Scanner/SCSI card/cable update, plus my first all-digital art
February 4th, 2009 by ReinderI have a working SCSI card again, and though it uses a different cable configuration than I described earlier, I know what cable that is and where to find it. I may balk a bit at the cost but will probably put in the order soon, as the alternatives aren't too appealing. I have had a few items scanned at a local scanner service, but at a price of € 5 a scan and a maximum resolution of 400 DPI (NOT good enough for archiving or indeed for submission to a professionally printed magazine), the cable price becomes worth paying very quickly.
It may still be a few days before I can scan at home again, and today after testing the card, I spent some time exploring yet another alternative: all-digital drawing. I've had tablets for years, and do a lot of work with them, but until today, I had never created more than a doodle from scratch in any art software. Today, I changed that by drawing this:
Portrait of Tamlin, for use on the Modern Tales cast pages
It was a bit awkward for me to work on as I found it hard to draw some of the curves. I undid the jawline a few dozen times before getting one that was good enough. But the result, while flawed, is flawed in pretty much the same ways as my hand-drawn work, so for a first attempt, it's very encouraging. The image is used in the new cast pages on Modern Tales and I will try and do a full-body portrait this weekend. Total time less than an hour and likely to get faster with practice.
Tags: art, cast portrait, Rogues of Clwyd-Rhan, Scanner, SCSI, Tamlin
February 5th, 2009 at 6:29 am
Just a thought on your cable issue… this one: http://www.cablestogo.com/product.asp?cat_id=932&sku=03559 is the same type of cable as the black box one you linked to, and it’s only $23. I would imagine someone must sell it in Europe for a comparable number of euros.
February 5th, 2009 at 8:39 am
Thanks! Their site says it’s not available though.