Top Input Devices For Maximizing Creativity

I use the XP 15.6 and the TourBox Elite... cnt go wrong imo... im trying out this mouse from Azeron thats a one handed keyboard and mouse in one. Hard learning curve but definitely see the light at the end of the tunnel

I love using my Tourbox Elite and Wacom Cintiq for regular modelling. I find the tablet & pen so much easier to use than the mouse. The Tourbox software is really great as well. It’s super easy to configure and automatically switches to the appropriate controls when you switch from one app to another.

Appreciate your video! Would you consider making a tutorial on editing videos with TourBox? I'm really curious to see how talented creators make the most of it!

I got a Tourbox Elite a couple of years ago and the best use I found for it is for sculpting in Blender along side my display tablet. You can set up 'Tourmenus' so that instead of just having a button mapped to a single shortcut you have an actual dropdown menu with multiple shortcuts appear where your cursor is on screen. It's almost like having an unlimited amount of custom radial menus. I use it to switch between brushes quickly without feeling like you're playing Street Fighter with a bajillion fiddly button presses/combos!

I love using my tourboxs for navigating in sculpt mode and retopo. It's a smooth experience that is really customizable. But for the modeling I always use mouse and keyboard. Different devices for each mode.

I think there comes a point where too many buttons are a thing that become more of a distraction. The Space Mouse was the first device I used and that was the most useful tool I used for years. I upgraded to the "Pro" with the display on it and it's taken me and I still get caught up teaching my fingers to position correctly over buttons. But I spent a lot of time programming the menus. I am still tweaking now as I find that I just dumped a whole host of functions from my 3D program into the device but I might use 1 function on a specific page. For beginners I DO suggest the Space Mouse. It has a couple of menu buttons that bring up a menu that is useful and the first place you really find you need some efficiency is Moving In 3D Space. I know it made me more comnfortable working in 3D space. Sculpting is another area where you are moveing around your object a lot and the 3D Space Mouse works particularly well. But, everyone is different so take your needs into consideration and not the needs of someone else. Cheers! Stay Healthy and Stay Sane!

The keyboard with a separate number pad was a great idea. I purchased the keyboard and cadmouse pro for use when I travel. I also purchased an xp-pen 13.3 pro for traveling. Well, I am prepared. I just need to improve. Again, enjoying your courses. Love your work.

Thanks for your take on these. I have found that because I, like most of us, bounce around to many different programs it's actually easier to just use keyboard shortcuts rather than spend time setting up intricate layouts for shortcuts on a separate device. I used a. Nostromo n52 for years back in 2003-2006, but eventually found that the disconnect between the physical key and its actual output made it really frustrating to adapt to new software. A good example is the difference between drawing in photoshop vs clip studio. Ps tends to be very restrictive about their shortcut setups, while clip studio just lets you do almost anything at all. Having a fully customized one-hand layout in CS makes it really hard for me to transfer that workflow into Ps. Not sure if that makes sense, but long story short...these devices feel like a mask on the inputs that just further complicates the different interfaces. That being said, the shortcut system in blender is somehow the best and worst. The sculpting brush issue you mentioned is a real one that makes it very hard to keep a steady flow. And I worry that is going to be even worse when they change the brush system in upcoming updates so that the brush somehow encompasses all of the tools.

Another very useful tool is the elgato stream deck, you can have custom hotkeys setup on a portable device with pictures for ease of use. I have a blender profile so once blender opens, my hotkeys change to the blender ones!

Thank you for the ideas! I'm always on the lookout for new gadgets. For instance, the Razer Tartarus. But at the moment, I'm still sticking to my Logitech G510 with its 18 x 3 programmable G-keys. I even bought two more second-hand ones as backups because new units are no longer available :) The three key modes can be programmed differently for painting, sculpting, and modeling.

Also Mountains Everest Max keyboard from a german company has a detachable numpad that can go to thw left side. Also it has mini keyboard screens for custom setups. I use it, and it is awesome

I'm just learning Blender, and found an old device which I've had for years to be useful. Its the Razer Orbweaver. It has 20 programmable keys, a couple of thumb keys and a small joypad. I am slowly building a set of keys for Blender. Also, you can have multiple keymaps to deal with multiple aspects of the program, such as key shortcuts for sculpting (I haven't got there yet, but aim to). It also has a Macro menus where you can set up complex key combinations. They have a newer version now called a Tartarus. It looks almost identical to the older one.

Love pen tablets even for modeling.. Though the stupid pen buttons for tablets wear out kinda quickly for me. When the buttons work on the pen, then it's like a godsend lol.

I've been looking for the ideal programmable aux input device for many years and it still doesn't exist. The closest I've come, and the one I use now, is the Huion Keydial. I wanted buttons I could program and a dial for brush sizes, and this provides both. It's only $40 USD to boot! I work in Blender primarily and I've super-glued those little rubber bumps you use on the back of picture frames onto some of the keys for quick and easy use. It works well and the programming software is surprisingly good.

I've just upgraded my MX Master to a MX Master 3. It's so smooth, the buttons are silent (awesome for content creators) and the roll wheel has a clutch so you can give it a quick spin and it will keep spinning on its own, getting you to the the top or bottom of those docs, websites etc super easily.

I use an EVGA x15, an MMO mouse, and I don't really use numpad anymore on Blender. I programed the for, side and top views, the focus (F), isolate, the axis Z, X, Y, and the three main actions, movement, G, scaling, S and rotation, R, and having all that actions on my right hand allow me to basically model everything without ever lifting the right hand from the mouse, and the left hand from the left side of the keyboard (for alt, shift, ctrl, tab, A, S, X, 1, 2, 3 in edit mode). I can spend hours without moving my arms to adjust my hands, and that REALLY let me get into the zone when modeling in particular. Hard surface modeling is amazing with an MMO mouse.

This was informative. I myself use a gaming mouse with 6 extra programmable buttons. I only use one hand so having the buttons on the mouse is very useful and have definitely sped up my workflow. My challenge for you Grant, and Any other 3d artist is to do a project with only 1 hand. No left hand (or right for the lefties) on the hotkeys. I'd love to see a video on how that limitation affects your workflow.

I have the wireless 3d space mouse, and i love it.

That 3D Connexion Keyboard with the movable num pad is really interesting. You ever see Artemy Lebedev's Optimus Maximus from 2007? Each key was a tiny programmable display, too bad it wasn't licensed and developed further by other companies.

RedDragon M901 It's technically an MMO mouse but it's only $30 or so. It has 12 thumb buttons which I use for the numpad and in Blender has turned out to be enormously helpful.