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September 21, 2012
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Hey everyone,

If you do a lot of digital art then you can injure your wrists by all the repetition and crazy keystrokes that the software makes you do.  For example, undo.  If you want to undo, you have to hit the letter combination CTRL-Z which isn't too bad, but done over and over again can cause damage.  One of the worst key combinations is redo.  That CTRL-Y combination really stretches and strains your wrists.  After long weekends of doing artwork, I was finding that my wrists hurt.  I know that if they hurt, then I'm doing damage to them.  I love art and I don't want to find myself one day unable to do what I love the most.  

So I went searching for something that would help.  I found a product called the Razer Nostromn.  It's not cheap, but it's really not that expensive considering what I could lose.  Also, it's basically for gaming which allows you to create hot keys.  I figured, what the heck, I'll try it.  The Nostromn is naturally curved which feels really nice when I'm working.  It also sits on my desk without taking up too much room.  The keys are illuminated which helps when I'm working because I like to work in low light so my gamma isn't messed up.  I really can't say anything bad about this product.  The interface was a little odd at first, but once I figured it out, there were so many possibilities.

I fell in love.  No more searching for keys on my keyboard and taking my eyes away from what I'm working on.  I see the Nostromn becoming a very intricate part of how I do my artwork.  It's working smarter and safer.  I highly recommend this product or a product like it.

Happy and safe creations,
Jereme

Edit: I uploaded my configuration to my stash if anyone's interested: [link]

Some notes on the configuration:
F1: I have mapped to flip the canvas
F2: I have mapped to create a new clipping mask layer using the current layer
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:iconthiani:
Mood: Amazed *Thiani Feb 1, 2013  Hobbyist Digital Artist
Don't you have a tablet of any kind?
But the tip with the mouse is cool, I never thought I could use my Razer Naga for anything else than gaming!
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:iconjjpeabody:
=jjpeabody Feb 2, 2013  Hobbyist Digital Artist
I have a Cintiq
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:iconthiani:
Mood: Love *Thiani Feb 1, 2013  Hobbyist Digital Artist
Did I say like your art?
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:iconwildtimez:
~wildtimez Dec 21, 2012  Professional General Artist
if you have an ipad you should check out an app called Actions, it allows you to customize a full set of shortcut buttons for any app you want...really is worth checking it out.. i have all the shortcuts i regularly use assigned to on screen buttons on the ipad...the ipad connects wirelessly to your system and responds remarkably well...just another option :)
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:iconjjpeabody:
=jjpeabody Dec 21, 2012  Hobbyist Digital Artist
Interesting, so you're using the iPad to work with Photoshop on your system.... not on the iPad -wirelessly?
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:iconwildtimez:
~wildtimez Dec 21, 2012  Professional General Artist
yeah you got it...the ipad acts as a bridge really...the action app has an interface of big buttons that you can assign any system shortcut to. You can set the app up with as many interfaces as you like that you can switch between using gestures (i.e a two finger swipe down will bring up another menu to allow you switch between which application you want). You can colour code the buttons and name them also. An example i set up, is the create new layer shortcut, that way i just hit the button on the ipad and photoshop on my system pops up a new layer. Once you get used to using the ipad as a bridge its really intuitive. It also works blazingly fast so doesn't slow down your workflow :) I think it works via a bluetooth connection. You install the app on both systems (a server app on your main system) and the app itself on the ipad :)
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:iconjjpeabody:
=jjpeabody Dec 21, 2012  Hobbyist Digital Artist
Cool, another reason to get an iPad :). Thanks!
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:iconwildtimez:
~wildtimez Dec 23, 2012  Professional General Artist
no problem :)
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:iconcharfade:
Interesting, love this tip! ^^
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:iconjjpeabody:
=jjpeabody Nov 25, 2012  Hobbyist Digital Artist
Thanks. It took some tweaking for a while until I found key combinations that worked, but once I did, I've barely changed them. It has become such a part of how I do art. I barely go to the keyboard any more looking for hot keys and when I do, I'm looking for the hot keys I created :D.
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