At the small rural school where I work we send vector drawings from CorelDraw to our laser cutter, which does a great job in cutting out the drawing in wood. To get the vector drawing we usually scan an image, clean it up with PhotoPaint, convert it to vector with CorelTrace using centerline, clean this vector image up with CorelDraw and then send it to the laser. The scanning, cleaning up, tracing, and cleaning up again process is cumbersome; especially the centerline tracing process that creates lots of little lines that need to be deleted, straightened, etc.
I've experimented with a couple of tablet PC's, a Gateway and an Asus, with mixed results. I put the scanned image on one layer, then on another layer I traced it using the tablet pen. When this works as I want it to I quickly get a vector image that is ready for the laser. However the Gateway was hopeless, the pen did not work well at all. The Asus was much better but not as accurate as I would like. Maybe there is a tablet PC that someone uses in this fashion with CorelDraw? I've been looking at reviews of the Toshiba 700 and the Dell Latitude but nothing in what I read addresses this question directly.
What about a Wacom?
There are many, many of us that use a Wacom tablet.
I stopped using a mouse a very long ago.............and would never go back.
I don't know anything about Tablet PC's or what they offer above and beyond a Wacom, but I'm thinking this may be an option for you.
I know what you are going through. I work in a proto-type shop with lasers, water-jets, cnc's you name it we have it. The easy anser is there is no easy answer. You are doing exactly what you need to do to get the things done. I have a Toshiba M200 and a wacom tablet and for the kind of work that you are doing you would want the tablet pc or the wacom cintique. I am sorry to say there is no "easy" button and it is going to require effort on your (or your students) part to get the files the way you need them. It is SO SO much nicer drawing on the screen then using a mouse but it does take some getting used to and you are limited by the short cut keys you can use.
You don't need the pressure sensitivity of a Wacom tablet so a tablet pc is nice for that. If you do need sensitivity, then you would want to look into the Cintique. Hope this helps some..
bones
You can bypass so many headaches by learning how to draw and rebuild stuff properly in CorelDRAW. This inexpensive tutorial has saved me hundreds of hours. As the tutorial's author, you have my permission to show your students, as I'm certain it will dramatically change their CorelDRAW experience. It also comes with a macro that allows you to level and straighten selected nodes using shortcut keys. However.. not sure if the macro will work in V 12. But, the drawing method works in any version of CorelDRAW.
Today, no matter how complex a piece of artwork is, I can rebuild it fearlessly & perfectly. The result will also have minimum nodes, which is very important for certain production processes such as vinyl cutting.
standingwave said: The scanning, cleaning up, tracing, and cleaning up again process is cumbersome; especially the centerline tracing process that creates lots of little lines that need to be deleted, straightened, etc.
Hi,Without a doubt I would only suggest and recomend Wacom tablets.When it comes to digital tablets thats the few times when I say there is only one choice. And its Wacom tablets. A Japanes invention and company. A quality product that rocks. I have workded DIGITALLY since 1997 as an illustrator and graphic designer. And my own personal experince is that Wacom is the best. There are so many reasons for it. And I wrote about it (in English & Swedish) on my blog connected to my website twice. Latest was from the Swedish/European release of the new Wacom Intuos4 tablet. http://stefanlindblad-english.blogspot.com/2009/03/wacom-intuos4-illustrators-wet-dream.html
I useally never like when people says "there is only one business standard". But this is the time I do.Wacom is used probably to 99% by all professional illustrators working with tablets in the movie and computer game business, as well as other illustration businesses.Wacom Intuos4 is the latest version and the professional one.Wacom Intuos3 was the equivalent before it.And they come in different sizes.If you like to lower the price range, then go for the Wacom Bamboo line.WacomBambo rocks as well.All tablets are very well made. In techniqal as well as durable and a feeling of robust made. Light to carry and handle yes, but you feel that its actually well made in its chassi.
http://www.wacom.com
Jeff Harrison said:Today, no matter how complex a piece of artwork is, I can rebuild it fearlessly & perfectly.
I also enjoy redrawing a logo or etc. It's such a fascinating experience for me, but it gives me plenty of headaches when something is not clear in the Original like this:
How do you cope up with this kind of a situation? Looking forward for ur precious words of wisdom....