I have all the approaches * Motion Computing slate tablet PC. which has a wacom. * a wacom tablet for a powerful but cheap Dell laptop as a primary workstation. * a 8.5x11 hardbound art pad.
They are all different tools and I think it depends on what the goal is, they are by no means incompatible. >From a cost perspective, a tablet with a laptop is the best bang for the buck. TabletPC' are relatively expensive. The standard laptop+tablet are also the best suited for long working sessions (e.g. graphic designer roles). If on a fixed budget, looking for productivity, the money that might be spent on a TabletPC would be MUCH better spent on multiple big monitors. I was a loyal tablet PC user for quite some time. Using Alias Sketchup and www.artrage.com. The Motion computing is good portable. In many things it's far superior to paper. Ability to replicate, erase, search, collaborate, etc. However the battery life, the variability of visibility, the cords, the lack of go, the lack of, the sluggishness in flipping through pages, the social stigma. I can't tell you how many times when travelling with my tablet I ended up being evangelist. With my paper pad they *have* to play, they just let me work in peace :) I've gone back to paper and nice pens (buy em in bulk in case they ..go travelling). The 8x11 "Manga Boy" Canson drawing pads are durable, perforated making it easy to scan in (a sheet fed scanner makes this fast) for archival purposes when so desired. The tablet and paper are very different visual and tactile feel. The resolution on paper is SOOO much higher than tablet PC's, and flipping through binders SOOO much faster than loading large TIFFs. I find them hard to compare, even though conceptual similar. When on paper I don't feel like I'm working and there is no internet access, email, skype etc to distract me. It's easy to rework and the finiteness of the paper makes me pay more attention to the strokes. Many animators I know start in paper, then scan in, then use the wacom tablet to trace. If having a tablet PC they might spend more time at the front in the digital realm, especially for when targgeting web. Like if the output is a flash animation, doing it with a TabletPC might be a better tool, but then most have portable tablets and are based on a laptop so I don't see this adding much value. Troy. ________________________________________________________________ Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ....... disc...@ixda.org Unsubscribe ................ http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines ............ http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .................. http://www.ixda.org/help
