Dragonmistral

Thank you all for the thoughtful birthday wishes!  

So, I adopted a Bamboo Fun Tablet Model CTE-650 over a year ago, and my experience with the tablet has me wondering two things:

1.) Am I using this tablet incorrectly for line art on my computer (Mac OSX, by the way)?

2.)  Is my tablet not sensitive enough for line art?

I wonder these things because I have a *lot* of trouble sketching and producing line art with my tablet - it often looks no better than if I simply used my mouse or a touchpad to make a lineart layer for my projects.  I use GIMP, and I use the Path tool for all of my line art.  Path tool is nice, but *so* time consuming...I feel like I could get some lines on a layer much quicker by just using my tablet as though it were an actual pen-on-paper, if only I knew what was wrong!

My question is, what am I doing wrong?  Is it the sensitivity of my tablet, or am I using GIMP inappropriately?  What brush settings do you all use to outline your sketches?  Or is my tablet not sensitive enough to use anything other than the Path Tool to put outlines down in my CG art?

Thanks in advance for your advice!

I discovered "My Little Ponies: Friendship is Magic" this year, fell in love the with stylized take on one of my favorite shows as an 80s kid, and then subsequently became obsessed with it.

Soooo, expect loads of pony fanart in my next few art batches! ;

If you haven't seen the show, check out Lauren Faust's deviantART page for a taste of the design (recognize the name and style? ) at   If you love cartoons like I do, definitely check MLP out!

Dear Followers,

On the 11th of October 2011, a great dragon, an inspiring deviantArtist, and an old friend by the name of Athus Nadorian passed away in a severe car collision.  

Over these past few years I had lost touch with Athus, but he was an important soul in my life nonetheless.  Athus, may you travel safely and soundly to your next destination, and know that you will always have a place to call home in the hearts of those who love you here on Earth.  Wind to thy Wings, dear friend.

Hi there Viewers,

I have been full of empty promises when it comes to my artwork, and it is time to change that.  I promised post more artwork, to engage in the rich exchange of thoughts and ideas here on dA, and to maintain a level of activity that would at least keep you all informed on what I'm up to.  I've hardly done any of these things in over a year, nor have I kept the promise to myself to incorporate art into my daily routine as I had once done in the past.

I haven't done ANY of these things, and all I can say is that I'm sorry.  If you are reading this, I really appreciate your loyalty and interest as I continue struggle to grow as an artist.  I've neglected my Muse horribly since started graduate school, but all of the talented artists, friends and viewers I interact with here on dA keep her from leaving me altogether.

So, where do I go from here?  I'm not quite sure.  I will always continue to create art, but I am still trying to figure out the sort of artist I can be as I continue down this somewhat paradoxical road of mine.  I don't think my dA will be all that robust until I figure that out.

The first step is to make a little den for myself on my webspace here.  I can't force growth and compromises between me and my Muse, but I can get friendly with all of you artists again, at the very least!  I'll figure out the role art plays in my life with time.  In the meantime, I'll keep on posting my art and keep my meager commissions open.

Thank you all for having faith in Mistral qua Artist.  I look forward to catching up with you and your artwork