CES News--Fluid Mask 3 and Bling! It

Since the CES (Consumer Electronics Show) is geared towards more general electronics, I don't always expect to see much in the way of graphics software. One cool exception this year was the folks from Vertus.

There were really two products that Vertus was promoting. The first was Bling! It, a product not really geared towards graphics professionals. That doesn't meant that graphics professionals can't use it. A few few very quick steps, you can take a boring product shot and turn it into something much more exciting. The idea being that your new product shot will help you better sell the product.

Their powerhouse tool is Fluid Mask 3. It makes the process of cutting an image out from the background much easier than with traditional tools. Yes, there are other tools that do similar things, but I've yet to see any that worked in the same way. Without comparing each of the tools on the same image, it is impossible to tell you which tool is the best. While Fluid Mask 3 is a Photoshop plug-in, it does not work in Corel PHOTO-PAINT. The good news is that it can be run just fine as a standalone application. Even better, if you use the coupon code of "CESSHOW", you can save $40 if you purchase before January 20th, 2008. There is a free trial available so feel free to give it a try and see if it is something useful to you.

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CES News--Wacom Cintiq Tablets

I'm sure many of you have seen news items about CES (Consumer Electronics Show). Maybe it was the 150 inch plasma TV or the 3mm thick OLED display from Sony. Or even the car that could drive itself. Sure, I saw those things at the show. I'm going to focus on the stuff I saw that directly affects those of us in the graphics world. Plus, I don't think any designers can afford the other stuff! :)

In my first post, I'm going to talk about the Wacom Cintiq tablets. They aren't really new, but they are becoming more popular. The folks from Genius were showing similar tablets. I shocked the girl demoing the Genius tablet when I sat down and starting playing with Corel Painter and knew more than she did about it. Funny thing is I haven't played with Painter in years.

The difference between a regular Wacom tablet and the Cintiq line is that you draw directly on the screen. When they demo the product, they typically have the screen sitting on a desk. If I had one, I think I'd prefer to put it in my lap. Because these tablets combine an LCD monitor with a tablet, they do cost a lot more than a regular tablet.

For the time being, I'm still a fan of the regular tablet with a huge monitor. I use a Wacom Intuos tablet along with a 30 inch Samsung monitor. These two combined cost a lot less than a 21 inch Cintiq. For those wanting to draw directly on the screen, there is a 12 inch Cintiq that weighs in under $1000.

Since the Cintiq line first appeared a few years ago, the price and display quality have both gotten better. As with many products you see at CES, they really hit their stride a few years after CES. So for now, I think you may want to wait a year or two to buy a Cintiq. For those who really want to draw directly on the screen, they work wonderful.

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