just wondering.

Initially I preferred sketching with my tablet because it was easier to erase and not as messy as pencil. however now that I have a laptop and no desk to use it on I find it really annoying to find a position in which I can use my tablet comfortably. maybe it'll change once I get a laptop desk, but for now I find it much more comfortable to sketch on paper.

how about you?

well i have a tablet laptop, so i like it much more than a pencil and paper. but if its a normal tablet, then i prefer the pencil.

i've been wrestling with this lately actually. i think that my work is better in pencil than when i sketch with my tablet. i have a more refined sense because of the resistance i think. or it could be because i have only had my tablet for what? less than a month? lol! so i am still unfamiliar with what it can really do i think.

thus far i am too lazy to draw in pencil and then scan, and too unhappy with my sketching abilities on my tablet, so i've been buying art and coloring sketches other people have done XD

I improve more when I sketch on paper, since I know the limits of erasing (smudges, tears ect). However I use tablet more now since I have limited access to a good scanner, and most of my commissions are done digitally. I do plan to make a shift to traditional commissions. I have painted with watercolor for years, and I find it even better than digital painting.

I'm lazy so it usually depends on what's most available :B Whenever I'm without my computer and/or tablet, I'm totally comfortable sketching traditionally, but when I'm already sitting at my computer it feels like such a hassle to walk aaaallllllll the way across the room to get a sketchbook and a good pencil. dramatic sigh

And yeah, it's nice that it's easy to fix things digitally, but like said, traditional sketching forces you to be more careful and get things right the first time. So there's advantages either way.

Uh digital. Flip horizontal every 5 minutes please.

Pencil. Tablet has a crapload more advantages, but it's much easier to work tiny details while viewing a whole image when you don't have to zoom in and out. I am trying to get used to tablet though.

I prefer sketching/drawing with a pencil. Anything with a pencil in general is more comfy for me. But the tablet is so neat. :c Yet, I can never get my lines to look right, like I can with my pencil, so I prefer paper. Aaaaand, if my tablet pen weren't broken, I'm sure I could practice... but it's not so I can't :P

Pencil. I used to sketch on the compy and line straight from there, but I find it more convenient to scan a sketch. o.o' I can be more precise with the lines and such :p

I don't have a tablet. But if I ever do, I'll still stick with a pencil. I use a mouse for all my digital artwork though. :p

pencil ^^ erasing is so much easier

Tablet. CTRL + Z (undo) is a digital artist's best friend.

Pencil, please~

I have a tendency to hunch over my work and get in really close, and turn my stuff upside down or on it's side, and the fact that I can get up and take it somewhere without having to drag everything with me is just... really nice. And I can't take my computer to the mall to do gesture sketches now, can I? When I am on a tablet, I have to stay with my computer, I can't sit comfortably, and my hand always cramps up like a bitch after about a half an hour or so. Plus I do not have/cannot figure out how to get the pressure sensitivity to work with my tablet (it's really old, but a real trooper!), and I like being ale to manipulate my line-weight.

Plus, I just flat out like the look and quality of traditional-media work over digital. There is just something more.. personable about it. Like you can feel the artist drawing it (that makes no sense but whatever XD), and I like the tangible quality of being able to feel my work through, more than see but touch and everything. :BB

I like pencil & paper more. I dunno why, but it's a whole lot easier for me. I think because I can move the paper around and control line thickness without changing the brush every 6 seconds and/or erasing line ends (since apparently my tablet is lame and doesnt have pen pressure :1 ) Also, my sketches turn out better on paper than on a computer for some reason. i think it's because its just more natural than staring at screen. I prefer coloring on a computer though. I have no patience with colored pencils or anything traditional.

Bawwww I'm so glad someone actually does these on here. Most people I've mentioned the idea of going out into public and sketching people have considered it creepy. I wanna be able to go out an do that myself one day so badly. ;A;

Anyways, I prefer sketching with a pencil and I have a feeling I'll stick with it in the long run. Sure I like how easy it is with the pen pressure whenever I use my tablet, but I feel like it's easier to manipulate where the lines go more by hand. As in, they always come out so shaky when I use my tablet. Not that I hate those lines, but oddly enough even the shaky lines I do with a pencil end up coming out better than the ones with my tablet. I really like doing blind contour sketches sometimes too, but they're ridiculously hard to do on a computer. How am I supposed to look at a reference and draw it at the same time without looking at my sketch when they're so close?

Pawpee- Yeah, I totally love doing gesture sketches. It's so relaxing and everything. I don't have to worry about it being OMG PERFECT, and everything is nice and loose and sketchy and helps you so~~ much in the long run. It teaches you to look at movement and shapes and stuff before looking at details because you have to move so quickly to get them down, and it gives you an appreciation for drawing different body types (oh god I love doing sketches of heavy-set people, they have such interesting shapes to draw! <3<3<3). I love going out on really busy shopping days, 'cause there are so many different people. X3

That actually makes me think of another reason why I like pencil better- you can hold it different ways. With a tablet pen, you have to use what I call a 'dear mom' hold on the pen (and this is why I get hand-cramps with a tablet), and this causes you to rest your arm and use your wrist more when you draw. You make shorter lines, and end up noodling away at little details more when you should be worrying about working out the whole picture first. In reality, you should use a 'sketch hand' to hold your pencil, which forces you to use your arm more when you make movements with the pencil, and gives you more fluid drawings, and also makes you use the side of the pencil graphite rather than the point, which means more manipulation of the line-width.

For reference, this is what I mean by 'dear mom' and 'sketch' hands.

Lol, I bet I sound so matter-of-fact and know-it-all-y XD... I don't mean to ^^;;

When I use my laptop and my tablet together I usually sit on a couch with the tablet on a pillow next to me so it's kind of raised to my level? If that makes sense. It works pretty well.

But I prefer to sketch in pencil.. I just don't like how you can't turn a tablet to the right angle.

Thelxepiae- Yeah, I do this too with my tablet while I am at the couch, and I know when I am at my desk with it, even then it's not on a flat surface. I usually have it in my lap, clutched all close to myself XD... I think this is just me trying to keep my hand steady- I don't know why, but I have a much wigglier hand when I am working with my tablet (well, I have this issue sometimes when I ink traditional, too, but I think that's just, 'oh god don't drew up the lines you can't fix it now!' anxiety XD)

I mostly always sketch with a tablet for all my work. ;c ..Because I'm way too lazy to scan.

Though a few friends told me that my work turns out better if the sketch was from paper. 0:

[ And I usually draw those sketches in math class. :'D ]

I am far more controlled when sketching traditionally. I also can look at the piece from different angles/distances better. Occasionally, I do sketch something in photoshop that's decent but more often than naught it just doesn't work.

So yes, pencil for me!