rayc89•7d ago

My tablet pen stopped working mid-stroke and I almost lost a 6 hour painting

I was working on this big digital portrait in Clip Studio Paint last Tuesday, like 6 hours deep into the details on the eyes. Suddenly the pen just went dead on the screen - no pressure, no cursor, nothing. I tried restarting the tablet like 3 times, checked the battery, even blew into the USB port like an old Nintendo cartridge. Turns out the nib was just jammed from being worn down too flat (I had been using the same one for months). I swapped in a fresh nib and it worked again instantly. Has anyone else had a pen freakout that made you panic like that?

2 comments

2 Comments

carter.thea7d ago

Oh man, the old "blow in the USB port like an NES cartridge" trick. I've done that so many times it's basically a prayer at this point. But a jammed nib? That's a new one for me. I'd have probably thrown the whole tablet out the window and taken up finger painting.

harris.uma7d ago

Not with you on this one, @carter.thea. Blowing on things is a solid troubleshooting step, and a jammed nib is just another annoying hardware problem, not a reason to give up.