Not really. I just want to whine about that stupid page change animation. I want to disable it so bad. At first it was enabled then disabled then enabled again. Or at least there where days that it didn't show. Now I can't get away from this thing.

Anyways I've recently installed a matte screen protector to my Surface Pro 4. It's not as "paper like" as people describe these things. Though it does make drawing a bit easier for me. My 2h ,I think, nib is showing wear only after a few completed drawings. For anyone wanting a matte surface keep that in mind. You may wish to change your pressure settings to be less firm. Then get used to drawing like that in order to make your hardware last longer. Perhaps. If anything it some time feels like it lowers the initial activation force. And on Intrig pens that isn't very low to start with.

I just want a nib that's hard enough that the screen protector won't wear it down. And not so hard that it wears down the screen protector's finish. One can wish I guess.

Time for another journal entry... I should do this more often.

How I use my Surface Pro 4 to draw has changed over time. At first I'd try drawing down stairs in a recliner. It worked because I could keep myself upright and still be comfortable. I tried drawing in other places because the recliner wasn't the most convenient place and wasn't always available. That and the only time it was and I could get enough quiet time was late at night. The next place I found for drawing was at my desk. I'd have to move things around, but was more convenient. It wasn't comfortable though. I discovered drawing in portrait mode so I was leaning over more than I would have if I was using the kickstand. I don't have a stand that allows me to have it at a 50 degree angle or anything while in portrait mode. The next place I had found is another recliner, but up stairs. I can't use it's foot rest without it reclining on me though. So my solution to that was to drag an old "repaired" amp over and sit a pillow on top of it as a foot rest. Now I can sit comfortably with my back at a healthy >90 degree angle. As for propping the tablet up I first used a pillow, but now I just rest my foot on the amp allowing me to use my knee to prop up the tablet. I can also comfortably brace my elbow against the chair so drawing isn't tiring and awkward.

This works for now. At least when my brother's not home watching annoying anime garbage on his large TV and stereo....refusing to use headphones.. I'll have to find a new place to draw in the future. I don't know when that'll actually be. Although I do know I'll be moving in the future.

Picked up Affinity Design for Windows Saturday night. Got a decent deal on it too. $40 for the program along with some other resources. Was over a GB download, but should be worth it. Now I just need to search for info on how to install all the goodies. I plan on getting more into vector graphics. Well duh seeing as I just spent $40 on some vector drawing software. I mostly intend on using it to ink my sketches. Hopefully I don't suck too bad at it at first.

Assuming someone interested actually comes across this journal before it's too late, I think this deal last until the 24th of November.

Yeah nothing has changed. It was entertaining watching Steven Crowder though.

In other "news" I'm pleased to see prices for new GPUs drop closer to their MSRP. if not a little below.
This will help when I actually spend money to upgrade my system. Hopefully though I won't have to watch prices go through the roof again when the 1080 Ti is released.
$700 is already high enough. Too bad my motherboard is so old I can't upgrade my cpu to the latest models. Not that I'd want to spend that much on one that uses the 2011 socket...
My i7 3820 is still good for gaming though so I'm not worried about upgrading that just yet. I'll go with a normal i7 when I do though. I'll have a good wait after I upgrade my GPU
so I may be able to build a system based off of Cannon Lake. I plan on grabbing a good 32 inch or larger UHD display after. Then perhaps I'll start regularly using my super old Intuos 2 9x12.
Likely by then Wacom will have updated their 27 inch QHD display Cintiq. I wonder what other brands will be competing against the Surface Studio. I've already seen a teaser of what Dell is planning.
To be honest I don't care much for all in ones unless the base model is fairly priced and easily upgradeable.

So it's that time of year again. You can always tell when they bring out the Christmas themed junk at Wal-Mart. It's time to strengthen your fight against diabetes.
In all seriousness though It's also the beginning of shopping and new tech. I'll likely add some more money to my card just in case I find a good deal on a GTX 1080 on Amazon.
My PC has long been due an upgrade of some sort. I had already planned on building a new PC, but then decided on just upgrading the GPU and monitor after that.
I'd then finish grabbing other components like a new case, mother board and ram. I decided on all of this and then Microsoft and Wacom release a few new awesome products.
Wacom released their updated portable drawing tablet. They've improved the display resolution as well as reduced the amount of parallax. I'd want the 16 inch UHD one, but I can do without.
My Surface Pro 4 isn't much different any how. Microsoft on the other hand released three new items. An updated version of the Surface book which has a larger battery and improved GPU.
Nice, but I can still do without. They also released the Surface Dial. An interesting puck thing that works as a sort of remote. It enables you to control stuff with a twist. It does have an on screen
UI when placed on an up to date Surface display. Though it can still be used on other Windows 10 PCs. At only $100 it's not too bad, but I'd rather use the Tablet Pro tool bar.
And finally they announced the Surface Studio. An all in one PC with a 28 inch pen enabled display. The PC part of it is in the base and pretty much just a laptop as far as power is concerned.
I'd rather have a display only version considering that you won't be able to really upgrade it later... At a starting price of $2999 it's not cheap. Yet it's already sold out until early 2017.

Microsoft does also have a couple of keyboards and a mouse, but they're not really that impressive. You can order these along with the dial separately if you want. The keyboard that comes with the Surface
Studio is the most appealing to me, but I don't think it has any back lighting. For $100 I can do better. The other keyboard is an ergonomic version. lol nope
The mouse is a simple wireless mouse. I could only see space for two buttons and a track wheel. Can do much better for $70 or so.

All in all I'll be sticking to my PC upgrade path unless I come across a large win fall of money.

It's been a good while now sense I bought a Surface pro 4. Here's my take on it so far.

The model I chose was the variant with the m3 processor and 128GB of storage. I've also purchased a blue type cover and 128GB microSD card.
I originally purchased it with the intent on using it as a drawing device. I do own a Wacom Intuos2 9x12, but I only use it for editing images in Photoshop.
Drawing on my Wacom tablet always left me feeling uninspired and just devoid of any motivation to draw. No idea why though. Touching up photos was just fine though...
After about ten or so years of not drawing I wanted something I could actually draw on and not get disinterested in as soon as I start.
I wasn't about to spend a few grand on a 27 inch display tablet that was only 1440p and had a diffused coating. Wacom is good, but I decided to pass on that option.
The ipad pro seemed nice, but I prefer a desktop OS and not having to charge my "stylus" every other day. I had my mind set on the Surface and chose the base model.
Mostly for price, but also for the silent running and negligibly thinner size. lol who am I kidding. I was cheap and wanted it as soon as possible. So yeah, definitely wasn't
getting the Surface Book with the GPU.

With that said here's how it runs.
With the lower end cpu and only 4 GB of ram it's not the most capable. I don't need to use my tablet to render UHD video or edit 3d graphics so it runs fine for me.
I don't own a version of Photoshop past CS2 which is free btw. I don't know how well that would run on the base model SP4. However PS CS2 does work.
At first the pen would easily get bogged down, but still work. Though now PS kinda chokes when you use the pen. And only after moving the courser will it snap back to normal.
Using the mouse though it works just fine. Might be just me with how I've installed drivers though. Speaking of drivers, you can install wacom drivers and use a tablet
with PS. This will disable pressure sensitivity on your intriq pen though.(at least older programs that require wintab drivers) For most drawing programs you'll want to install wintab drivers.
Older programs and Clip Studio won't work properly without them. Clip Studio Paint works great on the Surface. Low latency etc. Krita is free, but
the UI is a bit challenging and not quite suited for touch operation.
So performance wise it's not going to replace your desktop PC, but does everything else well enough. For those programs that require a bit more power I still have
my Desktop PC with an i7 3820 and Nvidia GTX 680.

For gaming it is still capable. Depending on the game and the resolution you run it at though. If you're using a 1080p monitor you can get by with lower settings on not so demanding games.
Games like Half Life 2 and Portal that use the Source Engine run rather well at 1080p. If you play Quake Live you'll be happy to know that you can easily run it at full resolution at an easy 125 fps.
Something like Second Life is going to tax it quite a bit though. Don't expect more than 10 to 15 fps in a crowded area though. That and if not lowering the resolution it will heat up fast.
The only reason I know this is because a failed update on my desktop forced me to use the SP4 as my main PC for a while. One bit of advice though.
If you connect a monitor via an adapter using an hdmi cable it will think it's a TV and run at a lower color setting.
There's no Nvidia control panel to manually set it back to full color so using dvi, display port, or something else will fix that.

About the pen.
It's fairly balanced and comfortable to use. For me at least. If you have problems you can just slide a cushion over it.
It has a single flat side for magnetically connecting to the tablet. I wish it had more sides like an actual pencil though. That's just me.
The magnet is quite strong and very handy for storing the pen. It's not as secure as the type cover, but close enough.
The single button on the side is sort of hidden and not very easy to make use of. It's easier to just forget it's there. If you need shortcuts you're better off using another solution.
That single button can't be mapped to keystrokes or macros anyways. The eraser can be programed, but is limited to opening programs and screen shots at the moment. Who knows if that'll change?
The display is a glossy glass finish, but the pen tip is some kind of soft rubber or felt. This provides very pleasing resistance. You can however buy a set of tips that include harder tips though.
In case you find that slick plastic on glass feel of no control to your liking.
The pen comes with a single AAAA battery installed that will last about a full year before needing replaced. The pen will flash an led when it gets low. If you're worried just buy a small pack of lithium
batteries and you'll be set for years to come. Lithium because they store safer with a much lower chance of leaking and keep their charge longer.

Speaking of solutions there are a few.
Blue-tooth keyboards are likely what someone's who more used to a desktop experience would go with. Having the type cover attached hinders drawing in landscape mode. You could have it flat while using it in portrait mode. Though you'd need to get used to using the keyboard in the same orientation. If you're cheap you could opt to not buy a type cover and just use a blue-tooth keyboard.
Though i don't recommend that as it would subject your display to more risk while not being protected. Unless you just don't want to bother carrying around your super portable PC.
There is a software solution though. It's called Tablet Pro. It is free with a paid version you can buy. It's basically a tool bar you can toggle on and off near the system tray. It can be customized with
practically any keystroke and moved around on your desktop. It does have other features such as an on screen controller, but I never bothered with that.

Overall I'm quite pleased with the Surface Pro 4. Though i just wish it was much bigger because I always want something better.

Seeing as how it's been a long time sense I first came up with my main character ,Polaris, I think it's time I've updated him some. I've already shortened his hair, but I want to ditch the white hair color as well. I'll likely go with a brown of some sort mostly because it's natural and my hair IRL is also brown. But who knows. I might try out another earth tone for the fur. I may go so far as to adopt a fur pattern more like other foxes.

I think perhaps the best change I can make is with his attire. The pink collar is long gone. I don't hang out at comic shops any more to be "that weird guy". So I have no real reason for wearing that huge thing any more let alone putting it on the character that's supposed to represent me in some way. I think dressing him up in some shorts and t-shirt would likely look best. If anyone has ideas for me to try out, feel free to suggest away.

Figured I'd start making use of this account again. No idea when or if I'll be posting anything though. First thing I did was try to add contact info stuff. I derped for a while then got most of it to work. I need to make my facebook page name shorter. However, I failed at getting my steam info to work.

http://steamcommunity.com/profiles/.....1198043897153/ will take you to my page. My username is ephemral, but when I input that it errors. I tried putting in aliases. They worked, but directed me to some other person's page. I even tried putting in profiles/76561198043897153/. It worked, but the formatting added the id/ thus directing to another person's profile... All that's different between our profile address was a simple"id/". Weird.