Hey all you Dokuga artists out there!

I was just wondering which you use to draw/color your digital works: Do you use a mouse? Or do you have a tablet?

I've always used a mouse to color my work, mostly because I've never had the money to purchase a tablet. So far, it's worked okay for me.

I just do my lineart with pencil, scan the whole thing and spend hours coloring in Photoshop with a mouse. Usually, after the two or three hour mark, my hand starts cramping depending on how complex the picture is and what sort of shading I'm doing. ><

Excluding my latest drawing (which I'll post here soon), every single drawing I've submitted here and to DA was done with a mouse - lineart and all. XD But my mum bought me a tablet (a Genius MousePen - got it for about $45) for my Birthday last month and I have to say, it's soooooooo much better than drawing with a mouse! 8D Unfortunately, though, my tablet keeps dying on me when I'm using it and I have to twist it this way and that to get it working again. I know it's not the battery, since I replaced it with a new one as soon as I got it, so I think I might have to send it back. T_T

If you ever get a tablet, I suggest asking a few artists first what kind of tablet they use so you can get one that works great and is long lasting.

My friend is using mouse too and is always cursing while doing this. Perhaps I'll ask Santa to bring her tablet next year because my ears need rest. Still I think her works look good.

I use a tablet myself, and will never, ever go back to a mouse lol. My hand did cramp a bit when I first started using it, but once I got used to it, I don't have that problem anymore and it's much easier and quicker than coloring with a mouse.

In all fairness to the mouse, lol, when I was using it I only had Microsoft paint to work with and that was really where most of the problems come from, such as only being able to undo three times, instead of endless on other programs. But still prefer my tablet, found mine pretty cheap, about 30 bucks with S&H, on Amazon.

I used to use nothing but a mouse until I got a tablet for Christmas. I can still use the mouse pretty well whenever I'm without my tablet (like visiting a relative), but I'm sure not as good as I used to be- out of practice and all.

But for anything really important I'm sure to use my tablet to get everything precise. I used to be able to sketch in pencil... scan, lineart, and color with the mouse. And then I got a tablet and after much practice I don't even need to sketch in pencil anymore. Though I still do when I'm away from a computer. ...That doesn't happen often.

I use a mouse and how I wish I have a tablet but alas, tablet here are expensive. it kills me every time I have to do lineart with my mouse...

I use a tablet - a Wacom Bamboo Fun. It works really well. I haven't really had to work with a mouse because I have a laptopo and I DETEST using a mouse. I had a huge tablet before the Wacom - it was an Aptek 9"x12" - but it wasn't compatible with my Mac. So, I bought a new tablet.

And even though I have a tablet, I never stop sketching in pencil. There's just something about pencil and paper that never gets old. It lets you see mistakes that computer screens just can't. All the digital drawing and coloring can't save you if you don't know how to sketch.

But personally, I feel a tablet it better than a mouse. If you're going to do art professionally, it's a good idea to invest in a good tablet. I'm doing digital paintings (like this one), and I believe it's easier to work with a tablet than a mouse.

But, to each his own.

I use a tablet, but used a mouse for a looong time before that.

In general I found that a mouse was fine to work with, it just took a lot of time, hair was always difficult, and I couldn't really do any sketches on the computer with it.

(I actually had a false start with tablets: someone bought me a cheap one, I tried it once and hated it, went back to the mouse A couple years later I finally bought myself a good wacom to use properly)

With a tablet they're awesome for sketching, great for getting a 'painterly' look to pictures, a dream with lineart/inking and a lot faster with colouring. Hair of course is a lot easier too. The only problem with mine is that it randomly stops working/seems to resize to a smaller screen size so it doesn't match up with the screen. It does this once or several times a day and I always have toreset to get it back to normal. Still better than a mouse though.

I still do traditional work of course, pencil work has a certain quality and emotion to it that you can't really get in digital form. But I never really colour my pencil work on the computer anymore (or if I do then I'll draw over it on another layer and fix any mistakes etc, it becomes a completely digital work).

And from what I've heard Wacom seem to be the best brand to go for tablet-wise.

Like others here I too used a mouse for the longest time and when given a tablet for Christmas I fell in love with it. Will never go back to using a mouse again. Half the time I use the pen and tablet for other computer tasks even. Poor mouse gets rather neglected sometimes.

Also agree that Wacom has the best product, I've had no trouble with mine since I've had it.

I've traditionally inked pencil sketches and coloured them via the mouse in Photoshop. I don't bother using brush strokes to fill in the blank spaces in the lineart, I just block fill the base colour, and use layers for each part of the colour, and add layer filters for various effects. The only time I really use the mouse and brush settings is to do highlights and shadows. I'm too lazy to actively use a mouse to do lineart in PS, it'd take too long, and I prefer doing the structure of a piccy using pencil and paper. Pyre = perfectionist, and I tend to alter the image constantly, revising bits and pieces until it's finished.

I'd consider using a tablet but I'm not keen on them for navigation instead of a mouse on a PC. They're clunky and slow. I've not tried using them for sketching, mostly due to the price. You're paying more for the brand i.e Wacom, than actual functionality, so the prices for a tablet even a small one can be relatively expensive. The software bundled with most of the wacom tablet's I've noticed is very basic. Personally for the price I'd prefer the full professional edition like Photoshop or Adobe Illustrator but I know from experience that this software, the full editions, can be over $2000 to $3000 dollars in price, which is from four to ten times the cost of a basic wacom graphics bamboo tablet.

I like the idea of using the tablets for sketching and drawing digitally but unless I have the software to use with them the tablet is literally useless. The replaceable nibs aren't reassuring either, since you can't generally purchase them in a retail store, since they're a specialised item. I know that if I get a tablet I'll likely pay out more over the lifetime that I use it to replace the nibs once they wear down, especially if the nibs are $20 to $30 dollars for a pack of five.

XD That has literally convinced me to stick to pencil and paper, to improve on using traditional inking media like fountain pens, to invest in a good scanner, and just use Photoshop to do basic colouring, highlighting and shading like I've always done.

I can buy a tonne of black inks, dipping pens, fountain pens, and paints for a fraction of the price of a graphics tablet to essentially do the same thing but with real media. It might be a bit slower, slightly trickier, but essentially for moi it's more cost effective.

To each their own but if I can source the traditional media relatively cheaply than that's good enough for moi. I sharpen my skills either way.

~ Pyre

i use a tablet but i recently lost the pen for it so now i have to use a mouse until i find it. FAIL.

I know the 'traditional' college graduation gift for girls is jewelry - like pearl or diamond earings, but my parents bought me a top-of-the-line wacom intuos instead. I love it like a sweet little baby - I sing it songs and rock it every night before bed.

I have worked with the mouse before, but its SO time consuming and difficult that basically when I don't have a tablet, I don't do digital art.

I've just begun sketching and coloring free hand. -cue groans from hand cramps- lol That being said I would like to invest in a quality tablet when I can, without paying through the nose. Something between $50-$100 dollars. Any suggestions for brand as well as stores I can find them? Me+online shopping=semi-paranoid. I'll only do it if I have to. lol

Any help will be much appreciated.

I must say that I tried coloring with a mouse and it was so time consuming and hard on the eyes to make sure the lines weren't lost. I recently got a tablet and I will never go back to using a mouse again.