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Graphics Tablet for Dave, Goal Update
04/11/15 19:49
The first processed donation from my Fundraiser will arrive on November 8th. As they come in, I intend to spend them on ancillary support-items from the list below. This is to prevent the (unlikely) situation where I might hit a Big Expensive Target, realise that I then need to buy all the support-items and have to start the begging process all over again.
The remainder of the balance (whatever it ends up as) will be spent on the Fundraiser's primary goal - the best graphics-input device possible.
Based roughly on the current balance, here's the list with ballpark prices:
- The best graphics-input device possible. (Quality and price of this will rise directly with the donation balance.) I really like the Huion 1060 Plus. Everything I've read up on it says the spec and build-quality are pretty much identical to an Intuos Pro, at a fraction of the price. £70.
- A copy of Manga Studio 5, which seems the ideal thing for the sort of comicy think I wanna do. £20.00
- A paid upgrade for Comics Life, which I use for caption-text and bannering. £10.00
- A basic flatbed scanner, for physical art and to OCR book text that I don't have on file electronically. The CanoScan LiDE 220 appears to work with El Capitan. £65.00
- Basic external backup drive. (I'm forever saving over the wrong thing and losing two hours work.) £40.00
- An optical drive. My iMac doesn't have one, and I have a whole bunch of old stuff I burned on optical discs. And since you can get a Blu-Ray drive relatively cheaply, I'm gonna say a Blu-Ray external for like £35.00
- A digital camera, of some description, since the only way I currently have of taking photos is an ancient phone. Given that absolutely anything would be a step up, I'm gonna say £30.
- A USB-hub to plug it all into. £20
- A cheapo Argos workstation/desk to put it all on. £40
(Optional, if the final balance stretches to a graphics monitor rather than a simple tablet: A tiny, secondary little pad-tablet, which is like the equivalent of pouncing stuff down in a sketchbook rather than painting it on a canvas. £25.00.
Given the nature of computer stuff, there's always a Better Version of every single thing on the list, and that's where any excess will go. Barring some glaring omission I haven't thought of, this is what I would like to spend the current balance on. Any thoughts, suggestions and discussion would be gratefully received.
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Graphics Tablet for Dave Update
02/11/15 12:49
What with The Begging being somewhat more successful than I anticipated, I thought I'd set down in detail what I'd like to spend the money on, so we all know where we stand. There's still maybe a week to go - and I have no idea what might happen over it - so, hypothetically and in descending order of impossibility, here are the stretch-goals ...
- Ultimately, in my dreams, a Cintiq plugged into a MacBook Pro. On my own private island. On the Moon. No point in having a completely unrealistic dream if you don't dream big.
- Slightly more realistically (if only slightly) the Surface Pro 4 is coming out in a week or two. And. It. Is. Gorgeous. One of those would - in one swoop - provide graphical input, an inline monitor, extra storage and not to mention all the extra advantages of being effectively a laptop. That's on the order of like £1,000 ... lottery-win improbable, I feel, but at least within the bounds of possibility, if only barely.
- More reasonably, it's a toss up between a low-end Cintiq and an end-of-line Surface Pro 3 (the price of which is already coming down). That's in the ballpark of £600. Two days into The Begging and I'm a third of the way there. So I'm gonna call this a goal to aim for without being hopelessly unrealistic.
- Current stretch-goal stage is a proper workstation-style graphics monitor, rather than a basic tablet. I have my eye on a Ugee for around £350. As we speak, I'm nearly two thirds of the way there.
Whatever happens, The Begging has at least a week left to run before donations are processed and I see any money at all. If I were to cash the balance in right now, I'd have funding for the following bare-bones setup:
- A 10 x 6.5 Tablet. I really like the Huion 1060 Plus. Everything I've read up on it says the spec and build-quality are pretty much identical to an Intuos Pro, at a fraction of the price. £70.
- A copy of Manga Studio 5, which seems the ideal all-round package for the comicy-style illustrative stuff I want to do. £20.
- A paid upgrade for Comics Life, which I use for caption-text and bannering. £10.
- A basic flatbed scanner, for physical art and to OCR book text that I don't have on file electronically. The CanoScan LiDE 220 appears to work with El Capitan. £65.
- Basic external backup drive. (I'm forever saving over the wrong thing and losing two hours work.) £40.
That basic setup will morph if and when I approach being able to pay for the next primary stretch-goal stage, and round things out when there's no immediate hope of reaching the next one. The point being that every penny will go to producing the best creative setup I can.
Words cannot express - said the man claiming to be a writer - my gratitude to those who are funding me. I'm putting this up to say exactly where I intend to put the money, and any input on the matter would be very, very welcome.
- Ultimately, in my dreams, a Cintiq plugged into a MacBook Pro. On my own private island. On the Moon. No point in having a completely unrealistic dream if you don't dream big.
- Slightly more realistically (if only slightly) the Surface Pro 4 is coming out in a week or two. And. It. Is. Gorgeous. One of those would - in one swoop - provide graphical input, an inline monitor, extra storage and not to mention all the extra advantages of being effectively a laptop. That's on the order of like £1,000 ... lottery-win improbable, I feel, but at least within the bounds of possibility, if only barely.
- More reasonably, it's a toss up between a low-end Cintiq and an end-of-line Surface Pro 3 (the price of which is already coming down). That's in the ballpark of £600. Two days into The Begging and I'm a third of the way there. So I'm gonna call this a goal to aim for without being hopelessly unrealistic.
- Current stretch-goal stage is a proper workstation-style graphics monitor, rather than a basic tablet. I have my eye on a Ugee for around £350. As we speak, I'm nearly two thirds of the way there.
Whatever happens, The Begging has at least a week left to run before donations are processed and I see any money at all. If I were to cash the balance in right now, I'd have funding for the following bare-bones setup:
- A 10 x 6.5 Tablet. I really like the Huion 1060 Plus. Everything I've read up on it says the spec and build-quality are pretty much identical to an Intuos Pro, at a fraction of the price. £70.
- A copy of Manga Studio 5, which seems the ideal all-round package for the comicy-style illustrative stuff I want to do. £20.
- A paid upgrade for Comics Life, which I use for caption-text and bannering. £10.
- A basic flatbed scanner, for physical art and to OCR book text that I don't have on file electronically. The CanoScan LiDE 220 appears to work with El Capitan. £65.
- Basic external backup drive. (I'm forever saving over the wrong thing and losing two hours work.) £40.
That basic setup will morph if and when I approach being able to pay for the next primary stretch-goal stage, and round things out when there's no immediate hope of reaching the next one. The point being that every penny will go to producing the best creative setup I can.
Words cannot express - said the man claiming to be a writer - my gratitude to those who are funding me. I'm putting this up to say exactly where I intend to put the money, and any input on the matter would be very, very welcome.
