Without further delay, here are the pics....
....Could it really be here?
.. I even used an X-Acto knife to open the box!
..the suspense.... it's killing me...
..out of the way pesky bubble wrap!....
.... another box??! I'm dying here!!
.... could it take any longer!
... feels good to see that original Macbook box...
.... where is it? where is it?
... It came with two pens. One's already in the pen slot ready for action. They also packed a generous supply of extra nibs including the artist-friendly graphite tip. The grip on the Wacom Cintiq stylus feels better for overall drawing and i'm psyched it will work on the Modbook...
.... almost there... I'm digging that new Mag-Safe power supply from Apple...
..... just about there....
.... the angels are singing in the heavens once more!!...
... still can't believe my eyes. I'm chomping at the bit now..
..about an hour and a half later.... after migrating all my stuff from my G4 Powerbook, the Modbook lives. Like are real nerd I named my old laptop "The Silver Surfer". He will now take a backseat as a new champion is crowned... Hail "Colussus 1"!
.. a jealous cousin looks on. My Cintiq chills in the background giving the Modbook it's due. I didn't take a picture but the Cintiq interfaced with the Modbook flawlessly. Obviously running with more memory under a 2.2 ghz Intel Dual core, the Cintiq felt very spritely and crisp.
... in a blue mood...... so much to discover... so little time. It got late so I had to shut down the festivities. Here a quick assessment of my little test drive:
The FORCE GLASS and PEN-ABLED DIGITIZER works like a dream. Since I last tried the machine out at Comic-Con, Axiotron has further refined the consistency of the chemical etch on the glass. This makes sketching on it at par with the Cintiq. With several apps open, I tried some brisk sketching using both Adobe Photoshop and Autodesk's Sketchbook Pro and it didn't skip a beat.
Working without a keyboard is really awkward but Axiotron's proprietary virtual keyboard program QUICKCLICKS gave me a huge assist. It's a multi-mode keyboard that hovers over all windows and enabled me to enter passwords, shortcuts and some light typing on Microsoft Word. I did finally connect a Mac keyboard so I could continue finishing my set up.
Apple's OS X handwriting software INK (Formerly called INKWELL) was impressive as well. It was weird and clunky trying to hand write text but thankfully, the settings can be refined to match general handwriting quirks.
Needless to say, I'm still in the honeymoon phase with this machine but in the coming weeks and months, i'll be sharing more details about my experiences working with this new tool. My initiative is to have the Modbook bridge my needs in between my work and home studios. The portability means I can work paperless and lay down very definitive ideas in an organized fashion. The Modbook is the ultimate drawing platform but it also has the capability of being a presentation tool. All without switching machines. I even plan to take it to life drawing class.
The possibilities are plenty with the Modbook. Now let's see how it all works out.
11 comments:
Ahhh...the wait is over! You're new baby. Please do share your modbook creative experiences. You were right Louie...this the coolest machine! I had a chance to work at the Axiotron booth with Emma. Be sure to check what everyone painted during the week. I have links on my latest posts.
I've been blogging my experience as well, but right now all it includes is WAITING for the darn thing to get here! You are the third person now I've counted that seems to have received their ModBook (finally)... and I'll be watching closely to see what you think as you begin drawing with it more (love your stuff btw).
Feel free to check out my blog... www.ModBookArt.com ... if you like... I hope you don't mind I'm going to link to you and post one of your ModBook photos (with credit to you of course!)
ps...
Where did you get SketchbookPro? I thought the latest version was compatible with Intel-Macs?? Or were you using it with a Windows install on Parallels?
Bah! I pre-ordered mine like a week after they announed the thing last year, and after getting an email back in December saying I'd have mine by Jan. 11th... I STILL have yet to get an email saying it has shipped :/ I'm soo anxious here.
Gerald,
Great job on those Macworld paintings!! I brought it to work today for the first time and it was a hit. I'll definitely keep posting about it.
irabbit,
Like I said, the wait wasn't fun but it's all worth it. I'll be sure to check out your blog for your Modbook posts. And yes, please link away!
I think you can still download the demo at the Autodesk site. The full version is around $175 I think? I have the Mac version which I'm sure is running under Rosetta since it was developed for the Power PC. But even with the translation, it works flawlessly on Intel Macs.
Eric,
I got my re-configure email in December as well after Jan 11 came and went I just said "oh well, here we go again..."
I suspect yours will arrive shortly though...Let me know what you think when you get it.
Thanks for the info on Sketchbook Louie... I had thought (and read) that it didn't work on Leopard, but I'll be sure to download the demo once I get the ModBook. Gonna check out ArtRage too. And I already use Painter X.
BTW, I hope you'll put yourself on the ModBook map...
http://www.modbookart.com/ModBookArt/ModBookMap.html
Drop me an email anytime!
The Modbook is an amazing device. I was one of the presenters for Axiotron at Macworld and really got to put the machine through it's paces. It never skipped a beat.
As far as Sketchbook goes, Autodesk will actually be releasing a new version soon. It's optimized for Intel Macs and works like a charm. One of the new features is that you can see your artwork on each level of the layers palette. That way you don't have to label everything.
Louie,
That looks so cool. I remember when you were waiting for this a year ago. It look like it was worth the wait. I'll have to check your new blog to see how it goes.
Congrats on getting over the wait, Louie! Hope the Modbook treats you good.
Shannon!
I didn't know you where up there at Macworld. I did get an invite from Axiotron but I couldn't get away.
I am definitely geeking out over this machine. For lack of a better description, It's like drawing on butter!!
Thanks for the Sketchbook Pro update. That program has the best tool simulation and has so much potential. I am glad Autodesk is investing in it and not selling it off to a company like Corel who will turn around and over-complicate the interface.
So i'm assuming you are getting a Modbook for yourself?
Scot,
I remember hyping so much about it and sounding like a snake-oil salesman at Nickeldoeon! And everyone was saying "Ok, but when can we see it??"
At least now I have the machine to show people. Thanks for stopping by!
DUUUUDE!!!
Dude.
That's awesome.
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