I bought a few new tools over the weekend and am now going through a tool adjustment period. It's part elation as a result of having new stuff to use, and partly frustration as a result of having to learn something new that's not immediately doing what I want it to do.

On Friday I got a Wacom tablet. I've been thinking about getting one for a while now as I've been wanting to do some different kinds of drawing on the computer and I find the mouse can be very clunky/impossible in that regard (unless you're Mister Risk who is some kind of mouse prodigy). The tablet is definitely going to take some adjusting. I tried one years ago and was quickly irritated with it. This time I'm going to make a concerted effort to try and adjust because it seems it could really be a life-changer if I can just become adept with it.

I spent a few hours fiddling in Illustrator over the weekend and found it to be extremely sensitive. I did improve in just a few hours so there is hope yet. I don't feel comfortable posting the drawings here though. Blah.

The second adjustment is with the mouse that came with the tablet. My old mouse, which I had grown to LOVE, was the Logitech wireless which is quite heavy due to the batteries being housed inside the actual mouse itself. I was very used to that weight. The new mouse, while also wireless works with the tablet and doesn't require batteries so it is extremely light. It's going to take some time to adjust to the weight difference. But as with all tools that are used 8+ hours a day, they do become second nature sooner than you think. I miss my old mouse pad though. It had a wrist rest. The tablet does not. I tried using both my old mouse/pad and the tablet/new mouse but the system of switching from tool to tool is stupid and taking up too much desk space.

The other thing I purchased over the weekend was a new Pantone Survival Kit. It was time for a new one. It's kind of scary how much the colours can change over time. What drives me nuts when it comes to choosing colours is that even though they offer a zillion colours, I can never find exactly what I need. I ALWAYS seem to need a non-existant colour lingering somewhere between two colours. Urg.