Bumpy Starts

And 2011 gets off to... a bumpy start.

The impact of cold and flu season aside, in early-to-mid January, my beloved laptop started making a horrible whining and whirring noise. It would start quiet, then start increasing in intensity and pitch until it sounded like it was seconds from imploding.

Needless to say, there was a mad dash to get everything backed up on an external hard drive and a trip to the local Geek Squad there... who kept it for two weeks.

But all is well now in Kitland. I've got my baby back, and thanks to a new fan, it no longer sounds like it's planning to kill me the first chance it gets. Maybe now things can finally get back on track!

How to Develop a Twitch

Step 1: Run an older version of Photoshop on Windows 7.

Step 2: Compulsively save your work after every action for fear of the dreaded "Illegal action/Not enough RAM/You just lost half an hour's work!" pop-up.

*headdesk*

It's not a big enough problem that I'm going to shell out hundreds of dollars for a newer version of Photoshop. For one thing, I actually really like the version I have. But it's random spazzing at inopportune moments? Yeah, that I could do without, especially when I have to restart my computer every time it happens.

Needless to say, there's a reason this week's page is going slower than I'd hoped. However, it WILL get done! *strikes a pose of DETERMINATION!*

Now, back to your regularly scheduled programming.

Pressure Sensitivity Problems Solved!

Sorta. Turns out Manga Studio 3.0 is nooooot quite compatible with Vista or Windows 7: the pressure sensitivity just does not work. After spending some time checking out help forums and whatnot, my brother finally suggested we try the demo for Manga Studio 4 to see if it was still a problem them... and lo and behold, pressure sensitivity was fine.

Fortunately, it's just an upgrade, so it cost me $130-something instead of $300. Oi.

Anyways, I opted for a physical copy this time (my last copy was a download), so I've got a little time before it arrives. Alas, I found out AFTER that that the demo doesn't allow you to export. In the mean time, I decided to make sure Photoshop wasn't having any problems and did a quick little experiment in a different style than usual:



Not my best work. I was trying for something. Didn't quite get it. But I'm actually happy with the lips for once, so that earns him a posting somewhere. Basically, I wanted to do something where I could use a few different brushes, do some smudging and blending, and not spend a WHOLE lot of time on it. Character's name is Erich, btw... older brother of one of my RP characters, hence the unusual hair color. I dunno, I've just never liked drawing completely random characters. Gotta have some sort of story there.

75% Good, Maybe 25% Eh

Well, I've had a few days to play around with the new laptop, and so far I'm pretty happy! It's lightweight, only needs an extra fan when its playing WoW, runs WoW beautifully, and can even function with other programs running at the same time. I'm adapting well to Office, and I'm starting to get used to the different screen proportions - this one's longer and squatter than my former Toshiba, so that takes a little time to acclimate there. And Windows 7 seems to be working pretty well for me.

Things I'm not so fond of: the control panel that keeps trying to pull out every time my cursor wanders too close to the left side of the screen, some of the Win7 navigation, and the fact that I can't figure out how to set up my tablet. Seriously. I know it's not the laptop's fault, but I can't find my pressure sensitivity, and that's kiiiiinda important for the whole art thing.

I'll probably have to draft my brother to figure out that last one...

But overall, yeah, so far way more good than bad. I'm happy.

New Laptop!

Yes, I know, I move at the pace of molasses, but when a purchase is going to cost me more than $500, I like to take my time.

And if I'd been able to find a piece of machinery that could actually handle what I want it to, I would have been ecstatic. Between the laptop itself, the service package (which, we learned after my father's famous "Don't worry, we'll get that LATER! :D," is best purchased at the same time as the laptop), Office, and all that fun stuff, I ended up dropping close to $1500. Oy.

Anyways, I opted for a lovely Toshiba Satellite A505, which is the upgrade to my current model... which I am still using for the time being. The new one is currently going through the lengthy - and I do mean lengthy - WoW install. Hopefully, everything will be transferred over by the end of tonight, and I'll actually be able to use it.

In Need of a New Laptop

Let me start by saying this: I love my Toshiba Satellite. It has served me very well since 2003 or 2004.

Unfortunately... it has been serving me since 2003 or 2004, and it is starting to have problems. It's starting to go slow, windows don't show up on the task bar, it's been overheating and randomly shutting off, and on occasion, it has trouble finding the power to run both the cooling fan and my tablet. It's been a good laptop... but it's time to put it out to pasture.

I'm thinking about another Toshiba. I will not be getting a Mac - lovely and fantastic as they are for digital art, they are oh so hard on the pocket book - and I'm not too fond of Gateways, but any other than that, I'm open-minded. Any suggestions?