drivers that you can tweak as well to help get a smoother line. 

Drawing technique also plays a part.

[SrPx]

Also, maybe compare the shakiness also in other paint applications in your system. is important to know if is a global issue in your system, or AP specific, to solve it.  In AP, specially if you draw zoomed-out ( I do most of the time) triggering the stabilizer, as firstdefence explains, is a must. If the shakiness happens as well in zoomed-in (ie, 200% zoom ). I'd be more inclined to think then that you need to tune up your tablet in the OS, in your global Mac or Windows panel for Wacom.  Some settings might force this. There are also some settings that might help in AP, in preferences, it depends often on the  tablet.

Sometimes, is just all about a full wipe out of the previous tablet driver, but really fully unistall that previous driver, then install again your current tablet's driver. Shakiness, misalignment and other issues are reported to disappear so, specially with Wacom alternatives, in general, with every app. Some people do not know this, that's why I mention.

Yep, practice (with tablets) does a lot, even if there's nothing wrong with your hand and drawing skills... these electronic tablets are not as a accurate as our brains and hands... One needs to adapt.

Some people avoid jitter with fast lines. But IMO, one should have the freedom of inking slow lines. Is a myth that a fast line is the only way a pro should do. I've seen really good inkers with inks and paper with slow but extremely accurate lines. So, do not hesitate to use the stabilizer, in a way, helps everyone to at least work, in a way that magically the hand and the brain gets more and more used to it, and you find your self reducing the strength of the settings, as you get more control over your tablet pen. Even if you don't, that's not the freaking point of the whole thing... Use whatever, the target is making your art and enjoying it, so trigger it or not, as you see better for you. 

OT :

@Alfred...  Did I catch something of your field? [ trembles with emotion] Is stabilizer, right ? In that screenshot it says stabiliser....I had never noticed, lol...

 

[firstdefence]

@SrPx Stabiliser is the UK spelling, Stabilizer is Americanised, It's the same with the word "Colour" (UK Spelling) "Color" Americanised.

Serif/Affinity are a UK company so it follows that they will use the UK spelling and for me personally it makes a pleasant, refreshing change to see words like Colour and Stabiliser spelled correctly in an app (from my UK perspective.) 

I always uninstall my pen drivers prior to updating, XP-Pen have made that very easy to do, so its no bother and is a simple task on Mac. I've actually just bought an XP-Pen Artist 12 for £179.00 I might be selling my Deco 03 if the Artist 12 lives up to its rep.

I agree with the slow smooth line approach or the freedom to do so, it feels unnatural to draw like you're slashing paper. 

[gdenby]

The stabilizer is quite useful. 

I think the base problem is w. the hardware of the tablets. The surface is way too slick. A stylus can be very hard, or as sticky as a physical pencil eraser. One skates around the surface, the other starts and stops w. tugs. 

There is a resource for iPads called "Paper," a slightly draggy plastic that gives a little of the resistance on would get from paper, as well as protection from surface scratches. I searched around, and it appears it is made out of a product that can be purchased in standardized sizes. I don't have any notes on what it was called. Sorry. And it was hard to apply w/o air bubbles. But it did help some.

[firstdefence]

1 hour ago, gdenby said:

The stabilizer is quite useful. 

I think the base problem is w. the hardware of the tablets. The surface is way too slick. A stylus can be very hard, or as sticky as a physical pencil eraser. One skates around the surface, the other starts and stops w. tugs. 

There is a resource for iPads called "Paper," a slightly draggy plastic that gives a little of the resistance on would get from paper, as well as protection from surface scratches. I searched around, and it appears it is made out of a product that can be purchased in standardized sizes. I don't have any notes on what it was called. Sorry. And it was hard to apply w/o air bubbles. But it did help some.

Actually just using something as simple as a sheet of A4 copy paper sat or taped down over the tablet can make a world of difference to the tactility when drawing, you get the textured feedback, the sensation of drawing on paper, try it and tell me what you think

[gdenby]

22 minutes ago, firstdefence said:

Actually just using something as simple as a sheet of A4 copy paper sat or taped down over the tablet can make a world of difference to the tactility when drawing, you get the textured feedback, the sensation of drawing on paper, try it and tell me what you think

I'll do that.

[Al S]

Thanks for the reply folks. I have tested the stabiliser option and it works very well :-)

[SrPx]

On 9/8/2018 at 9:31 PM, firstdefence said:

Stabiliser is the UK spelling, Stabilizer is Americanised, It's the same with the word "Colour" (UK Spelling) "Color" Americanised.

@firstdefence Thx for the tip! I knew about colour, flavour, grey, and many others... I indeed studied British English (but tend to mix spellings in the end...) .... But definitely was unaware about stabiliser.  Happens the same with the many versions of Spanish.... 

[SrPx]

On 9/8/2018 at 9:48 PM, gdenby said:

The stabilizer is quite useful. 

I think the base problem is w. the hardware of the tablets. The surface is way too slick. A stylus can be very hard, or as sticky as a physical pencil eraser. One skates around the surface, the other starts and stops w. tugs. 

There is a resource for iPads called "Paper," a slightly draggy plastic that gives a little of the resistance on would get from paper, as well as protection from surface scratches. I searched around, and it appears it is made out of a product that can be purchased in standardized sizes. I don't have any notes on what it was called. Sorry. And it was hard to apply w/o air bubbles. But it did help some.

That is true, but is not the only issue . The grid (resolution) is yet very far from our own human system's accuracy. What we get is what it best can do a not always good combination of the pen's RPS (reports per second) and the resolution grid inside the tablet. this produces often jitter/wobbly lines. Plus many other handicaps, like parallax, lag/delays, proportions between screen and tablet, and a huge etc.  And of course, is never the same to paint in a surface and see what happens in a screen. But even with cintiqs and alternatives, is still yet too far from a traditional experience ( and I work all day with a wacom since many many years). No wonder why is so extremely more controlable to ink with regular inks on paper. But the thing is, computers do cut times in many other production matters.

[Elise Kleve]

Affinity's drawing stabilizers are useful. That is true. But when I use it, it feels so clumsy and slows me down.
I wish they would implement something like this:

 

Fig. 1. Illustrator's pencil tool options

 

Fig. 2. Illustrator's paintbrush tool options