Using an MS Surface as a graphics tablet

[Taleweaver]

Hey,

since I got myself a Microsoft Surface a few weeks ago and also own that neat pen that came with it, I thought it might now be a good time to acquire a new skill and teach myself drawing. However, I'm not certain how well the Surface works as a graphics tablet.

Anyone got some experience on these things? Is it feasible to use one for that purpose? What software would I need?

[Rozume]

What kind of Surface is it? Is it a Microsoft Surface Pro 3? Because Frenden has a review on using that as a drawing tablet.

I don't know much about these things - the closest I've been was using my iPad as a drawing tablet before with pressure sensitive tablet pen. But I assume if you want to use it for drawing, then find out if you can get pressure sensitivity with your pen. You'll definitely have to look around to see if you can do that though.

As for drawing/painting software, you'll definitely have to look for apps. I think Sketchbook Pro has a Windows app.

[Taleweaver]

What kind of Surface is it? Is it a Microsoft Surface Pro 3? Because Frenden has a review on using that as a drawing tablet.

Yup, that's it. Thanks for the link!

But I assume if you want to use it for drawing, then find out if you can get pressure sensitivity with your pen.

It has. That was one of the things I found out AFTER buying, and is also why I am thinking of using the system to teach myself to draw.

[Kuroneko_rg]

I got interested on surface pro when I read about it on Penny Arcade. Originally surface pro 2 but later surface pro 3. Links below.

http://www.penny-arcade.com/news/post/2 ... urface-pro
http://www.penny-arcade.com/news/post/2 ... face-pro-2
http://www.penny-arcade.com/news/post/2 ... face-pro-3
http://www.penny-arcade.com/news/post/2 ... o-3-update

I haven't followed the topic since then so it might be a bit outdated.

Edit: Added link for the first surface pro which is the one that caught my eye not 2(got them mistaken at the time of writing).

[chocojax]

I've had one for a few months now! You can pretty much use it whenever you wanna draw, since it's so convenient to use. I also believe it has... ~250 levels of sensitivity, but it pretty much feels the same as my intuos4. (But I'd like to say, even if it didn't have pressure sensitivity, it is still useable as a graphics tablet since... well, you can draw!)

I'd say you can use pretty much anything, but I'm using SAI at the moment (supports sensitivity). Photoshop has pressure sensitivity as well.

(I don't think you've noticed it yet if it's still pretty new, but my tablet has this issue every once in a while where the cursor of the pen drops to the bottom of the screen when trying to write. It seems to happen to my friend's tablet as well. But, it seems to work normally again after restarting, etc.)