WRITTEN_BY David REVOY -
-
23 comments
Hey, from now on, **I'll be totally inactive on Twitter**.
I'll leave my account 'as is' with a link to this article in the most recent Twitt.
I'll not close or delete my account to prevent bad intentioned users to recreate fake accounts in my name and impersonate me. But that's all. Consider [my account](http://twitter.com/davidrevoy) now as a ghost, only around to archive what was done in the past.
I already started to unfollow many accounts around January, I archived everything, deleted DMs, and over the last month I only connected to it to copy/paste news from my blog. So, I already was a zombie on the platform.
Why it took me so much time? Well, I opened this account back in 2010 and, over the time, it received the attention of **14K followers**. I can't hide I'm writting these lines with a mix of proudness, embarassement (to share with pride this number of followers) and also a little pinch in the heart to leave this account. I'm an artist and I always wanted to expose my art, comics, and tutorials to the widest possible amount of eyes. 14 000... For an artist living of online patronage and donations... That's why you can imagine it was for me **a super difficult decision to take**.
I'll not write the "why" I'm deserting Twitter in the details. You probably already read many reasons to do so about the platform and its toxicity, social issues, bias towards minorities, political bias, nest to fakenews, home of the pro NFTs, bots making AIArt and always more excesses... My reasons are a bit a mix of all of that at the same time, and it's well enough. **I'm tired and exhausted of Twitter**. They'll continue without me. I don't want my art and data to contribute anymore to that.
It's also because I had a couple days ago a hard time to reread my words on this article I published last year: ["How proprietary social-medias are shaping the future of Pepper&Carrot"](https://www.davidrevoy.com/article904/how-proprietary-social-medias-are-shaping-the-future-of-peppercarrot). I write on this blog-post my efforts to adapt and comply to this system, trying to get my piece of the cake by guessing the secrets rules of an algorythm that deboost or boost contents. Changing my format, my art style, anything to get the grace of a bit of attention of an algorythm...
It's never have been in my nature to conform into such a submissive position and it hurts me to read it. It feels like **I was ask to sit up and beg to get my sugar**, and I was in the process. I rebelled stronger against situations for fewer reasons in the past. That's why I'm not painting with proprietary software, that's why I'm not on proprietary operating system, that's why I don't sign usual contract with my publishers, that's why I'm using the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license... etc...
I realised this social network had a lot of influence on me. It was for years the place where I had the largest audience and the most of engagement. Nowadays, when I look around me, I see many familiar nicknames and avatars on Mastodon. I guess this is visible also by the large **increase of followers [on Mastodon](https://framapiaf.org/@davidrevoy) (~ 22K followers)** I received recently contrasting with the **lower and lower engagement to my posts on Twitter**.
That's why I'm ready to deal with the consequences of stopping the maintainance of my Twitter account. I'm proposing many other alternatives solutions to follow my work (you'll find links on the top right of this blog), and if you want a short introduction to understand Mastodon − the alternative I advice the most − [check this video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IPSbNdBmWKE).
For a conclusion on Twitter, I'll abstract from my memory all the shitstorms and the dramas and focus on never forgetting the positive stories I experienced on it, the people I found on it, all the one I followed, all the one who followed me, interacted with me, shared and replied to my post over the last 13 years on it.
**Thank you, I'm grateful for all the years of interaction we shared**. Now let's build something better.
Have a good sleep, blue bird.
\_\_\_
Note: This article is not a call to pressure any individuals or projects to follow my decision. I'll never blame anyone for being still on Twitter (or using proprietary software, Copyrighted license, etc...). I even think big projects like Krita, Inkscape, Framasoft should keep a presence on Twitter and remain active. Their presence is a necessity, especially on a network like that.
WRITTEN_BY David REVOY -
-
4 comments
[](data/images/blog/2023/2023-04-08_david-revoy_at_trolls-and-legendes-festival-in-mons_2023_pepper-and-carrot-comic-signing-session.jpeg)
_A photo of me during while signing at Trolls & Legendes 2023 Festival, in Mons Belgium - Photo CC-By 4.0 Steph Vesch._
I'm back after a weekend of signing sessions at the "Trolls et Légendes" Festival in Belgium. I drew on more than 50 books, met amazing people, and it gave me a lot of energy, motivation, and joy! Thank you for this unforgettable moment. 💜
WRITTEN_BY David REVOY -
-
10 comments
Here is a second production report to announce an important milestone on the production of episode 38: yesterday, I posted on our collaborative tool a work in progress version for the Pepper&Carrot proofreaders and contributors. I quoted them all in a new thread, but our tool sometimes doesn't transmit well the notification or emails. So, this blog post is also a notification for them.
### Proofreading
The episode is still not detailed (all panels are "blocky speedpaintings") and the speech bubbles are in French and not corrected. An English translation done automatically with DeepL is available as a txt. If you are not affraid of spoilers; you can **[access the proofreading forum here and read it](https://framagit.org/peppercarrot/webcomics/-/issues/?scope=all&utf8=%E2%9C%93&state=all&label_name%5B%5D=future%20episode)** (link also available via the Pepper&Carrot website, _Contribute_ menu, and then _Beta-Reading forum_). The episode is posted on a area of the website named XYZ; it's our secret area. Please do not reshare it, it's not ready 🤫
If you want to contribute, or just give a feedback, please get a Framagit account and interact on the thread dedicated to the episode. It will be easier for me to re-read every feedbacks about the episode later when it is formated into a single thread only.
### About the Release Schedule
We are now at a step called the **Alpha-FR version** and we are on the road to get a **Beta-Ready-for-Translation** within the next weeks. I'm planning for a release somewhere in April now, and obviously after [the signing in Mons(Belgium)](https://www.davidrevoy.com/article958/trolls-legendes-signing-sessions) this week-end.
Taking care of the release process, making the SVGs, versioning all in Git takes time, and I'll also need at least a full day of painting per pages to details them as I want. So a lot of work is still ahead. But now the episode as a soul, a story, and is on the rail to get a release so it's a big milestone.
If you want a global view on the release process as I see it, here is a graph I just made:
[](data/images/blog/2023/2023-04-04_release-schedule-graph.png)
### Making of
Here is four steps I used to paint this episode on a sample scene. I still have to do the last step, "detailing" but now I have all the episode shaded. It's taking shape.
I'll try to make a third report next week to share the first "full rendering" of panels I already shared here and [on the previous production report](https://www.davidrevoy.com/article957/episode-38-production-report-1).
[](data/images/blog/2023/2023-04-04_production-report_2-alpha_b.jpg)
[](data/images/blog/2023/2023-04-04_production-report_2-alpha_c.jpg)
[](data/images/blog/2023/2023-04-04_production-report_2-alpha_d.jpg)
[](data/images/blog/2023/2023-04-04_production-report_2-alpha_e.jpg)
WRITTEN_BY David REVOY -
-
4 comments
[info] **April Fool!** Thank you for all your feedback, that was funny! Of course, nothing in this article is serious, a big thanks again to [Craig Maloney](https://octodon.social/@craigmaloney) for the very creative text! [/info]
**Disney** and **Warner Bros. Discovery** are pleased to announce a **joint partnership** to develop **the Pepper&Carrot Cinematic Universe**. The two companies [announced](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ) this unprecedented partnership over a gala dinner celebrating this historic event.
_"It's truly remarkable"_ said **David Zaslav**, President and CEO of Warner Bros. Discovery. _"Disney+ and Warner have traditionally been competitors in the media field. By combining our forces together we're looking to synergize our unique talents in developing the Pepper&Carrot Cinematic Universe and bring these characters to new audiences worldwide."_
**Bob Iger**, CEO of Disney concurred. _"I've been in this business a long time and seeing what lies ahead for this partnership and combining of talent is truly a moment that will be lauded as a turning point not only in streaming media but also in media itself."_
Both companies announced a joint plan to develop **25 new shows based on the webcomic "Pepper&Carrot"**. Pepper and her cat Carrot live in the world of Hereva. Previously the Morevna project animated several shorts of Pepper&Carrot. Now, with the combined talents of Disney animators and Warner Bros. Discovery's ability to create live-action shows the potential to turn this Creative Commons Licensed webcomic into an entire franchise is exciting to both parties.
_"When I heard about the Creative Commons license I was skeptical"_ said David Zaslav of Warner Bros. Discovery. "But when someone said 'no residuals' **I was completely on-board with the concept** faster than you could say 'cancel Batgirl'. It was like this was a concept ripe for exploration".
_"Properties like Paper and Carrot is the key to new show development"_ explained Bob Iger of Disney. _"You've got memorable characters, great storylines, and the talents of of Dave Revlon making something magical. It's a marriage that Disney, Warner, and the creatives that can bring about real stories about real people, even if they're fictional characters. Darrel has created something magical here. Also, there's a cat in there but I can't remember his name."_
[](data/images/blog/2023/2023-04-01_pepper-and-carrot_rat-man.jpg)
_The Rat Man of the Market Series, a possibility for 2024, voiced by Chris Pratt._
Not all of the 25 shows were announced at the event, but details of the new shows were discussed at the meeting.
_"There's one with Princess Coriander inventions"_, showrunner **Dale Diggby** explained, _"where the inventions go on various adventures. There's also Rat Man, the shop-keeper in Episode 3: The Secret Ingredients. I'm sure there's a story to tell about how he gets his starfruits."_
_"We're also working on a series around 'The Sage of the Mountain'. I'm convinced there's a story there, and if there's a Sage of the Mountain there's likely a Mrs. Sage, right?"_
Other stories will feature various other characters that were only featured in one episode, **including Prince Arcen, The Genius Ants, The Demons of Chaosah, and the giant fish**.
[](data/images/blog/2023/2023-04-01_pepper-and-carrot-the-demon-of-chaosah.jpg)
_The Demons of Chaosah, one of the most anticipated comedy of the P&CCU according data metry from Statistica Inc._
_"We contacted Paramount to see if they might be interested"_, Dale Diggby continued, _"but they said they were currently deep in Star Trek focus groups finding any minutiae in those series that they can hang an entire series. Ah well. Their loss."_
Creator David Revoy was asked about his opinion of the deal. We attempted to parachute onto his private island just after he gave us the keys to control his blog, social medias and website in exchange of a compensation. He got out of the swimming pool, took off his sun glasses, and said something so rude in French that made our translator have to excuse himself to wash his mouth out with soap. So it sounds like **he's completely on board with the project**.
_"Pepper and Cinnamon is one of my favorite comics of recent years"_ David Zaslav, President and CEO of Warner Bros. Discovery said. _"The characters are so memorable, including that tall one, and the short one, and that adorable round one. Also, I love that cat but I can't remember his name. Brilliant stuff."_
_"I mentioned 'no residuals', right?"_ he concluded.
Expect new shows in the Pepper&Carrot Cinematic Universe sometime late 2023, streaming on [Disney+](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/April_Fools%27_Day), [HBO Max](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/April_Fools%27_Day), and the new [Framastream+](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/April_Fools%27_Day) by Framasoft service.
**C. Yenolam**
Head of Pepper&Carrot Worldwide Corporate Communications and Public Affairs
[craig.yenolam@peppercarrot.cinematic.universe.com](https://octodon.social/@craigmaloney)
WRITTEN_BY David REVOY -
-
3 comments
[](data/images/blog/2023/2023-03-30_concept-art-for-a-fictive-video-game-save-point_net.jpg)
_Save Point − A concept-art demo from the digital painting class I taught, sources and [high resolution on Pepper&Carrot Misc gallery](https://www.peppercarrot.com/en/artworks/misc.html)_
I gave courses for [Activdesign](https://activdesign.eu/), a French CG school teaching design, video-game and web-dev. It's **a school using Free/Libre software, that's so cool!**. That's also why I accepted to teach for them.
The course started in January and was split into 10 sessions of 1h30 each, happening every thursday in the last part of the morning.
Over the ten courses I gave; I explained the role of imagination and picturing things, thumbnailing, references hunting and licenses, drawing, volumes, perspective, and then courses on rendering and shading. It was also mainly a workshop, so a period of time used by the students to practice.
I taught remotely from my desk at home with my mic and webcam. Because even if the school is located in France, it was too far away from my home to go weekly over there. To give you and idea, it's easily located at more than a 6h train distance.
The school used their own [Jitsi](https://meet.jit.si/) server for the visio, and Jitsi rooms were integrated around a larger central hub managed by [Mattermost](https://mattermost.com/). Thanks to a cool setup proposed by the school, I was able to launch a Jitsi meeting directly from Mattermost chat with a button. Everything was smooth, I was impressed how easy it was for teachers and students to use that. Bravo. The Jitsi room was always ready 5 minutes before the course. I had a webcam view on the classroom, but it was also possible for the students to attends from their home (or anywhere with Internet).
I recorded the sessions with [OBS](https://obsproject.com/fr/) also for offering a possibility to get a replay in case someone miss a course. The school gave me a sFTP access to upload the courses. I'm sure I'll have requests here on the blog to ask me to share these files or upload the replays: but I don't want that. I don't want the raw recordings of the session I made to go public even if ActivDesign gave me authorisation to do it. It's mainly because it's very long (15h! 2.7GiB) and it's in French.
That's why my plan is to try soon to adapt my ten courses into shorter videos for my channel. I painted for these courses many examples from scratches, and it was with this plan in mind so I can then get materials I can reuse under the license of my choice for my own future videos. These weekly deadlines to prepare my courses/demo-files/examples were great motivators to have finally a longer course format done.
A big thanks again to the students for enduring my ~~long monologues~~ courses 😆 and Activdesign for the invitation!
WRITTEN_BY David REVOY -
-
30 comments
Achievement unlocked: we found with the Pepper&Carrot community [Fa BD Comic](https://fabdcomics.com/), the publisher of **the worst derivations** of Pepper&Carrot made so far.
Unfortunately, the product's are published under my name and also in the name of artists who sent fan-arts of Pepper&Carrot... That's why I write this article to describe a bit this scam and desktop publishing carnage happening right now on Amazon and **inform the audience of Pepper&Carrot to not buy them**.
Brace yourself, cause we are going in the territory of the zero absolute of quality, graphic designs horrors, colorimetry nightmares and bad layout.
## The three books:
A big thanks to [Craig Maloney](https://octodon.social/@craigmaloney) who bought the three books so we could evaluate their quality. He also made all the photos you'll find here and wrote reviews on Amazon under the books to warn other potential customers about the poor quality.
### 1. Heritage
**Link on Amazon:** https://www.amazon.com/Heritage-David-Revoy/dp/B0BS1ZHM9T/
[](data/images/blog/2023/2023-03-26_1-heritage_screenshot.jpg)
**Description:** This is a December 2022 paper print of [my webcomic single episode "L'heritage en couleur"](https://www.davidrevoy.com/article117/l-heritage-en-couleur) published in May 2012 and under the license [Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
[](data/images/blog/2023/2023-03-26_1-heritage.jpg)
_click to enlarge_
**Caption:**
**\(1\):** while the cover is ok, the print totally ruins the story itself: the concept of the comic is a representation with colors of the feeling of the main character, and the publisher **decided to print the full story in black and white**. It makes the full story unreadable and meaningless. Try to [read the original](https://www.davidrevoy.com/article117/l-heritage-en-couleur) and then make yourself an opinion about what the comic worth in black and white. Apparantly, it's good enough for publishing like that for FA Bd Comics publishing...
**\(2\):** The attribution is here but the publisher "FA BD comics" don't write their role. And wait, a Caramail email adress? I thought they disapeared 20 years ago. I dislike the way my credit and name on the cover and product page looks as if I endorsed and collaborated into this publishing. It's not a explicit 'endorsement infringement', but I feel ashame to get my name on this.
**\(3\):** The publisher forgot a page in the story : one before the final, that totally breaks even more the story. And to fill the end of the book, random part downloaded from the [making of](https://www.davidrevoy.com/article118/making-of-l-heritage-en-couleur) are dumped like that without any warning just after the end of the story.
[More photos here](https://pixelfed.social/p/craigmaloney/542810635179169968).
### 2. Pepper & Carrot Novels
**Link on Amazon:** https://www.amazon.com/Pepper-Carrot-Novels-David-Revoy/dp/B09ZZVJLDT/
[](data/images/blog/2023/2023-03-26_2-novel_screenshot.jpg)
**Description:** This is a May 2022 paper print compilation of a mix of [Pepper&Carrot Fan-art](https://www.peppercarrot.com/xx/fan-art/artworks.html) containing speech-bubbles and [Comic Fan-art of Pepper&Carrot](https://www.peppercarrot.com/en/fan-art/fan-comics.html).
[](data/images/blog/2023/2023-03-26_2-novels.jpg)
_click to enlarge_
**Caption:**
**\(1\):** My name is on the top of the cover, and no artworks of me are on this book. This is very problematic, because even if I really appreciate [the study fan-art of Pepper sent by Coyau](https://www.peppercarrot.com/xx/viewer/fan-art-src__2015-02-22_Pepper_portrait_by_Coyau.html) in 2015 because it was among the first fan-art I receive on Pepper&Carrot, I don't think Coyau expected to get it used as a cover artwork.
**\(2\):** Even if all the fan-art are correctly attributed to their author the publisher misread an important information on Pepper&Carrot: the author of the fan-art can license their artwork with the license they want. And without mentioning it, they are all copyrighted. It's written clearly [on the "License" box](https://www.peppercarrot.com/xx/viewer/fan-art-src__2015-08-04_Carrot-photo_by-Mei-Yeom.html) on each fan-art on the website. "This picture is fan-art made by \. It is reposted on the fan-art gallery of Pepper&Carrot with permission. Do not reuse this picture for your project unless you obtain author's permissions". The publisher on the credit of their book assume "based on the same character with the same license". It's false and abusive. Also, notice that the email of the publisher changes on this credits, and the 'work of fiction line' from Heritage is here too... Speedy careless copypasta workflow detected.
**\(3\):** The fan-art are printed in black and white. You won't get a label to know who within the list of authors drew what page, and there is no layout. The artwork is just pasted on the page with big empty space even when the font is too small. Note how the contrast is also poor. Well, it isn't respectful of the artworks at all.
[More photos here](https://pixelfed.social/p/craigmaloney/542440411940152430).
### 3. Pepper & Carrot Mini
**Link on Amazon:** https://www.amazon.com/Pepper-Carrot-Mini-Nicolas-Artance/dp/B0BHMPMM14/
[](data/images/blog/2023/2023-03-26_3-mini_screenshot.jpg)
**Description:** This is a October 2010 publishing on paper of the [Pepper&Carrot Mini](https://www.peppercarrot.com/en/fan-art/fan-comics__Pepper-and-Carrot-Mini_by_Nartance.html) comic serie by Nicolas Artance. Nicolas Artance is a core contributor and moderator on Pepper&Carrot community, and really plays a big role on the French version of the main series. He publish his series under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International and also share the full sources ([link](https://framagit.org/peppercarrot/derivations/peppercarrot_mini)).
[](data/images/blog/2023/2023-03-26_3-pepper-mini.jpg)
_click to enlarge_
**Caption:**
**\(1\):** The cover is not from Pepper&Carrot Mini, it wasn't made by Nicolas Artance or by my art, but it is [a fan-art by Tessou](https://www.peppercarrot.com/xx/viewer/fan-art-src__2015-09-03_Pepper-and-Carrot_by_Tessou.html). So a copyright problem here since the art by Tessou is not published under the license of Pepper&Carrot. The cover also contains three names, and it is hard to know who does what or who endorses what. On Amazon product, we are co-author with Nicolas... What a mess.
**\(2\):** Same lie as the previous book about the license of the fan-art, and a big typo to the name of Nicolas (Nocolas). Apparently this publisher has zero proofreader, and just don't care.
**\(3\):** The quality, the layout... Everything is printed into black and white and low contrast. The comic strips also in landscape are "adapted to width" to the page. Some fonts are barely readable.
[More photos here](https://pixelfed.social/p/craigmaloney/542805959463757068)
## What's next?
First, **you can help**: if you have an Amazon account you can just click on the "Helpful" button on the reviews of Craig on each book [1](https://www.amazon.com/Heritage-David-Revoy/dp/B0BS1ZHM9T/), [2](https://www.amazon.com/Pepper-Carrot-Novels-David-Revoy/dp/B09ZZVJLDT/) and [3](https://www.amazon.com/Pepper-Carrot-Mini-Nicolas-Artance/dp/B0BHMPMM14/). It's not much, but it will probably helps possible buyer to pass their way to see the 1 star review with a high ranking.
I clearly don't have the charity to think this publisher is just suffering of gross incompetences and just try to help printing Free/Libre cultural work. They never contacted me, they never contributed to any of the Pepper&Carrot ecosystem as far as I know, and they just made the lowest quality product with low effort on a market place with now control on quality.
It's overpriced and watching this level of disrespect for my art and for the book industry is clearly what affects my mood. I don't think this derivation is helping at all. Please FA Bd Comic or Amazon: if you read this, just remove the products as soon as possible.
On my side, I'll try to contact both of them to remove the books. They all contains too much problems to be online, including copyright issues. I'll write any later update I have under here. Waiting for that, **please do not buy those books!**
😤
**Updates**
- **A. 2023-03-28, 01:20am:** I took the time to make [an official report](https://www.davidrevoy.com/data/images/blog/2023/2023-03-28_screenshot_012930_net.jpg) for copyright infringement on Amazon. I'll inform you where this report will lead.
- **B. 2023-03-28, 01:00pm:** I got my answer: "We have been unable to verify that you are the rights owner or their agent." ([full automatic letter](https://www.davidrevoy.com/data/images/blog/2023/2023-03-28_amazon-rejection-letter_124920.png)). Ok, I give up on this...
---
_License additional info: The text of this article is released under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0. However, images of this article are protected: do not reuse them: they contain fan-art, copyrights and trademarks._
WRITTEN_BY David REVOY -
-
2 comments
Here is a new illustration to announce I'll be the 8 and 9 April in Mons, Belgium, for signing sessions at the festival [Trolls & Légendes](https://trollsetlegendes.be/). Looking forward to meeting many of you!
WRITTEN_BY David REVOY -
-
4 comments
[info]
Disclaimer: None of the panel you'll see here are 'final'. I'm still in the process.
Also, "spoiler alert" obviously..
[/info]
Hey, I'm doing a pause today to share with you where I am in process of the production of Episode 38 and also look back in the mirror of what happened so far since summer 2022, [the last time](https://www.peppercarrot.com/xx/webcomic/ep37_The-Tears-of-the-Phoenix.html) I published an episode of Pepper&Carrot. I'll try to explain all the process of what happened for me to take so much time on this one.
You'll find that the big bottle-neck was mainly at the step of the scenario.
# Preproduction
## Scenario:
My original plan for episode 38 was the second chapter of a trilogy − The Phoenix Arc − that I wrote last year. On the paper, it was ready in spring 2022. Unfortunately, after I published the first part of this trilogy, I realised the second part I wrote was problematic because too dark and depressive. I wasn't connecting with it anymore.
Because it was hard for me to detect what was wrong about my script, I decided to send it to professional scenarists around me. One helped me to identify the issue: the story was a bit too dark without a valid motivation, and my arc turned to be about how the Phoenix turns from a moron into someone respectable, and Pepper wasn't the central character anymore of the story. Pepper was in this arc a Mary Sue that influenced with her inherent goodness a bad creature to be a good one. It wasn't that problematic in itself, but it was static for Pepper, and... who care about the Phoenix? I probably wrote that to flee the responsibility of changing something to Pepper.
I then started a laborious work to rewrote the story. With a fear of not connecting it anymore and become bored about it only a couple of week-later. Many scripts were wrote; some that turned into long boring dialogs with Shichimi and Torreya in a shelter offered by Queen Coriander, some other more goofy with a Pepper changing all "Wanted" poster in Hereva... manually. Always same feeling: I got bored after two weeks about them.
I then started to post single panel of a new story from scratch; "posting while I was connecting and motivated". That's how you got a mini series of illustration with a dragon and a blond magician in October. I then decided to stop to worry and focus on my painting technique and maintain my tools: I was convinced that good ideas will come back at a point. That's how you got the ["In the midst of experimentation"](https://www.davidrevoy.com/article938/in-the-midst-of-experimentation) blog post where I announced "I have no idea when the next episode 38 of Pepper&Carrot will be released".
I then took care of triaging my brushes and worked on my technique in November and December. I learnt so many new things and got many new skill. I was in a sort of "closed for works" state. Thanks to extra incomes coming from new publishers of Pepper&Carrot, I wasn't into an emergency financial situation and I could afford taking this time.
With time, I finally found back motivation to write a new story. The story is simply put about Pepper quitting everything. This is a theme I feel in me and around me: the desire to leave everything and start "new". So I thought it could be cathartic to write about that in a story.
Once I had that deep problem identified, it was possible to work on a solution. It came on a golden plate during my holidays in end December, a time always here to remind me my roots: "Lorsque tu ne sais pas où tu vas, souviens-toi d'où tu viens." a proverb I can translate with "When you don't know where you are going, remember where you came from.". So, I worked on that.
In my case, it was a multidimensional solution. On a technnical level: it meant "cinematic", "shot", "painting" and "Blender". And on a scenario level for Pepper, it meant Fantasy, witches, monsters, and ... Pepper going back to her family. Once I had all this piece in my bag, it was easier to write a scenario My feelings were now more in sync with this new story and I think the problems and solutions I'll storytell with this fable are sincere. Hopefully, readers will relate to it.
## Storyboard:
The storyboard followed really quickly within the same week, I made a photo about it when I shared in end January, I extended it to 8 pages later to get a better introduction.
[](data/images/blog/2023/2023-01_scenario-and-storyboard.jpg)
## Landscape concept-art
The story happens into an abandoned part of Hereva, the world of Pepper&Carrot, that I code named "The Forgottens". Ancient civilisation ruins plunged in the dark, haunted with magic and creatures. The playground of many groups of mercenary adventurers trying to progress on these area to reclaim the area, and/or find treasure. It's not explicit in the 8 pages of episode 38, but I hope the architecture and ambiant will convey all of that without needing to get a character or a narrator telling this.
Here is a concept art of "The Forgottens", a part with a network of bridges that pushes adventurer into a linear path, and without escape on the side.
[](data/images/blog/2023/2023-02-19_sketch-concept-art_episode-38_the-forgottens.jpg)
And here 3D blender screenshot. For this episode I'm using Blender a lot; it helps me at setting camera view angle and I also learn a lot about controlling the "Field of View" (fov) when I storyboard. A key to get a sort of cinematic look, is to mimic the perspective of a camera.
[](data/images/blog/2023/2023-03-08_work-in-progress_3d_helper-background_02.jpg)
[](data/images/blog/2023/2023-03-08_work-in-progress_3d_helper-background_03.jpg)
[](data/images/blog/2023/2023-03-08_work-in-progress_3d_helper-background_01.jpg)
## Character concept-art
Pepper joins a group of mercenary adventurers. And she must look like a healer, but still look like Pepper. When I received the Cinema team of [LentCine at home for a documentary interview](https://framapiaf.org/@davidrevoy/109756269977788404), I was right in the middle of designing this.
[](data/images/blog/2023/2023-01-26_lentcine_at-home.jpeg)
[](data/images/blog/2023/2023-01-25_first-concept-art-of-pepper-the-healer.jpg)
I finally went for something a bit more pragmatic; I has to be compatible with all actions Pepper does on this episode:
[](data/images/blog/2023/2023-02-18_concept-art_pepper_by-david-revoy.jpg)
About the group on my scenario, they were not really defined; but I quickly saw it was interesting to invest a bit of time on their design since I want to keep the possibility to reuse them later. They are mercenaries only temporarily together to complete a quest, and they have to look a little bit untrustworthy. [Erik Mondrian](https://framapiaf.org/@erikMondrian@fosstodon.org/109922786660634711) found them good names: the halfing white wolf "Fritz", the archer "Vinya" and the warrior "Brasic". Only Brasic is explicitly named on a speechbubble in episode 38 (for now).
[](data/images/blog/2023/2023-02-23_ep38-team-concept-art_by-david-revoy.jpg)
Monsters appears on panels, but because they are just single appearance, I'll design them "on the fly" while drawing the comic.
# Production
For the production of the episode, I decided to use the technique I described in this video.
▶ Peertube: https://peertube.touhoppai.moe/w/6GetvC3grjMRdFooDDMe62
▶ Youtube: https://youtu.be/kisT96h5h80
## Pencil artworks
I'm using a very thin and "not clean" pencil line for this episode. This contrast a lot with my habits, but I know this way I'll not be tempted to keep the line in the process. They are only guidelines made to go to the trashcan. On the eight pages, seven pages are done 100% with this step. I'm redoing the last page this week because, thanks to the 3D model of the landscape, I had ideas of better view angles.
[](data/images/blog/2023/2023-03-20_b_pencil.jpg)
## 3D Backgrounds
Once I have my sketch, I setup my 3D scene to match the panel, and I render it. I put the renders into background layers. Blender has a lot of good option on the camera to put a background image, so I don't have a lot of difficulties to match the view angle. The background was reused more than 12 times so far. I'll paint-over them a lot at the final step. I have 3D backgrounds done now for all the 8 pages.
[](data/images/blog/2023/2023-03-20_screenshot_164537_net.jpg)
[](data/images/blog/2023/2023-03-20_screenshot_164652_net.jpg)
## Character Color-Flat
It's a new step in my process: I paint the characters under a neutral light. I'm not 'flatting' the color as a comic artist would do; I still do modeling of the shapes, and even crease contact shadows here and there. But I have this intermediate step that help me to maintain the color palette of a character consistent across panels. I have the Color-Flat in progress on page 4, I'm at the midway.
[](data/images/blog/2023/2023-03-20_c_flat.jpg)
## Shading
On the top of the Color-Flat, and often inside a group and with Alpha-Inheritance, I'm shading the characters. This way, I can make the same offset of color palette from one panel to another and experiment where I place the light on my set. It's a creative process that I really like. I try to not be too clean at this step because I want to feed the canvas with get a rich texture and painterly feeling. I work this step in parallel with the previous one. I have the two first page ready this way so far.
[](data/images/blog/2023/2023-03-20_d_shaded.jpg)
# To be continued...
The beta testing of the episode with the contributors will happens once I finished to do all the color flat and shading on all the episode. It might still take me two weeks. 🥲
Unfortunately, I made slower progress than what I thought I would be able to do, because I was three time sick and had many appliances at home out of order. Also mold in wall issue, and roof leak issue. You know, this type of time when 'all happen at once'... I wasn't really lucky in February/March so far. And my time is often stolen with random events I can't escape.
After the beta? I'll still need to spend a full day of work to paint-over each pages in order to "break" the 3D aspect of the background (then need to be a bit more painterly, and in ruins). And I'll details characters for crisp details, and push the pages rendering until I cannot do more progress.
I hope to get a release around mid-April. I'll certainly show on social media first renderings before the release, or even post a (shorter) production report part 2 🙂.
Thank you all for reading, for your patience and for [your continuous support](https://www.davidrevoy.com/static3/become-my-patron). Clearly, this project would not exist without you, I'm keeping this in mind all the time, and be sure I'm doing my best.
WRITTEN_BY David REVOY -
-
6 comments
A speedpainting inspired by Devin Townsend's 2022 music album. I'll go to his concert tomorrow in Toulouse! Lightwork Tour. I listen to his music since 2000. I can't wait!
**Update after the concert:**
🤩🤩🤩 The concert was G R E A T!
He really played a lot of song from my youth around the Infinity period: Bad Devil, Truth... or from the start of 2000s, like The Fluke, Deadhead, Kingdom, it was so cool!
WRITTEN_BY David REVOY -
-
16 comments
Long time without a blog post, but I have been active on social media. I had an issue on the website with posting new article and I fixed it this afternoon (oh, the joy of self hosting... -\_-\`). Anyway:
I'm still penciling on the next episode of Pepper&Carrot, and this week, I did my daily warm-up before working on the pages with the sketches you'll find here under.
Here is a cleaned compilation of them (credits in image descriptions). These are all mascots of Free/Libre and open-source web services interoperable using the activityPub protocol (eg.Peetrube/Mastodon/Misskey/Pleroma/PixelFed/Funkwhale), the global name of the network resulting of the interaction of all these apps is named the Fediverse.
Sources will be [uploaded later here](https://www.peppercarrot.com/en/files/comissions.html).
[](data/images/blog/2023/2023-03-03_sketches_pleroma-and-sepia_net.jpg)
_Pleroma-chan, a tiny fox girl (https://pleroma.social) chase happily a squid, Sepia (https://joinpeertube.org). This last one is affraid and run.
License: CC-By davidrevoy.com, pleroma.social_
[](data/images/blog/2023/2023-03-03_sketches_mobilizon-and-sepia_net.jpg)
_Rȯse a fennec-fox (https://joinmobilizon.org) make some balance exercice on top of a roll and a plank, she is in full focus, eye closed. A squid, Sepia (https://joinpeertube.org) applaud at the scene with heart in their eyes. License: CC-By davidrevoy.com_
[](data/images/blog/2023/2023-03-03_sketches_funkwhale-and-pixelfed_net.jpg)
_Fred, a firefox panda mascot I found for Pixelfed (https://pixelfed.org, inspired by artist Andy Cuccaro) panic on the back of a large whale smiling with headphones (https://funkwhale.audio/). These two are not official mascot, just approximation with random quick search.
License: ??? (for Fred), my whale with headphones is an invention._
[](data/images/blog/2023/2023-03-03_sketches_misskey-and-mastodon_net.jpg)
_AI, Misskey (https://misskey-hub.net) mascot, a girl with a Japanese student uniform and cat ears pets on the head a tiny mastodon creature, this one is happy.
License: CC-By davidrevoy.com. Misskey by Syuilo ( https://github.com/syuilo/ai/commit/15406d0f30c134e641267795e6eb6cc46a66888a ) under a MIT license as far as I can tell... It's really hard to find license info for Ai on Misskey... Not cool :/ The Mastodon is not looking like the official mascot, just a cartoony Mastodon._
WRITTEN_BY David REVOY -
-
148 comments
_Photo: Krita beta-testing session; two monitors, four Wacom tablets (2012)._
This article details my experience with all the graphic tablets I used since 2002. This article started a decade ago and receives constant updates and new paragraph along the years of practise _(last update, November 2023)._
## F.A.Q:
**Q: What tablet do you use now?**
A: By end 2023, I'm using a XP-Pen Artist 16 Pro(Gen2), you can see a photo and a quick review of it at the end of this article.
**Q: What is the best tablet to start digital-painting with?**
A: I think a A5 sized regular tablet (medium/A5). Avoid the A6 size (10x15cm), they are too small to draw or paint.
**Q: Why do you have many tablets?**
A: Ask to a professional guitarist why he has so many guitars. Same answer here :-)
**Q: Why tablets are so expensive?**
A: Another analogy to musicians here: tablets are not expensive compare to a piano, a saxophone or a good instrument. Being a 2D digital artist actually not cost a lot compare to other arts.
**Q: I'm a tablet company, would you like to test our tablets? I can send you a device for free to appear on this page.**
A: Yes, but only if you have an open-source driver on a GNU/Linux system and only if I'm free to tell all I want about the device. [Email me](mailto:info@davidrevoy.com) for more details.
**Q: Why do you use only GNU/Linux?**
A: My main big reasons to use a GNU/Linux open-source system evolved a bit from 2009, it is now split into four reasons:
- **Independence** (no one have a control on what I watch, what I use and how I use it).
- **Technology** (performance, scripting, standards).
- **Transparency** (open-source: you can investigate any parts).
- **Control of my data and privacy** (I don't want companies to influence my behavior or adv).
**Q: What would be your perfect tablet?**
A: Right now, my perfect device would be of the same thickness and cold as an Intuos Pro Large; but with a +10cm (or a bit more) large active area. It would have a built-in monitor, a quad-HD resolution. It would work with the monitor closed as a regular tablet, or with the monitor on. A keyboard tray would be included on the top in case if I tilt the tablet like an easel. The overlay surface would be easy to change, and cheap. The cables would be robust and standard/easy to replace: USB-C, Micro-HDMI, etc... The stylus would have cheap nibs, easy to replace. And the brand would work at getting all future stylus retro compatible with the model, for durability. The plastic of the model would be recycled plastics and it would have a Free/Libre and open source driver maintained by the brand.
## Timeline:
### 2000 : No tablet
**Context:** I started being a professional illustrator with traditional painting on canvas. At this time, I used Internet mostly as a communication tool to send scan of my artworks to publishers.
[](data/images/blog/2012/06/2001_08_station-travail.jpg)
_Working on a H.P. Lovecraft illustration for a RPG book._
### 2002: Wacom Graphire 3
**Context:** The small graphire was my first tablet, it took me time to get used to a tablet. I made my first online portfolio of digital paintings and managed my first years as a digital painter freelance.
**Specification:** Medium sized A5, ultra smooth Plexiglas overlay sheet, 4/3 ratio.
**Used with: **a 4/3 CRT monitor 1280x1080px, Photoshop Element 2.0 (bundled with the tablet).
**Pro:** Good precision, got a slot on the top of the tablet to clip the stylus when traveling. The thin stylus had the same diameter than a regular pen.
**Con:** The mouse was a bit useless, Plexiglas overlay sheet get easily visible scratches.
**Why I stopped using it:** I kept the tablet around for a long time, even after I had the Intuos 3 A4. When my first niece was young, I gave her the unit as a present to toy on computer with colors. A year after, she told me she lost the unit while moving.
[](data/images/blog/2012/06/2004-02-bureau.jpg)
### 2006: Intuos 3 A4
**Context: **After the first years of practising digital painting (it was pretty new at that time) I saw all my publisher were requiring to work only with digital artist. The time of scan and original painting sent was definitely over and the industry was changing. I decided to switch to 100% digital-painting for my daily work. As my previous tablet felt a bit too small for the first generation of LCD flat monitors, I decided to buy the professional model of Wacom of that time; the Intuos 3 A4.
**Specification:** A4 large active area, 4:3 ratio. Perfect overlay sheet in my opinion ( a bit fragile, I changed it 3 times until expired in Wacom shop )
**Used with:** 1280x1024 4/3 monitor, and discovering first Linux distro in 2007 with it.
**Pro: **Super robust, super standard on every Linux (plug'n'play). This is the tablet I painted the most on my life between 2006 to 2016 and I built all my personnal taste, standard and experience around this model.
**Con: **No con? Seriously. Maybe only one: after 10 years Wacom eshop removed the overlay sheet and extra stylus part for this model. This tablet in intensive use required a new overlay sheet around every two years; and a new stylus every 3 years maybe. Mainly because the tiny spring that manage pressure become tired with time and pressure become quickly flat.
**Why I stopped using it:** After being used 10 years, It was impossible or expensive to find spare replacement piece: the stylus and the overlay. I renewed the stylus a couple of time, I tested various overlay but it was clearly the end of an era. The unit is now stored for in my collection, with a black Huion WH1409 overlay cut to the size and with a stylus with a flat pressure curve (the inner tiny "spring" that manage the resistance of the pressure is totally used).
[](data/images/blog/2012/06/2007-11_david-revoy_workspace-d.jpg)
### 2007: Cintiq 12WX
**Context:** First Cintiq, was a dream to try to "draw on screen". The fashion of "wide" ratio screen started.
**Specification:** 1280x720px, same stylus and technology as Intuos3.
**Used with:** Second monitor , 1680x1024 16/10 monitor.
**Pro: **Draw on the screen.
**Con:** Mini size, too dark to be color calibrated correctly, very pricey, big padding on the border, too hot and big cable and power unit.
**Why I stopped using it:** The tablet took a deep scratch in the middle of its overlay only 1 year after getting it. Probably due to a solid dust in the air getting stuck between the stylus nib and my screen while drawing. Also, in the context of 2009, you can imagine the pain it was to setup such a device on GNU/Linux with Xorg, especially when it was my first years at 100% using GNU/Linux. I sold the unit just before joining the [Sintel](https://durian.blender.org/about/ "Sintel" ) crew in Amsterdam for a cheap price on the second hand market, due to the visible scratch.
[](data/images/blog/2012/06/2008_david-revoy_workspace-a.jpg)
### 2008: Bamboo fun A5
**Context: **I was needing a A5 tablet to do work while traveling and do conferences and demonstrations.
**Specification: **A5, 16:10 ratio, 4 buttons and one circular touch ring.
**Used with:** Small laptop.
**Pro:** The design. Small size, good stylus ergonomic. Still alive.
**Con:** Placement of the button on top. Bad overlay sheet ; I replaced with a Intuos3 overlay. Sticky coating of the stylus after years. I had to peel it manually.
[](data/images/blog/2012/06/2012-bamboofun-a5-net.jpg)
### 2010: Intuos 4 M
**Context:** Working outside of my studio started to be something more frequent with all projects at Blender Foundation in Amsterdam. I decided to upgrade my tablet.
**Specification:** A5, 16:10 ratio, 8 buttons with mini [black and white display](article70/set-the-led-display-of-the-wacom-intuos4-tablet-on-ubuntu-linuxmint "black and white display" ), and a ring touch with a central button.
**Used with:** 15'' laptop to 24'' professional monitor.
**Pro: **Design with OLED buttons, More precise than the Bamboo-fun for similar active area.
**Con: **Issue with overlay sheet at release of Intuos4 : too grainy. Wacom fixed it in 2012 after a petition signed by many artists, meanwhile I adapted a Intuos3 overlay sheet. Larger and heavier than the Bamboo-fun. "peach skin" coating plastic on the stylus, I had to peel this one too.
[](data/images/blog/2012/06/2010-03-16_screenshot_090324.jpg)
### 2011: Cintiq 21UX
**Context:** I wanted to try (again) drawing on screen.
**Specification:** 10Kg, 1200x1600px, Intuos3 technology for stylus and similar button layout.
**Used with:** mapped to the built-in screen with always an external screen aside.
**Pro:** Resolved a long thirsty to get one day this type of model, thanks the efficient marketing of Wacom. Good device to detail digital painting.
**Con:** Too heavy, dark reddish screen impossible to calibrate color properly, big pixels for a device where your eyes are in a close distance. Very hot I had to built-in a custom system of fan. Smudgy overlay and fragile back-light.
**Why I stopped using it:** The device "died" at a point. I was able to repair it with soldering electronic component manually because it was sort of easy to open the device and it had a good repair-ability. The device (as any big tablet) unfortunately took all the room on my desk; I tried to fix this in any possible manner: [hacking a gamepad](https://www.davidrevoy.com/article83/gamepad-hack-for-more-button-on-cintiq21ux) for additional buttons, putting the [Cintiq on ergotron](https://www.davidrevoy.com/article102/ergotron-lx-arm-for-cintiq) arm and more. The surface got scratched: I had to peel it. Also, I had to open a second time the device to clean the inner side of the glass to remove a small insect who died between the pixels and the glass. This device can have real bugs. The VGA/DVI switch on the top broke (but was still actionable with a small tool). I totally used this device until its last stroke, it's stylus went to offer a 10th life to my compatible Intuos3 A4. The device was sold for super cheap (1/20 of the original price) on the second hand market.
[](data/images/blog/2012/06/2011_david-revoy_workspace-a.jpg)
### 2011: Test of the Cintiq 24HD
**Context:** This tablet is not one I owned, but one I had the opportunity to demo on the booth of Wacom during the View Conference 2011 in Torino, Italy.
**Specification:** A large 24 inch large surface, 1900x1200px display, Intuos4 technology for the stylus and with an integrated adjustable-tilt stand.
**Pro:** The large monitor was really an immersive experience, the canvas area of the artwork was in full focus while the tools and dockers were on the side of the canvas. It felt like a large desk compare to my squary 21UX.
**Cons:** With only 1920x1200 pixels for 24'', no surprise the pixels were really visible when working at this distance of the monitor. It wasn't worst than the 21UX density and probably really similar. Also, while I enjoyed the stability of the new integrated adjustable-tilt stand, I still had to put the tiny keyboard on my lap during the demo.
[](data/images/blog/2011/11/cintiq-ergotron-ergonomy_07.jpg)
### 2016: Cintiq 22HD
**Context:** During Pepper&Carrot production, Cintiq21ux died at episode 6 and my old Intuos 3 started to give sign of end-of-life. I wanted to test how Wacom fixed newer Cintiqs.
**Specification:** 1920x1080px ; 9 key layout on both side.
**Used with:** Built-in screen , and other 1080p screens aside.
**Pro:** 16:9 , 1080p ratio , very standard. General design. Screen colors and luminosity is good, possible to calibrate decently the device. Heat issue is acceptable. Not heavy and pretty thin compared to the 21UX ( but not flat at all ).
**Con: **The plastic around the active area is all made of this "Peach skin" coating. I expect epic peeling party and bad looking device after 4 years. The tablet still takes all the desktop and it's hard to switch between tasks.
**Why I stopped using it:** Because my productivity was decreasing with it, I sold the tablet after three weeks of production on episode 16. The device was still "new". I reused my Intuos 3 A4, trying to fix it for a last year but it was complex.
[](data/images/blog/2012/06/2016-11-01_img_20160529_165152.jpg)
### 2017: Cintiq 13HD
**Context:** Intuos3 was definitely end-of-life, I was urged to buy a new tablet for episode 21 of Pepper&Carrot. I decided to try "Intuos 5 Pro Large" but the active size area was similar to a Cintiq13HD and price tag not so far, so...
**Specification:** 1920x1080pixels, Intuos5 technology, 13'' screen.
**Used with:** monitor cloned exactly to a 1920x1080pixels screen.
**Pro:** Possible to do Hybrid workflow ; half regular large tablet, half Cintiq. Good screen luminosity, color good enough to be calibrated. With 1080p in 13'' the resolution is good to the eyes on low distance. The parallax (distance of glass and pixel on screen) is much better than on 22HD or 21UX, you can almost use it without calibration. Heat issue is acceptable. Stylus is really better than Intuos4 and Intuos3 : buttons doesn't jump, plastic doesn't move. The case of the stylus delivered with the tablet is really good design. Also, I need to mention the price 750€ here, almost half price of the Cintiq12WX bought in 2007.
**Con:** The big fat and rigid cable going out of this model is really bad design. So bad you can't see it on any marketing picture. The Wacom team responsible for this part was really drank that day. Other point; If like me you are a hairy monkey; the plastic bevel around the active area act as a perfect device to remove the hair of your arm because they always get stuck with gesture inside. Little relief on the middle of the buttons are painful when pressed often. Also: "peach coating" over all the part where the tablet has button , like on the Cintiq 22HD.
**Why I stopped using it:** I have a bias about the longevity of this device, because I had two of them and my memory merge the two. The first one was an item that [has been robbed in my house burglary of 2017](https://www.davidrevoy.com/article608/my-house-has-been-robbed). It wasn't long after I owned it, so the insurance payed back almost 100% of my proof of buying it. I decided to buy a new unit exactly similar as probably a psychological need for me to restore "my things" as they were before. So I had a second one, exactly similar. So, I had here probably 6 month of extra life. The device became fragile later −as expected− at the "all in one" bad designed plug. This effect accelerated when I was used to unplug and replug it on the fly with an hybrid workflow using my Intuos 4 XL. I made [a video about this workflow](https://www.davidrevoy.com/article820/opinion-display-tablet-or-without-display-or-both). The "peach coating" became also sticky and I had to peel it. Peeling it was complex, and the result is not looking good visually. I used its stylus until it was flat with the Intuos 4 XL (the styluses were compatible). The device is still working but not robust anymore. I stored it.
[](data/images/blog/2012/06/2017-01-24_img_20170107_001955038_hdr_net.jpg)
[](data/images/blog/2012/06/2017-06-24_img_net.jpg)
_I was missing too much the Linux Mint "Matrix" screensaver effect , on Cintiq13HD plus dual screen._
### 2017: Huion WH1409 (large, v1)
**Context:** My house [has been robbed](https://www.davidrevoy.com/article608/my-house-has-been-robbed) and my first Cintiq 13HD has been part of the object missing. I was needing a new tablet quickly to move on with production and I had no money from the insurance yet. My curiosity lead me to try the Huion WH1409, the math was simple: it was cheap and a good candidate to similar to my beloved Intuos3 A4 large...
**Specification:** Wireless, large active area, stylus with battery, 12 buttons between 16:9 and 16:10.
**Used with:** two monitors 1920x1080pixels, side by side. The tablet is mapped on a single monitor.
**Pro:** Clearly the price, 1/3 less than Wacom similar model! Also, it has a good design, this black square looks good on a desk. The overlay sheet coating directly went on my all time favorite sheet: similar to Intuos3 technology (maybe a bit smoother). The wireless is good. Battery life is good and also all works when using the direct USB cable for charging so no panic in case of emergency work to do and running out of battery. The buttons are easy to press and feels better than Wacom's one. A very good regular large tablet.
**Con:** No official free libre GNU/Linux driver. Welcome to the workaround world. It was [possible to setup something and I documented it](https://www.davidrevoy.com/article331/setup-huion-giano-wh1409-tablet-on-linux-mint-18-1-ubuntu-16-04) but not all the features were functional. I had 9 buttons shortcuts working instead of the 12 available. I had various small issue with middle click actions. Built-in curve of pressure for the stylus jumped too quickly into the high-pressure in my opinion, it was hard to get middle-pressure strokes. The stylus plastic became also quickly wiggly and noisy while entering in contact with the surface. The diameter of the stylus tip didn't fit perfectly into its socket; the tip danced in the cavity adding a little feeling of inaccuracy when doing precise task as inking (note: it's a issue easy to fix manually with adding a little 2mm large adhesive rubber band to thicken by 0.1mm the diameter of the nib, don't do it too much or the nib spring will get difficulty to restore initial position if there is too much contact ). The plastic of the nib of the stylus is also glossy and then slide too quickly on the overlay sheet for my taste. You can sand paper it gently to increase the contact of the plastic with the overlay sheet. Also, the last pack of 4 buttons on the bottom of the tablet are sensitive: if you put your arm on it to access a keyboard as I place mine in the photo under, you'll get accidental key-press done by your arm. So, the buttons in this position become quickly things you'll deactivate.
**Why I stopped using it:** I kept this one in my closet to update my review and test GNU/Linux distribution support of Digimend free/libre driver; but it's not a tablet I have pleasure to draw on it. I used it in production for a couple of month, maybe a bit more, but as soon I could get my hands on a new Cintiq 13 HD, I never used this unit back after.
[](data/images/blog/2012/06/2017-06-15_huion-test_net.jpg)
### 2018: Intuos4 XXL (with customisations)
**Context:** The small active area of the Cintiq13HD I was using was constraining my movements when I was working on line-art. I was also using it most of the time as a normal tablet (without looking display). So I was curious what could be drawing on a very large active area and I bought the largest model ever created: the Intuos4 XL to test it. It was cheap, because this model was ten years old, discontinued by Wacom, and made for architects and specific non artistic industries. It's also a massive size: the type of unit you can't store easily at home. So, the second hand market was full of model like that no one wanted to buy, and I bought mine for a ridiculously low price.
**Specification:** An Intuos4, but with a 49x30cm active surface: huuuuge.
**Customisation:** The active area being too big, I mapped it down using the xsetwacom CLI tool on Linux. I set a 16:9 ratio on the bottom, so I can use the top part to put a tiny plank of (fake) wood and my keyboard on the top. I also removed the original overlay of Wacom: it was a bit too grainy and replaced it with a smooth Huion WH1409 overlay. I actually replaced it with two Huion WH1409 overlays with time, because I wanted to use a larger part of the tablet. So I had a gap, and this one was exactly on the right part of my screen, between my canvas and my tool docker: an area where I never draw. I flattened many stylus on this model: the one delivered with it, the one of my Intuos 4 Medium, the one of my Cintiq13HD. I painted 4 years with this model intensively.
**Pros:** I had clearly the feeling that "finally", I found *my tablet*. And it was true, the customised large active is perfect to draw and paint. The Wacom GNU/Linux driver was perfectly supported and I could customize all the aspect of it with the command line CLI tool xsetwacom. The cable USB is robust, the buttons too, the tablet is so thick that it looks non destructible.
**Cons:** The model is oversized, super thick and bulky and will eat all your desk. It requires customisations and DIY to make it usable artistically. No overlay sheet are sold to replace the default one, and all the one you'll find on other brands are too small anyway. Obviously, it's not a tablet with a built-in display, and I missed sometime the ease of drawing and inking long curvy lines, spontaneous sketches, and doing crosshatching. That's why I used to plug on the fly my Cintiq 13HD to draw at the same time. I made [a video about this workflow](https://www.davidrevoy.com/article820/opinion-display-tablet-or-without-display-or-both).
**Why I stopped using it:** I stopped to use it full time in September 2022 because it started to be too complicated to maintain it: the WH1409 overlays of Huion were discontinued and the Intuos 4 XL started to be rare on second hand market and price went high again. Building a dependencies with a model like that felt dangerous to me. My stylus started to have also a flat pressure curve after this four years of practice. I started to replace the stylus, steal the overlay of the WH1409 I had on my closet, but I realised I couldn't go 'long term' with this one nor even transport it or recommend it.
[](data/images/blog/2012/06/2018-12-07_screenshot_141709_net.jpg)
### 2021: XP-Pen Artist Pro 24
**Context:** With Youtube being transformed more and more in TV-Shopping platform, I was contacted by brands looking for review of their tablets. Among them, XP-Pen who sent me a unit: the XP-Pen Artist Pro 24.
**Reviews I made:** I made a [full install guide and video test of the XP-Pen Artist Pro on Linux](https://www.davidrevoy.com/article842/review-xp-pen-artist-24-pro-on-linux). You might also be interested into [a follow-up video](https://www.davidrevoy.com/article954/reviews-photodon-overlays-cintweak-keyboard-trays-intuos-pro-overlay-and-real-bug) where I replace the overlay of the tablet with a Photodon MXH overlay, and where I adapt Cintweak keyboard trays and speak about the bug I had trapped between the glass and the pixels.
**Specification:** 24 inch display, QuadHD resolution (2560x1440px).
**Pros:** Price, Large color gamut, QuadHD resolution on a 24inch display, good level of pressure and tilt, possible free/libre driver workaround. I used this tablet on production during probably 4 month on spring 2022. I made the drawing and inking of the episode 37 of Pepper&Carrot with it and many painting. It's a good device (especially when customised with a [new overlay and a keyboard tray](https://www.davidrevoy.com/article954/reviews-photodon-overlays-cintweak-keyboard-trays-intuos-pro-overlay-and-real-bug)) ).
**Cons:** Parralax very "2010" (similar to Cintiq 21UX) while in 2020 other brands reduced this distance between the glass and pixels, Default surface easy to scratch. Bad ergonomic on a desk. Misplaced Power buttons (too sensitive). Misclick with pen pressure. Driver experience and support on Linux (welcome to "Workaround land"!), I had also a bug who died between the glass and the pixel (like on the Cintiq 21UX).
**Why I stopped using it:** I'm still not really used to the ergonomic of the large display tablet, and it is a pattern you can read on my tablet history log: as soon I have to do a blog post, coding the website, or making a video editing; the device is in my way. So the device went to my closet on summer 2022, and I tried to reinstall for a week, here and there since this time. I'm still trying to find a good DIY to keep it around me on my restricted space. But truth is, I used more my Intuos 4 XL while having this tablet than it. And switched to the Intuos Pro Large after September 2022.
[](data/images/blog/2021/xppen/2021-05-06_xppen24pro_linux.jpg)
### 2021: Gaomon M10K 2018
**Context:** With Youtube being transformed more and more in TV-Shopping platform, I was contacted by brands looking for review of their tablets. Among them, Gaomon who sent me a unit: the M10K 2018.
**Specification:** A A5/Medium non-display tablet.
**Pros:** Price! Very cheap. Good Digimend Free/Libre driver support. Resolution, Design (even if copycat of Wacom Intuos), Content of the box. All in all, a good 'first' tablet for artist not afraid of command line on Linux.
**Cons:** Digimend driver (Welcome to "Workaround land!"), no overlay sheet available on their e-shop to replace it.
**End:** Still at home but stored: a tablet I keep to test the Digimend driver.
**Reviews I made:** You'll find [a detailed full review and install guide here](https://www.davidrevoy.com/article870/review-gaomon-m10k-2018-graphic-tablet-on-linux-for-digital-painting).
[](data/images/blog/2021/2021-10-01_gaomon-m10k-2018-review_blog-social-media-thumb.jpg)
### 2022: Wacom Intuos Pro Large
**It's the model I'm using right now on production.**
**Context:** I was in contact with Wacom, and they decided to republish [my article about ergonomy](https://community.wacom.com/us/setting-up-your-creative-workstation/), they also told me a "thank you" for my content being published for free under a Creative Commons permissive license. They also read this "tablet history" page, and we discussed about it. It was very interesting. They saw I was using the Intuos4 XL customised; they asked me what tablet I wanted to test, and I asked for the Intuos Pro Large and they sent me a unit as a gift (not in exchange of any review or adv, just a real gift). After I received it, I started to test it and it became the default one I kept on the desk after September 2022...
**Specification:** Large (A4) non-display tablet, active area 30x21cm (12.1 x 8.4), possible Bluetooth wireless but I use it only plugged USB.
**Pros:** Size of the active area, resolution, it looks robust and remain cold, GNU/Linux driver Free/Libre "libwacom" supported on GNOME/KDE Plasma. Also, it's thin and small compare to my old Intuos 4 XL, I can have room on my desk (eg. pushing the tablet and drawing on sketchbook). I can easily overlay on the top my keyboard to type (code/video-editing/blog-post).
**Cons:** Price: price of the unit, price of replacement (overlay sheet), price of the nibs. Wacom is a pricey ecosystem compare to its competitors. The overlay sheet of the model was way too grainy and all the first pen nibs were quickly used until it got smoother. I spoke about it [in this video](https://www.davidrevoy.com/article954/reviews-photodon-overlays-cintweak-keyboard-trays-intuos-pro-overlay-and-real-bug). Also, it's obviously a non-display tablet, so sometime the precision is a little bit frustrating for the gesture of precise line-art or drawing.
**Why I stopped using it:** During the production of episode 38 of Pepper&Carrot, the overlay sheet of the device started to get a very smooth spot in the middle: a real ice skating area. This affected my gesture, and then the plastic continued creasing: here is me drawing a comic panel from the last page of ep38 where [I could see the scratching on the tablet](data/images/blog/2023/2023-11-30_intuos-pro-surface-scratching.jpg)... The stylus tip also started to wobble in its slot. This is a fragile design, and the comfort level dropped considerably after that. I used it intensively for an illustration campaign for Framasoft at the end of 2022, and I almost finished episode 38 with it. From September 2022 to April 2023. Not a long life. Of course, it can be repaired: replace the overlay and get a new stylus (very expensive). So I preferred to put the XPPen Artist pro 24 back on my desk.
[](data/images/blog/2023/2022-09-01_intuos-pro-large.jpg)
### 2023: plugging back the XP-Pen Artist Pro 24
I tried again in April 2023, and this time the adaptation was successful. I used a script to switch the device to clone mode (video underneath) or as a third monitor (image underneath the video). I was productive and created a lot of artwork this way. I was preparing to adopt this setup long term because I loved the feel of drawing on the Photodon MXH overlay and it seemed indestructible. Not a scratch on it after months of use and the tip of my pen hasn't flattened out either. The new universal Cintweak keyboard trays were also very comfortable. I also decided to paint the keys on the side of my tablet with white nail polish.
**Why I stopped using it:** XP-Pen contacted me in October 2023 to review a newer device, which you'll see in the next section.
[video]data/medias/2023-09-30_xppen24pro_hybridmode.mp4[/video]
_Video: Showing the tablet cloned on my main display (MP4, 5MB, 21sec)._
[](data/images/blog/2023/2023-10-01_current-workspace-setup_xppen-artist-pro24.jpg)
### 2023: XP-Pen Artist Pro 16 (Gen2)
**Context:** I was contacted by XP-Pen to do another review. Normally I'd say no, because reviews take a long time to write and it's hard to predict whether the hardware will work with Free/Libre drivers, but two factors made me say yes. Firstly, the unit looked good on paper, and secondly, XP-Pen accepted that my review was only about using a DIY Free/Libre driver and it was fine if it didn't work as long as I documented everything I encountered. A good deal.
**Reviews I made:** See the dedicated [full install guide and video test](https://www.davidrevoy.com/article1004/xppen-artist-pro-16-gen-2-review-on-gnulinux).
**Specification:** 16 inch OLED display (99% coverage AdobeRGB), QuadHD 16:10 resolution (2560x1600px).
**Pros:** Price, Large color gamut, QuadHD resolution, exceptional no lag and real-time feeling for position/pressure/tilt, super low parralax, laminated overlay, good usage while cloning in hybrid mode (the size of a Intuos Pro), not thick, single cable, possible free/libre driver workaround. A very impressive tablet, I love it. I started to use this tablet on production end November 2023.
**Cons:** The 16:10 ratio is a bit difficult to clone (but I can overlay a common area on both display). The device can get warm with a high Brightness setting.
[](data/images/blog/2023/2023-10-29_first-photo-at-home-xppen-artist-pro-16-gen-2.jpg)
### 2023: Lenovo Yoga 370
**Context:** Now that I could finally get used to the 'display tablet', I started looking for a mobile solution. Something for when I travel, or when I do a digital painting demo in public. I wanted something like an Ipad Pro, but running GNU/Linux, with only FLOSS drivers and Krita. I tested three mobile devices (paid for with my money, not sponsored) before I found this one.
**Reviews I made:** See the dedicated [full install guide and video test](https://www.davidrevoy.com/article976/lenovo-yoga-370-on-gnu-linux-technical-companion-article).
**Specification:** 13.3" LED 1080p, 2 in 1 laptop, Wacom AES digitizer.
**Pros:** Price: 2017 hardware, bought refurbished, good GNU/Linux compatibility, good colour on display, not too much lag when drawing, the experience is ok, 1080p 16:9 is compatible with all projectors for demo, external HMDI and two USB plugs, a stereo jack plug to listen to music or watch film on the train, hardware can be opened with screw and componant can be replaced.
**Cons:** Built-in stylus is not good (toothpick) and I had to buy a Wacom one, overlay sheet smooth and shiny like glass, CPU a bit weak for Krita, stylus needs to be charged all the time before a demo, Palm rejection is not good on X11, battery of a refurbished hardware is not as good as new but still hold 4h of painting.
[](data/images/blog/2023/2023-08-31_numpad-diy-hack_000.jpg)
### To be continued...
## And you?
- What's your story with tablets?
- Do you have different opinion on the model I described?
- What's your favorite model?
Please share your specifications, pro and cons in the comments :)
WRITTEN_BY David REVOY -
-
8 comments
I made a new video about improvements, modifications, and tweaks I made to my tablets: overlay sheet (Photodon), keyboard tray (Cintweak), a real bug issue under the glasses, and a too-grainy overlay surface for the Intuos Pro Large.
- Ptb: https://peertube.touhoppai.moe/w/228kxHx41ngMKtVJDXhC9P
- Ytb: https://youtu.be/6F_JQeE7p4M
## FAQ
I had many interesting question on the Youtube channel, and while answering to them, I thought it would be good to also copy/paste the questions here, as they were good additional information:
**So, why did you change to the Wacom? Was it just the bug, or what are the advantages and disadvantages of one over the other? Seems an important part of a review, really 😀**
Good point.
I already prefered "non display tablet" over the last 20 years (I owned the Cintiq21UX, the Cintiq22HD, a Cintiq13HD and the XP-Pen 24 Artist Pro) and I always spent more time on the 'large' Intuos tablet (I had the Intuos 3 for a very long period, and also a Intuos 4 XL for long too), for context.
The thing I loved about the Intuos Large Pro, was something about its resolution and a sort of built-in micro path smoothing (I guess, might be placebo). The pressure curve length is also super long (too long, I have to use only the first 75%). And I like the immediate plug-n-play support with my GNU/Linux system.
It's full size active area is like 6cm width smaller than my previous custom area of comfort I set on all the too big active area of my ex - Intuos 4 XL. The thickness on the desk is really cool, it's like the thickness of a magazine and the bevel around is smooth and doesn't grab the hair of my arms. The black sort of aluminium feeling of the case remains always cold (and in September, with the high temperature here that was a relief), and the overall experience is in average easier compared to all the tweaks I was going on to get a better workflow with the XP-Pen 24 Artist Pro; or dealing with the thickness of the Intuos 4 XL and custom area calibration.
But as I said on the video: even with all these advantages, I still have the nostalgia of drawing on a screen tablet.
**I am curious if you encounter any driver issues switching to the Wacom?**
It was plug-and-play on my Fedora KDE 37, it was even recognised by the Plasma GUI with all feature. I decided to bypass it with a custom Xsetwacom script (I'm still on X11), to set the pressure curve, buttons, etc... I was probably lucky. libwacom does a good work at catching the new models, but it's often 3 to 6 month after their release on the market, and I was a bit afraid my model sent from Wacom America would be one of these "too new to work", fortunately, it was not.
# Video transcript:
## Introduction.
Hello, Bonjour,
In this video,
I'll show you my experience with replacing the default overlay on a display tablet,
- adding a keyboard tray,
- a real bug I had
- and things I learnt about the too grainy overlays.
This video is of course not sponsored by any brand, I just wanted to share with you the things I learnt.
## 1. The Photodon overlay
So, the first useful modification I made for my XP-Pen 24 Pro was to change the default overlay.
The default felt too smooth to me, too glossy and started to get many scratches.
I noticed that even on the first week on my video review of the XP Pen Artist 24 Pro.
I made my final choice on an overlay sold at Photodon.com,
it was after watching the video review of [the artist Robert Marzullo](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1VpCLOJ01jI) and it was good recommendation.
Photodon has a model for the XP-Pen, and I selected their "M X H" overlay type.
It's an overlay with a subtle texture, and not super glossy. I do not regret my choice.
I wouldn't say it was easy to install, but it was doable alone.
I was super anxious about bubble of air and dust,
So I did the modification in the Kitchen with the range fan set to the highest level.
The result turned out great, and the surface doesn't have any scratches anymore after many artworks.
And the glossyness reduced slightly.
## 2. The Keyboard tray
My other issue with this tablet was about its ergonomic.
I wanted to get access to my Keyboard on top to type my keyboard shortcuts.
Only one company does this type of Keybaord tray: Cintweak, but they had only models for the Wacom Cintiq.
Anyway, I decided to write them an email with photos and measurements of my XP-Pen tablets.
Fortunately for me, they replied and studied my request: giving me extra measurements for my DIY adaption that wasn't information available not on their website.
I then bought their model for the Cintiq X 24 Pro, and they sent it to me with extra felt pad to help me to adapt it to my tablet, along with a little graphic to help me.
The modification was perfectly stable, and I used the tablet like this on the production of my webcomic.
Recently, they came back to me to propose me to try their new 'Universal sized model'.
I received this one a week ago, and it is so cool!
You can adjust all the settings:
- the thickness,
- the distance to the edge of the screen,
- and in result, the keyboard tray is even more stable and robust than the previous one.
I also love the concept: one single keyboard tray that has the possibility to adapt to all the future model of display tablet I'll own and for all the brands. A good investment.
## 3. The real life bug.
Unfortunately, bugs happens.
And on my XP-Pen Artist Pro 24, I had one morning a "real life bug" who found their way under the glass of the screen.
To make the situation even worst,
this tiny red spider who got trapped between the glass and the pixels
decided to die in the middle of the screen.
I have no idea how it is possible that XP-Pen hasn't protected this area in a better way.
So, I decided to tear down the tablet, and beleive me: it was very complex.
I would give this hardware an horrible repair-ability score, because I couldn't access the glasses and clean it manually!
I then mounted the device back but I was so depressed about drawing every day with the cadaver of this bug.
I had to wait two weeks of usage before the heat of the device probably dried the insect to not stick anymore to the inner part of the glass.
I tried various method to shack and remove it, but the best result I had was with an adhesive rubber band.
Unfortunately, a little sticky part remains on the glass.
## 4. The Intuos 4 Pro
In September, Wacom contacted me to send me a gift.
They were thankful for my reusing my Creative Commons illustration free of charge from my blog all these years and asked me what tablet I wanted in their catalog.
I decided to try their Intuos Pro Large,
and since I received it I only use this tablet now.
The surface had too much grain at first for my taste,
and I changed the nib of the stylus every 4 days at first.
But the surface became finally smooth after a month of daily usage.
It took probably 8 nibs until reaching this point.
I had to buy another pack of nibs on the way to reach this point.
But now, I have the same nib on the tip of my stylus since the last 2 months.
So, I wanted to let you know about this effect.
## Conclusion:
I still regret the XP-Pen 24 Pro precision for drawing.
But my workspace size is too limited to get and the Wacom Intuos Pro and the XP-Pen 24 Pro together.
To the day I'm writing this line, I'm still trying to figure how I could get advantage of both connected to a single PC. I'll keep you informed about it.
Thank you for watching.
