Graphic Exchange 37
R eviews
Pressure-sensitive tablets have been out
there for a while, and almost any digital
artist who likes to dabble in brushwork will
have one. A stylus is surely a superior
drawing tool to a mouse, but using a tablet
and stylus still necessitates working on a
desktop while at the same time looking
straight ahead at a monitor. Working like
this is neither easy nor comfortable, but
“only a second-grade ballerina blames her
tutu for getting in the way of her dancing”,
thus many artists have learned to excel
with this configuration.
However, to see a drawing or painting
take shape on your canvas in real-time, as
you create it—this is still the ideal, just as
it was for artists in the good old days.
The idea of a pressure-sensitive moni-
tor is not new—touch-screens are widely
used in cash registers, and interactive dis-
plays have been used for sales presenta-
tions for a while. But the Wa-
com series of Cintiq interactive
pen displays adds high resolu-
tion 24-bit LCD display technol-
ogy good enough to satisfy an
artist…well, almost good
enough.
Wacom’s Cintiq displays, available in
15” and 18” models, could represent an im-
portant first step in pioneering a pressure-
sensitive, high-resolution, screen-based in-
terface for artists and designers. But they
come at a healthy price—US$1,899
(~CDN$2,750) for the 15x model, or
US$3,499 (~CDN$5,300) for the 18sx.
TAKING THE 18SX FOR A SPIN
The Cintiq 18sx, released in May 2002, of-
fers a welcome improvement in LCD
technology—distortion-free viewing up to
160º in all directions. It displays images at
1280 x 1024 pixels in 24-bit resolution in its
14.1”x 11.3”active image area. The display
includes a Grip Pen with an integrated sili-
con rubber area which reduces gripping
effort and responds to 512 levels of pres-
sure—twice the number of tones available
per color in RGB.
THE UPS
Easy setup. The Cintiq has one single
wire containing the power, video and
tablet communications. Video interfaces
for analog (VGA) and digital (DVI) con-
nections as well as USB and serial tablet
connections are all included. No special
port is needed and the whole operation of
plugging it in and setting it up takes just a
few minutes.
Direct on-screen interaction. An inter-
active pen display allows users to interact
directly with images, and this is the Cin-
tiq’s most important feature. By making
the creation of artwork more like it was be-
fore computers, we can focus more on the
work and less on hand-eye gymnastics.
Nevertheless, hand-eye coordination will
continue to be an important component
of the process—at least, until a true neural
interface is perfected.
A more comfortable way to work. The
Cintiq stand rotates a full 360 degrees and
inclines to any desktop angle between 13
and 70 degrees. The comfort of being able
to rest one’s elbows lightly on the display
might even make tendonitis go
away.
There are three possible basic
positions: Tablet Mode, Display
Mode and Lap Mode.
Tablet Mode, inclined less
than 32º, is good for leaning over
to draw or paint (just like over a
drafting table). In this mode, Cin-
tiq rotates a full 360° without
touching the desk. Display Mode
(with Cintiq standing vertical) is
more useful for work requiring
keyboarding. In Lap Mode, the
display is removed from the stand
and rests between the edge of a
desk and the user’s lap.
The near-real paper feel. Cintiq’s
anti-glare and friction-coated sur-
face in concert with the Wacom
Grip Pen stylus produces a feel
that is closer to pen and paper
A change of style
Interactive pen display
Wacom Cintiq 18sx
by Lidka Schuch
PROGRAMMABLE POPUP MENU
.
The Grip Pen, like any other stylus,
comes with a DuoSwitch, a clicker
with two positions. Either position
can be programmed for a selected
option from the pulldown list.
The Popup Menu (left) is a must
because it provides easy access to
many keyboard shortcuts without
using a keyboard. PopUp Menu
options are located in the Wacom
Tablet control panel dialog window.
The pen can also be programmed to
be application-dependent. For
example, since the Option key is
probably the most common modifier
in Adobe Photoshop, one clicker could be programmed to
simulate the Option key. The most common shortcuts in
QuarkXPress include Command plus Shift (Mac) or Control
plus Shift (Windows). The same clicker could be programmed
to simulate these key combinations for use just in XPress.
The Popup Menu is a great idea, but it’s not completely bug-
free. In OS X, when I tried to use an Apple icon as a shortcut
for the word “Command”, I got a “ù” (apparently a problem
with the Mac’s conversion to Unicode). In OS 9.2, Apple icons
looked as they should, but I couldn’t take a screen grab
because the windowing system only permits this function
after the menu is closed.
(23 paginas)
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