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This is the coolest thing I've ever seen!

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This is the coolest thing I've ever seen!

Any of you guys ever use one of these things?? :eek:

http://bauhaussoftware.com/products_nomad_LP.php

Excuse me..I think I left my jaw back there...:eek: That is awesome.

Wacom as something like that too, but I am not sure if it is portable.

^Do they? It looks like this thing is a complete computer in itself, totally dedicated to producing animation. I wish they had examples on that site.

Yeah, those things are awesome. I just bought at Tablet PC from Toshiba last month.
http://www.toshibadirect.com/td/b2c/cmod.to?seg=HHO&coid=-29325&sel=0&rcid=-26367&ccid=1291021
I pretty much got it stock, except that I up it to a gig of Ram and got the top graphics card.

So far it works awsome. I had a few little problems at first but those have been ironed out. I'm working with Maya 6.5, Alias Sketchbook Pro,http://www.alias.com/glb/eng/products-services/product_details.jsp?productId=1900006, and Flash on it.

Aloha,
the Ape

...we must all face a choice, between what is right... and what is easy."

that looks well cool, but the software looks very involved! is it hard to learn?

also, it is still very pricy. in a few years that will be at least half that. im waiting! :)

HEY COOL THING .........

i'm also planning to buy one pc(desktop assembled) which graphics card will work good i'll be using maya and 3ds max.

mandeep

That's cool :eek: I've heard about those. I've also tried out thier animation program "Mirage" for the Mac with a Wacom tablet. Works good.
Spoooze!

It looks very nifty, but it doesn't actually list Mirage as coming with it (or a keyboard for that matter). So, unless I'm missing something (a distinct possibility) add another $700 onto the price to be able to animate with it.

Ape, does yours support pressure sensitivity? Is it pretty responsive? How does it compare to using a cintiq? So many questions...

Producing solidily ok animation since 2001.
www.galaxy12.com

Now with more doodling!
www.galaxy12.com/latenight

I've posted a full review of my Tablet PC on my blog at http://erikgirndt.blogspot.com/ I think I answer all your questions Kdiddy. My blog is part of the Animation Mentor blog ring at http://p.webring.com/hub?ring=animationmentorb

Aloha,
the Ape

...we must all face a choice, between what is right... and what is easy."

Perfect, Ape. Thanks a lot. Your blog is alot of fun.

I'm debating whether to go Cintiq or Tablet PC. Portability isn't a big issue, I'm more interested in how responsive they are. I need to find someplace to try them out.

Producing solidily ok animation since 2001.
www.galaxy12.com

Now with more doodling!
www.galaxy12.com/latenight

I'm debating whether to go Cintiq or Tablet PC. Portability isn't a big issue, I'm more interested in how responsive they are. I need to find someplace to try them out.

If you don't need something portable, go with a Cintiq, it's better and would be easier to draw on.

Lindsey Keess
Animator

Anyone use a Cintiq 15x? It's closer than the larger ones to being in my price range.

Producing solidily ok animation since 2001.
www.galaxy12.com

Now with more doodling!
www.galaxy12.com/latenight

I'm also using a Tecra M4, same stats as above but with 2Gb RAM. The screen is Wacom Penabled, 512 levels of pressure if you install the optional driver. Painter IX (which is half off this month) is amazing on it!

Nomad..

Hi folks.

I just signed up with AWN Forums, and found this post. My name is Chad Essley, and it's my product testimonial you read over at the Bauhaus website.

I'm a big advocate of the Tablet PC platform, and I highly reccomend Mirage! (Thus the testimonial)

The reason I did the testimonial, was the fact that Bauhaus and Motion Computing (makers of the best available slate model tablet pc's) -got together for this promotion, and I was glad to be a part of it.

In reality, yes, a 21" Wacom Cintiq is "the Cadillac" of lcd drawing tablets to get. However, that said, -a slate model tablet pc, and Mirage (or flash) - is second to none in terms of mobility.

When is the last time you were able to sit waiting for a plane at the airport, and be able to animate! I have to say, it's very very nice not to be confined to my drawing desk any longer, and be able to take my 'studio' with me wherever I go.

I would highly reccomend checking out Mirage, -and the Motion machines. If anyone would like further info, -get in touch with me and I'd be glad to answer any questions.

I don't work for Bauhaus, or Motion, by the way. However, I am a beta tester for Mirage, and I will say, that it's so great to see a software company with so many professional animators on the beta side of things, to suggest features, and make the program easy to use. It's amazing.

Best,
Chad Essley

Hi Chad, and welcome to the Forums. I totally agree with you about having a Tablet PC. I have a convertable one, not a slate. I was wondering how much of a pain it is to work with the slate and not have a keyboard? Or do you truck a keyboard around with you all the time? I animate mostly in Flash and use a ton of hotkeys so not having a keyboard is not really practical for me. I'm going to be testing out Plastic Animation Paper over the next month or so, I've played with it a bit before and I don't recall it having to many hotkeys. Is Mirage like that as well?

Just a disclaimer, I know you can get everything from the drop down menues in Flash, but after 6 years of using hotkeys, I can't find anything in the drop downs :P

I hope to see you around more in the future Chad.

Kdiddy, I'd go with the Cintiq. It's cheaper, unless you buy the 21 inch. But I'd buy a Tablet if your current computer is several years old. I just bought my desktop computer about a year ago, and the Tablet I just bought is faster than it is. Well except for the graphics card. Anyway, thats my take. Oh yeah, and you totally gotta try out a tablet PC if you can. I wasn't too sold on the thing till I tried it. After that, I was in love!

Aloha,
the Ape

...we must all face a choice, between what is right... and what is easy."

Hey there Ape!

Thanks for the welcome. I don't miss having a keyboard when I animate.

(I do have one that has a built in stand for the tablet, so I can use it as a laptop. The "hardtop keyboard" -snaps on as the lid.)

I use a playstation to USB adapter I bought, along with an "ascii grip" one-handed playstation controller, to flip frames, hit undo... and access several functions, I'd normally have to do strange key combinations to access on a keyboard. Using a software called "Joy-to-key" ( http://www.cartoonmonkey.com/joytokey.zip ) -I have re-mapped each joystick button to the key combination I need for each app. (Mirage, Flash, etc)

It's a great way to work, because it allows me to think less about the keyboard, and more about just animating.

And as for Mirage, the menus are totally customizable, so you can set it up however you want. -Having tried both PAP and Mirage.. Mirage is a far better program, and does SO much more, it's hard to explain..

-C

I forgot to mention, that the little red stand I use is called a "bookhug" and I got it at www.bookhug.com

It's great for drawing at a nice angle..

-C

What the hell is that thing, a Star Trek phaser?! Nice looking set up you got. I might have to get me one of those book hugs. Is Mirage Vector based?

Mahalo,
the Ape

...we must all face a choice, between what is right... and what is easy."

Kdiddy, I'd go with the Cintiq. It's cheaper, unless you buy the 21 inch. But I'd buy a Tablet if your current computer is several years old. I just bought my desktop computer about a year ago, and the Tablet I just bought is faster than it is. Well except for the graphics card. Anyway, thats my take. Oh yeah, and you totally gotta try out a tablet PC if you can. I wasn't too sold on the thing till I tried it. After that, I was in love!

Thanks for the advice. I have a pretty quick laptop and Intuos3 at the moment and I'm getting better at it, but I still have to have the undo key programmed into the side, because it doesn't do quite what I think it should yet.

I'm leaning towards getting a new desktop machine when I get back from this job. I love the portability of the laptop, but I really miss the size of a good monitor and being able to add on cards and harddrives to my hearts content (I'm a bit of a gadget junky). I'm also a bit of a clutz, so carrying around my drawing board as a computer makes me a little nervous. I guess I'm leaning towards the desktop and the cintiq setup. I'll have to find a Tablet to try out first though.

The real irony of my laptop is that I seem to have to deal with so many more cords than I did with my desktop (power cord, mouse/wacom, extra harddrives for video editing, etc.). They were all there before, I just didn't see them.

If only I were made of money then I could have it all. (sigh)

Producing solidily ok animation since 2001.
www.galaxy12.com

Now with more doodling!
www.galaxy12.com/latenight

Oh, I just thought of something. If you're at all mechanically inclined and want to make an extendable button box, you can try using a keyboard emulator and wire up your own box.

If you look up Mame controls or Ipaq controller, you'll find some good material on the subject. Then you can customize it to your hearts content. Probably, won't be as fancy as Chad's Star Trek Phaser attachment, but you have the pride of knowing you did it yourself.

If anyone's interested and having trouble finding links, let me know and I'll post some.

Producing solidily ok animation since 2001.
www.galaxy12.com

Now with more doodling!
www.galaxy12.com/latenight

Ape, -no Mirage is all bitmap. Think of it like animating in Painter, -only a lot fewer brushes (you can make your own) -but with multiple layers - filters, transparency, plugins.. and the list goes on..! The volumetric lighting is excellent as well.

I would say it's more like an after effects, built specifically for animation and animators. -Frame by frame control.
C

I've posted a full review of my Tablet PC on my blog at http://erikgirndt.blogspot.com/

Hey AA,

How many levels of sensativity does your toshiba have?

Lindsey Keess
Animator