NOTE: I don’t currently own my very OWN, but I’ve more than abused my best friend’s shiny new tablet since she got it & the one I got at work today, and I’m buying my own (100% certain) when I move out). This is post contains my opinions about the Yiynova MSP19U model and things I noted about it, not facts. For specs, go to their website.

PROS: THE PRICE

The Yiynova MSP19U stands at $599 USD, while the largest Cintiq stands at $2,300 USD. Need I to say more?

PROS: THE LOOK

I was ridiculously excited for my friend to receive it, and I’ll say one thing, the new Yiynova gave me a better first impression than the Cintiq did. It’s generally more pleasing to the eye with it’s (completely) glassy, slick surface. (I suggest cutting the finger off a cheap $1 glove to move your hand across the screen without a problem. This is actually a trick for the Cintiq’s screen that applies to this baby!)

One of the first things I suggest you consider before considering it is that is has no buttons. There are not a single shortcut button on the surface, nor on the back or sides (save for the settings buttons that cannot be altered). I personally never used any of the shortcuts I ever had on my previous or current Wacoms, even though I tried; they would literally only get in my way. On the Cintiq, the shortcuts are located on the edge of the screen, and I find myself pausing during my drawing sessions, and resting my hand on the side. I ended up deactivating it. The zoom wheels on the reverse side, on the edges, also got in my way when adjusting the angle my tablet was at. (Not impossible to avoid, I admit, but I’m lazy. I like my tablets simple.) So if you’re one of the people who love them shortcuts and couldn’t bear drawing without them or even replacing it with a cheaper version of a gameboard, the Yiynova is most likely not for you.

PROS: THE LAG (or lack thereof)

There had been complaints of the Cintiq lagging a bit behind the pen as you drew—I’m happy to announce that this problem doesn’t exist in the Yiynova. Seriously, the lag is so minimal I can barely notice it.

PROS: INSTALLATION

The installation is stupidly easy. Install the driver, plug in your tablet, reboot. Done. Make sure you have all other tablet drivers uninstalled before installation. All of them. Including their settings. None must survive. Or else your Yiynova will not work at all!

The tablet settings are called TabletSettings, I believe, and they are ridiculously easy to get to and to adjust at any time. Every option it clear on what it does, no more “i’m not sure why i have 3 different applications that let me reconfigure my tablet” thing. I mean… You can’t do it wrong. Unless you’re like me and expect it to be extra complex, and end up LOOKING for installation problems when there are none! (seriously, we failed at the setup at first because we thought “this can’t be it. it can’t be THAT SIMPLE” but it IS!)

PROS: THE PEN

To keep this short, the pens is lighter than a Cintiq’s, in my own experience, and lighter than an Intuos’, according to my best friend. It’s not too light, either. It’s perfect to hold up for extended periods of time!

The pressure sensitivity is fantastic. I wasn’t sure what I was expecting exactly, but I was certainly expecting to be disappointed by it. I mean, why would anything else be better than Wacom’s, at such a cheap price*? (*in comparison to the Cintiq) But truth be told, it’s exactly the same.

Also, the Yiynova comes with a nifty little pen holder you clip to the back of the tablet. Never, ever lose your pen again!

CONS

Yeah, it can’t all be rainbows are puppies. I wish, but it can’t be! I have to say that I’ve found an easy fix for each of those, so in the end, the pros weighted so, so much more for me. I’ll include the fixes I found!

CONS: THE PEN…

That’s right! The pen requires as AAA battery. There isn’t much I can say about this, since it doesn’t bother me much! I will use rechargeable AAA’s, keep one in the pen and one in the charger if need be. Like I said, I haven’t been around the Yiynova for long enough of it’s material life to test it’s durability and how fast it will eat up batteries, but the battery charger will be my safety net.

CONS: THE CABLE

Like I said, I haven’t set it up at my own working desk at home, so I can’t testify for all workspaces, but I will say this: the cable is short. Not only is it short, but the end is a Male VGA (not DVI!), and it is not removable in any way. Now when I say short, I haven’t measured it, but it looks to be around 3 feet long.

PCs: Most newer computers will have DVI ports, so you will have to get either an adaptor (Female VGA to Male DVI, if your computer DVI port is Female) or a cable of the same kind. (The  only one I found on the web is this little guy, but I have found one at a MicroBytes near my workplace that had a 3 feet long one!)

MACs: You’ll need one of these Female VGA to Mini-DVI as your adaptor. Make SURE you call your Apple store to ask about the kind of you need for your specific model of Mac (it changes between models AND generations. Don’t just buy any you find!)

CONS: THE SCREEN

(I put this is cons because it’s technically a fault, but it’s so easy to get around of that it should probably not be there at all.)

The screen’s colors are off, like Cintiq’s, but they’re mostly just cold. Even on Warm setting (which it comes in with)! You can adjust it with 3 minutes of your time, though!

You can’t be perfectly still, pen on screen, due to the glass being a little thicker than a Cintiq’s. This has me wondering who the hell would ever want a monitor tablet to stay perfectly still on it, but there you have it. You will have a 1 pixel small (literally) jitter. It’s hardly noticeable when you’re idle, with pen tip on tablet, and not present at ALL when you’re drawing.

I think we can say I am now biased towards the Yiynova MSP19U. It’s significantly cheaper in price, while being very, very high quality. I’m getting mine the MINUTE I move out. Seriously, haha. 

oh god I just did a “wacom-tablet-discovery-that-probably-could’ve-been-known-earlier-if-I-read-the-manual-THINGY”

ok so on the intuos tablets (dunno about the bamboo series) there’s more than 1 port to connect with the USB-cable to your computer, thus making it more adaptable for left-handed people like me.

However, I’ve only found one port on my intuos when it says in the manual that is has two ports.

So yeah it looks like this. But according to the manual….

… this should also be a port for the USB-cable???

So my guess was that it’s hidden behind that little bit of plastic. But how do I remove it? It’s impossible with your hands and I didn’t wanna dig out a knife and risk ruining it…

But then I discovered this slider. I’ve never really thought about it before. It’s located between those two ports so I took a guess and TOUCHED IT….!

*GASP*

COOL NOW I KNOW ANOTHER THING THAT I PROBABLY COULD HAVE KNOWN IF I READ THE MANUAL A BIT MORE

foervraengd:

Okay, I am still a beginner in this area. But the more I draw, the easier and easier it gets. And I’ve found a very easy and nice technique in how to draw a decent car.

Now, since I personally always found cars pretty boring. I decided to start drawing very old car models, since their design are more “raw” and not as stylized and modified as today’s cars. I strongly suggest you pick some cool models you find interesting when you are trying to draw something you personally don’t find interesting.

Okay, I start by sketching out a box sort of, and in each corner I draw the wheels. Even if the weels might not be visible in the end result, it’s still a good way to start.

(Please note that I actually suck at drawing wheels in certain angles, so they will be edited through these stages. So do not try to mimick exactly how I draw the wheels.)

So, wheels need protection and stuff, just like bikes have. Make sure you have a reference to use for this, so you know what kind of shape you want to give the “wheel-protection” (I have no idea what the words for car-stuff is, so imma make up my own)

Now, the reference I used have this sort of plate that more or less connects the front and back wheel-plates. It sort of serves a little bit like a one-step stair for passengers to use when they step in the car :D

Now it’s time to draw the engine. Imagine it as a half cylinder that is a bit narrow at the front and gets wider at the back.

Now we can draw uh…. “the house” lol. You know, where you sit and drive and such. It’s very simple, it’s more or less just a cube that connects with the engine-part at the front :D

And now it’s time for the last “details”, like the lights and windows and the door and stuff. I also made the back part round so it look like those roofs made out of cloth that you can pull down when it’s good weather outside. *blah blah blah*

Now, add some kawaii colors. Now you have a old classic car. TADAAH!

another old protip-post I made long ago that I still enjoy : 3

*Pose Maker

*Heads

*Poses

*Hands

*Colour Palettes and Patterns

*Skin Colours

*How To Draw Hands

*How To Draw Cuts And Bruises

*How To Draw Fabric Folds/Creases

*How To Draw Noses

*How To Draw Lips

*How To Draw Hair

*How To Draw Photorealistic Foliage

*How To Draw Light And Shadow