I thought using a drawing tablet without a screen was a waste of time, but my friend in Austin proved me wrong.

For years, I stuck to my old Cintiq because I thought looking at my hand while drawing was the only way to get good lines. My friend kept telling me to try her basic Wacom Intuos, saying it just took a few days to get used to. I finally borrowed it for a project last month, and after three days of shaky sketches, something clicked. My line work actually got cleaner because I was forced to look at the monitor, not my hand. It made me focus on the final image way more. Now I use it for all my rough drafts and it speeds things up. Has anyone else made the switch from a screen tablet and found it helped their process in a weird way?

4 comments

4 Comments

abby_fisher3mo ago

Switching totally changed how I see the whole page.

knight.uma13d ago

Started using a completely different layout tool for a project last month and it really opened my eyes. My old one was fine for basic stuff but I was missing so many ways to organize things. The new one forces me to think about spacing and flow differently which changed how I plan everything now. Kind of embarrassing it took me this long to try something else but better late than never I guess.

torres.riley3mo ago

Switching made me realize how stuck I was in one view before.

the_cameron3mo ago

Switching tools can break you out of a creative rut. You get used to one way of doing things and stop seeing other options. It's like using only a hammer for every job, then trying a screwdriver and realizing some things were never nails to begin with. You see the whole project differently after that.