REVIEW – Almost everybody knows what an iPad is. It’s become ubiquitous in our tech-centered lives. What almost everybody does not know is that there are tablets out there artists use that aren’t iPads at all. In fact, these tablets need to be hard-wired to a computer just to work. A company called XP-Pen makes […]
REVIEW – Color is big business. It’s something most of us take for granted, but getting the color right can be quite complicated. It doesn’t matter if we’re talking about paint colors, or the space gray of a MacBook Pro; in either case, there’s someone (or many someones) behind getting that exact shade right. It’s
Datacolor ColorReader EZ review – Match and find paint colors in a click Read More
NEWS – We remodeled the main level of our home at the end of 2019 and we still haven’t put up any artwork on the walls. Why? I’m afraid I’ll get tired of it. Today I want to show you a solution for art boredom. It’s called Movie Moving Sand Art and they are framed
Unique moving art for your walls never gets old Read More
REVIEW – For eons (in computer time), Wacom has dominated the graphics and display tablet market. However, over the last few years, the competition has been heating up and this is good for the industry and especially for customers. XP-Pen is a tablet company that has been striving to become the David to Wacom’s Goliath
REVIEW – Anyone who does art, design, or photo retouching on a computer knows the name Wacom. Wacom has made graphics tablets for years. I’ve used them for at least 20 years starting with the Intuos 2 tablet. Eventually, I upgraded to the Intuos Pro, which I still use occasionally. However, many artists and designers
Wacom Cintiq Pro 24 Pen Display review – It’s not called “Pro” for nothing Read More
NEWS – Do you own a Chromebook laptop? If you do and you’re a student (or not), Wacom has a deal for you. Wacom is making its pen tablets and displays available to Chromebook users. While not all of their tablets are compatible yet, the One by Wacom is the first pen tablet to receive
Chromebook and Wacom: A partnership made in digital heaven Read More
REVIEW – As an art director who lives and breathes Adobe art apps, I’ve come to depend on graphics tablets to get work done. My livelihood depends on them—period. After years of using various Wacom Intuos tablets, I’ve only recently moved to display tablets—starting with the Wacom Cintiq 16 and then the Cintiq 22. For
XP-Pen Artist 24 Pro Drawing Pen Display review – A dream monitor you can draw on Read More
NEWS – If you’re thinking about getting a graphics drawing tablet for a loved one or for yourself this holiday season, you might want to try the XP Pen Artist 13.3 Pro tablet. This laptop-sized tablet has a built-in color monitor that you can draw on when connected to either a laptop or desktop computer.
Gift idea: XP Pen 13.3 Artist Pro Holiday Edition graphics tablet Read More
CROWDFUNDING NEWS – Last year I told you about the successfully funded crowdfunding campaign for the Ddiin MAGCON drawing tool. This year they are back with the EXLICON, the multi-tool of drawing and design tools. What is it? EXLICON is a versatile multi-functional set of drawing tools that help you draw perfect circles, ovals/ellipses, hexagons,
REVIEW – This is the second part of my review of the XP-Pen Innovator 16 Graphic Display . The first part of the review was technical and focused upon the tablet itself. This part is more artistic and focuses on the reactions of three young artists who used the Innovator for the first time. They
XP-Pen Innovator Display 16 drawing digitizer display review – Part 2 Read More
REVIEW – Artists who transition from physical mediums, like paper and canvas, to the digital world quickly learn how inadequate a mouse is. It just doesn’t feel natural in the hand compared to a pencil or a paintbrush. To overcome this issue, an artist can draw on a graphics tablet with a pen (aka a
XP-Pen Innovator Display 16 drawing digitizer display review – Part 1 Read More
NEWS – I’m an avid doodler/wannabe artist/stationery addict. So I’m always surfing for cool new notebooks, pens, and markers. Imagine my surprise when I stumbled upon Scorch Markers which let you do pyrography without a wood-burning tool. If you’re not familiar with pyrography, it’s an art method where you use an electric “pen” to burn
This marker burns wood! Read More
NEWS – When I was a kid, my parents didn’t have money to buy me LEGO sets even though I begged for them each Christmas. When I became an adult, I bought lots of sets for myself, but now those bricks live in tubs somewhere in my garage. Every so often, I think about all
Create real art with LEGO Read More
REVIEW – Whenever I am working on something like writing reviews, editing pictures to remove small blemishes, etc, I am always looking for the most efficient way. Also, while I am not an artist, drawing design concepts for my ideas for 3D prints could really use a better option than pen on paper and then
XP-Pen Star G960S Plus Digitizer Tablet review Read More
REVIEW – We recently did a complete remodel of the upper level of our house, but even though it’s been done for several months, we have yet to hang any artwork back on the walls. Why? We’re mainly afraid that we’ll make a mistake getting multiple framed art pieces to line up. That’s where a
NEWS – I’ve been fascinated with tattoos my entire life. I even have several of my own. Ok, I don’t have any traditional tattoos. I have several positioning dots on my chest from breast cancer radiation treatments. They might not be works of art, but I’m still counting them as tattoos because they were painful
Prinker prints custom waterproof tattoos directly on your skin Read More
NEWS – I don’t know if gears and springs make insects less scary, but they sure make them a heck of a lot more interesting. Check out these awesome sculptures from Insect Lab. Made from non-endangered, threatened, or black market insects, along with metal gears, springs, screws, etc retrieved from watches, sewing machines, and more.
Insect Lab uses real insects in their steampunk bug sculptures Read More
NEWS – Artists who use pencils as their medium will be interested in learning more about battery powered erasers. Yeah, who knew? Not me! But apparently, battery powered erasers are a thing. Like the AFMAT battery powered eraser shown above, they are powered by batteries (big surprise!) and they give you finer control over your
Add some power to your erasing Read More
REVIEW – Last year, I reviewed the Wacom Cintiq 16 tablet, which was (at the time), Wacom’s entry-level tablet with a built-in display. Now, there’s an even newer (and cheaper) Wacom One display tablet which almost makes the Cintiq 16 irrelevant. But this isn’t a review of the Wacom One (that comes later). This is
Wacom Cintiq 22 display tablet review – A digital artist’s dream Read More
NEWS – Have you ever found yourself holding up papers to your window to try and trace a design? Do you ever need some extra light for crafting purposes? Or do you have some old photo negatives you would like to look at? A light pad may be a product that interests you. Lightweight and
Litenergy Portable Light Box lighting the way you craft Read More