Written by Scott

As many of you know, we supply Live Digital Caricature artists for events around the country. There are a small number of artists doing this and we have taken it even further by making it a ’show’ for the guests to watch.

There are several barriers to entry for an artist who wants to break into live digital caricatures. First is the cost of a mobile computer, but many have a laptop, so this works. Second is a Wacom Intuos tablet or Cintiq tablet. That’s where the costs can skyrocket, with the Cintiq like ours cost over $2,000.

Then there’s the technical barrier: knowing how to hook everything up and making sure it is reliable for a live event. Finally, there is the skill. You’ve got to learn the software well enough to use it fluidly and not be thinking about what button to push or key to hit. We even wrote a book that has been very successful that explains the nuts and bolts on how to overcome all these obstacles.

Enter the Apple Tablet
There is a STRONG chance that in twenty four hours, this could all be a moot point. Apple is ’slated’ to announce their tablet computer (called the iSlate, Slate, Tablet, Canvas?).

For the past few months, the rumors and supposed leaks from various sources have been growing. Analysis from the experts has been compelling. And in the past few days, a good enough picture has been painted (again, no pun intended) to see the potential of this tablet device.

It is said that it will run a beefed up version of the iPhone software. This is great because of the awesome multitouch on the iPhone and also because many, if not all, of most or even all of the iPhone apps will be able to be run on the tablet.

And there are some cool painting apps already for the iPhone. For example, Sketchbook Mobile is a very capable sketch program for the iPhone. Imagine this running on a larger screen.

The Invisible Pen
Also, one rumor is that the device’s multitouch can detect if your hand is placed on the screen with just your fingers, or entire palm, or a combination.

For example, if you hold your hand with your forefinger and thumb together, pinched, and place your hand like that on the tablet screen, like you are about to write with an invisible pen, then it will detect this position and change the way the multitouch reads your hand.

In this case, it would place a point right where your fingers are pinched, like the point of that imaginary pen.

This would allow much more accuracy for things like singing documents or….. painting and sketching!

Brush size could then be changed easily using the already familiar pinch and zoom technique every iPhone user does already.

With this setup, the Cintiq and laptop are now eliminated for the live digital caricature artist. That said, the accuracy and sensitivity of this tablet are most likely not going to be anywhere near the quality of the Cintiq or Intous, but if it is ‘good enough’ then this would be the start of an amazing artist’s canvas.

What about Printing?
One thing that we do at events is print a hard copy of the digital caricature for the guest. There are already apps available for the iPhone to print using Wi-Fi and if there are similar apps or even built in features for printing, then the finished photos could easily be printed using a Wi-Fi enabled printer.

Of course, in this digital age, the files could just as easily be emailed to the guest’s iPhone (or even one of those, ug, Blackberries, *grin*). After all it is more environmentally sounds, and allows them to email it to friends right away, too.

What about the large Flat Panel?
When we setup, we have a large HD flat panel that mirrors what is being drawn on the Cintiq. This is such a great thing to have on display since guests from across the room or down the convention hall can see what is going on.

This is likely going to be a huge stumbling block for the tablet. Unless it has a video out.

I already own a cable for the iPhone that allows it to plug into a television so I can watch movies on the television instead of on a 3-inch screen. It is limited to standard definition, but it works.

If the tablet has a similar cable, then it could plug into a large screen just like I already do with my iPhone. Even better would be if this tablet is meant to be a media device for watching movies and it includes an HDMI port on the side.

I doubt it would include this HDMI port, but one can dream.

Would it work?
Will this un-announced, un-confirmed device work? Who knows. After all, it hasn’t even been confirmed by Apple that they are working on a tablet. These assumptions have all been based on very well educated guess gathered from some well respected experts in the field.

But if it works, it’s going to be an awesome device for the artist and we’ll see an explosion of live digital artists after this device hits the market.

Will it be as powerful a setup as the Cintiq? Not quite. Many features will be missing (for example, a full version of Painter).

But if it is at least “good enough” then I can see many artists jumping on this as a cheaper alternative to the larger setup. And in time, after the painting software matures, I could see us even switching to such a device.

For now, it’s all speculation. For now, all we can do is wait twenty four hours. Then I’ll be very right, or very wrong. Till then!

Related posts:

1. Live Digital Caricatures: Frequently Asked Questions
2. Top 10 iPhone Apps for a Freelance Visual Artist
3. Review: Wacom Intuos4 Digital Tablet
4. Breaking into the Live Digital Caricature Market
5. Becoming a Wacom Cintiq Tablet Power User – Pt 1

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