Mouse Verses Tablet

A question I have been asked many times in the past is do I use a tablet for drawing and is it much better than using a mouse?

For 20 years I had used a mouse for general computer usage and also for all vector work in Adobe illustrator. I had always thought that using a mouse to control the Pen Tool was far more accurate for vector work than using any other method.

A few years back I decided to buy a tablet solely for the purpose of drawing in Adobe Illustrator. It wasn’t a very expensive tablet and I found the surface to be very scratchy when I drew on it with the pen. I tried it on and off over a couple weeks but just couldn’t get the hang of it and eventually gave up and went back to using the mouse. I simply couldn’t get the accuracy and control that I could with the mouse.

Anyway, year after this I started to suffer from RSI (repetitive strain injury), which became more and more painful as the day went on. So I needed to try and find ways to solve this problem. So I bought a better quality, more expensive chair, used a wrist support, bought a voice recognition software package (to cut down on typing), but although all of this did help a little it still never got rid of the pain completely.

Then one day I read an article about how a tablet and pen can help reduce RSI pain. Out of desperation I bought another tablet, although this time I spent a bit more and purchased a Wacom Intuos. This was much better than the previous cheap one I had used. The surface was much smoother and didn’t have that ‘scratchy’ feel to it like the previous one.

Of course at first I had the same problems that I had previously had, struggling to control it accurately. But I did notice that it felt very comfortable and I wasn’t getting the same pain as when using the mouse. Holding the Pen doesn’t twist your wrist round unnaturally the same as it would if you were using a mouse. For occasional use this wouldn’t be a problem, but if like me you’re working silly hours that’s when the problems start with arm and wrist pains or RSI.

So this time I decided to give it a proper chance. I unplugged the mouse completely and used the Tablet for everything, not just drawing, but also for general computer usage. The first 2 weeks was a real struggle. But then after about a month I started to find I was gaining more and control of the Pen and so from then on I realised that this was the way to go for me.

3 months later I seemed to have complete control using the Pen and tablet. Right clicking, scrolling, everything is now second nature and best of all my RSI problem has disappeared! Also I’m finding drawing in Illustrator or using the brush tool in Photoshop much easier and it feels more natural. Not only that, but as a bonus I find I have more control when sketching on paper using a pen or pencil.

My Wacom tablet only cost about $120 and I’m very happy with it, but there are more expensive tablets which can cost several hundred dollars. I’ve never tried any of these so I couldn’t say whether it would be worth the extra expense I also recently bought a Wacom Cintiq screen, although I haven’t had the time yet to try it properly. You will need to buy nibs for your pen as these do wear out. But I’ve used one pack of 5 which cost $7 for 2 months. They will vary how long they last depending on how you use it.

So between the Mouse and the Graphics Tablet I obviously prefer the tablet. But if you’re only an occasional computer user then it might not be worth switching as you may get frustrated trying to get accustomed to it. But for full time users, especially if you work with graphics, I would recommend a graphics tablet, especially if you’re starting to get wrist problems.

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Copying a WordPress Website

Copying or moving a WordPress site to a different domain

This is a simplified 7 step process showing the main steps of moving or copying your domain.

Login to the backend of your WordPress site and deactivate all plugins. (Sometimes leaving them activated can cause problems).
Go to File Manager via Cpanel, and open the public_html folder. Select all and zip. Download the zip file and make sure to delete the copy on the server.
In the new domain go to Cpanel and then to MySQL Database and create a new database. Also create a new user and make a note of the password. Add the user to the new database.
In the new domain go to File Manager and update the wpconfig.php file with the new database name, new user and new password from step 3.
In the old domain, in Cpanel go to MyPHPadmin and download the SQL file.
Open in Notepad++ or similar and do a search and replace to change all instances of the old domain with the new domain.
In the new domain, via MyPHPadmin, select the new empty database you created and then upload the amended SQL file.

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Tips when ordering a Logo Design

If you decide to have a logo designed professionally always make sure it’s a vector drawn graphic. A vector drawn logo can be scaled to any size and will always remain sharp and so you’ll be able to use it for just about any purpose, such as large format banners, signage and vehicle graphics. The most common vector file types are AI (Illustrator native format), EPS and pdf.

Your company logo will probably be used for a variety of different purpose. You may use it for stationery, signage, web site banners and various promotional items such as T-shirts, mugs and flyers. Your logo needs to look good for all of these different media types, from being shrunk down to business card size and then enlarged to fit the side of a truck. Our advice is to keep it simple and don’t go for over complicated designs, not only are they less memorable but also may not be suitable for certain types of media such as embroidery. You may also have to pay extra for printing costs etc. Think about some of the most famous logos, McDonalds, Nike, they are 2 good examples of simple, striking, memorable logos.

Nevertheless this doesn’t mean you need to settle for a plain, boring logo, you can still have a nice eye catching logo design whilst remaining practical and functional. The trick is to get the balance right. A good logo will look good on any medium and should also look good in just black and white. When choosing colours, I would suggest sticking to no more than 2 or 3 different colours, choosing too many can make the logo appear confusing. You should also consider your current company colour scheme and make sure the colours for your logo design tie in with your corporate branding.

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Logo Design Brief

Whether a certain logo design is a great logo or not is a difficult question to answer. There’s no right or wrong answer as beauty is in the eye of the beholder. With just about anything in life, what looks good to one person may not look good to someone else. The same applies to a company logos. So as you can imagine it can be difficult sometimes when designing a logo for another company or individual as the design has to appeal to their personal taste.

It can be difficult at times providing freelance logo design services. There have been occasions in the past where I’ve been given hardly any information or brief regarding the type of logo the customer requires, so I’ve had to try and guess what type of company logo style they would like. What I tend to do on these occasions is to think about designing the graphic logo, as if it was for my own company. I’ll design something that I think would look good using my judgement. After all, they must have liked my portfolio or logo design gallery to approach me in the first place, so there’s a good chance they’re going to like what I come up with. But even without hardly any guidance, I can sometimes get a feel for the style of logo that a customer would like.

For example, the client may have given me an existing web site address which I find can be very useful. Just by browsing through a few pages of their site, a designer can gain a lot of useful information, to help with the design of the client’s logo. The general look of the site may be futuristic, colourful, simple, homely, businesslike or a complete mess! Also, colours and font styles can give ideas and guidance.

To make things easier for myself and also not waste my clients’ time, it’s always best to obtain as much information as possible from the start. Otherwise both parties may find themselves on a long haul trying figure out what type of logo they actually want. Which just leads to frustration all round. So it’s always advisable to supply a detailed Logo brief, by filling out my online Logo Design form, I should then have enough information to help me design your custom logo.