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tbhstudying · 4 years

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hi! i just read through one of the ipad asks someone sent you and now i’m hesitant about getting one. i thought it’d be better for me because i have a lot of calculations-based classes so i go through many notebooks but people are saying writing on paper is still better? i already have a laptop that’s still in great condition which is why i haven’t thought about getting a 2 in 1 (its also 2x the price of ipad which i cant rly justify rn) i just need a device for note taking which is why i want an ipad AGHDHSH but now i feel Guilty cause i can’t tell if i need one or if the studyblr community is making me want one ahhh i just needed somewhere to rant & ask for advice sorry !

i wouldn’t recommend an ipad for calculations-based classes :( i ended up taking all of my orgo 1 notes on paper and i would’ve done the same thing for orgo 2 this semester if i had the space in my carry-on bag for binders and paper. i find it extremely inconvenient to solve equations on the ipad, and sometimes, even though the ipad is supposed to reject my palm and only accept my pencil, my palm will catch on the edge of the writing box and shift it. also, i’ll accidentally switch from eraser to pen or from pen to eraser through my pencil grip which is also inconvenient.

as for 2-in-1 laptops, i’ve never owned one myself, but i tried out some of my friends’ 2-in-1 laptops and i dislike that i can accidentally activate the touchscreen when i brush my hand against the screen or when i try to wipe off some dust.

you do not need an ipad in order to study. they are not necessary to achieve good grades. they are not more environmentally friendly than paper notes because of the energy and waste that comes from producing and disposing of electronics. if the ipad does not fit into your budget, then it is not worth your time or your precious money. if your major doesn’t need drawing-heavy software like art or design or architecture majors, i don’t really see what the ipad would give you over paper other than ease of storage/transport. if you don’t have a mac or other apple products, then the ipad won’t sync as well into your tech systems + i’m a windows girl through and through.

if u want even more proof, i spent about $1200 on my ipad + pencil + accessories. for comparison, my laptop cost me $1000 for high-end specs and an extremely large storage space for playing graphics-heavy video games and editing videos. if i used my muji binders and looseleaf and my japanese pens, it would cost me about $100 for an entire year’s worth of stationery, and the majority of that cost comes from an over-estimation of the amount of b5 loose-leaf paper i would need. i’m using my ipad bc i was stupid enough to buy into the studyblr hype and i don’t want to waste my money by not using it. don’t make the same mistake as me :(

#i will literally scream this forever and ever #you absolutely do not need an ipad to get good grades or to study well #i HATE the ipad trend in studyblr i hate it so much lmao #anon #ask

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owlpip · 4 years

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hey sorry to bother you but i wanted to ask what you use to draw digitally? i’m looking to get a drawing tablet but i don’t know where to start and i’ve seen you draw on live and i have no idea what kind of tablet you’re using, thank u in advance if u choose to respond <33 ily

hi! absolutely no problem at all, I love these kinds of questions. this is pretty lengthy as I am unnecessarily verbose when it comes to answering questions like these...

I use a 2016 Wacom MobileStudio Pro 13 and I love it! it took me nearly a year of research, comparing tablets, searching where to purchase, and saving up for me to decide on the MobileStudio and, after two and a half years of using it nearly every day, I have certainly discovered some pros and cons to it. I’ll list those for you after which I’ll list what I looked for in a tablet while I was searching.

pros:

- I don’t need a computer. the driver is built into the tablet itself so it’s technically considered a computer. this means I don’t need to attach it to a computer for it to function like you would a graphic tablet or a computer drawing tablet.

- carrying it around is relatively easy. because of the point above, travelling with it is pretty easy due to the fact that I don’t have to lug around a computer with it as well. which means I can also use it in small spaces or while I’m travelling like on a bus, airplane, car, etc. plus, the mobilestudio I bought is 13 inches long, so it fits in most computer sized bags.

- display/screen. the display is beautiful. the colors are vibrant and crisp. the pen pressure is super amazing and since that was one of the most important things I was looking for in a tablet, I couldn’t be happier with it.

- the pen. the pen that comes with the tablet is fantastic. you don’t need to charge it like you do with the Apple Pen which, in my mind, sounds like hell. the pen also comes with interchangeable nibs: felt and plastic. the felt nibs are god’s gift to artists... i love them. they make you feel like you’re drawing on paper and they can’t scratch your screen like the plastic ones are capable of if you use them too much. also, if you flip the pen like you would a pencil, it has an eraser that also uses pen pressure like the nib side!

- buttons. both the pen and the tablet come with built-in customizable buttons called ExpressKeys. the pen has two and the 13 inch tablet has six. 16 inch tablet has more. these buttons are easily programable to specific keystrokes (ctrl-z to undo, ctrl-alt-z to redo, etc) or clicks (right click, double click) which are helpful with it comes to specific commonly used commands in art programs. my pen’s buttons are set to ‘b’ for brushes -- so I can easily switch back to the brush I’m using -- and ‘i’ for the eyedropper tool -- so I can get specific colors from my illustrations. my tablets ones are set to paste, copy, deselect, undo, transform, and redo. there is also a remote with 17 extra buttons you can buy (which my dad got me for christmas in 2019, can you tell he’s the art supportive parent? i love him). I don’t use the remote often due to the fact that I haven’t configured all the buttons in a way I like but I’ve set a few of them to new layer, undo, redo, and increase and decrease brush size. there’s also the radial menu but I don’t use it.

- accessories. you can purchase a lot of cool things through Wacom’s website for your tablet! I’ve had to use this when I lost my charger but there are certainly more interesting things there than a charger.

- made for artists. this tablet -- unlike the iPad, other tablets, or certain touchscreen computers -- was made by a company specifically making tablets for artists.

cons:

- expensive. I saved up money for a tablet for quite a bit and my dad promised to match whatever I saved up in order to purchase whatever tablet I chose but in the end he surprised me for my bday with the tablet fully purchased. I believe he bought it secondhand or refurbished which is a bit cheaper, but I’m not entirely certain! either way, it comes up to about 2,000 USD depending on where and how you purchase it.

- sometimes the pen stops working :( what I mean by this is randomly the tablet will stop recognizing the pen so I have to use my finger in order to fix it. while most people restart the whole tablet I don’t recommend doing this. there’s a much easier way! just go to ‘Services’ and restart the ‘Wacom GSensor Service’ or the ‘Wacom Professional Service’ and it’s all fixed! it’s just annoying :(

- display/screen 2.0. this is probably my most hated thing about this tablet. though, it’s not something completely unique to this specific one. the colors on my tablet don’t match the colors on other computers or phones. they tend to be brighter, warmer, and more contrasted on my tablet so when I send an illustration to my phone the colors are completely different.

- weight. while the mobilestudio is certainly lighter than most it’s not light. I don’t really care that much about this as it’s not crazy heavy but when I was lugging it back and forth to school everyday the weight was noticeable.

my number one recommendation to do when researching tablet is to watch videos of artists comparing and review tablets they’ve used and to write a pro and con list of the ones you’re interested in. also for which videos you watch, I recommend actual artists, artists that you think make art similar to the kind you want to make or art that you admire, and to watch both sponsored and unsponsored videos.

as for what to research, keep these things in mind:

- what are you planning on using this tablet for? (professional commissions, complicated art, sketches, art but also for school/work , etc)?

- what specific things are you looking for? (pen pressure, light weight, durable, etc.) (for instance when I was researching, I wanted a tablet made specifically for art that didn’t need a computer to work, could run Clip Studio, had amazing pen pressure, and was relatively light weight and could be carried around.)

- where are you going to use this tablet? what size tablet would fit comfortably there?

- what art program are you wanting/going to use?

- how much storage do you need?

- how of a physical canvas are you used to working on and do you want to go bigger or smaller?

- are you going to be traveling with it often? if so are you going to use it while travelling?

- do you want to use it with or without a computer?

- what is your budget? how much are the specific things you’re looking for worth to you? what are you willing to compromise on?

I haven’t done any research into what is currently available so I can’t tell you what on the market I would choose today but I have heard great things about the iPad Pro. that would definitely be one of the top ones I would look into if I was searching for a tablet now that it has Clip Studio Paint.

there are probably a million things I could’ve added that I’ll remember hours from now so if you have any more questions or you want me to go into further detail about something, please let me know! I can also go through all the tablets and/or art programs I have used for digital art if that is something you are interested in :-)

#mailbox #anon #faq #art tablet #long post

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acaseforpencils · 3 years

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Jonesy (aka Steve Jones).

Bio: So far I’ve been published in Private Eye, New Statesman, Prospect, Harvard Business Review, The Oldie, Reader’s Digest (UK), The American Bystander, The Phoenix, CAM (Cambridge University Alumni Magazine), Resurgence and Ecologist, London Evening Standard and The Spectator.

Tools of choice:

Traditional: Pentels, pencils (seldom anything harder than a B), Uni-balls, Sharpies, brush pens and dip pens. Allsorts, really. For instance, you’ll find various other weird and wonderful oddities in my arsenal like Pilot Parallel nib pens and folded brass dip-pens. The Pilots are intended for use by calligraphers but I enjoy drawing with them. As for the dip-pen, a HIRO Leonardt 41 Copperplate is my nib of choice, nib fans.

I use Higgins Black Magic and Daler Rowney FW ink and White Knights (formerly St. Petersburg) watercolour paints plus various makes of brushes. I find a toothbrush comes in handy too. (Not for my teeth, obviously: I’m British.) Oh, and a diffuser.

My favourite paper for ink and watercolour work is Saunders Waterford High White HP 140lb, and Canson Bristol mostly for ink only.

I draft out rough ideas on Daler Rowney layout pads. I also use various sketch and note pads and have been known to scribble ideas on anything to hand including pets, plants and passers by. Anything alliterative, really.

Sometimes when I’m out and about I also recite cartoon ideas into my mobile so I can pick them up off my voicemail when I get home. Saying stuff out loud like “lighthouse with a bowling alley” and giggling can attract strange looks from passers by. Scribbling on them, however, invokes a much stronger reaction.

Digital: I use MacBook Pros (x2), a Wacom Intuos 4 pad and stylus. I started off with Photoshop and Painter Essentials but now use Clip Studio Art and Affinity software. Both are much cheaper and - for my purposes anyway - just as good.

Recently I was considering an iPad but I think my newer Macbook Pro is about to give up the ghost so bang goes that idea for the time being. My 2010 MBP has been hammered day and night without giving me a moment’s complaint: a wonderful workhorse. I wish I could say the same for my 2015 version. In their efforts to make the laptop thinner and lighter, Apple, sadly, seem to have sacrificed build quality and durability. How about u-turning on this skinny/lightweight malarkey and making the upcoming model a bit sturdier, eh, Apple? Go on, you know you want to…

Tools I wish I could use better: All of them.

Tools I wish existed: Scanvision - ie: Just looking at the drawing equals instant scan filed on your computer.

Command z on dip-pens. Failing that, an effective ink eraser.

Tricks: Not so much a trick of the trade as sound advice: join the Professional Cartoonists’ Organisation. Only if you’re a cartoonist, like. Or a caricaturist. If you’re a shepherd, say, you probably won’t get too much out of it. Anyway, it’s been an enormous help to me.

Don’t spill coffee on your freshly drawn artwork. All other beverages are fine.

Never throw away ideas. Sometimes I return to cartoons I initially rejected and get a fresh angle on them. Absence can make the thought grow stronger. (Sorry, that last sentence reads like one of those crap motivational posters…)

I find I get the best results by holding the pointy end of my pen to the paper.

Try to avoid cleaning your brushes in your tea/coffee/whatever cup/mug/glass/beaker/whatever. Or, indeed, drinking from your brush water container. (I’ve done both.)

Try to avoid typing sentences with lots of/too many/an excess of options/alternatives/choices/whatever.

Rejection comes with the cartooning territory, I’m afraid. Easier said than done, I know, but try not to let it get you down: use it as motivation to do better. Or try blackmail.

Miscellaneous: Be as helpful as you can to people starting out. I appreciated the kindness of, and learned a great deal from senior pros who took the time to help me with my first steps. (See “Tricks” section above as proof.)

Websites, etc:

My social media empire, such as it is, comprises the following...

Website (I should update this more often)

Instagram (I should update this more often)

Twitter (I should visit this less often)

---

If you enjoy this blog, and would like to contribute to labor and maintenance costs, there is a Patreon, and if you’d like to buy me a cup of coffee, there is a Ko-Fi account as well! I do this blog for free because accessible arts education is important to me, and your support helps a lot! You can also find more posts about art supplies on Case’s Instagram and Twitter! Thank you!

#jonesy #jonesy cartoonist #how to draw cartoons

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uniformbravo · 3 years

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having a full on existential crisis over an episode of anime i watched tonight

it all started with big time rush

in 2009 a sitcom called big time rush aired for the first time on nickelodeon; it was about a group of four teenaged boys from minnesota who move to hollywood under a famous producer to become his next big boy band sensation. a simple premise, launched into unprecedented success, resulting in four seasons of musical shenanigans, three full music albums, and three big concert tours, including international shows. the band, both fictional and real life, featured four attractive young men by the names of kendall, james, carlos, and logan. they quickly gained a fan base of mostly teenage girls, which resulted in online spaces created for the purpose of sharing their passion, and as is common in such online communities, this certainly involved fanfiction- lots of it.

enter me, a teen in high school who loved to write fanfiction. my big time journey began the day my younger sister decided to put on the show big time rush in the living room, where i sat at the family computer typing away. the noise caught my attention, and i got sucked into the episode. there was a boy wearing a dress on the screen. i became interested.

i watched more of the show. i typed its name into the search bar on the website fanfiction dot net. i had a friend at school who shared my interest in fanfiction, particularly of the slash variety. i introduced her to this new show i had been watching. she shared a fanfic she had enjoyed immensely with me. we dragged each other into the world of big time rush fanfiction reading and writing.

it took over my life; i lived and breathed big time rush. i began posting my own stories to fanfiction dot net. i received positive feedback; i met people. i made friends- two people in particular who became very close friends. we communicated through ffn’s private messaging system, then through email. we talked every day, we wrote stories for and with each other, we exchanged phone numbers. it was one of these friends who introduced me to the website called tumblr, where fellow fans of our beloved big time rush gathered and talked about it- a community.

it was a slow start- this website was new and unfamiliar to me- but eventually i got the hang of things and settled into my niche. i had fun, gained followers, met even more people. tumblr was a place not only for sharing one singular interest, but for accumulating all of your various interests and celebrating them in one place. it was through this aspect that i first learned of the up and coming band known as one direction.

they had released their first smash hit single and everyone was talking about it. i was wary, far too loyal to my beloved big time rush- but eventually i started to feel left out and in an effort to feel included, i decided to take the plunge and see what this “1d” was all about. it was intimidating, though- there was so much information, and no apparent beginner’s guide to tell me where to start. this drove me to making a post calling for a “one direction buddy” to take this role, to introduce me to all the most important aspects of this band. and my call was answered.

enter my wonderful friend cam, a follower of mine at the time. they were into both big time rush and one direction and were eager to provide me with all the information needed to get into 1d. while ultimately this venture didn’t amount to anything, as i lost interest in becoming a fan, my friendship with cam persisted and we grew very close. even as time went on and big time rush faded into the background to be replaced with newer, fresher interests, and our paths as fellow fandom members split, we kept in contact and remained friends. years and years of fandoms, years and years of friendship.

in the midst of the tenth year, cam developed a new interest, in a sport called ice hockey. as is tradition, they shared their passion with me, showing me their favorite team, highlighting their favorite members. we watched a game together. personally, i’ve never been one for sports, but i am quite into anime, which consists of many genres, including the “sports” genre. one in particular that i’ve enjoyed immensely in the past is the volleyball anime, haikyuu!!. this anime devotes a lot of time to explaining and depicting the sport in a way that makes it easy for any viewer to understand the rules and inner workings of volleyball. it’s exciting. it’s the first time i’ve ever even adjacently been invested in a sport. one could even call it a gateway into the world of sports.

all this to say, when i watched that game of ice hockey with cam, the same parts of my brain that loved haikyuu!! lit up and in a classic display of my specific brand of interest, i found myself yearning for the epic highs and lows of ice hockey, but in an animated format. an animated format originating in japan. a japanese animation. an anime. my curiosity burned a hole in my brain that resulted in a combination of the google search bar and the words, “hockey anime”.

to my disappointment, i found nothing- at least, not to the degree i was hoping. there is an upcoming anime, slated to air in the fall 2021 anime season, about a group of girls who form an ice hockey team together- as it is an original project rather than an adaptation, it remains to be seen whether the anime will fall into the category of “sports anime,” or if indeed it will lean much more closely to the “moe” genre. the latter is not what i had in mind during that particular search.

adding the anime called “pride of orange” to my “plan to watch” list on myanimelist dot com, i moved onto the next result: an article about an early 2010’s anime i had never heard of before. while not about the sport i was looking for, it featured a character whose signature weapon was a field hockey stick. it wasn’t even the right sport. it was a weak, insignificant link, but all was not lost.

i happen to have an affinity for watching anime i happen upon completely by random and know little to nothing about; i found the movie “anthem of the heart” purely coincidentally, when i searched the name “jun” as part of some research for one of my original characters and discovered that it was the main character of said movie, which i then watched and ended up enjoying quite a lot. another time, when i was at best buy one day i happened upon a dvd on their dedicated anime shelf for a movie called “hana and alice”, which i had never heard of before. i liked the box art, so i took a picture of it to remember the title and watched it on my own later that week; it became one of my favorite movies.

with these and other similar experiences in mind, i saved the anime in my “plan to watch” list, and, later that same week, began my watch of “sket dance.”

it’s a school comedy anime, one of my favorite genres, so it’s no surprise that after overcoming the initial skepticism i carry into every new show i watch it quickly became my new fixation. not an obsession, but something i was pleasantly surprised to find consistently enjoyable. the characters are fun, the humor is tight and fresh, and the stories are unexpectedly touching at the right moments. everything i like to see.

which brings us to tonight. the culmination of this ten plus year string of events and occurrences. getting into big time rush. joining tumblr. meeting cam. watching anime. searching for hockey anime.

i put down my apple(TM) pencil. i set my ipad aside. i downsized the ebook window i’d been referencing. i stretched; i was hungry and tired. i’d been rereading passages of various animorphs books all day. i needed a break. i needed to sit back with some food and an episode of my latest comfort watch, sket dance. it’d be nice to set the dramatic, tragic world of animorphs aside for something lighthearted and fun in its place.

well.

i sat down with my bowl of strawberries and played the episode. it finished. i watched another. this one broke the formula a bit, played with the art style. i was into it. the preview for the next episode was mysteriously blank, and short, stating only the title. it was intriguing. i’m down for the show to get a bit more serious for an episode, i thought. i’m down for some potential backstory for one of the main three. i’m ready.

i was not ready.

bruh.

b r u h .

next two episodes proceeded to take me out back and beat me to within an inch of my life, slowly at first and then all at once. barely made it out alive. questioning everything. how can a show, so silly and goofy, do that, to me. how could i let my guard down like that. how could i be so tricked, and deceived, and blindsided like this. i don’t know who to trust. i don’t know if i can trust again. whiplash so damaging, permanent. i thought i wanted answers. i thought i wanted to know backstory. i didn’t want this. i never wanted this. emptiness

how did it come to this, these twelve years of my life. had i known back then, would i have posted that fanfiction? would i have joined tumblr? would i have sook out a “one direction buddy”? a hollow husk of a person, i am left with only my thoughts to ponder this small history of mine. the things i could have done differently. the things others could have done differently. all these butterfly effect moments, adding up to what? culminating in what? it’s 2:26 am and i’m writing an essay on how shook i am over that episode instead of going to sleep. but i can’t just say nothing, you know? i need to put something out there, reach deep enough within myself to find the thing that’s still there, broken and huddled and tiny as it is. i need to feel some semblance of the self again. the me from before i watched this episode. the innocent version of myself, blissful in ignorance. it’s too late now.

that episode…………..was fucked up. that was seriously fucked up. im not okay bro they really just came in left field and slapped that in my face expecting me to get up and walk away just fine afterwards like No that isn’t how this Works y’all need to bundle some therapy sessions with ur episodes pullin that shit come ON

exhaustion is taking over the shock, i am simply tired now. i will fall asleep and when i wake up sket dance will be a happy fun show again with NO fucked up backstories ever Or Else. i’m fucking serious right now i’m gonna count to 3 and that shit better be retconned when i turn around,

screams

thank you

#tldr sket dance has some really fucked up shit in it & i wasn’t expecting it & im having a crisis #it was supposed to be funnie clown show not ouchie oof show #how did it end up like this #fuck. christ. what the fuck #retag later #ani blogging #me watchin this show: yea this is fun like idk if i see myself getting /invested/ invested but i’m enjoying myself nonetheless!#gets to That Episode: …../oh./ oh i /see./ we’re doing That Shit huh #*sound of me getting /invested/ invested*#just a neat lil show about funy jokes :)#wheeeeeeee

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fioblah · 4 years

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Hey I really love ur art!! What device/program do you use, if u don't mind sharing :0

not at all!

recently i’ve been using a 12.9 inch ipad pro with procreate and the apple pencil! other stuff is done using a huion h610pro w clip studio paint!

#faxed to me #anon

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rennybu · 5 years

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i saw in ur tags u said ur last work was done on ipad, i was wondering if u think they’re worth the investment if i already have a tablet/laptop !

hello!! this is a good question!! i got my iPad as a repurposed gift so i didn’t pay for it out of pocket. How Ever, with the fact that Procreate is $13.99 (and a one-time payment!!!!!!!!), supports PSD imports/exports, and has brush customization (and import options from other artist brushpacks!!).. LIKE! I’ve had it for 3 days and i love it. I’m finishing the commissions I started on my computer, on my iPad..! so it definitely can pay for itself so 2 speak if you do commissions as well!

Hmm. There is a learning curve though since the iPad has a bunch of finger-specific controls (feels like spellcasting using four whole fingers to swipe across the screen) UM..

OK TO KEEP THIS SHORT: yes! if you can get it second hand definitely, since the $1000+ price tag is fucking terrifying!! A 2nd generation iPad Pro and a 1st generation apple pencil work great so if u can save several fucking hundred dollars by avoiding the brand new shit, DO SO!! and it’s nice to only have to carry 1 thing around and have all ur art in say, google drive or something similar! its freeing and i like it!

ultimately its up to u, for example if you’ve been wanting to get a cintiq or similar screen tablet I’d say an ipad n procreate are another option to look into! it’s not necessarily better than a tablet+laptop, and i’m still going to use my own plenty for touchups and other work (like school.. wah) so my final answer is Yes they’re worth it but don’t feel the need to jump and spend a huge amount of money! waiting for sales is a good idea bc apple isn’t going anywhere lmfao

#asks #also its sexy having a camera roll with no garbage just my art and videos in it #my phone.... my PC............ lord it is a mess in there #Anonymous

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foureoreos · 4 years

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hey what do u use to draw? :) I wanna start drawing some fanart myself but I've only ever done traditional art + never digital art

Hi! Happy to answer! Just got off work so here I am!

I guess part of this also depends what kind of tools you're using to draw, especially since it's digital art.

Speaking from my experience:

Right now, I use an iPad Pro and the Apple pencil to draw because let me tell you, it's actually really nice. As for the program I use, I use Procreate. It costs some money but it's a really great program and I highly recommend it.

Before that I was using a regular stylus and the MediBang Paint program to draw. MediBang is free, which is awesome! And it kind of has a similar set up to Photoshop. Also, you can get MediBang on your computer, which is another nice feature because it lets you save your work to a "cloud" so you can jump between where you work on it.

Ex. I got MediBang on my iPad Mini and also had the program on my Mac so I would use my WACOM Tablet when I wanted to draw on the computer.

As for the stylus, if you're just starting out and don't want to spend too much, then starting with MediBang Paint is a good idea! It's a really nice app and really isn't bad. I'd also recommend getting a stylus that has palm resistance. For me, when I was using MediBang, I used a Bamboo Stylus. And yeah, MediBang lets you connect a stylus through Bluetooth so that your palm doesn't drag when you draw with your hand on the surface!

Other tips that I can give is that is also doesn't hurt to draw traditionally, take a photo of your sketch and then upload it to the app to draw over it. I started that way and slowly progressed from there since it took a while for me to get used to drawing freehand on the tablet.

If you have any more questions don't hesitate to ask! Hope this helps!

#asks #ask box

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booknerdphd · 5 years

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Hey! So in one of your posts i saw u say sth about budget and meal planning. Can you share tips on that? I'll be living in my own place this sept and will take any advice. Thanks❤️

Hey! Thanks for the question!

Firstly, I can possibly answer the budgeting bit better since I’ve already done that for my own shift to the US this fall. For meal planning, I’ll let you know how I’ve seen other people do it, as well as a website I know I will use when I shift there.

Also, I’ll give this list from the perspective of an International student, but it would be more or less similar for everyone.

So, I’ll break this up into two parts.

Budgeting

There are two things to remember about your shift- one is that you need to budget your first month, settling in money. And second, you will have to budget your initial months as well.

Initial Budget

Focus first on your initial move in- do you need furniture or is the place furnished? If not furnished (like mine), you can check an IKEA (or an IKEA equivalent) and pick out your furniture.

When looking at furniture, make sure you know what your essentials are. I think I mentioned in another post that I am buying the bed frame because I know I will not buy it later. Personally, if your kitchen already has a fridge, the only things you really need are you bed and your desk and chair.

A dresser could also be considered an essential, depending on you, but if you want to save on this end so you can spend on something else (like me), then go ahead and live out of your suitcase for a bit.

Make a list on IKEA- that is what I did. I looked at all the things I could possibly need and kept it in one place for me to buy. This also means you will consciously check the prices, while lets you figure out your furniture budget.

Once the easy bit is out of the way (seriously this was the easy bit), start looking at your other needs. For example, India is a pretty warm country, and my city (while one of the better ones in terms of weather) would not need the same type of wardrobe as Seattle- eg. windcheaters. I would suggest you go ahead and buy this in the country you will be moving to, UNLESS YOU HAVE A DECATHALON.

Okay, sorry, brief side track but this could be useful- I went to a decathalon day before expecting to just buy some track pants and come out. But guys, I found windcheaters and warm clothes as well, and please go check your sports stores just in case they have stuff, because while it is hot right now in India, I still found something for cold weather!

Other than clothes and furniture, you may have a few other needs- for example, I’m going to be trying to go paperless during my PhD (trying beign the key word) so I am accounting for the money required for an IPad and an Apple Pencil.

If you are shifting a few days before your lease starts, you will either stay with a friend or at a hotel. Account for these costs, as well as the cost of daily expenses like food, grocery and travel- even if you do not use them, account for it.

Have a safety amount set for emergencies. You may not need to use it, but keep that on top of an additional buffer.

Also add, on top of all of this, the rent of your first and second month, just in case.

Assume the worst. Over-budgeting, in my mind, is better than under-budgeting.

Figure out what your city’s discount stores are, or what the cheapest options are. You don’t need to buy at Zara if you can get what you need, for example, at a Target. Know what you need and stick to it till you’ve settled down.

One last thing to add for the initial budgeting is this- if you are going to be getting stipend, check what the pay cycle is like. This will influence the second section.

Budgeting in general

What is the amount of money you will have, either as an allowance from your parents, your stipend, whatever your source of money will be. Be sure you know this before hand.

If you have found your accommodation- which I suggest you do before you do your budgeting (or at least know how much you are willing to spend on rent). What you have left is the amount you have to theoretically spend.

Plan your meals on a weekly level. This means you will only buy the groceries you need.

For the sake of your health- don’t buy too many freezer meals and pop tarts and the like. They add up in many many ways.

Have a go to, cheap snack item every month that you make a planned purchase. Like, for example, say you decide you want to keep cookies at home. Don’t buy them, make them. This means you will have the raw material to do this for a while (because the packets of flour and all are big) or you may already have them on hand. Also, it’s a great way to destress and just stop thinking about school for a while.

Always keep a certain amount as your saving set and some as a safety set.

Let’s say, for an example, that the amount you will have at the start of any month is 3000. Break this up into your rent money and your general use amount. Let’s say rent is 1300. That means you have 1700 left, right? No. That 1700 will be broken up into, for example, three parts. Let’s say that after your rent, you will keep 500 as savings, 800 as your general spending allowance and the remaining 400 as your safety net.

This amount can change over time, because knowing what your budget needs to be depends on your city, the cost of living, what you like to do or cook, etc. Keep this a little open for the first quarter and take your time understanding what works for you.

Meal Planning

Okay, here goes.

Firstly, know what food you like. There are so many ideas online about what you should do when meal planning, but personally, not too many of them make a lot of sense for me, as a person, given my habits. I don’t like protein powder. I’m okay with smoothies, but I’m used to eating full fruits. I like savory breakfasts, given that is what I am used to, rather than sweet ones.

Understand what you like and don’t. Then you can work out what works for you.

If you are someone who likes to eat while they walk to class vs a person like me, who likes to sit in one place and eat in peace. These are, in my mind, important to understand before you meal plan, or you will spend a lot of money to eat kale, hate it, and then hate it even more because you spent unnecessary money on this. All round misery.

Also see what food your family makes on a general day to day basis and check what can be made in advance and eaten over days, or prepped in advance and then just quickly cooked.

For example, I can make rice and keep it for a few days. Or I can buy dosa batter and keep it over the next 2 days and just make it for a few meals in a row.

Lastly, this is the one blog I consider my guru- the one place to get whatever ideas I want. I am not a cook. I have never cooked in my goddamn life and the most complicated dish I can make is Khichdi, which is basically throwing a bunch of things in a pot and hoping for the best.

So I have no clue what lasts how long, probably would not be able to figure out what had gone bad either.

BUT. This is one blog I found that gives you all that information! PICK UP LIMES.

Sadia has a youtube channel too, and she is a dietician and a vegan. Her food feels very similar to the food we make at home, so I’m pretty psyched about her blog. If I need meat dishes, I can always just go to Tasty, but Sadia’s blog is basically my Bible.

And, she gives clear indications of how long each dish will last in your fridge, which basically means to me that I can cook for all my meals for the next two days at one shot. She also has a bunch of options that are great on the go.

Give her blog a try and let me know if it helped! She also has a grocery list that you can use if you sign up for her newsletter and updates, which is super helpful given I’m just starting out.

I may do more posts on meal planning and budgeting and other concepts as I go through my first few weeks in Seattle, come September, but I hope this helped!

#sadia #pickuplimes #ask #krysanova #budgeting #meal prep #studyblr #gradblr #phdblr #my posts #international student

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vetschoolstudy · 5 years

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hi, i respect your choice of limiting the amount of paper you use! i also use my laptop as much as possible for note taking, but there's a lot of digital texts/ppts to go through. taking notes for it on a laptop is kind of clumsy, cuz i love to underline, point out arrows for additional notes, etc. doing that by hand means printing out TONS of paper so i've been looking into a tablet+pen combo for this purpose, and have been wondering about your experience with it? thank u, have a lovely day xx

Hey, thanks for the question! I used a lot of paper printouts during my undergrad years and switching to a paperless model is seriously the best thing I’ve done for my studies. Not only because you’re helping the planet, but also because you can stay that much more organized and have all your information at your fingertips! It’s really easy for me to search for specific phrases through my 3+ years of material and see which lectures dealt with that topic. Tablets have also come a loooong way and many of them can mimic the appeal of paper and pencil pretty well.

I have personal experience with a few of the Apple iPads and I have classmates who have used the Samsung tablets and the Window Surface computers (the ones with the pens). I don’t know what kind of course load you’re looking to take on with your tablet, but I can tell you that my classmates with the Samsung and Surface tablets have had problem after problem with our heavy course load— including losing their work from the whole semester. In my opinion, iPads are still the only “reliable” tablet out there. But that’s just my opinion based off of what I’ve seen from my classmates— Please take it with a grain of salt and do some of your own research! (:

As for what programs I use to actually keep my notes in working order, it’s kind of a toss up between Notability, GoodNotes 5, and OneNote. I think OneNote has the best organization if you like typing up outlines of your work, but Notability and GoodNotes were made for iPads and are better for annotating pdf printouts, ppts, and textbooks. I can make a whole post on my pros and cons of each just based on my personal experience in vet school— just let me know!

Long answer to a short question— I would absolutely recommend an iPad with Apple Pencil as the best combination for school / annotating stuff. It’s worth the extra money to get the native pencil instead of a cheaper stylus. Pretty much every model Apple sells right now is going to be great for students— you don’t need to spend the money for the Pro level anymore. I’ve been using the Mini 5 since it came out earlier this year and it’s kept up with my studies with no problem. Hope this helps!!

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whaleyoufeedmenuggets · 5 years

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Im too lazy to look at the questions so DO ALL OF THEM. (if you dont wanna then go on a random number generator and get 5 random numbers)

ITS REALLY LONG BUT I DID IT KJSHADJS HERE GOES i love oversharing my lifealso im putting a read more line bc its hella long

1. coffee mugs, teacups, wine glasses, water bottles, or soda cans?

water bottles

2. chocolate bars or lollipops?

ehhh depends on my mood. i’d say it’s (dark) chocolate most of the time (love that 70% dark chocolate mmMmMm)

3. bubblegum or cotton candy?

cotton candy!! except when it gets all over my face and hair o no

4. how did your elementary school teachers describe you?

common report book comments included

- very active

- bright

- “the live wire of the class”

- usually distracted but still does well

- mischievous

- playful

5. do you prefer to drink soda from soda cans, soda bottles, plastic cups or glass cups?

bottles so that i can close it and save the rest for later and not have to chug it yeet

6. pastel, boho, tomboy, preppy, goth, grunge, formal or sportswear?

sportswear #sweatpantsalldayeveryday

7. earbuds or headphones?

def headphones but they’re inconvenient sometimes :/

8. movies or tv shows?

tv shows!! (also, my adhd ass can’t get through a movie without zoning out oops)

9. favorite smell in the summer?

i haven’t experienced /real/ summer (thank u singapore’s tropical climate) but i rly like the smell of rain :”)

10. game you were best at in p.e.?

making up excuses to skip pe

11. what you have for breakfast on an average day?

belvitas before morning practice

croissant sandwich and chocolate milk after practice

if there’s no practice, then scrambled eggs from the dining hall lolol

if i’m too lazy to go to the dining hall, then cereal

12. name of your favorite playlist?

it’s literally called jams and the description is “a clusterfuck of stuff i’ve jammed to at some point”

13. lanyard or key ring?

key ring

14. favorite non-chocolate candy?

gummy bears/sour patch kids

15. favorite book you read as a school assignment?

death of a salesman - arthur miller

16. most comfortable position to sit in?

with one foot up on the chair and the other leg sitting normally

17. most frequently worn pair of shoes?

a pair of asics sneakers

18. ideal weather?

15ºc/60ºf when its like cool but not too cold but also not ridiculously hot and also when theres no insane wind (a light breeze is fine)

19. sleeping position?

on my left side and hugging a pillow/bolster/soft toy

20. preferred place to write (i.e., in a note book, on your laptop, sketchpad, post-it notes, etc.)?

i like the feeling of pen and paper but im disorganized as hell so an apple pencil + ipad makes a good enough substitute

21. obsession from childhood?

frogs (i’ve loved them since i was 3 hehe)

22. role model?

a dude i used to train with for a while in 2014. he retired last year but he’s always looked out for me like an older brother since we trained together (he’s 8 years older than me lmao) and even thought i’m so far away rn he still checks in on me and stuff and idk he’s probably one of the swimmers i respect the most.

23. strange habits?

i cant fall asleep at night if im not hugging something. like. it could be a pillow. or a soft toy. literally anything. once on a school trip i hugged a pair of sweatpants to sleep bc i legit cant fall asleep if im not hugging something.i have no problem falling asleep in class/on buses/cars/planes though.

24. favorite crystal?

idk i never really paid enough attention to crystals to actually have a favorite and know their names. they’re all rly pretty tho.

25. first song you remember hearing?

uhh h h i honestly can’t remember. probably some classical music bc i played the violin and that was my first experience of music that i was actually aware of????

26. favorite activity to do in warm weather?

switch on the aircon and take a nap / sit in bed on netflix/playing on my nintendo switch. and swimming outdoors i guess.

27. favorite activity to do in cold weather?

switch on the heater and take a nap / sit in bed on netflix/playing on my nintendo switch.

do u see a pattern here

28. five songs to describe you?

jet lag - simple plan (bc time zones suck and i miss my fam & friends)

avalanche - bring me the horizon (pretty much sums up how tf my brain feels)

high hopes - p!atd

astronaut - simple plan

the reckless and the brave - all time low

29. best way to bond with you?

doing dumb shit with me

also Quality Time™️ like idk even if we’re chilling and doing our own shit i like just spending time with people im comfortable enough with

30. places that you find sacred?

idk

31. what outfit do you wear to kick ass and take names?

a hoodie and sweatpants

for no reason other than that’s what i wear 90% of the time

32. top five favorite vines?

I AM CONFUSION!!! AMERICA EXPLAIN

this bitch empty. yeet.

im in my mom’s car VROOM VROOM

the one of that dad playing the saxophone (???) and the kid slamming the oven door open and shut

road works ahead “haha yea sure hope it does!”

33. most used phrase in your phone?

either lmao or lolol or LMFAO or yeet

34. advertisements you have stuck in your head?

gOD i had spotify ads stuck in my head all the time before i switched to premium and now i cant remember any of them (thank god)

35. average time you fall asleep?

i’d say 12:30-1ish

36. what is the first meme you remember ever seeing?

the tROLL FACE MEME LIKE those rage faces idk what they’re called but BASICALLY THOSE 2010-2012 era memes

37. suitcase or duffel bag?

suitcase!!! i like sitting on them and yeeting myself around on them or getting people to push me around and then falling off

38. lemonade or tea?

lemonade

39. lemon cake or lemon meringue pie?

ngl i havent had either of them before

40. weirdest thing to ever happen at your school?

so in jc2 (aka 12th grade), for some reason PEOPLE WERE PUTTING PRE-PACKAGED HARD BOILED EGGS ALL OVER THE SCHOOL. like they were still in their wrappers and all but u could open ur schoolbag and find like 5 eggs in there. and no one knew where they came from. i think at one point there were even eggs hanging from the pull-up bars. all i know is that they were everywhere and people in my batch still remember it as the egg invasion of acjc.

41. last person you texted?

my mom

42. jacket pockets or pants pockets?

def jacket!!! especially when they have zips hehe

43. hoodie, leather jacket, cardigan, jean jacket or bomber jacket?

hoodie

44. favorite scent for soap?

idk man depends on my mood

45. which genre: sci-fi, fantasy or superhero?

sci-fi bc im a fricken nerd

46. most comfortable outfit to sleep in?

shirt and sweats

47. favorite type of cheese?

cheddarrr also i like mozzerrella sticks

48. if you were a fruit, what kind would you be?

a fineapple B)

lmao jk ummmm maybe a watermelon bc when u hit it it sounds hollow, just like how my skull would sound if someone hit it (h a)

49. what saying or quote do you live by?

here for a good time not for a long time

never give up without a fight

50. what made you laugh the hardest you ever have?

idk probably some dumb meme. i laugh at a lot of stuff like i laugh anything even mildly funny. some that i can think of off the top of my head are:

- i was tryna type ducky but typed fucky instead and sOmEOnE (could be the person who submitted this ask, idk tho) changed my facebook messenger nickname to fucky and the notification was like ”poopy butthole changed your nickname to fucky” and i think that’s still the funniest sentence i’ve read in my whole life

- one time we went to mcdonalds and a friend said mcfluffy instead of mcflurry and idk why but i laughed so hard at that

- once @doduo and i spent half a chinese lesson cutting out random faces from the chinese newspaper and sticking them randomly all over the classroom and idk. it was the funniest thing ever. until the teacher came over and confiscated my scissors rip.

51. current stresses?

- an essay draft (that i am procrastinating rn by doing this, oops)

- CANADIAN TRIALS (but thats a good kind of stress)

- submitting a proposal for a group project but none of my groupmates are freaking replying my texts ugh

52. favorite font?

avenir next!! i find san serif fonts way easier to read than serif lolol.i like helvetica neue too.

53. what is the current state of your hands?

dry af but also i just got my nails done so they pretty rn hehe

54. what did you learn from your first job?

i…havent had a real job yet

55. favorite fairy tale?

idk i was never rly one for fairy tales even as a kid.

56. favorite tradition?

chinese new year when we get CASH and we spend 3 days just eating junk yEET im rly sad im gonna be missing it the next few years tho

57. the three biggest struggles you’ve overcome?

hh h h hh hhh hh hh they’re pretty personal i don’t /really/ wanna put it out here but i can text you the answer to this if you want (i’m perfectly fine with that!!)

58. four talents you’re proud of having?

- i think i’m pretty intuitive!!! i can guess anyone’s mbti if i’ve spent enough time with them/gotten a detailed enough description of them /winks/ and i can read people pretty well in general and i can draw links to themes/symbols in lit pretty well….???

- i’m somewhat decent at lettering…i think

- i’m good at pull-ups and also vertical jumps i’m secretly a froge

- i’m decent at photography…i guess….

59. if you were a video game character, what would your catchphrase be?

yeet

60. if you were a character in an anime, what kind of anime would you want it to be?

pokemon !!

61. favorite line you heard from a book/movie/tv show/etc.?

/sweats/ i’m not very good at remembering lines from books/movies/shows WELP

62. seven characters you relate to?

JAKE PERALTA - b99

rosa diaz - b99

linguine - ratatouille (he’s permanently confused and he let a ratto take over his job bc he had no idea what he was doing like damn what a big mood)

dory - finding nemo/finding dory (i relate to the forgetfulness)

percy jackson

kale bae /winks/

mitt (during bad phases) /winks again, but sadly/

63. five songs that would play in your club?

idek man i wouldnt even be at my own club i’d be at home taking a nap i’ll just ask someone else to handle my playlist

64. favorite website from your childhood?

club penguin !!!

65. any permanent scars?

yE one of them was from jumping onto a treadmill going at 13km/h 2 years ago bc i thought i was a good idea

66. favorite flower(s)?

i dont have any

67. good luck charms?

i eat pancakes for breakfast on meet days!!!! altho i think this is more of a habit than a good luck charm tbh lmao.

also i guess pip???? he’s my emotional support narwhal :’)

68. worst flavor of any food or drink you’ve ever tried?

durian. i cant stand the stuff or anything flavored like it ugh.

69. a fun fact that you don’t know how you learned?

red food coloring is derived from beetles

70. left or right handed?

right

71. least favorite pattern?

overly-floral patterns i guessssss. also i hate wearing stripes.

72. worst subject?

chinese

besides that, math and physics

73. favorite weird flavor combo?

i rly like vanilla ice cream and fries

also i would eat ketchup with nearly anything

74. at what pain level out of ten (1 through 10) do you have to be at before you take an advil or ibuprofen?

i usually just suck it up and go to sleep when it comes to pain but i guess an 8??? idk. i usually take advil/ibuprofen only for fevers

75. when did you lose your first tooth?

i got my first loose tooth on january 11 2005 and it fell out on january 18 2005 & it was a tuesday (pls don’t ask me how i remember this bc i dont know)

76. what’s your favorite potato food (i.e. tater tots, baked potatoes, fries, chips, etc.)?

tater tots

77. best plant to grow on a windowsill?

cactus i guess. idk im not good at plants.

78. coffee from a gas station or sushi from a grocery store?

grocery store sushi (it was pretty decent in singapore so yeeeee lmao also i ate a lot of that as a kid)

79. which looks better, your school id photo or your driver’s license photo?

its the same photo for both so yeAh

80. earth tones or jewel tones?

earth

81. fireflies or lightning bugs?

idk i always called them fireflies

82. pc or console?

console I LOVE THE FEEL OF BUTTONS

83. writing or drawing?

drawing (more like doodlign for me bc i cant draw for shit)

84. podcasts or talk radio?

neither but if i rlllllly had to choose then podcasts i guessss s sss

84. barbie or polly pocket?

neither LMAO i gave all my barbies haircuts when i was a kid bc i didnt know what to do with them

85. fairy tales or mythology?

mythology for sure!! i love greek mythology (may or may not be bc of percy jackson lolol)

86. cookies or cupcakes?

87. your greatest fear?

losing those i love and care about (could be drifting or actual death it goes both ways)

88. your greatest wish?

rn, for my essay to write itself

for the short-term, to make the olympics (and WUGs…and worlds…and sea games…and asian games…and commonwealth games lmao)

for the long-term, uhhh idk. i just wanna live a life i’m satisfied with and to have a job i actually like and to be able to support my parents

89. who would you put before everyone else?

my mom

90. luckiest mistake?

i always say that i regret doing a year of college in singapore instead of coming here for freshman year but if i’d come in a year earlier like i was supposed to, i proba wouldn’t have made it past swim team tryouts and i made some pretty great friends in my first year of college soooo it all worked out i guessi cant think of any others rn

91. boxes or bags?

bags

92. lamps, overhead lights, sunlight or fairy lights?

fairy lights are rly pretty!!but i like natural light :”)

93. nicknames?

deb

debs

debo

debbo

alpha childuhh h h i think thats about it??? i cant remember any others

94. favorite season?

spring’s pretty great rni like fall too (before it gets cOLd)

95. favorite app on your phone?

insta/tumblr/telegram

96. desktop background?

a photo of me looking rly cool at the starting blocks before a race B)

97. how many phone numbers do you have memorized?

4 - mine (singapore & US), my mom’s and my dad’s

98. favorite historical era?

uhh h h idk the ice age seemed pretty cool haha sike it was actually coldmedieval times seemed pretty cool too like damn i want a suit of armorWHEW I SPENT WAY TOO MUCH TIME ON THIS but i had fun so yeet

also if you read all the way down here ily and you’re cool

#ask #this was hella long #but also hella fun

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