Does anyone use a gaming mouse to speed up their 3D work?
mmitchell_houston
Posts: 2,490
Just curious. My old, standard two-button one wheel mouse died this week and I'm using a back-up mouse that I don't particularly like (it's just too small and light for my hand, so it's not really comfortable).
So, today I went on Amazon to find something new and – after a bit of searching and reading reviews – I decided to buy a programmable gaming mouse. It's supposed to work well with Photoshop (I'm thinking there are a few macros I would like to set, like feather selection and swap between brush/pencil/eraser). But it also has different profiles that you can set up for different programs. So, I'm thinking it might be useful for programs like Poser and Daz Studio.
I'm just wondering if anyone has worked a gaming mouse into their working habits? And if so, do you have any suggestions on things to do or things to avoid?
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Comments
As a digital artist, a gaming mouse can in a pinch be useful for simple drawings. It isn't as good as a graphics tablet, though.
Yes, the extra keys can be of use, but I'd say get a macro-fied keyboard for that. With a mouse you can accidentally misclick with your thumb.
It's not a 'gaming' mouse, but I've been buying Logitech Trackman Marbles for decades now: https://www.logitech.com/en-us/product/trackman-marble-business?crid=7
They disappeared from Logitech's product page earlier this year, and I didn't want to take a chance that they were going out of production so I bought two on sale this time, when my other mouse started to act up due to the USB cord being bent a few dozen too many times. If I bent the cord at the right angle near the USB port, I could restore the electrical connection, but the marble bearings were worn pretty good too. I think I got 5-6 years out of that mouse, no complaints!
Fortunately, it looks like they've been re-added again to the product pages, but I have a spare just in case.
For lefties like me, yeah this is a really nice mouse since it's symmetrical. Much better than dragging a mouse across the table, I tell ya! And it's nice for casual gaming too, due to the fine control you can achieve with the trackball. My wrist struggled with carpal tunnel with a normal mouse due to the amount of heavy mousing that I do, and the marble mouse pretty much solved that issue.
My only complaint is the lack of a scroll wheel, but it does have 'up' and 'down' buttons in addition to left and right, and there's a macro that turns the marble into a scroll wheel of sorts, which works with a fair number of programs. The macro sometimes allows left-right scroll as well as up-down scroll depending on how the relevant app is coded. But I'm a luddite and mostly just use the scroll bars anyways.
The trackball is particularly nice when painting strands of hair in Photoshop and other such things that require a lot of repetitive strokes. Once you adjust to the marble, yeah normal mice just are.. meh! And also trackpads, I hate those things!
Anyways, I've purchased close to a dozen of these over the last couple of decades, one for each computer and laptop I've owned plus the occasional EOL replacement. Of course, to each their own, everyone has their fave, and some people don't like these. But most people that buy them are repeat customers, 'cuz they just work!
Just had to share. It's not every day I keep buying the same thing over and over, but when something just works, and works well for me...
I use a gaming mouse...but not for speed. I use it because they are built stronger than regular mice, and with all the work I do with it, i killed regular mice way too fast.
I use the Logitech G502 for gaming, anyway. I have buttons macro'd to turn dials up to 100 and to 0 and Collapse All in Daz.
That’s my trackball, too! I’m lucky enough to not be completely left-handed, so I don’t need it to be southpaw-friendly, but it’s definitely a good design touch, and something I wish more manufacturers would think about.
I use a gaming mouse and mechanical gaming keyboard simply for comfort. My theory was that if gamers use these items to play for hours maybe they would be good for my tired hands. I've had a lot less hand pain since using the mechanical keyboard. The mouse is pretty comfortable, too.
Not sure what qualifies as a gaming mouse, but from a recomendation on these forums I tried the Logitech trackball mouse and I don't think I'll ever switch back from a trackball now.
Yeah, I been using a utechsmart venus. 12 buttons on the side, it's super convenient.
I use a gaming mouse, but not one with a ton of extra buttons. I've tried those and didn't care for it. What I like about the gaming mouse is the ability to change the DPI settings. When I need to zoom long distances, a higher DPI sends more mouse movement signals to the software. Then when I need to be more precise, I can shift down to a lower DPI for more fine control.
I use a corded vertical mouse for the sake of my wrists :D
I had one for some weeks... never made too much use of the extra buttons. My brain didn´t seem to work with them XD
Same as @Rawart, I use a gaming mouse and gaming components in general because they are more robust and reliable, plus I do not overclock always for reliability and components duration. Eventually I destroyed most normal mouses in just a couple of months. I also have a graphics table though to use with gimp and for sculpting.
Too many buttons aren't my thing, I need accuracy, responsiveness and good, comfy shape for the hand.
So you can't go wrong with a Deathadder. Razer has been remaking that mouse for over a decade because its always been perfect from the start. They literally haven't ever changed it's shape or stop selling it, that's how good it is.
I use a Logitec 402 Gaming mouse, it has extra buttons to change the resolution. Fast movement for coarse operations and slow movement for fine tuning when needed (e.g. for poses) . I really like its build quality, shape and handling. Compared to a 502 the mouse is lightweight and looks less technical.
And ... Yes, Batman .. it comes in black.
I use a Logitech Trackman trackball. So, um, "no"? As for tablets, I have one, but I do so little postwork that it sits idle 99% of the time.
It's good to know that two of you mentioned liking the ability to change resolution. I was thinking that would be something I might like, and it turns out that I think it will (at least from the few tests I've made so far).
I bought the Havit HV-MS760 mouse from Amazon for about $25. As you can see from the picture, it has side panels that can be switched out. Right now I have the one with all the buttons. So far I don't like the feel of it, but I'm going to give it a few days to get used to it, especially after I get the macros written for Clip Studio Paint. I think being able to quickly switch between the pencil and pen tools and go up/down in size might really make my post work go a lot faster.
But time will tell!
I don't like graphics tablets. And the point of the extra buttons is to avoid having to go back to the keyboard all of the time.
What is a "mechanical gaming keyboard?"
I use an ergonomic mouse for comfort, right now it's an Anker. It has a thumb button that lets me choose from three resolutions, which after experiencing, I don't want to do without.
QC with the Anker (and the Sharkk, and other name-changes-for-the-same-mouse) is really hit or miss, but it's the most comfortable ergonomic I've found.
My wrist doesn't hurt after a long session.
Yes, I did buy the mouse and have not really used it enough to make a decision about whether I will keep it or replace it. So far, though, the side buttons are distracting. But I know I really need to program some macros and practice using them before I make any decisions.
I had been using a prety solid Logitech mouse for several years, and I really liked that it was big enough for my hand and felt solid in my grip. I had to replace it with an "Amazon Basics" mouse for a few days, and it was driving me nuts. It was just too small and had a bad feel in my hand.
I'm not prone to wrist injury (probably because I worked hard at proper hand posture and arm/wrist placement to prevent it), so getting something ergonomic is really not something I worry about. For me, it's about weight and size.
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To everyone who explained what a "Mechanical Keyboard" is, thanks The extra noise would probably be a detriment to my home office, so I guess I'll pass on that for now.
I use a MMO gaming mouse, the kind with the keypad on the side, and really couldn't work without it. You just have to program the 12 most common shortcuts as macros into the buttons and develop the muscle memory to hit the right one when you want it.
If the Havit doesn't work out I'd recommend this one
https://www.amazon.com/Redragon-Programmable-Precision-Buttons-Windows/dp/B00GU8W5AE/ref=pd_cp_147_3?pd_rd_w=m1F60&pf_rd_p=ef4dc990-a9ca-4945-ae0b-f8d549198ed6&pf_rd_r=EW8XNS0GHR60YFSP4P1N&pd_rd_r=53f69853-0bfd-4a96-98c1-8b1f8fe432f8&pd_rd_wg=kAKBN&pd_rd_i=B00GU8W5AE&psc=1&refRID=EW8XNS0GHR60YFSP4P1N.
Which is a great mouse of this sort for the price. The Razer Nagas are all about twice the price and performance between the two is comparable.
A picture of the G602. I have had this mouse for about 3 years now, maybe 4. This mouse released back in 2013, Logitech has not released another mouse quite like this since and has made almost no changes to this model in that time. They still manufacture them. I take that as an indicator that it does not need a redesign. The only thing this mouse lacks is the mouse wheel cannot do left or right scrolling. The mouse wheel can be clicked as a button but not left or right. This is a very minor thing though and many other mice lack this as well.
The side buttons are nice for me. The MMO mice have too many for my taste, remembering what does what can get confusing. This mouse has 6 side buttons, and with their positioning it is easy to remember what is what. They are not easy to hit by mistake, they need a solid push to click. Maybe ergonomics are not important to you, but it still feels nice in the hand, and that thumb rest is fab. That part on top is slightly rubberized, and the plastic overall has a smooth sanded like finish which gives it a great grip. Personally, I cannot stand holding a mouse with super shiny plastic for too long, it does not feel so good and can even make me sweat. The way this plastic is made actually allows a bit of breathing room to keep my hand from sweating while using it. I do use it to game, so that is a plus for me for those intense gaming sessions, LOL.
When it comes to weight, you can adjust the weight by using one AA battery or two. This mouse can be powered either way. Using two batteries obviously adds a little weight, which sounds like what you might want. I kind of like the weight myself. This also gives it the best battery life, which is amazing for a wireless gaming mouse. It is not a small mouse, but I would not say it is huge, either. But it may depend on how you hold it. The left and right mouse buttons are very long and I think would accommodate a decent sized hand. They allow you to hold the mouse all sorts of ways and still access them. You can even use the middle length of your finger to click if you desire.
Also, this mouse is like $35 new, sometimes less on sale.
If anybody is concerned about this being wireless, it uses an exclusive band that not 2.4 nor 5 Ghz, so it will not have any interference. And I have used it for like 4 years, I can attest that has never happened. And I have used this mouse for longer distances than most people. I have at times had my PC in the living room, and used my mouse about 15 feet away from the base receiver. No problem.
I liked it so much I bought another and I take it traveling with my laptop. I have even used this mouse on Android Tablets and phones with a USB OTG adapter while I streamed Daz Studio to my tablet. I have put this mouse through quite a lot.
This is a review, it is gaming oriented but gets the points across.
In this video, the only negatives he comes up with are the lack of Teflon feet and the DPI "only" goes to 2500. But he also says he likes his mouse cruiser to move blazing fast. I doubt any of you guys want that with Daz Studio, LOL.
Hmmmm. So far I am having trouble with all the extra buttons, and it looks like I might not be able to program the tool access I want in Clip Studio Paint because the marcro editor requires shortcut keys. CSP "kind of" has shortcut keys, but they are toggled. By that, I mean the P button swaps between the Pen and Pencil tools, but there does not seem to be a way to select specific pens and pencil presets, which is something I would really like to do (I really only use three pens and two pencils in my work – I just vary their size depending on what I'm doing).
It looks like the buttons on the mouse you show would work out better for me, but a quick search only shows wireless options. I use a switch to toggle back and forth between four dual-monitor systems and it doesn't work well with wireless mice or keyboards (they frequently get dropped when switching systems). However, I may look into this more and see if there is something similar that I could use, with the buttons up higher so that there is space for my thumb to hold the mouse more comfortablly.
Thanks for the recommendation, but it looks like this would cause the same issues I'm having now with the grip and with the way CSP processes the keyboard commands.
If you want to be able to program multiple keystroke macros you'll likely need a Naga or other $60+ MMO mouse.
This is the one I bought. It's an amazing mouse. That said, I bought it 9 months ago and am yet to program it.... I seriously need to get to it some time.
I use a Logitech MX518 because it is very comfotable and fits my hand perfectly. It is well built and has lasted me 5 years now with no worries.