Re: [Gimp-user] Beginner's questions about Gimp & Wacom on Linux for a kid-friendly setup

[Ross Martinek <triarius12 gmail com>]

1) Yes, though sometimes I find the mouse a useful secondary input, and for some things a primary input. This 
is mostly a matter of what works for the individual.

2) I do have a touch sensitive pad, and I personally hate trying to use it as anything but a mouse. Again, 
this is personal preference. Let her try it, she’s young enough to be more adaptive in the learning process.

3) I love tablets with buttons, especially if they are programmable. I like them better than the buttons on 
the pen, but that may be a function of old, arthritic hands. ;-} The other advantage is that most people have 
two hands, the buttons give the off side hand something to do!

4) I absolutely recommend keyboard shortcuts, especially with a slower system, regardless of OS. Once 
learned, keyboard shortcuts, or tablet buttons, are significantly faster and more precise than hunting for a 
tool icon. I have two screens, and the toolboxes reside on the secondary screen to one side where they are 
out of the way. I only use them to adjust tool options. Most tool switching is done by tablet button, 
keyboard, and pen button.

In short, she’s young and adaptable. Help her experiment to find what works best for her.

I hope your daughter develops a life-long love of making art. Whether it becomes a career or not, it is one 
of the healthiest pursuits known to the species. Kudos to you for encouraging and supporting her. (Mine 
didn’t, to my great detriment.)

And happy Whatever-holiday-you-celebrate-if-any ;o>

Ross


> On Dec 18, 2017, at 3:45 AM, Simon Budig <simon budig de> wrote:
>
> Hanno Zulla (abos hanno de) wrote:
> > my child draws (a lot).
>
> yay!  :)
>
> > 1) Wacom as a mouse?
> >
> > Is it "normal" to have the wacom tablet double as the screen pointer
> > device? The default setup seems to be that the graphics tablet also
> > controls the mouse pointer on Linux.
> >
> > I tried to find out if I can somehow setup the pen to be used in the
> > Gimp graphics window only, but while possible, this seems difficult to
> > do. Is the default setup also the desirable setup on Linux or if not,
> > what do I need to change?
>
> Personally I always have the tablet also control the mouse pointer. That
> way you don't have to change input devices just to confirm the odd
> system dialog or something else. Also for GIMP you can then use the
> tablet to pick tools etc. from the palette (which you can also do via
> keyboard shortcuts of course, which is a sane option as well).
>
> If you don't want to have this you can use the "xinput" tool to detach
> the wacom from the "virtual core pointer".
>
> > 2) Different Wacom pointers?
> >
> > The tablet driver creates four devices - the pen, the eraser, those were
> > easy to setup and work as expected. What about the other two options
> > offered, finger touch and pad? Should I disable them or what are their
> > use for a digital artist?
>
> Well, try it. I don't have a touch sensitive tablet here, so I don't
> have any experience with that.
>
> In the GIMP preferences you should enable the tablet (sub-)devices as
> extended input devices (or disable them - as you prefer). You then can
> have them configured to different tools, i.e. by using the respective
> input device to pick a tool from the toolbox it gets attached to it, and
> GIMP automatically switches when you change the tool. This is pretty
> fancy for the intuos-pens with their individual tool-ids, but it should
> work fine with the different tools from your tablet.
>
> > 3) The Wacom buttons?
> >
> > There are four buttons on the graphics tablet - by default they are used
> > as mouse clicks. Can I use the button to choose tools? If so, how should
> > I configure them for productive use within Gimp?
>
> (sorry, can't help you there)
>
> > 4) Wacom & Gimp - your workflow on Linux?
> >
> > When you use Gimp with a Wacom tablet on Linux, what is your workflow,
> > what are your shortcuts?
> >
> > How do you use the Gimp toolbox while using the Wacom pen - do you use
> > keyboard shortcuts or do you use the pen (as a mouse pointer, see
> > question 1) to access the toolbox and select your tools?
>
> I recommend keyboard shortcuts. The basic tools are all available via
> single-stroke shortcuts. And as mentioned above I'd stick to the tablet
> controlling the core pointer as well, that makes it easier to control
> the other stuff that happens to pop up in Gimp from time to time. The
> wacom tablets typically are good for that kind of stuff, since the pen
> gets detected a few mm above the tablet, making it possible to preview
> where you're going to click.
>
> I hope this helps,
>        Simon
> -- 
>              simon budig de              http://simon.budig.de/
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