MODULE 1 OF 8

Your Studio

Get the Artist 12 connected, calibrated and comfortable. The boring lessons that stop everything else being frustrating.

4 LESSONS  ·  ABOUT 40 MINUTES EACH

LESSON 01

Meet Your Artist 12

Before you draw a single line, you need to know what this thing actually is and what it is not. The Artist 12 (3rd Gen) is a drawing display: a screen with a pen sensor under the glass that has to be plugged into a computer to do anything at all. This lesson covers the hardware, the box contents, and the one stylus rule that will save you from wasting money.

Beginner  ·  25 min  ·  Hardware only

LESSON 02

Getting Connected & Installing the Driver

There are three ways to plug the Artist 12 into a host device, and one of them is much simpler than the others. This lesson walks all three, then installs the driver properly on Windows and macOS — including the macOS permission step that trips up almost everyone. Get this right once and you never think about it again.

Beginner  ·  45 min  ·  XP-Pen driver

LESSON 03

Mapping, Calibration & Pressure

Out of the box the pen works, but it probably does not feel right yet. Three settings fix that: Work Area decides which screen the pen controls, Calibrate lines the cursor up with the nib, and the pressure curve decides how hard you have to press to get a dark line. This is the lesson that turns the hardware into an instrument.

Beginner  ·  40 min  ·  XP-Pen driver

LESSON 04

Express Keys, Dials & Working Without Pain

Eight express keys and two dials sit along the edge of the display, and most people never set them up properly. This lesson gives you a keybinding plan that removes the keyboard from your workflow, then deals with the unglamorous half of digital art: how to sit, how to hold your arm, and how to take breaks so you can still draw at forty.

Beginner  ·  35 min  ·  XP-Pen driver

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Digital Foundations