Hello Everyone,
I am now the proud owner of a Wacom 24″ HD Touch Cintiq. I have to admit I really love it, and I am having so much fun with it. Previously, I have owned an Intuos 3, 4, and 5 touch, and I have loved them all, but this is the first time I have spent a great deal of time and put a lot of thought into setting up the Wacom Tablet Properties. I hope the effort I made will prove useful to you. I have 9 videos showing each step and explaining the reasons behind my decisions. And then I have a quick 10th video making an image using my settings. I show you how to use the Corel Painter Customize Keys functions to add shortcut keys to Painter commands that do not have them. And, I offer an HTML document with the shortcuts that I created, which I hope you will use when setting up your tablet.
In the last video I said I would do a quick painting using my settings for my Cintiq, but I ran out of time. I had to go to Mississippi to help my sister transition from rehab back to her home. I promise to do a video as soon as I can after I get back. But for now…here are the “how to” videos.
Video 1 – An Introduction…I talk a bit about what I will be covering in all the video tutorials.
Well, that was a mess…I just hit the publish button by accident and released an incomplete post on the unsuspecting public. My apologies…I’ll try to finish the post before I publish again.
Moving right along…the second video isn’t about setting up the Cintiq…nope…it is about an enhanced feature in Corel Painter 2015 called Arrange Palettes. This feature has a simple arranged palette that is new to 2015 and it is fabulous. So, to understand why I have used the setting that I use, you need to understand Arranged Palettes. Check out Video 2:
Video 3: I continue with Arrange Palettes, but this time I have created my own using the Simple Palette provided. I explain how you can switch between two different arrange palettes, which is very sweet. I promise, after this video we will actually start setting up the Wacom.
You know, I just realized that I didn’t make a pretty picture to show on these videos to make them look more interesting in the blog. I forget about that sort of stuff…oh well…the meat and potatoes are still here.
Video 4: I set up my Wacom Art Pen and Grip Pen for use in Corel 2015. It doesn’t matter what Wacom device you have, these settings should work for your.
Did I mention that there are nine videos…way too many, right? Well, the videos are very detailed. Fast forward through the videos you don’t find interesting…or not.
Video 5: I configure the Express Keys. It is probably now that I should mention that my settings may not be the best ones for you. Each person should set up their Wacom tablet to work with their workflow. I do tell you why I use the settings that I use…hopefully that will be of interest to you.
Video 6: I talk about the Touch Ring and I think I found some cool ways to use the Touch Ring. But you know, it doesn’t matter how cool they are if I don’t actually use them. One of the most important aspects of setting up your Wacom device is to practice using it…make it a part of your painting experience. I’m practicing a lot with mine…and frequently changing settings to find a more efficient way to use the Cintiq.
At the end of Video 6, I realized that I was using a shortcut key that I had created using Painter’s Customize Keys function. You must have a shortcut key to program a command for your Wacom tablet or Cintiq, so now I need to show you how to do that in Painter. BTW, Photoshop has a similar function.
Video 7: Learn the power of Corel Painter’s Customize Keys. At the end of this post, I will provide a list of all the shortcut keys that I am using.
Video 8: In this video I talk about Display Toggle. This Wacom function allows you to use multiple displays. If you only have one monitor, then you can skip this video.
And finally, I saved the best for last.
Video 9: I cover the Radial Menu in this video. For my money, the Radial Menu is the most powerful function available for Wacom tablets and Cintiqs. The Radial Menu makes it possible to program a huge number of commands and have them at your fingertips. It is very cool and very useful, but most folks do not use it much. To create a useful Radial menu, you must give it a bit of thought and time. Program it in a way that will work for you. I love using the Radial Menu. Check out the video.
Okay, as promised, here is an html file that lists the Shortcut keys that I used to set up my Cintiq. You can use the list to program Painter’s Customize Keys and set up your own Wacom Device.
I have mixed emotions about posting my Wacom backup settings. I have no experience with giving these to anyone. If you have a Wacom 24″ HD Touch Cintiq and are using Windows 7, the file might work for you. I do not believe it will work for anyone using a Mac, nor do I think it will work with any other Wacom device. But, if you are foolhardy enough to try it, be sure to back up your current Wacom settings before doing anything.
Well, that wraps up this blog post. I hope you find it useful.
Enjoy,
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