6 ms·

Wacom’s Inkling Captures What You Draw On Paper Digitally

57 points by camtarn 15y ago

madlynormal 15y ago
This is amazing, I feel it's uses can go far beyond just drawings.
nopassrecover 15y ago
It looks well executed (particularly the new layer feature) but what's new about this device? These digital pens have existed for years.
- camtarn 15y ago
  I hadn't realized quite how many of the special-paper-free digital pens were out there now - last time I'd looked, the pens needed special paper and used a pen-tip camera for sensing (basically a special-purpose optical mouse). Here's a collection of them: http://digital-pen-review.toptenreviews.com/ http://digital-pen-review.toptenreviews.com/ Interestingly, the last three pens in the comparison table all do look very similar to Wacom's offering. I wonder whether the Wacom pen is using the same technology (or is maybe even made by the same manufacturer behind the scenes?) In any case, I reckon the Wacom name will help them sell, possibly helping promote them to artists wanting to sketch on the move rather than (as the linked comparison mentions) for business purposes.
  - hopeless 15y ago
    I was obviously just as ignorant about these newer digital pens!
  - zupatol 15y ago
    My guess is wacom managed to improve the quality enough to make it usable for artists. The other pens seem to be mainly useful for ocr, and are marketed as tools for taking notes. The automatic vectorization of the drawings is also nice.
    - camtarn 15y ago
      Very possibly... this article mentions that it has 1024-level pressure sensitivity, which really makes a big difference for artistic work: http://recombu.com/news/wacom-inkling-digital-pen-launches_M15018.html http://recombu.com/news/wacom-inkling-digital-pen-launches_M... It also mentions the UK launch date and price: October 2011, at £149.99.
- hopeless 15y ago
  Most of those digital pens used specially printed paper which had machine-readable dot patterns. This looks like it takes a different approach compatible with any paper/notebook. Sounds like a great toy for those people who like to sketch notes in meetings etc. I wonder if it can replay the drawing as an animation?
  - ricardobeat 15y ago
    No they didn't. See this list: http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2626833 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2626833
brudgers 15y ago
The drawbacks I see are that the package is a bit oversized to fit in a pocket and only a single type of tip and ink. Both of these would tend to create "gadget friction." [compare to http://www.amazon.com/Winsor-Newton-Cotman-Sketchers-Pocket/dp/B0006TZO4M/ref=sr_1_3?s=arts-crafts&ie=UTF8&qid=1314708945&sr=1-3 http://www.amazon.com/Winsor-Newton-Cotman-Sketchers-Pocket/...]
iwwr 15y ago
This is not new. Staedler has had something like this for some time http://www.staedtler.com/digital_pen.Staedtler http://www.staedtler.com/digital_pen.Staedtler On the other hand, I'd like to hear some impressions from people who tried this themselves.
codingsolo 15y ago
I know what I want for Christmas! I am not an artist but like to doodle. I have an Intuos4 but being tethered to my computer and confined to a graphics editing program is a lot of overhead for me (not an artist) when I want to get something digital done. I can see this being able to freely create web site mockups and wireframes, rough logo work, annotations, etc. I think this will fit into my workflow. I like the promise of being able to utilize this without having to be near my computer.
geuis 15y ago
On a side note, what are the trademark issues with this product considering there is a company called Inkling?
- adam 15y ago
  Ironic since we were in the market first as Inkling (http://inklingmarkets.com http://inklingmarkets.com) in 2006, then the well-funded "Inkling" (inkling.com) came along who ignored our claims about trademark, and now the Wacom Inkling tablet. Guess it's just a cool name. :)
  - wavesplash 15y ago
    A quick search on uspto.gov shows Inkling, Inc. abandoned their trademark filing from 2006? If so, Inkling.com had every right to reclaim the mark.
- wavesplash 15y ago
  Trademark is broken down into classes of goods and services. You can have multiple companies having the same trademark name in different classes. Check http://uspto.gov http://uspto.gov for details.
ben_straub 15y ago
I worked for Wacom up until 4 months ago, and I was involved in the development of this product. I'm not sure how much I can talk about this without violating NDA, but I'll try. Normal Wacom tablets use electromagnetic resonance (EMR) to both power the electronics in the pen and to locate it in 3D space. Inkling uses the same technology for pressure sensitivity in the pen tip, but location is performed by a different method, using the base (the part you clip on). It's not nearly as accurate as EMR coupling (the tablets are accurate to less than 1mm), but the ability to record an ink drawing is pretty awesome. No matter how well natural media is simulated, it's never going to be actual real paper and ink.
- RexRollman 15y ago
  Thanks for the info. This sounds like a really interesting product.
- lobster_johnson 15y ago
  But if this new pen is not accurate to less than 1mm, then it will not work for sketches like the example drawing (in the link). 1mm is a lot when dealing with drawings of that scale.
xiaoma 15y ago
My bamboo fun tablet is one of the best purchases I've ever made. It was 80% of as good as using a real pencil and probably 90% of as good as a paint brush or air brush. I absolutely love Wacom and will be in line to buy one of these as soon as I can scrounge up the money to do it on my meager Chinese salary!
- lobster_johnson 15y ago
  Those are fun, but as an artist I could never deal with the mental dissonance of my eyes watching the result on the screen while drawing somewhere else. The Wacom Cintiq (http://www.wacom.com/en/Products/Cintiq.aspx http://www.wacom.com/en/Products/Cintiq.aspx) fixes that by providing a pressure-sensitive display, so you see what you draw. Apparently Pixar is using a ton of these. But it's also hideously expensive.
misuba 15y ago
How does this beat having a scanner?
- threepointone 15y ago
  Layers, automatic vectors, pressure sensitive tips... not really stuff that you can trivially replicate with just paper/pen.
  - misuba 15y ago
    There are few real graphic artists who are working with "just" paper and pen. They have favorite pens, favorite papers. Brush pens are plenty sensitive to pressure, and they're around $17 for a good one. So far the closest thing to a real argument for this product is the vector thing, but I am having trouble envisioning what that really enables. It could enable a lot of cool stuff, but until there is a more concrete sell than "something cool," not a lot of artists are gonna bite.
- ben_straub 15y ago
  This is actually the question the product answers. A lot of graphic designers like to start designing on paper, then move to Illustrator or PS for the final work. The classic way to do this is to scan in your sketch and make it a layer, and essentially start over with digital art on top of it. Inkling lets you split your sketch into multiple layers as you're sketching it. Say you're drawing a character for a game, and the character can be carrying things. You can sketch the two together, with overlapping lines, but keep the character and the carried thing on separate layers. All without having to find the boundaries and snip carefully to separate them in PS.
  - misuba 15y ago
    Why wouldn't you just draw the thing the character is carrying a few millimeters away, and save $150? (Bear in mind, these are artists we're talking about; that money matters.)
- camtarn 15y ago

57 points by camtarn 15y ago

This is amazing, I feel it's uses can go far beyond just drawings.

It looks well executed (particularly the new layer feature) but what's new about this device? These digital pens have existed for years.

camtarn 15y ago
I hadn't realized quite how many of the special-paper-free digital pens were out there now - last time I'd looked, the pens needed special paper and used a pen-tip camera for sensing (basically a special-purpose optical mouse). Here's a collection of them: http://digital-pen-review.toptenreviews.com/ http://digital-pen-review.toptenreviews.com/ Interestingly, the last three pens in the comparison table all do look very similar to Wacom's offering. I wonder whether the Wacom pen is using the same technology (or is maybe even made by the same manufacturer behind the scenes?) In any case, I reckon the Wacom name will help them sell, possibly helping promote them to artists wanting to sketch on the move rather than (as the linked comparison mentions) for business purposes.
- hopeless 15y ago
  I was obviously just as ignorant about these newer digital pens!
- zupatol 15y ago
  My guess is wacom managed to improve the quality enough to make it usable for artists. The other pens seem to be mainly useful for ocr, and are marketed as tools for taking notes. The automatic vectorization of the drawings is also nice.
  - camtarn 15y ago
    Very possibly... this article mentions that it has 1024-level pressure sensitivity, which really makes a big difference for artistic work: http://recombu.com/news/wacom-inkling-digital-pen-launches_M15018.html http://recombu.com/news/wacom-inkling-digital-pen-launches_M... It also mentions the UK launch date and price: October 2011, at £149.99.
hopeless 15y ago
Most of those digital pens used specially printed paper which had machine-readable dot patterns. This looks like it takes a different approach compatible with any paper/notebook. Sounds like a great toy for those people who like to sketch notes in meetings etc. I wonder if it can replay the drawing as an animation?
- ricardobeat 15y ago
  No they didn't. See this list: http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2626833 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2626833

brudgers 15y ago

The drawbacks I see are that the package is a bit oversized to fit in a pocket and only a single type of tip and ink. Both of these would tend to create "gadget friction." [compare to http://www.amazon.com/Winsor-Newton-Cotman-Sketchers-Pocket/dp/B0006TZO4M/ref=sr_1_3?s=arts-crafts&ie=UTF8&qid=1314708945&sr=1-3 http://www.amazon.com/Winsor-Newton-Cotman-Sketchers-Pocket/...]

iwwr 15y ago

This is not new. Staedler has had something like this for some time http://www.staedtler.com/digital_pen.Staedtler http://www.staedtler.com/digital_pen.Staedtler On the other hand, I'd like to hear some impressions from people who tried this themselves.

codingsolo 15y ago

I know what I want for Christmas! I am not an artist but like to doodle. I have an Intuos4 but being tethered to my computer and confined to a graphics editing program is a lot of overhead for me (not an artist) when I want to get something digital done. I can see this being able to freely create web site mockups and wireframes, rough logo work, annotations, etc. I think this will fit into my workflow. I like the promise of being able to utilize this without having to be near my computer.

geuis 15y ago

On a side note, what are the trademark issues with this product considering there is a company called Inkling?

adam 15y ago
Ironic since we were in the market first as Inkling (http://inklingmarkets.com http://inklingmarkets.com) in 2006, then the well-funded "Inkling" (inkling.com) came along who ignored our claims about trademark, and now the Wacom Inkling tablet. Guess it's just a cool name. :)
- wavesplash 15y ago
  A quick search on uspto.gov shows Inkling, Inc. abandoned their trademark filing from 2006? If so, Inkling.com had every right to reclaim the mark.
wavesplash 15y ago
Trademark is broken down into classes of goods and services. You can have multiple companies having the same trademark name in different classes. Check http://uspto.gov http://uspto.gov for details.

ben_straub 15y ago

I worked for Wacom up until 4 months ago, and I was involved in the development of this product. I'm not sure how much I can talk about this without violating NDA, but I'll try. Normal Wacom tablets use electromagnetic resonance (EMR) to both power the electronics in the pen and to locate it in 3D space. Inkling uses the same technology for pressure sensitivity in the pen tip, but location is performed by a different method, using the base (the part you clip on). It's not nearly as accurate as EMR coupling (the tablets are accurate to less than 1mm), but the ability to record an ink drawing is pretty awesome. No matter how well natural media is simulated, it's never going to be actual real paper and ink.

RexRollman 15y ago
Thanks for the info. This sounds like a really interesting product.
lobster_johnson 15y ago
But if this new pen is not accurate to less than 1mm, then it will not work for sketches like the example drawing (in the link). 1mm is a lot when dealing with drawings of that scale.

xiaoma 15y ago

My bamboo fun tablet is one of the best purchases I've ever made. It was 80% of as good as using a real pencil and probably 90% of as good as a paint brush or air brush. I absolutely love Wacom and will be in line to buy one of these as soon as I can scrounge up the money to do it on my meager Chinese salary!

lobster_johnson 15y ago
Those are fun, but as an artist I could never deal with the mental dissonance of my eyes watching the result on the screen while drawing somewhere else. The Wacom Cintiq (http://www.wacom.com/en/Products/Cintiq.aspx http://www.wacom.com/en/Products/Cintiq.aspx) fixes that by providing a pressure-sensitive display, so you see what you draw. Apparently Pixar is using a ton of these. But it's also hideously expensive.

misuba 15y ago

How does this beat having a scanner?

threepointone 15y ago
Layers, automatic vectors, pressure sensitive tips... not really stuff that you can trivially replicate with just paper/pen.
- misuba 15y ago
  There are few real graphic artists who are working with "just" paper and pen. They have favorite pens, favorite papers. Brush pens are plenty sensitive to pressure, and they're around $17 for a good one. So far the closest thing to a real argument for this product is the vector thing, but I am having trouble envisioning what that really enables. It could enable a lot of cool stuff, but until there is a more concrete sell than "something cool," not a lot of artists are gonna bite.
ben_straub 15y ago
This is actually the question the product answers. A lot of graphic designers like to start designing on paper, then move to Illustrator or PS for the final work. The classic way to do this is to scan in your sketch and make it a layer, and essentially start over with digital art on top of it. Inkling lets you split your sketch into multiple layers as you're sketching it. Say you're drawing a character for a game, and the character can be carrying things. You can sketch the two together, with overlapping lines, but keep the character and the carried thing on separate layers. All without having to find the boundaries and snip carefully to separate them in PS.
- misuba 15y ago
  Why wouldn't you just draw the thing the character is carrying a few millimeters away, and save $150? (Bear in mind, these are artists we're talking about; that money matters.)
camtarn 15y ago