Wednesday, January 14, 2009

Bamboo Fun + Drawing

For Christmas I got a Bamboo Fun pen tablet by Wacom. I've been holding off on using it because I'm trying to finish a traditional pencil drawing of the main character from my new book. (Which I will start writing as soon as I finish the rewrite on my last book. Let's cross our fingers for the end of February.)

But also, because I'm not sure about it. I'm so used to traditional techniques, and the ability to draw on paper, that drawing in one place and have the image form on screen in another is is a little bit of a mental hurdle to overcome.

So, I was about to shut down for the night and I thought that I would do a quick sketch, just to get a feel for it. I thought that I would just try to draw a simple eye. And that's how it started. But then I kept going and ended up drawing a whole face.

I learned a couple things. Pen tablets are not magic. They won't make you draw better than you already do, and in many respects, make you draw worse.

It's almost like learning to draw again. You have to train your hand and brain to work spatially separate, but mentally together.

Keep at it. Since I've played with it a little I'm getting more comfortable, and things are looking more like I want them.

So here's the first drawing I did with the Bamboo Fun. I know what I think, so tell me what you think!

2 comments:

Beloved Autumn said...

Wow! I got the same thing but have not used it much....You did really good.

Brady said...

Thank you!