I am studying mechanical engineering, and I frequently use hand-drawn
sketches to explain concepts and ideas.

I draw the sketch with a blue pencil. Then I draw on top of it with
black ink. Then I scan it, make the blue disappear in Photoshop and
save it as a black and white GIF image.

I have tried to draw in Microsoft Paint on a regular PC. The
"disappearing blue" trick works fine there as well, but I just can?t
get used to drawing with the mouse. I have tried a "pen-mouse" as
well, but that didn?t work either.

I am thinking about buying a tablet-PC and draw directly on the screen
- but I am worried that it is not precise enough. In the commercials,
the tablet PC is typically used for "fast scribbles". I am wondering
if it can be used for nice free-hand drawings.


Here is my question:
Are there some homepages out there that describes free-hand drawing
using a tablet PC?
I am particularly interested in the precision of the "stylus" compared
to a pencil on a piece of paper. If it is possible, I would also like
to see something about the "disappearing blue" or "disappearing
layer"-trick on a tablet PC. It does not have to be about Paint or
Photoshop ?any program will do.

Regards
Paul Swot

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Clarification of Question by paul_swot-ga on 14 Aug 2004 03:43 PDT

I think what I am looking for is "hobby"-homepages, where people tell
about their experiences with a tablet PC as a sketching tool.

u can draw using a pencil of any color and use a bitmap trace to
convert easier. Incidentally my experience with writing chinese
characters on a tablet have been subpar to say the least.

I have tried drawing with a number of Tablet pc's, I find them
accurate and enjoyable even, with the pressure sensitivity.  I am a
Mechanical engineer with a penchant for Drawing and art.  If I bought
a Tablet PC it would be primarily for sketching ideas.

Thanks, that was interesting.

I am a computer engineer and I use Tablet PC incredibly regularly. The
distrust on the precision of the stylus is due to the digitizer
thickness, which has a refractive effect; When you write or draw on a
Tablet PC you are actually drawing slighty above the plane, which is
what is beginning of the rumor of precision; but once you start using
it you will love it and you will never think of using pencil and paper
for drawing and scratching. Additionally you have the recognition
capability too for you?re your handwriting.

My personnel experience was very good with both Toshiba and Acer
Tablet PC?s. If you are thinking in the direction of having one then
you should not wait and go for it quick.

- Ranjit

You might like the Alias software for freehand sketching on tablet PCs

See this page
http://www.alias.com/eng/products-services/sketchbook_pro/index.shtml

for more info, check out the PDF files

Have you tried a Wacom tablet?  Variations of them have been around
for years and they're known for being freehand-friendly.

http://www.wacom.com/productinfo/index.cfm

Thanks everybody. Nice to hear a personal experience, Ranjit.

Joey-ga, I checked your answers. You are a Photoshop person. Surely
you must know some homepages where people tell about there personal
experiences with the tablet PC as a sketching tool. Why don?t you give
the question a shot? I?ll clarify if needed.

Regards Paul Swot