Will I "get used to" a wacom tablet for coastlines?

[OverlordShanbo]

Hey guys, I bought myself a wacom tab a few weeks ago and I'm loving it's functionality. It's great and really easy to use with plenty of easily accessible customisation options that make life easy for my doodling. The problem with it is that I'm finding it really hard to enjoy actually drawing with it. I've looked up a few videos that show you how to custom map functions and figured out how to portion off sections so I'm not zooming all around the tablet all the time, like a mouse.

The problem is, anytime I go to start drawing something, it doesn't (and this is going to sound silly, because it's not) feel like pen and paper. I draw coastlines and they feel robotic. I'm used to using a 0.05 Micron pen and on paper, I love making detailed coastlines that crumble in and out and turn into bays and headlands. I just find on Photoshop that any coastline I try to draw looks clinical. Like I'm trying to make it look organic and natural, but either the program, the tablet or my hand isn't working properly and I'm coming out with something that has far too many straight looking edges and doesn't have the 'natural' look I manage to get with paper and pen.

So the question is, have you guys experienced this? What did you do to get over it? Did you get over it? Or do some people just end up not enjoying drawing with a tablet and use PS for things like painting and shading? If I'm honest, if I can't get the right feel for drawing a coastline, I've no idea how I'm gonna draw single trees and tiny details.

For the sake of accuracy, I'm using Photoshop CS6 with a Wacom Intuos tablet on Windows 8.

[igoroh]

I have a Wacom tablet as well though I draw in Sketchbook Pro 7 and Paint.NET, and on Windows 10 (7 until a few months back). I think it's all in your head, just like with pen on paper you have to exercise a bit with it, draw a few maps, maybe a portrait here and there and you'll be amazed. My girlfriend got a tablet herself a week ago and she's already showing great progress. All you have to do is think positive and build up some confidence and exercise.

Sent from my SM-T530NU using Tapatalk

[Jaxilon]

It gets better. I think it feels a little different just because it's a slicker surface and nib but that's not what I think is bugging you. I'm wondering if you have your settings right? If your machine is low end power it might skip some of the input and give you a more direct line which isn't what you want. I don't know if you are using the pencil or the paintbrush. Personally I like the paintbrush more, it feels more natural. But then I also play around finding the right width one to work with. I typically turn on the pressure settings as well so I control how dark the lines are as well as how wide they come in based on how I press the stylus down, etc.

Drawing coastlines you might also want to select the brush and set a bit of scatter and/or jitter to help you get what you are after. I don't think it's that your hand doesn't draw it but the software may be ignoring some of your natural jitter, maybe not. I don't think I have the same problems you are mentioning but it did take me a bit to get used to.

There are also different stylus nibs that you might want to try. One of them is sort of a cardboard like material and it feels very much like a pencil sliding on paper.

If you don't turn on "Pressure for opacity" and "Pressure for size" I think you do get a more clinical outcome. So try those first.

[RobA]

Also - which Wacom tablet did you get? Some have switchable nibs to give different feels - harness and scratchiness.
For a while I also taped a piece of paper on top of my drawing area to give it a less slick feel, until I got more used to it.

-Rob A>