SAI + Toshiba Tecra M4 : http://www.tmeeco.eu/BitShit/TecraM4b.jpg <3

Ooooh that looks like quite the nice drawing monitor! I had one which was quite large, a Huion GT-190, but it was ultimately a budget drawing monitor, and found the colours off, the viewing angle awful and a few little annoying things that made it difficult to work with. What's the Toshiba Tecra M4 like?

And yar SAI is good, but find its a lil limited in a few places, but does really well at the limited things it can do!

The M4 is an older business class tablet-laptop (2005-6). Metal chassis, Wacom digitizer, 4:3 aspect ratio 14.1" screen with 1400 x 1050 resolution. Really good panel with very wide viewing angles and color and contrast is better than most monitors you can buy from shops, even expensive stuff. I got mine for 170usd, which of 70 was shipping from canada to EU.

What kind of things you find it limited at ?
I find SAI excellent for painting stuff, plus it is the least demanding program for art, nothing else is as responsive. One thing I do sometimes miss is a text tool.

Ooooh okay! It certainly sounds the part! Might be worth looking into, or see what current versions are out there.

Mainly just all the tools that are in Photoshop and not in Sai. The magic wand tool is a bit more efficient in Photoshop, and I do use quite a few 'Filter' effects at time, along with the hue/saturation adjustments for tweaking shadow colours. Tho the Blur tool in Sai is to die for!

Modern stuff is all in the territory of very expensive and not any better other than CPU/GPU power. 100ish for something like this is really good for a cheapass like me hahaha. No regrets whatsoever with my buy ~

That blur tool, now I remember why I cannot get into anything else anymore hahahaha. With some custom noise maps that tools is integral part of my drawing process hahahaha. And one other thing about SAI I remember now is the 16bit color channels, 65536 times higher precision so getting ultra smooth gradients and stuff is simple. I think you can set 16bit color channels in PS too.

That's true, the newer stuff can usually be just better internals with little change to actual functionality, and for some that's just for art, all that's really needed is a load of RAM. How is the pen on the laptop tho? I found on the one I had, the pen nib was not very accurate to the pointer on screen, and the sensitivity was kinda wonky.

Yar, that thing just works well! But then one other tool that is in PS but not Sai and I use allot is the 'Smudge' tool, very handy for some quick fur blending effects. I spent like an hour looking through tutes and videos on steps to try and get the Blur tool to behave like the Smudge tool, but was never quite right. At the mo I'm currently playing in Manga Studio, and so far I'm rather impressed! Might be the mix of PS and Sai I'm looking for!

You're limited to 2GB on lot of the older machines unfortunately. That hasn't stopped me from working on 10k pixel sized images though haha. SAI is efficient with RAM :P
As far as the pen goes it is lower end Wacom fare. It has similar weight and size as pencils and such, very comfy. The pressure sensitivity is top notch, no complaints at all, and the nib doesn't seem to wear out at all. I have used mine daily for the past 1.5 years and it just keeps on going ! You have to calibrate the screen through Wacom control panel, then the cursor stays under the tip for the most part. There is slight parallax due to pen being above the screen but that is something I got used to within 2 weeks so it isn't an issue really unless the calibration is really off.

Smudge is something I do miss sometimes, you cannot get very good smudging going in SAI. Manga Studio is something I grabbed a while ago when it was on massive sale and yeah it is kind of mix of SAI and PS hahaha. It has some really sweet features but it is also really slow compared to SAI and others, very noticable latency in pen input and what happens on screen, that really throws me off. All else I can work around but that... I also couldn't get a SAI like blur happen, but I haven't explored its brush settings too much. If I can nail that I can do anything as far as art making goes in that program hahahaha.

Ahh sounds all is pretty standard then! And as ya said price wise its a pretty good steal! And yes working on the glass screen being a slight hight above is fine, its just some point the calibration would be perfect, and as the pen moved across the screen it would slowly drift away =/

And yea, Manga Studio is pretty recourse heavy, and running it on the 2GB machine its an expectation to see it chug a lil. Sai is great for being very light on how much it wants to chew into the computer, so it is very smooth and snappy when using. I've played a lil with a few Brushes in Manga Studio, but I keep falling back to the G-Pen tool, its just perfect for all things from inking to colouring, just need to change the size and feather on it =p

When you have to calibrate the screen you got to move your head etc. with the pen location as you would in normal use, that makes things pretty much spot on. And you'll get used to following the cursor rather than the pen itself pretty quickly. Your calibration just has to make sure the cursor isn't gonna get hidden. It was inconvenient at first but under 2 weeks and bam, second nature and no going back to normal stuff hahahahaha.

RAM isn't gonna make things faster at things like drawing a line, that's all CPU grunt and the better your program the nicer things are gonna be. I tried to hack out the time limit from SAI and while I failed at that I saw it has beautifully hand crafted assembly brush system, it is ridiculously high performance.
Pencil, eraser, blur. All I need haha. I change brush settings on the fly to suit the particular situation. Oh and that reminded me one other reason why I ended up staying mostly with SAI. All other programs are slightly crippled without access to keyboard, you got to surf menus and whatnot. SAI (and Manga Studio for the most part) have all the important things on the screen, ready to poke with your pen !
http://www.tmeeco.eu/BitShit/Temp/A.....aikMaiNois.png ~

I mostly write now- when I art at all. But, when I was drawing, I used traditional, with the occasional 'touchup' in Paint.

Aaah well then do ya write with a pen, typewriter or on PC? =p Or do you carve straight into stone!? O.o

PC, lol. Cuneiform is too hipster.

Hahaha but just think of those rad original processes! =p

Yeah, but then you got yer clay makin', yer clay bakin' . . .not to mention all the damn clay chips everywhere. Plus, you miss the key, you just backspace. You miss the tablet, you end up stabbing yerself in the leg with a chisel.

for me i draw anything that pops into my head i draw my own stuff and fanart i draw traditionally and i use markers now ^^

Ooooh sounds like a good mix of ideas! The more one draws the better I say! =D And markers are wonderful if they work well and also used with the right paper, which do you use?

paper from my sketch book

Aaah do you not find your markers bleed heavily on the paper? Some is better than others, but if you find it bleeds to much, some places will sell special marker paper which helps reduce the bleeding for better colouring accuracy! =3

thanks ^^

When I ART, I usually place a sheet of paper in front of me and stare at it, until it either catches fire or starts to generate color on it, because it can't stand my stare anymore.

True ART power comes from within! Thou needs paper forged from the mightiest and oldest trees to be able to even fathom your creative powers! =O

>>> informing you about my big text there, which I was writing WHILE you already responded :b <<<

Modified Chuck Norris jokes, those are priceless :b

So anyway, I just realized I almost do nothing else traditionally anymore, because it doesn't give me the unlimited possibilities of correcting things, that you have with digital means. But basically I should do a classic picture again at some point.
So today, I basically create anything on a responsive pen-supported monitor. I say it this way, because as you know, I have even generated a full level digital picture on my GOD DAMNED SMARTPHONE! And I gotta say, it's perfectly the same kind of a fully equipped drawing device, as my Wacom Cintiq at the computer. Previously I was always sketching something on paper (since it doesn't matter, how much you torture paper in sketching phase by erasing over and over again), then scanning into the computer and then working out with the tablet (I will not talk about my very old methods of working out digital pictures with the mouse, what a time XD). I basically only use Photoshop for any image-wise purpose on the computer, never really used anything else and I wouldn't see a purpose in that for me. I would even still work with my ancient version Photoshop Elements 2.0 from 2002, if it wouldn't get more and more buggy with newer operating systems than Windows XP (today I am running on Windows 8.1, which I am very happy with so far). After encountering those bugs, I originally bought Photoshop Elements 10 from Adobe (along with Premiere Elements 10) for 150 bucks. Afterwards it was a huge disappointment, because both programs are almost non-usable. One, because their interfaces are totally different to what I always got to use from both programs in different versions, and they SUCK LOTS, and 2: Essential functions were not available in those programs. I mean ESSENTIAL. Functions, without whose the entire program is basically useless, like exporting your creation, you worked out in the program, to common video/image formats. I felt betrayed from Adobe, why I have no problem with my conscience, using Adobe Premiere CS6 and Photoshop CS6 I got from a buddy. Both programs work and look like you'd expect and like it makes sense. ............................. I guess I am digressing here.

I do a lot of stuff, you could do art, in many different media. My other main field is video production. For that I use the mentioned Premiere CS6, with which you can do almost anything. Have you taken a look at my videoblogs, at least the last few? They show quite the amount of editing. I just love to work with video. Because of this, I got me my 1.800 bucks Panasonic GH4, a professional camera with 4K recording. Yes, quite some smartphones can record in 4K these days, but they are no match for a high class camera.
Anyway, in my video production I like to get together my talents, like physical acting, voice acting, animation, sound recording and editing and even drawing and digital picture editing. Because without my Photoshop knowledge, my videos would lack a LOT.
In January, there will be 99 Fire Films Award. A mid European video contest (basically being held in the German speaking area), where you will have to produce a 99 second long video within 99 hours of full production time. At the starting point of the time, they tell you the topic, what the video has to be about. It's always in January, and this time is the first time, that I finally have the skills and the technology to offer some professional stuff. I am well equipped, with video lights, tripods, steadycams, multiple cameras, multi-surface mounts and microphones. Now all that's left for me, that I need to have, is a high class camera drone XD But good ones are expensive.

Now I'm not sure if you wanted to get such a text, but that's about my main free time burners. I have a lot more hobbies, interests and skills than this, but explaining EVERYTHING would need me a half day :b Currently for example, I am starting as a drummer in a Metal band. Also heavily teaching myself 3D modeling and animation, as soon as I got several other projects done. I am a workaholic, because when being done with my job, I never really relax and do nothing but I keep going and creating, and getting into more and more fields of activity. The only time, when being not productive, is when I'm sleeping. And believe me, if it would be possible to go through life without sleeping, I would do so, because it's burning quite the amount of time, which you could use for something productive XD

Goodness! I can always expect a decent read from you! XD

And I can certainly agree with your points, Photoshop has plenty going for it, and the multiple different versions allow for plenty of flexibility, much like how you need to export to different file formats. But in my case I do not need that particular feature, along with allot of the elements of Photoshop. Plenty of it gets hardly used, and some parts have never even been used, or even looked at! This is why my current task is to test different types of software that meet the needs that I need. Currently floating off Sai and onto Manga Studio, but I also have Corel Painter and the newly discovered Krita to play with. They each have a similar style and look, but don't have quite as many tools as Photoshop, but have their own unique ones, like Corel Painter being as close to traditional style art as possible, and Manga Studio having a built in 3D model mannequin to pose and move around, which is something I am going to be testing with, to help with tricky poses! And inking in Manga Studio is is very nice! I can certainly recommend you go and check it out!

And yes, I recall you speaking of your video movements and building up your equipment base, and its good to hear that it's moving forward! =D I sadly have not seen the video blogs, as I usually think to myself I will watch them later, and then forget to and end up clearing all journals. =/ I have a poor memory for it all! And yes, sometimes it feels that there is not nearly enough time in the day to do it all, and sleeping is quite the burden when it comes to the time you want to use! XD