Many years ago when I was a PC user I used to have a graphics tablet that I would use for touching up photos and doing intricate graphics work. Since switching to Macs I have pretty much used the Mighty Mouse for this kind of work. Most of the time I will be using three quarters of the desk to draw around an object on the screen. If I’m using the lasso tool then there’s no way I can lift off the left click to reposition the mouse - I simply have to keep going, even having to move my pot of pens so I can scroll across! I have been doing this over the past few weeks but have realised enough is enough. Let’s make life easier.

So after much looking, today I went for the Wacom Bamboo Graphics Tablet. This will give me far greater control and precision than I get currently with my mouse. The first ten minutes or so using the pen was very strange - it felt quite unnatural. But, after a while it started to feel second nature and I have been using it for the past hour or so. Whether I will use the pen to replace my mouse completely is something I just can’t say right now - I’ll give myself a little while longer with it.

One of the first things I did after setting things up was to open up Pixelmator and draw around an object on a photo to see how the lasso tool felt with the pen compared to the mouse. Big thumbs up there. Drawing and painting around objects also feels natural and I’m quite able to do this on a small A6 size pad instead of using half my physical desk! Yesterday, prior to buying the graphics tablet, I drew around an object in a photo with my mouse and had to keep going over certain areas with the lasso tool to touch up the bits I missed. The look I was going for was this…

A few people have asked how I did this. It was created in Pixelmator by simply drawing around the fire engine with the lasso tool then going to Edit > Inverse, then Image > Desaturate. Done Must admit I am quite pleased with this as it’s the first time I’ve done it…and the red looks even more vibrant against the black and white background.

Apart from the Wacom Bamboo graphics tablet being very functional, it looks great aswell - even the unboxing was pleasant with quite a nice design and layout! There’s only one other company that puts as much thought into the packaging as they do the hardware itself…wonder who that could be… The tablet itself is a lovely classy black with blue lights on the express keys and a touch ring which enables you to zoom in and out of an image. I’m really looking forward to getting to grips with this in future for graphics work, touching up photos or even simply signing my name…