Wacom Inkling

cute but I dont see the point of it, they need to make a portable drawing/paint tablet

I already have a Wacom, but I've been looking at a less laborious way to hand draw and then scan. Now I know I can draw straight into the computer, but I don't like it, I like the feel of paper to pen and making that physical mark.

This seems to be the good inbetween, as my scanner is very old and making angry old man noises. Plus it is a cheaper alternative to the Asus Eee Slate tablet that I considered.

It doesn´t scan. It digitalizes sketches, which is pretty cool and useful if you work as a graphic designer. I personally think this is a very clever little invention!
I´d buy it. Not in a very near future, but i´ll definetly buy it! Oh, the time i would save verctorizing lineart...!

It all really depends on how much the ink cartridges are going to cost. Because if we are supposed to be sketching with this thing. I can see myself personally burning through the cartridges fast. If the ink cartridges don't have any tech in them, I hope they don't overcharge on the cartridges. If they can get the next version of this to closer to 100 or under man it could be big. It just depends on how much they kill us on these ink cartridges.

Think you misunderstood it man. It reads whatever you draw, not scans it, and it converts the image instantly to a vector based image if you want it like that too. You can always make layers at a click of a button so it said, so I assume you can scribble a skeleton, click the layer button, draw over the skeleton some detail, and the clever kit will separate them into layers.

The ink cartridge will be the issue, as will be the cost. I want to see a capable artist use this to good effect and see where they can take it before I buy, but seems clever.

I will be getting one as soon as I can.

You get three extra ink cartridges with the initial purchase, according to the specs on the official site (where there are also more videos.)

I've done some research on this and it is supposed to be able to take any of the mini ball point refill cartridges as long as its black ink. This means you can buy the super cheap refills from any office supply store.

The joy of it appears to be

a) Extreme portability. You can sit anywhere and draw. You're not harnessed to a tablet.

b) It can convert your lines into vector which effectively means a small drawing can be enlarged to any size without loss. Not even a scanner can do that.

c) It can work in layers.

I'm guessing this is just the beginning and that Wacom will work on other pens/brushes that are not necessarily ballpoint.
I'm saving my pennies already. This is a must have item.

(I'm an illustrator and already use and love the Wacom Cintiq)

"I'm not going to buy it because I already have a scanner"

So true, on every feature explanation on the site insert "or you could just use a scanner" and it fits, and you can use your own materials that way too, sans the need to draw with a battery with a pen stuck on the end that you have to hold a special way

the vectors can be auto done in illustrator and more often than not look a point infested mess like auto anything. I wont be buying this.

This is a huge thing if you are a graphic designer or artist. It is nothing like scanning. It turns your drawings into vector files or mathematically algorithms. The only way to do this prior to the device was to either draw on a tablet, or trace your drawing using Illustrator. It also lets you make layers automatically which is also a huge feature. It really isn't for the hobbyist unless you know what you are doing.

Actually looks awesome, and i can't compare it with sketching on a tablet, but of course depends the cost of the ink and how fast needs to be replaced.

Ive been commenting on this with a quite a few artists. Im not excited to draw with a ballpoint pen but wacom comes out with all kinds of different stylus for all its lines and I cant see this being any different.

A couple things people are missing is not only does it read the lines and convert them into vectors, which can easily be turned into a selection and there for a mask, (thats a big deal in photoshop- you can spend a lot of time painting in masks) but the unit is also pressure sensitive so you get different effects depending how hard you press. This is huge.

Ive used the auto trace tools in a lot of different programs and all of them make a complete mess, not sure if this will be any different. We will have to see.
Wacoms track record is pretty solid. I have high expectations.

Any scanner + Illustrator CS5 will do the same job. The function to convert a scanned drawing to vectors if very easy to use.
Seriously, $200 to sketch with a ballpoint pen ?

thing is cool! The scanner is not always at hand. And of course if the cartridges can be purchased at kotstovarah, this is great! But ... (I did not carry out research ...) But obviously we can not wipe the image from the paper It seems that the image can be changed only in electronic form or redraw everything.
But still I'll buy it :))))))

Here's some details that a few people have been asking. The Ink Refills are just standard Mini Ballpoint ink refills. Ballpoint Pen Pressure with 1024 levels. Works on PC's and Macs. Also works on any paper that's no bigger than 8.27” x 11.69 inches. Working time is 8 hours.

I'd LOVE to buy it, how very cool it will depend on how much the ink costs, and how long it lasts

I, too, am eagerly awaiting this item. As far as I can figure out, only Amazon is taking preorders. No one else, including Wacom is. The biggest question mark for me is how responsive and accurate is the capture gizmo. If you do a lot a small lines, will the device be able to resolve them, etc. Not something you can know until someone does a real test.

Firstly hello and I love this blog.

Now that is out the way I have to say that the opening view of this post on this smart device being a 'scanner' is a little ignorant - this is not a scanner it is effectively making a duplicate of your drawing so you draw on paper and at the same time you get a digital version which you can open in Illustrator or Photoshop and manipulate. You can also save out in many file formats (JPG, BMP, TIFF, PNG, SVG and PDF) from the Inkling software and then once in the Adobe apps you can save out in most of the other formats like .EPS, .AI, .PSD etc.

The pen has 1024 pressure sensitivity and I find it to be a great little device - no wires, no need for a tablet just the pen and receiver and whatever paper you are drawing on.

The cartridges are also cheap - made in Switzerland - one place I found some on are here:
https://autopointinc.com/ministar-ink-refill.html

You get 5 refills and one cart in the pen so you have enough for a few weeks/months depending on how much you draw so the carts are not made by Wacom :)

For anyone interested please check my short video on the Inkling here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GXNu-d7PShk

My art is on Facebook here: https://www.facebook.com/pixelspencilart

Hope this all helps you guys!

Anybody know why you still can't buy the flipping thing?

I am very interested in purchasing this Inkling but it doesn't seem to be available on Amazon even though that's where it says to buy it.
Can you help me out?

Thanks