the crystal tablet predicts

Well it's unofficial, desktops are ancient technology, laptops are old school, and tablets are very hot. Not knocking smart phones, the 10 inch tablet is a tad bit smaller than a standard sheet of paper.

The 10 inch screen is just big enough, the virtual keyboard is fine but with a dock and wireless keyboard, ooh! Looked under the hood (via spec sheet), dual or quad cores for multi-tasking, solid-state memory, flat long life batteries, touch and stylus technology.

Beats the heck out of a slate and piece of chalk. I got ebooks I am actually reading, instructional video clips. I can jot notes like I do in my paper sketchbooks.

This thing is about 3/16" thick. This means they could add a lot of technology and it would be just a little thicker. Come on, its not as thick as a good book yet, can't imagine what else they could put in this thing. It does most of what most people do on a cellphone and computer, just not with big honking hardware.

I got a pic I've been working on, learning how to draw on the tablet. The app is called ArtFlow. It is free from the Google Play app store and only $4.99 to unlock extra features. Lookie!

This is a quonset hut studio with a two cargo container living quarters on the side.

You know you can read all the tutorials you want but the real training starts when you start adjusting and tweaking things while you work through your own ideas. Usually I don't plan to make a pretty picture, just capture the idea, after all it is a sketch and I'm not thinking about a career in architectural rendering. Ha ha I'm free of that kind of striving. Now my artistic stuff I usually use a vector app and there I do aim for a bit of polish.

So here I started with a light pen line adding heavier strokes then using the air brush for washes. Some folks make good use of layers, I have to practice that. You can block out shapes on one layer and more definite forms on the next using the first layer as a guide. When you erase stuff often you worry you can't make the new stuff you draw match the stuff already there. This is just a mind trick, you drew the first part, you are drawing the new part, the SAME PERSON. Just like on paper you blend it together and move on. It takes a little time to wrap your head around drawing on a tablet. I think Deviant Art still has a tablet boot camp tutorial on their site to get you use to digital drawing.

I used CAD tools in my working life, a kind of vector drawing. Very different from this freehand drawing. Exploring and learning is very interesting.