Tablet pen grip?

DiamondPuncher

Joined May 2013

Topic Starter

DiamondPuncher 2014-04-01T01:24:10+00:00

Hey tablet-players, I'm wondering how hard you guys hold your pens? When I play I tend to hold it pretty hard, because I feel that it gives me more accuracy compared to just a slight grip, as if you're holding a paintbrush. The problem is, though, my palm starts to hurt pretty bad after ~10-20 minutes of playing, especially if I'm doing maps with jumps across the screen.

Is it better to hold it with a slight grip, or a hard grip, and just deal with it? By the way, I'm using ~90% tablet area. (1280x960)

Mathsma

473 posts

Joined March 2013

Mathsma 2014-04-01T01:27:40+00:00

I would say for an area that large it's much better to use a more loose grip because it makes it easier to move around. I really only tighten my grip when I am doing small circles because I don't want to overshoot the note.

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Bluebottle_old

11 posts

Joined February 2014

Bluebottle_old 2014-04-01T01:33:34+00:00

90% of tablet area doesn't mean much... is your tablet's maximum active area 4"x3", is it 8"x5.5" is it even larger! o.O!
I would personally say a firm grip, but not a tight grip, would be best.
If you are straining yourself to hold the pen tightly, you are holding it too tight. But don't hold it loose enough that there is a possibility of overshooting a note. Do you know what I mean?

Firm. Not tight.

DiamondPuncher

4 posts

Joined May 2013

Topic Starter

DiamondPuncher 2014-04-01T01:56:30+00:00

Mathsma wrote:
I would say for an area that large it's much better to use a more loose grip because it makes it easier to move around. I really only tighten my grip when I am doing small circles because I don't want to overshoot the note.

I see, I'll start playing with a looser grip and see how it goes. Thanks!

Bluebottle wrote:
90% of tablet area doesn't mean much... is your tablet's maximum active area 4"x3", is it 8"x5.5" is it even larger! o.O!
I would personally say a firm grip, but not a tight grip, would be best.
If you are straining yourself to hold the pen tightly, you are holding it too tight. But don't hold it loose enough that there is a possibility of overshooting a note. Do you know what I mean?

Firm. Not tight.

Oh, my tablet's maximum active area would be 6"x3.7". I understand what you mean by holding it firm but not tight. Just hold it firm, but at the same time it doesn't strain my palm and wrist.

I'll experiment with some different grips and find a comfortable one for me, and minimizes the chance of overshooting a note. Thanks!

Dexus

982 posts

Joined July 2009

Dexus 2014-04-01T09:42:12+00:00

Hold it how you would write, or whatever is comfortable to you. If you're cramping just relax and try not to stress (which is usually what it's because of).

I hold my pen in a fashion where I can imagine I'm pointing the pen with my index finger. from there I use my wrist to pivot left and right and the fingers to go up and down. Depending on how big a jump is I may move my whole arm, but I pivot from the elbow to do so.

Tablet area doesn't matter as long as it's comfortable for you and your screen area matches the same aspect ratio. (cookiezi and rrtyui are examples of people however whom learned to play without a fixed aspect ratio)

RaneFire

1,181 posts

Joined May 2011

RaneFire 2014-04-01T17:31:11+00:00

I started to use my writing grip now, which for some weird reason I've manged to make work for osu!, despite no under-pen support. I've gone through about 4 different grips previously, which worked for a time and then stopped working at all for some reason. Only problem with it is I'm a bit slower to aim, because I have to use my wrist more, but I think that should improve.

For the most part my cursor does not shake much at all, no matter which part of the tablet I'm hovering over. It's pretty relaxed allowing me to do smaller movements better (square-zigzags?). Can't really say that about my previous grips, so that's good.

I could be going through another one of these phases in grip-changes, but I sure hope not, since I don't know any more grips lol. If it doesn't work out, I should stick to mouse and just chop vegetables on my tablet in the future. I've seen 2 players in my country pick up the tablet surpass my aim in mere weeks and it's frustrating the hell out of me lol.

Practice Lists (pretty old now):
Jumps | Short Streams | Single-Tap | Streams | Reading (Unfinished. ETA: Unknown)

iderekmc

367 posts

Joined April 2013

iderekmc 2014-04-01T22:03:45+00:00

cookiezi grip (like the proper way to hold a pen to write but a bit further)

Last edited by iderekmc 2014-04-01T22:07:37+00:00, edited 1 time in total.

Mizuno Yui

Mizuno Yui 2014-04-01T22:07:31+00:00

#12 looks good for stabbing people

iderekmc

367 posts

Joined April 2013

iderekmc 2014-04-01T22:08:11+00:00

mentalac wrote:
#12 looks good for stabbing people

xD

tokaku

275 posts

Joined May 2013

tokaku 2014-04-01T22:38:59+00:00

My grip is pretty lose. My pen is vertically perpendicular to my table. It rests on the joint my index finger, my thumb is the only thing holding it in place. I tend to hold close to the tip sometimes to be more accurate, but I usually hold it much higher. I only hold it hard when I'm really tense during some jumps.

Blueprint

654 posts

Joined January 2014

Blueprint 2014-04-02T01:15:48+00:00

I do #2

Rewben2

996 posts

Joined November 2012

Rewben2 2014-04-02T08:38:42+00:00

I used to do similar to #10 but now the tip of my thumb only touches the side of my index finger, a bit more like #3. In all the pictures it shows the hand hovering though, I play with my pinky touching the tablet.

RaneFire

1,181 posts

Joined May 2011

RaneFire 2014-04-02T09:10:56+00:00

I started with #1/#3. But I never really managed to draw straight lines properly, often missing jumps. My middle finger is quite long.

I then made a change to the under-pen support, pressing my ring and middle up against the pen, and my pinky pressing up against those 2 to try help with the above problem (all 3 fingers clumped together under the pen).

My next grip was again a variation on #1/#3, but this time the pen rested against the upper joint of my middle finger (not the bottom joint).

I also often let my thumb extend over my index finger sometimes, when it started to hurt, but that was just a relief grip.

My writing grip, which I'm using now, is like #9, but closer to the point. I can move the pen with almost equal force on either side of it without needing to use my ring finger except as stability (not really pushing against it). So I'm using an "incorrect" grip now, but the correct one wasn't working out, so well... whatever.

Practice Lists (pretty old now):
Jumps | Short Streams | Single-Tap | Streams | Reading (Unfinished. ETA: Unknown)

Soarezi

Soarezi 2014-04-02T13:52:07+00:00

I use #7, works just fine.

Dexus

982 posts

Joined July 2009

Dexus 2014-04-02T19:25:30+00:00

#3 master race

Catgirl

472 posts

Joined June 2013

Catgirl 2014-04-03T01:16:14+00:00

I hold my pen exactly like #1, although I find that that part of my middle finger starts to hurt after long sessions of osu! (like 4 hours straight). I don't really grasp my pen very tight either. It juts so happens that I have a weird patch of skin there or something, so there's a small bump sticking out and it can get irritated after a while.