Fun with Wacom

I've finally had the chance to properly try out my Wacom Intuos graphics tablet - some of the drawings for my 'drawing noses' tutorial were done with it. It was fun. It took me a while to get the settings right (an unfamiliar graphics program doesn't help) but with the color set to a graphite-like gray and the pressure-sensitivity ajusted, I was pretty happy with the results. I'm also glad I stretched the budget to go for the larger size tablet - being able to draw on a notebook-size page is great and lets you move your hand naturally. I set up my source picture in a second window, and drawing it felt a bit like doing a blind contour drawing - not looking at my hand.
You can get some expert advice on Graphics Tablets from Sue Chastain, About.com's resident Graphics Software genius.