First of all, I am having an amazing year artistically. I'm more productive than I've ever been and I love it! My art has gained a little traction & a wider audience - all good news. I was also asked to contribute to the 2018 Paper Doll Convention souvenir pack. (if you want a set, you can order it here. I probably should!!) Pretty great, right?!
Anyone who has read this silly little blog over the years has contributed to this and I am forever grateful.
(Sounds like I'm quitting, right?! Don't panic. I'm not!!)
This week, I've been having some tech issues that have really affected my productivity. I use a Surface Pro 3 with the full Adobe CC suite...and I pay about $800 a year for that "privilege". Recently, Microsoft rolled out a Windows update that broke the way my digitizing pen works in Photoshop. Adobe has not fixed it yet - I'm not the only one having trouble - and has not fixed it in the last six months or so that people have been complaining about it. It just hit me yesterday. So basically, the only way I can draw in Photoshop is if I hold the button down on my pen while using it. It's an economical nightmare. My wrist aches. I may not be able to draw again until Monday!!
Essentially, this means my current year-long series is on hiatus until either 1) Microsoft fixes the pen software that it just rolled out (it probably won't) 2) Adobe patches the problem Microsoft created (more likely but not immediate) or 3) I find software to replace Photoshop, Illustrator, and Adobe Acrobat (not Reader, the full version - I use it to format prints and books).
The good news is that this does not affect the collaboration project. I mainly use ArtRage for that and I think I can do everything in ArtRage that I would do in Photoshop. It also does not affect new projects because I can plan to do those entirely in ArtRage at least for the time being. And I may be able to get this all back up and running in no time.
I'd LOVE suggestions for professional-grade software. Really not happy with Adobe at the moment. If I find a suitable alternative, I'll share that, too.
Til then, here's the second sheet in the April set. I'm hoping to get back up on track soon!!
I use Adobe CC at school but Adobe CS5 at home. I prefer the older version, which I bought as a student with the discount, and it saves the 'monthly' fee of CC. I've never had problems with my current drawing tablet (though I want to replace it, it's a bit too big for my desk so it's always on the floor) Look forward to seeing your art in the Convention Package, I will be attending the Seattle convention this year. And keep up awesome project!
ReplyDeleteI've been using AdobeCC for as long as its been out. The old versions are still just fine and I would have stayed with CS6 but I switched from Mac to PC when the Surface came out & my CS6 package was Mac. I had no choice really but to switch to the subscription service.
DeleteAnd the price has been going up since!
The problem I have is that Microsoft changed the code for how digitizing pens interact with the computer and the only problems I'm having are in Photoshop. If I were using a Wacom tablet, it probably wouldn't be an issue. I moved away from Wacom so that I could draw directly on my screen. I would highly recommend looking into a tablet computer when you decide to upgrade. It's been amazing drawing directly on the screen and my art has improved because of it. I'm testing out some new software so hopefully I can get back to the project at hand!
I wish I could go to Seattle! I have too many responsibilities here at home but I hope you have fun! Take lots of pics :)
I wish I had a suggestion. I've used Adobe CS5 for years, and I've never switched to the subscription version. I wish you luck! I know I've had a lot of frustrations when my computer doesn't "behave" like it should.
ReplyDeleteI have some software I'm going to test out this week. In a way, this might be a good thing. The Adobe subscription is ridiculous - my math was off, it's closer to $650 than it is $800 but still - and if I can reduce my cost while keeping the same quality, then it's worth it!
DeleteI ran across your paper dolls via Pinterest and saved quite a few of dolls hopefully to be used by parents with young children. I have had a life long love of paper dolls and am happy to see them done with the same model & pose in different ethnicities and varying clothing. One of the things I hated as a child was you could never find additional clothes for your most love paper doll!
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing!
Oh, if you are a Mac user, check out the iPad pro with the pencil. Is great for artwork. A great competing app on the iPad Pro is Pro Create for about $6.00. It does layers like photoshop. Also, check out astro pad which allows you to draw on your tablet and see it on the screen.
Another suggestion is, do you REALLY need the entire CS suite when Photoshop might be all you need. Would save you a lot of money. I don't care for this monthly pricing scheme and would prefer Photoshop when back to the disc method.
Again, thanks for sharing.
I'm so glad you found my paper dolls! One of the original goals for this blog was to have a massive mix-and-match collection. I've moved away from that in the last few years, but it's something I'm still really proud of! (And the Etsy shop has a bunch of them as well as the ability to request custom orders!)
DeleteI was once a Mac user. When the Surface came out I jumped over to that. Overall, I'm happier with Windows than I am Apple. I've heard good things about ProCreate but it's not quite for me.
I've been thinking about whether or not I need the whole Adobe suite and sadly, I think I do. I use Photoshop and Illustrator every day, Acrobat probably monthly, and InDesign a few times a year. If Adobe had a Photoshop/Illustrator/Acrobat tier, that would be ideal but they don't. I'm not happy with the subscription either, but they're making a fortune from it.
I'll keep e3xploring options -- that's for the ideas & I'm glad you love the dolls!