Raif Wallpaper - Shiny

So I was recently able to obtain a new tablet. My old one still functions but the surface chipped a while ago in a really annoying spot. And while it hasn't kept me from drawing, I've known for a while I'd have to replace it at some point (though it's not even that old - it feels like the lifespan of these things is shrinking).

Anyway, recently I've started to have issues with the cable. The cable itself seems fine, but I think it's the connecting port that is the issue. And several times recently I've had to fight with it to get it to work.

That is a problem that I don't want to deal with as I start wrapping up the draft of Stars because once I start releasing episodes, a lot of my work is going to be focused on art. And I do not want my tablet to go out when I'm at that point of development.

Long story short, I decided to preemptively get a new tablet.

I've been thinking for a while about whether I should "upgrade" from a graphics tablet to a screen-based drawing tablet.

In the past, I've had a lot of issues with screen-based tablets. The parallax issues with them give me a headache and I haven't really liked the feel of drawing on a screen.

But they obviously come with benefits. Like being able to have a more natural drawing posture and view of what you're drawing. The control and precision that you have when your drawing is ON the same surface you're also drawing on is quite different than when you're using a graphics tablet and drawing on one surface while you drawing is appearing on a monitor.

So ultimately I decided that I would try to upgrade and hope for the best.

This wallpaper was because I was trying out the new tablet basically.

And my thoughts are that...

It has the benefits and drawbacks I expected.

Drawing on it gave me a mild headache, as expected. I'm hoping that as I get used to using it, it will stop doing that. Tablets have come a long way and the parallax issues are minimal compared to even a few years ago so I am hoping that my eyes get used to it.

The surface (which is textured) is still SO smooth. Textured screen protectors come with their own issues so I'm not sure I want to spend money on one. We'll see.

But of course, as expected, the level of control for drawing is on another level. And even I didn't realise how much I was having to compensate for the limitations of a graphics tablet until I used this one.

Overall, I think the benefits outweigh the drawbacks - especially if my eyes can get used to the screen and the headache issue diminishes.

I was still able to draw for a long time yesterday despite the headache - it was very mild. But sometimes doing things like zooming in and out would still make me dizzy. Ha ha.

ANYWAY. That is the story behind why this artwork exists.

So we all benefit by having Pretty!Raif.

I love the idea that he's this sort of rough, rugged seeming person when you see him at work - when he's "The Head Engineer" - but he's much softer outside of work. I really like being able to show those two sides of him through artwork.

As usual, you can find several different sizes and crops of this image in the attachments.