Drawings Done on Acer Tablet

Thread Status:: Not open for further replies.

D Hanson Pen Pal - Newbie

Messages:

10

Likes Received:

1

Trophy Points:

6

I ran across the acer aspire r13 and it looks like a strong machine. Big screen, fast processor and plenty of ram. Refurbs/sales have put it in my price range. I intend to use it primarily for drawing comic strips. But I can only find one review of drawing on it which says it's okay but not great.
Have any artists here used it before? Is it good for drawing or is it too wonky? I want to run manga studio 5 primarily, and maybe photoshop.

Thanks in advance for your thoughts on this!
thatcomicsguy Pen Pro - Senior Member Senior Member

Messages:

3,407

Likes Received:

2,492

Trophy Points:

231

I haven't actually used this particular model, but it employs the previous generation N-Trig tech, a bit older than that implemented in the Surface Pro 3. You can look up videos on that subject and see some working examples and get a pretty good idea of what you'd get with the R13.
I've never used an N-Trig system for a project, but whenever I've tested one in a computer store, I've found it disappointing. Wacom is king.

Though, the new SP4 might change that. We'll be finding out over the next couple of weeks as artists try their hand at Microsoft's new gadgets.

In any case, I'd steer clear of the Acer if your expectations are anything like mine.
Rootaman Pen Pal - Newbie

Messages:

3

Likes Received:

1

Trophy Points:

6

The stylus on R13 image does look similar to the one I have for my Aspire Switch 11 so I think they are the same Synaptics active pen (not the N-Trig one). This stylus having many problems about shaking line, discontinue line and inconstant pressure response. Acer did not make any improvement of this stylus at all but Dell did so I bought a new Dell Active Stylus (newest revision: noticed by Silver & Black color of the stylus) and found that it can perform better than the one came from Acer (it's an older revision: noticed the Dark Grey & Black color).
If you buy any model which use Synaptics stylus then your choice of software might be limit due to its lack of wintab driver support, you can only have a pressure works on Clip Studio Paint, Sketchbook Pro, Medibang Paint Pro and Photoshop CC as I know... (and you will need to manually edit the preference file on the program directory in case of Photoshop CC)

The Synaptics stylus form DELL (last revision only) works OK for paint and draw but the line will be shaking anyway. I use the line stabilizing function on Clip Studio Paint to avoid this problem.

Here is the result of Acer Active Pen (Synaptics) test in Photoshop CC & Clip Studio Paint

There is no test image for DELL Active but I can say there is no issue of the discontinue line and the pressure response is a lot improve compared to the old revision from Acer. Only the shaking line still be there...

Here is the image draw & paint with Dell Active Stylus on Acer Aspire Switch 11
http://auruster.deviantart.com/art/Undress-Me-2015-561888948

If you have any question, feel free to ask me...
D Hanson Pen Pal - Newbie

Messages:

10

Likes Received:

1

Trophy Points:

6

Thanks for the replies!
So the shaking line will be there regardless of the stylus? Does it happen whenever you draw slow lines? @Rootaman the art done on the acer posted on the deviantart site is great!

I would guess the drawing experience would be pretty much the same across the acer products. If this were to be my secondary drawing machine I could probably live with it because the acer hardware and screen size is top notch, and I could use it for other things beyond drawing. But this will be my first stylus driven tablet, and drawing will be the primary function so I am hoping for something relatively smooth. I think I would get frustrated having to constantly erase and redraw wobbly lines. I want to avoid any speedbumps on the road of content creation....

@thatcomicsguy What tablet(s) do you use for drawing? I would say the production level I am shooting for is about the same as your Star Drop webcomic. Do you create from start to finish digitally? That is my goal. Though for the sake of time I don't anticipate each panel looking like a still frame from a pixar movie!
Rootaman Pen Pal - Newbie

Messages:

3

Likes Received:

1

Trophy Points:

6

Yes, the shaking line will be more pronounce when you draw slowly, you can check by looking at many reviews for Dell Active Stylus on youtube.
I made the test for you below...

You can see that both stylus having shake lines but the Acer Active Pen can not give me a satisfy result when I want a very light stroke..and the pressure of the lines are missing at some point although this problem will mostly happen when I draw with slow speed...

I use Clip Studio Paint whenever I need a nice line drawing because of its Stabilization function so all of those shaky thing will disappear ! I can live with this

Thanks
D Hanson Pen Pal - Newbie

Messages:

10

Likes Received:

1

Trophy Points:

6

Wow, the stabilization function works great! The linework on your last image @Rootaman is fantastic! I am surprised all art programs don't incorporate the same kind of feature in their software. I think the wobbly lines would bug me out in other programs if I needed to use them though. The Aspire R13 does look like a great machine otherwise though. I will have to keep this an option though because it's specs are just too good to not make it an option...
D Hanson Pen Pal - Newbie

Messages:

10

Likes Received:

1

Trophy Points:

6

P.S. thanks for doing those tests for me, that is a solid demonstration of what to expect from both brands of stylus. I wouldn't have had that perspective otherwise!
Rootaman Pen Pal - Newbie

Messages:

3

Likes Received:

1

Trophy Points:

6

Right , the R13 's most want feature for me is that Ezel Hinge. It is really comfortable to use real physical keyboard for short-cuts in any desktop-style art app especially Photoshop. Neither Artdock nor Radial menu serves my need...I dont like too many buttons on screen and I can imagine working with this one is good because the screen is large and can adjust to my desire angel and position of the keyboard under the screen is optimized for little footprint on the desk in any coffee shop! ฺ But R13 is over-power and over-budget for me as I do not need core i7. The better solution for me will be Aspire Switch 12 because of the detachable wireless keyboard but its RAM and battery performance is not what I expect so I hope Acer will add more RAM to the next Aspire Switch 12 (or 13-14 if possible).

Last edited: Oct 13, 2015