A day with the Cintiq 24HD


Leave a comment  →
   by chris    Leave a comment  →
' . get_the_title() . '

I got lucky yesterday.

I spent the entire day with a Wacom Cintiq 24HD touch courtesy of Great Eastern Technology. GET delivered the tablet to us for a week to kick its tires. I connected my MacBook Pro (retina) to it and spent most of the day working between Adobe Photoshop, Flash and OS X.

My verdict

Huge thumbs up! Seriously, this is the Shangri-La of graphics tablets folks. It’s simply huge and and seriously well-engineered. I think if the Earth exploded, this Cintiq would spend the rest of its life floating around space fully intact. The construction just feels solid. The entire time I was drawing and designing on it I couldn’t help but mutter words like “Whoa!” and “Dammmn!”. Even checking email and Facebook was like a whole new experience.

I’m not totally green when it comes to using a Cintiq either. For the past few years I have been using an older 21UX that I bought used from a random facebook user. The 21UX is a great tablet and works flawlessly after several years of service. But this week I’ve been able to compare it to its much bigger and better looking 24HD brother and the differences are noticeable.

Bigger really is better

It’s called the 24HD but in terms of its active area we’re really talking about 20.4″ x 12.8″ (518.4 x 324mm). But don’t let that sway you – the 24HD’s screen size and aspect ratio will surely satisfy your design appetite with room for dessert. The size of the Cintiq also fills the majority of your peripheral field of view, a side effect that tends to draw you in to your work (pun intended if you’re counting).
One feature my older 21UX has that the new 24HD does not is the ability to rotate the tablet on it’s mount. I honestly thought I’d miss having this ability but after a full day of using the HD24, I never thought about it. Maybe I never really used the ability to rotate the tablet with my older 21UX and liked the idea of it more than anything. After all, you can rotate the canvas inside Photoshop and many other applications anyway.

Throughout the day I was constantly interrupted by fellow employees who couldn’t help but notice the new toy I was using. Even the non-designers were incredibly impressed with my 2 minute walk-through of some of the Cintiq’s main features.

Connection

The Cintiq 24HD connects via a DVI output which requires an adapter. For the MacBook I needed my trusty DVI to Thunderbolt adapter which I always have in the bowels of my laptop bag for just such an occasion as this or when speaking at conferences and the like. What surprised me however was the lack of HDMI-to-HDMI connectivity from the Cintiq to support the newer Retina MacBooks. I would think HDMI would be a no-brainer but for now the DVI-Thunderbolt works fine and supports older, non-retina display MacBooks.

Setup

The Cintiq I’m testing is on loan as I previously mentioned and therefore came pretty much fully assembled. It weighs in at just over 60lbs and I quickly realized that sharing across the creative team would be problematic if we had to constantly move it from cubicle to cubicle every day. So I found an empty office for the Cintiq to stake its squatting rights in. As a creative team we all use MacBook Pros, so we can easily just bring our computers to the Cintiq and connect them via the Thunderbolt port.

The Cintiq 24HD display can be adjusted by height and incline. The angle of the display itself is adjusted by grasping the levers on both sides and squeezing to release the clutch mechanism. As you squeeze the levers, tilt the display to the desired angle and then release the levers to engage the clutch to lock the display in place. I had a lot of fun angling the display because of Wacom’s solid build quality. Serious tolerance levels achieved here guys as you can feel the subtle resistance in the hinging joints that connect the display to the support arms. It’s like opening the hood of a high end luxury car while still on the showroom floor kind-of-feel. Adjusting the Cintiq quickly becomes more about how good it feels than achieving the desired position angle.
The support arms lock when in vertical position and unlocked by accessing the release latch which is located at the very back of Cintiq’s base. When unlocked, you can lower the entire display to achieve a flatter angle. Just make sure you have one hand supporting the display when you release the support arms to avoid damage to the display or worse, your hand.

Whoa what’s this?


The Cintiq has 3 buttons along the top of its bezel; Information, Keyboard and touch toggle on/off. The info button displays an overlay that simply indicates what are the various express keys and various menu items across the entire display. The touch toggle button turns on and off the touch feature. But it was the keyboard button that caught me off guard in the best possible way. With the tap of my itty-bitty finger, a software keyboard appeared! Suddenly I was able to work entirely within the display area and not have to extend my left arm out to my MacBook to access any keyboard shortcuts! I could even create a text field in my graphics editor and use the software keyboard for entering text.
The keyboard can be resized and positioned anywhere on the screen. Toggle it off and then back on again and it will remember its last size and position. The keyboard feature was my big “Aha!” moment with the Cintiq and if I was only partially impressed by the tablet’s features up to this point, the keyboard would have put my confidence level well past the approval mark.

Cost

Your first born might be cheaper.
The ultimate, top-of-the-line 24HD touch model is listed on Wacom’s site at $3,699.00 US. Ok seriously, they’re a dollar away from making it a solid $3,700 so let’s just say THIRTY SEVEN HUNDRED DOLLARS. If you can afford it, God love ya. Especially if you are one of the many independent digital artists out there hustling the grind each and every day. If you are lucky enough to work for a company that can buy you one, then you are a god among men (and women). If you fall into neither category, then I’m surprised you read this far and I apologize for wasting your time. Go make a baby and leave it on Wacom’s front steps and see what happens*. These tablets are amazing but not exactly cheap. At the end of the day, you get what you pay for and I can assure you, the Cintiq is an amazing piece of hardware that is worth every penny.
For smaller wallets there are other Cintiq models to choose from:

Cintiq 24HD – $2600
Cintiq 22HD touch – $2500
Cintiq 22HD – $2000
Cintiq 13HD – $1000

I also spent a week with the Cintiq 13HD and have not had time to formulate an official review because of my crazy workload. Ok, ok, I probably got distracted by Facebook again.

*Actually this is a very bad idea and no reason to have a child. I take no responsibility for any children that end up at Wacom’s front door. On 2nd thought, if Wacom takes the child in, think of how awesome he or she will be at using these tablets in a few years!

Wacom Cintiq – Does Size Matter?


Leave a comment  →
   by chris    Leave a comment  →
' . get_the_title() . '

I just received an email from a friend;

I love all your books and have learned most everything that I understand about Flash cartoon animation from your books. I have a question on the Cintiq tablet. You mention that you use one and I was wondering about your opinion about which size you think fits best for creating Flash cartoons? As you know Wacom has the 22″ and 24″ and they’ve recently come out with the 13″. I’m particularly interested in the 13″ but I’ve wondered if having a larger screen size is more ideal. I would certainly welcome your opinion based on your years working with Flash for creating cartoon animation. I look forward to hearing from you, thanks.

I’ll preface my response by saying I have only been able to use the Cintiq 13HD and for only a couple of days. A local dealer loaned one to me and soon they will be asking for its speedy return. I have seen the 24HD being used at a local conference event and I can say with certainty, it is a beautiful piece of hardware.
Which one to choose? I will break it down like this:

Cintiq 13 – The perfect choice if you want a Cintiq tablet combined with portability. The 13″ size fits perfectly in my laptop bag alongside my MacBook Pro and I can easily take it with me almost anywhere. Keep in mind, you will need a power source wherever your travels take you as the Cintiq 13 is not wireless in any way. In fact, I found the tethered nature of the 13 to be slightly annoying, but I admit I’m splitting hairs with that complaint so don’t take it too seriously. The small screen also means that everything being displayed is well, very small. Almost too small. I had a difficult time selecting menu items and tools across Adobe Flash and Photoshop. There’s also a persistent arrow cursor displayed under my stylus that covers up the items I try to select, turning the simple task of selecting things into a game of blind luck. I have not been able to find a way to hide this cursor in the tablet preferences.

UPDATE! It’s been a few more days of using the Cintiq 13HD and I have grown more and more fond of it. I’ve started to forget about the cables needed to connect the device to my computer and the cursor “issue” has all but gone away for me. Yes, the screen is still feeling smallish, but I’m an adaptable kind of guy and I’m finding myself selecting and moving about my applications in a swift manner. Still the best part? Transporting the Cintiq alongside my MacBook in my backpack between work and home. Portability is this tablets’ key strength.

Cintiq 22HD, 24HD or 24HD Touch – As mentioned previously, I have not been able to actually use one of the larger Cintiqs but I can say that if portability is not a priority and your budget can provide for it, go big or go home. Maybe someday I’ll get my grubby hands on one and really kick its tires.

Sneak Peek: Playing with Lighting in Photoshop and After Effects


Leave a comment  →
   by chris    Leave a comment  →

I got to meet Sylvain Paris and obviously being French, I asked him where in France he was lived. He told me that he currently lives in Jamaica Plain, Massachusetts which is the town I grew up in.

Phil Hansen


Leave a comment  →
   by chris    Leave a comment  →

The most inspiring moment (for me) at the Adobe Max conference in Los Angeles last week. If you are a creative type, or even if you aren’t, this will surely inspire you in some way.

Adobe MAX session test


Leave a comment  →
   by chris    Leave a comment  →

Wacom Webinar – Flash Animation Techniques


Leave a comment  →
   by chris    Leave a comment  →

Wacom makes cool products. Wacom loves the artists that use their products. Wacom also loves the graphic design and animation community. But most of all, Wacom is cool because of people like Westom Maggio and Joseph Sliger, the hosts of a regularly scheduled webinar that showcases artists, designers and animators of all walks of life and how they integrate Wacom products into their workflow. This week I was asked back to present again on Flash design and animation techniques because contrary to popular belief, Flash as a development tool is very much alive and well.

Adobe Edge Animate Test


Leave a comment  →
   by chris    Leave a comment  →

The above animation may not seem like much but consider the fact that it was created entirely in Adobe Flash (I know, still not impressed), exported using the Sprite Sheet Generator (yeah…big whoop again), imported into Adobe Edge Animate and published to HTML5 and embedded into this WordPress theme using a plugin (admit it, it’s kind of cool now – especially if you are seeing this on your iOS mobile device).

The new Citrus game engine


Leave a comment  →
   by chris    Leave a comment  →
' . get_the_title() . '

In an effort to step up my Adobe Flash Pro game, I’m learning about, well, Flash gaming – specifically the new Citrus game engine. I recently worked with Tom Krcha by supplying him with a couple of animations for his recent Citrus article. I used the new DragonBones extension, a new open source skeletal animation extension that outputs texture atlas sheets and animation metadata all within the Flash Pro IDE. Check out Tom’s complete tutorial. Meanwhile, I’ll be building my own simple game engine to use as an example for a future book update ;)

I’m a faculty member now


Leave a comment  →
   by chris    Leave a comment  →

Hot off the press…

The HAS MFA in Illustration program welcomes faculty Chris Georgenes to its ranks! Chris joins faculty Nancy Stahl team-teaching Creative Digital Illustration, a week-long course offered during the two-week summer residency in Connecticut.

Read more here on the Hartford Art School blog.

Adobe CS2 Free Download! (UPDATED)


Leave a comment  →
   by chris    Leave a comment  →
' . get_the_title() . '

Just when you thought the gift giving season was over, Adobe decides to give CS2 away for FREE!

UPDATE: That URL is now broken as it is apparent to me that the link to download CS2 may have been in error on Adobe’s part.

And the official word from Adobe.

Tony Teach Animate Pro Tutorial (review)


Leave a comment  →
   by chris    Leave a comment  →
' . get_the_title() . '

Tony loves teaching, which is obvious if you’ve watched any of his training tutorials. Tony has video tutorials on how to use Adobe Flash, Photoshop, Toon Boom Animate Pro and more. Anatomy of a 30sec Short Vol 2 is the latest video series from Tony that provides an over-the-shoulder view of how to create an animation from storyboard to final product using Animate Pro.

This video series is raw, unedited and as down to Earth as it gets. Tony literally clicks the record button and captures every nuance of his process. If he makes a mistake or clicks the wrong thing, he corrects himself without editing that section out. It’s refreshing to witness his stream of consciousness way of working.

If you want to learn how to use Toon Boom Animate, this series is a great kick start to get you up and running quickly. I’ve been playing with Animate quite a bit this past year and Tony’s video series taught me a few things I found indispensable and had not yet stumbled upon during my experiments. Tony’s tips were my ‘aha!’ moments that got me really excited about Animate. Thanks Tony! Keep them coming!

M-Audio & Mountain Lion


Leave a comment  →
   by chris    Leave a comment  →
' . get_the_title() . '

Pushing Pixels is starting to ship from amazon! It’s a glorious day in my world. But as of last night, I discovered an inconsistency relating to the M-Audio Firewire Solo hardware and the latest OS X 10.8.2 Mountain Lion software. After struggling to get my MacBook Pro to recognize my microphone, I discovered that the Firewire Solo driver is out of date. I went to M-Audio’s support site only to discover, as of this writing, M-Audio has yet to offer updated drivers for Mountain Lion.
To quote Sweetwater;

‘M-Audio is still working on testing of current drivers and software for compatibility with Mountain Lion.   Until an official announcement and/or update is posted here or www.m-audio.com , it is recommended M-Audio product owners wait for Mountain Lion.’

Of course, it isn’t realistic to hold off on upgrading because of a single driver that may be used occasionally at best. Pushing Pixels specifically features M-Audio hardware and this may be misleading in light of M-Audio’s driver support issues. I’m not one to sit around and wait for a possible driver updates – especially with client deadlines looming.

As a result, I have been researching the latest USB pro-sumer level condensor microphones – specifically the Yeti and Yeti Pro by Blue. USB connectivity would sacrifice latency for  simplicity, eliminating any hardware interface that requires drivers that may or may not be available depending on the OS version I may be running. Combine a USB condensor microphone with a laptop and you would essentially have a portable recording studio with minimal effort.

I’ll be posting more about this very topic soon…

Advanced copies!


Leave a comment  →
   by chris    Leave a comment  →
' . get_the_title() . '

Just when I almost stopped thinking about it entirely, it shows up on my doorstep. The FedEx box was placed on the cold dark steps leading to my front door. I noticed it as soon as I got out of my car. The sender on the package said ‘Taylor & Francis‘, and I just knew it was a copy of Pushing Pixels. Coincidentally I had emailed my production editor this morning about the status of the book and just a few hours later I was holding it in my own hands.
I have been more eager to see this book than my previous titles because of the difficult printing issues we’ve experienced during production.  Taylor & Francis uses an American printer while previous titles such as the How to Cheat in Adobe Flash series have used a printer in China. The difference between the 2 printers? The HTCIF series printed successfully without any technical issues. I submitted my print ready PDFs and a few weeks later the book were shipped. The same process of screen capturing, preparing files, InDesign layout and exporting didn’t yield the same results with the American printer. After numerous failed tests I had to edit every single image in the book manually by increasing the resolution and changing their color profiles. It was grunt work at its purest.

I carefully removed the shrink wrap, a production detail that was missing from previous titles, and could immediately smell the faint traces of untainted paper and fresh ink. I cracked the binding and went through every single page, one by one, until I reached the back cover. I examined every word and image, with the fear of discovering the inevitable; typos. The strange thing about writing a book is, you proof read your own words countless times, as does the technical editor, proof reader and ultimately the production editor. We all find various spelling and syntax errors. The corrections are made and the the book is scrutinized several more times thereafter for inconsistencies. When the book finally goes to print, at least 10 people have examined the entire contents from cover to cover. But inevitably, assuredly and without fail, with the printed book held firmly in hand, you will always find at least 1 blatantly obvious grammatical or layout mistake glaring at you from the page.

I found 2.

On page 32 the alignment of an entire block of text overlaps a screenshot image. It wasn’t like that in the source file or PDF, but it’s there in the printed book.

My bio on the back cover is the outdated version. It was rewritten and submitted in time, but for some reason, it’s not there.

At the end of the day, these are only 1st world problems and I will certainly go on living with them. Some of the screenshot images in the book are slightly fuzzy too. But there’s nothing that can be done about it. It’s just a book. It’s just a book that I hope helps anyone trying to tread water in the deep dark sea of digital animation.