Page 82 - 3D Artist 110 - 2017 UK

Wacom Intuos Pro

Wacom Intuos Pro

Wacom’s latest offering may persuade you to trade
in your traditional pen-and-paper workflow for good

hen unboxing Wacom’s Intuos Pro the medium version sports a slightly smaller
medium, irst impressions were a mix physical footprint than its predecessor and yet
Wbetween thoughts about how great the gains a larger active area. Depending on your desk
tablet looks, and concerns over how long it will size you could place it alongside your keyboard if
stay that way before becoming marked, scuffed you prefer not to use the ExpressKeys and touch
and worn. In the box you’ll also ind the new ring. However, taking advantage of these
Wacom Pro Pen 2, a stand, four coloured pen rings time-saving features and shortcuts is far more
and a cable. Documentation mainly consists of a productive. It’s also wireless, with Bluetooth 4.2
couple of diagrams showing how to use the stand, helping you to declutter your desktop and work
which conveniently houses both the nibs and can from your sofa.
be used to extract a nib from the pen. Lastly there the Wacom Pro Pen 2 is incredibly responsive
are samples of rough, standard and smooth but feels slightly too sensitive with the default
texture sheets. the sheets (sold separately) stick settings. once set up, it does provide a very natural
to the tablet work area, replacing the existing feel when drawing concept designs, texture
surface with a new texture, allaying fears of painting and sculpting, and it performed well in
marking the tablet. the backing is of the ‘peel-off- Photoshop, Painter, mari, maya and ZBrush during
and-throw-away’ variety, which is problematic if testing, although that was after a few hours of
you chose to peel it off to switch between textures. getting used to it. there is very little noticeable lag,
It would prolong the pen nibs’ lifespan if the tablet which can be a problem with cheaper tablets, and
shipped with the default smooth surface applied. the pen is comfortable in your hand for long stints,
Before use it’s necessary to install drivers and providing superb pressure responsiveness and
irmware updates. once done you’ll want to open giving you innate control and precision for
a Wacom account then hop into the Wacom detailing. tilt recognition and 8,192 levels of
Desktop center and ine-tune how the tablet pressure come into play the more you use it and
functions to your preferences. Ignoring the fairly is a noticeable gain compared to cheaper tablets
pointless set-up wizard, the other options provide on the market. Being 13.2 x 8.5 x 0.3 inches and
a wealth of useful customisation tweaks, including: lightweight it’s ideal for freelancers on the go,
on-screen controls; orientation settings that are and the battery life is reasonable, allowing for a
ergonomically designed for left and right-handed full day’s work.
artists; touch settings for multi-touch gestures to the Pen’s stand however doesn’t grip the Pen
navigate around your project; and ExpressKeys suitably and it’s prone to being knocked over easily.
and touch ring functions, providing handy It can be laid lat, but this doesn’t really solve the
shortcuts that during testing became preferable to issue. Inside the stand base you’ll ind the nibs; to
keyboard hotkeys for speed. It does take time to open it you have to twist the base, but there isn’t
adapt to the many features the tablet is capable of, much grip to make this an easy process and it’s
which underlines its suitability for professional use quite stiff to open until it has been more worn in.
and fast worklow. Paul Champion

The Medium version
sports a slightly smaller
physical footprint than
its predecessor and
yet gains a larger
active area

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