Graphics tablet

[Amazon warrior]

So, I\'ve been eyeing these shiny toys up for a while, and when my sister asked me what I wanted for christmas this year, I stuck it on my greed list. Well, you might as well get something you actually want, right?

She\'s done a little research (must remember to tell her she\'s awesome when she comes over!) and came back with THIS ONE as a possible. Given I\'m no expert and mainly want it so I can dabble and doodle in Photoshop, do you reckon it\'d be ok for that? (Also given that my folks aren\'t exactly loaded and they have to fly over to Germany with it.)

The other one I looked at on Amazon was THIS ONE, but it\'s a bit more, and I\'d probably just ask for some cash towards it rather than them buying it for me outright.

I\'m just not sure because I\'ve never really used these before, but I wondered if any of you had more experience with them.

Thanks in advance for comments, curses, advice, whatever!

 

[alextheartist]

My bro has an a4 one, its pretty cool and well worth it if you are going to use it. Good fun for drawing little doodles, but takes quite a bit of practice to get used to it. You probs wont get amazing effects like the pros, but remember, their pads acutally have built in screens so, that makes it a little easier...

I would go with the cheaper one to start off, my bro had a small one, then upgraded to a £200 one, but to be honest he doesnt use it that much.

Alex

 

[Amazon warrior]

Yup, I\'m not really expecting amazing effects, tbh. I have a fairly realistic idea of my drawing talent (not terrible, but not fanastic), which I believe is quite important for this kind of thing! But you never get better if you do nothing, and it\'s got to be better than trying to do cg art with a mouse. The cheaper one has a bigger working surface too (A5), at least from what I could tell. I\'m not sure I\'d have room for an A4 one! lol

 

[alextheartist]

The a4 one is huge and my bro always leaves it in frount of the downstaires pc which really gets on my tits..

 

[Amazon warrior]

lol! Well at least living on my own means I can only piss myself off! If they\'re as big as you imply, I definitely don\'t have room for one that size. I can barely fit all the crap I already have on my desk now! lol

 

[Necroghast]

What\'s it do?

 

[alextheartist]

Its a pen, which you can draw on a small rectangle (well, not that small), instead of using a mouse to draw.

@AW, well it may be an a4 pad, but the surrounding crap is a3, so its like having an annoying a3 mat on your table, which you have to be constantly careful with.

 

[matty1001]

The bamboo and intuos line don\'t have built in screens. Just the cintiq range.

I have an Intuos A5 and it\'s spot on, tried the A4 and it\'s far to big IMO. And even on the A5 I still only use a smaller mapped area and keep other areas of the pad for other functions.

Fantastic range of sensitivity and the tilt function is great although I rarely use it. Useful if you do airbrushing effects etc... Just remember to set up specific brush sets in Photoshop to really get the best out of it.

I found I got used to it straight away, the cursor on the screen directly correlates with the pen position but you can set it into a mouse mode.

Overall its very accurate (try playing a FPS with it, great fun) and has endless uses, you can program the buttons and clicks to do seperate things in different apps.
The only downside is the touch pad, for scrolling or zooming tends to be a bit jumpy and useless.

Peace and love...

 

[nadine]

I don\'t think you can go wrong with Wacom. I have an Intuos and I love it. I\'m not sure what size it is offhand; I suspect it\'s the Big One because I have to keep it in a drawer when I\'m not using it.

You can get SO much more control just from using a stylus vs mouse, even without the top top of the line thing.

 

[Shawn R. L.]

I had a Waycom for a while and found it frustrating. The tablet itself functioned just how it should, it was that when I draw \'old school\' I\'m CONSTANTLY rotating the pad to be in the right position to draw lines at different angles. Drove me NUTZ. Quickly I gave up. If they ever get one that will have the monitor slaved to the motion of the tablet itself and allow rotation I would LOVE to get another.

 

[Legacy Account]

Originally posted by Shawn R. L.
The tablet itself functioned just how it should, it was that when I draw \'old school\' I\'m CONSTANTLY rotating the pad to be in the right position to draw lines at different angles.

...If they ever get one that will have the monitor slaved to the motion of the tablet itself and allow rotation I would LOVE to get another.

Me too! I\'ve been looking at Wacom Cintiq tablets - basically a touch sensitive screen as the tablet which would solve the problem. Bit pricey mind.

 

[painterboyroy]

I use one all day 5 days a week, an A4 size and they are so much better than normal mice. plus when using the pen it is pressure sensative so in photoshop using airbrush tools or any type of drawing and painting tools you get to work as if using real airbrush and or pencil etc.
But yes. too big for the normal home desk, the one you have link too looks like a very good price.

 

[mattsterbenz]

My tablet is a Wacom and is smaller and cheaper than that one, and that\'s what I used to paint my digital art (follow the link in my signature). Unless you plan on doing extensive professional work in Photoshop, get the cheap one. Great quality and works very very well.

-Matt

 

[Einion]

Wacom\'s products are hard to knock but it\'s worth checking for reviews on specific models on graphics sites, and in forums, to get a range of opinions, some of which will be from people who\'ll have used a few different types.

For a tablet what size is best is definitely an individual thing. My first halting steps using a tablet (just could not get used to it after years and years of relying on a mouse for everything!) were with an A5 Graphire and after using my own one, larger than A4, I\'d go for size if you can as it gives you a little more versatility in the long run.

As far as sensitivity goes, this is a tricky area since some people swear by higher sensitivity and others don\'t think it matter that much - the difference is probably what software their using and how exactly they\'re working, so it\'s not a cut-and-dried thing. Since you\'re a new user you might not really notice lower sensitivity but it can be worth paying for, for response to gentle pressure, quick gestures.

My no. 1 tip would be to hope that Lidl or Aldi do a tablet promotion in 2009 and go with one of theirs They\'re good enough for a taste at what a tablet can offer.

Einion

 

[Amazon warrior]

Cheers for all the thoughts people. Looks like the cheaper option might be worth going for. However, I\'m planning on popping into Mannheim this evening to refresh my memory on what\'s in Saturn (Germany\'s answer to Currys/Comet), just in case I see something awesome. Obviously a Cintiq would be amazing, but the folks don\'t have the cash and I certainly don\'t have the skill to make the most of it- it would be wasted on me! Would be fun to play with, though.

I can see how sensitivity\'s important. Do tablets have an option to alter the sensitivity with software, like mice do? (Obviously, you wouldn\'t be able to make them more sensitive than their design allows.)

Einion, are you implying that you designed you own graphics tablet? /impressed if you did

Mattsterbenz- you have an awesome gallery! I\'m gonna take a closer look at home, where I\'ll be logged in. I can\'t remember my DeviantArt password right now! lol

 

[freakinacage]

dammit i want one now!!

 

[sg2009]

i have a graphics tablet its a great piece of kit well worth the money !!

 

[RuneBrush]

Originally posted by Shawn R. L.
I had a Waycom for a while and found it frustrating. The tablet itself functioned just how it should, it was that when I draw \'old school\' I\'m CONSTANTLY rotating the pad to be in the right position to draw lines at different angles.
Drove me NUTZ.

Latest version of Photoshop allows you to rotate the canvas as a proper function (i.e. like you would a peice of paper) - apparently anyway.

I\'d love to get a graphics tablet for doing webdesign work, but can\'t currently justify the cost. I\'ve been told A5 is more difficult to get to grips with than a larger sized one. Also I\'ve been told to get one that matches your screen - i.e. if you have a widescreen monitor then try to get a widescreen tablet.

pete

 

[Einion]

Originally posted by Amazon warrior
Einion, are you implying that you designed you own graphics tablet? /impressed if you did

No no, I meant the one I bought for myself playing with it on my own time really helped, plus the larger size I found easier to use (even if I do have to put it in my lap due to lack of desk space).

Speaking of Lidl, how\'s this for timing?!
http://www.lidl.ie/ie/home.nsf/pages/c.o.20081215.p.Aiptek600UPremiumIISlimTablet

Might also be available there or the UK.

Einion

 

[EArkham]

A bit late to the discussion, but I use a Wacom Graphire. Absolutely love it. The relatively small size (6x8) isn\'t a problem at all.

I have some slight problems with my orientation on long lines, but that\'s due to drawing in one place (tablet) and seeing the line in another (screen). Otherwise, just incredible and wish I had more time to spend drawing with it.

Kep