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9 yr old son loves to draw and was trying to do flipbook animations on an old smartphone of mine

New Here ,
Apr 04, 2020 Apr 04, 2020

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Hey all! 

    I'm new to this community and Adobe, and I'm here to get advice about a device for my son. I was looking at Microsoft Surfaces because my mom has one, I know it has a pen to draw, and I've seen advertisements. Upon further reading, thankfully I stumbled here! 

    I was hoping one of you could give me advice about what kind of device would be suitable for starting his journey. He was pretty frustrated/discouraged by attempting to draw without his hand touching the screen, lol. I played around too, and I can understand! 

    I don't have the funds to spend much over 500, and I was looking online at older, refurbished models but would like some advice before I buy something.

Thanks in advance!

 

Rachelle

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How to , Other , Tablet

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correct answers 1 Correct answer

Guru , Apr 05, 2020 Apr 05, 2020

Hi Rachelle,

 

There are, generally speaking, 3 types of devices that can be used for drawing/animation.

 

1. Tablet computers such as the Surface Pro or Wacom Companion

2. Pen displays which are a screen that you draw on with a pen, but has to be plugged into a computer, for example Wacom Cintiq.

3. Drawing tablets which are put on the desk, plugged into a computer and you draw on the desk while looking at the computer display, for example Wacom Intuos Pro.

 

Tablet computers are very expensive and age

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Guru ,
Apr 05, 2020 Apr 05, 2020

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Hi Rachelle,

 

There are, generally speaking, 3 types of devices that can be used for drawing/animation.

 

1. Tablet computers such as the Surface Pro or Wacom Companion

2. Pen displays which are a screen that you draw on with a pen, but has to be plugged into a computer, for example Wacom Cintiq.

3. Drawing tablets which are put on the desk, plugged into a computer and you draw on the desk while looking at the computer display, for example Wacom Intuos Pro.

 

Tablet computers are very expensive and age fast.

Better use a desktop or laptop computer that can be upgraded or replaced and plug in the drawing device as a peripheral.

Pen displays also age faster than simple drawing tablets while at the same time are much more expensive.

 

For a young boy I would suggest a drawing tablet. It only takes two days to get used to drawing on the desk while looking at the screen. 

Wacom are the most famous and reputable brand that has been producing such devices for decades.

But there are also alternatives.

I would recommend this youtube channel which has many reviews of such devices. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hv2dpHkLAOE&list=PLucoL_7WoAgCk6ovscKPeynmkY2paGHUz&index=3

His reviews are really good and you will get an idea what the devices do and what to look for when choosing; also prices.

 

Apart from the drawing hardware, you also need drawing software.

I don't think an Adobe monthly subscription is justified in any way.

There are excellent free alternatives such as Krita or Fire Alpaca for drawing/painting; Krita as far as I know has animation capabilities too; and some simple animation programs such as Wick Editor which will be good enough to start exploring.

Later on as he grows, he will find out more about different types of software and in a year or two you can think about paid options if his interest does not dwindle.

 

I'd also like to recommend Preston Blair's Advanced Animation, first edition which has entered the public domain.

https://animationresources.org/instruction-preston-blairs-advanced-animation/

It is one of the best books on animation ever published.

You can buy more recent extended versions of it which are still in print.

 

Hope this information is helpful.

 

Best of luck to your son and you!

 

Nick - Character Designer and Animator, Flash user since 1998
Member of the Flanimate Power Tools team - extensions for character animation

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