The Nintendo Joycon connects to a Windows machine via Bluetooth and can be used as a remote control for painting. If you want a (much) cheaper alternative, here is one VR controller called 'R1' that costs only $5! Thanks to the booming VR thing, there're many such controllers released recently, but you have to be careful because some of them do not connect to a PC. The R1 in particular is known to connect to a Win8/Win10 PC via bluetooth.
I love the R1 being a one-handed bluetooth device, but it may not be the most comfortable to use because of the positions of the buttons. You can of course use a conventional game controller like we showed you in this blog entry, but then they are designed for two-hand operation and are less portable. Personally, I use keyboard shortcuts mostly because when I paint, I'm mostly sitting on a desk. I think if I train myself well, those controllers can be very useful for quick operations when I don't have a keyboard. FYI, the R1 doesn't send multiple-button signal and the thumb-stick doesn't give analog signal when paired with a PC. Normal game controllers designed for the PC should have no problem with these two things.
We're also lucky enough to finally get hold of a Surface Dial. The following is a quick video after we have had it for a few days with the Surface Pro 4:
We're also lucky enough to finally get hold of a Surface Dial. The following is a quick video after we have had it for a few days with the Surface Pro 4:
My first impression for the Dial is that it's not designed for quick muscle-memory operations. I wished it had more buttons. As it is, I think it's best used for timeline scrolling or, like in our demo video, canvas rotation. For zooming & panning, I surely prefer multi-touch gesture. Interestingly, a dial with buttons actually already exists - the $60, wired ShuttleXpress (and also other similar products). Wish to try it one day. ﾍ(=￣∇￣)ﾉ
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