My new set up
polycounter lvl 18
been wanting to do this for awhile, just got the time.
i had 2 21" cintiqs, but i found myself using only 1 most of the time, i just liked having 2 cause i never had to put down my pen and pick up a mouse. but i always hated office desks and remember when i was in art school i could sit at a drafting table all day and not feel like i was a crippled old man after sitting for 16 hours, i could also work standing up.
i mounted my cintiq in a drafting table, only thing i am going to add is split keyboard on each side of my monitor. have used this setup for a week now and i am really liking it so i thought i would show it off.
i had 2 21" cintiqs, but i found myself using only 1 most of the time, i just liked having 2 cause i never had to put down my pen and pick up a mouse. but i always hated office desks and remember when i was in art school i could sit at a drafting table all day and not feel like i was a crippled old man after sitting for 16 hours, i could also work standing up.
i mounted my cintiq in a drafting table, only thing i am going to add is split keyboard on each side of my monitor. have used this setup for a week now and i am really liking it so i thought i would show it off.
Replies
Does the 12" rotate around? Or is it locked in the upper corner?
B
in art school i use to tape my paper to the desk anyhow to keep the paper from sliding all over the place, so it feels pretty nice to me.
**edit
@ modeling_man : yes the 12 incher can freely rotate, its on a pretty cool mount that allows for lots of adjustment. same with the devkit tv.
I have been going through the same train of thoughts lately : why adjusting oneself to bad furniture when there are alternatives available! Working while standing up really is quite something! It frees the mind plus I am sure it helps digestion (!).
I am curious to hear how you like that setup in the long run. Do you have to lean down a little or does this table allow you to fully stand up when you work? If so I really want to know the brand!
As for the keyboard placement - I hope it wont get in your way too much. I recently mapped most of my Photoshop shortcuts to a 360 gamepad, making 2D pieces a real breeze to work on (standing up, no keyboard, stylus in one hand and gamepad in the other). However for some reason I like to detail stuff better while sitting hehe. I think that with a little bit of thought it would be very possible to map all 3D needs to a few keys, maybe a dozen max. You could very well build yourself a row of pushbuttons integrated in your table and assign macros to them for all your 3d needs (thats something I plan to try out very soon - building a row of function keys taped on the top edge of the cintiq). That way you could leave the kb aside, just reaching for it for the occasional typing. And you could mount it on a swivel arm to grab it even more easily when needed.
It's quite interesting to see how sooo many artists don't see the advantage of such setups. When I work standing up at the office I always get a few 'huh, weird guy!' kindof smiles hehe
PS I just got the same headphones, retro white
Anyways, I thought I would share because you were talking about the split keyboard setup. A month ago I bought a Belkin N52te Speedpad and love it. The software that comes with it is great, and I have custom setup shortcuts that I can quickly tab through depending on which software app I am using. This way, I never have to move my hands from where they are because I can access the whole keyboard with just my left hand.
You might wanna try it.
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=8609696&st=belkin&type=product&id=1192233008066
so jealous, however you have the skills you definitely deserve a sweet setup like that.
EDIT: Or better: Buy a sliding keyboard tray and mount it underneath the drafting table? Completely hidden and out of the way when not in use.
I remember watching some behind the scenes thing from cartoon network (samurai jack dvd maybe?) where they had a similar setup with a cintiq mounted in the drafting table.
However they did what others had mentioned and had the cintiq rotate-able like a light-table would be....which looked very neat when they turned the cintiq around.
I've been dreaming of a similar setup ever since....and this is a pretty good alternative. I dunno about the split keyboard...i guess i'd have to try it, though I could see it being totally useable.
Awesome idea and execution man, thanks for sharing.
the second cintiq is for reference material, email, and watching movies, and its just so i don't have to use a mouse, i am not putting toolbars or anything over there, thats what shortcuts and marking menus are for, i generally hide the interface in all programs and just use shortcuts.
its pretty cool just for doing small stuff like that and not a problem to reach over there, its actually alot faster just to touch the second monitor than to put down my pen, find the mouse, make sure the mouse is in my hand, move my hand, look at the screen to make sure the cursor is going where i move my hand, then click.. i can just touch the screen with my pen.
The closest thing I could find looks much cooler (and more comfortable), they sell it at www.sit4less.com.
The only problem I see with this stool is that it doesn't look like it's as tall as the one I have so you might end up doing more sitting than leaning/standing. This stool looks a lot more comfortable while still allowing a great degree of freedom and appears to encourage better posture than the one I have.
http://www.sit4less.com/products/via/swopper/63
Thanks for sharing your set up (and for all your other sharing too, base models, etc...)
lol
@robioto: what i have is a painters stool, its quite nice, its made for standing and leaning back on it a bit, very comfortable and goes really high.
this is the one i have --->[ame]http://www.amazon.com/Alvin-Synchro-Tilt-Painters-Stool/dp/B000JM6C3I[/ame]
i love it
Arsh, I did somewhat the same thing with a old desk I could adjust the angle on. You might try industrial strength velcro on the back of the cintiq to hold it down. That way you can move it easier or remove if need be. Places like Home Depot and Loews sell it in rolls or strips.
i wonder, what does the IT person say when they have to work on your machine?
may be it looks cool but i dont know, it also looks very uncomfortable.
now all you need is to build a toilet into your chair and you're set for a badass day of work
they are not hanging above me, i am upright at the desk, mostly in standing position but if i get tired of standing i lean back on a stool, but my position doesn't change. the monitors at the top are at eye level, i just move my eye and nothing else when looking at one monitor or the cintiq i never have to even rotate my neck, i just move my eyes, that's why it is set up this way, so i don't have to bend over, or rotate my head to the left to look at another monitor, i just move my eyes, nothing else..
i realize it isn't for everyone, but i am almost certain anyone who went to art school and spent any amount of time at a nice drafting table with a nice stool, knows there is no office furniture on the planet no matter how ergonomic that is more comfortable to work on for extended periods of time , sorry they just haven't made it yet. i have a Aeron chair here at work, we all have one, but it is now sitting beside my work area at a smaller desk i sit and read at, its just not as comfortable to me.
its really something you have to stand at to see how comfortable and natural it feels...
the IT guys love it , they don't use a mouse anyway, they only need a keyboard to get to everything. Actually everyone that has taken the setup for a test drive wants one, even people that don't make art.
thx for the info about the chair
Awesome stuff!
My table has 4 special manufactured chrome 24 inch cintiques and 2 x 12 inch cintiques! If you are a person with 6 arms you can sculpt a 10 Sdived detailed head unter 3.1 minutes. The Table is powered by 16 x 8Ghz. The Keyboard is made of gold. The table is automaticly moveable and rotateable and can bounce to the music. Also my table has a much more spinedynamic shape, yours looks like a table made for grandmas with back pain. And not to forget my 6 pens are bigger then yours!
Seriously, nice table, I am jealous!