[Solarian, aka LordDaroth]

Hello there!

I have been in the process of acquiring a tablet for so long time, it fades into memory.

Now that I can actually get one, I need the advice of all the artists out there.

Those of you, who have been using tablets for years, can share your experiences with me.

My fist question is:

Which is more important?

The Quality of the Tablet (does it has to be a Wacom?)

Or the Size of the Working Area?

Please everybody answer to this post. Because we are a community or what.

[TC2]

I use a Wacom Graphire that I received as a gift from a friend. The most recommended tablet is Intuous but there’s also the really fancy ones with a screen on them.

After having learned to draw with the tablet (It’s really hard at first to get used to) what I find is important is the responsiveness of the pen, pen pressure capabilities, and the ability to configure your buttons.

I always alternate between two colors, so have a pen that allows you to press “X” with one of its buttons is extremely important. The pen needs to have a really good response time with no lag, there are some tablets that it takes half a second to respond to your input. Obviously if you’re drawing very quickly, you may not see your pen strokes and find that your picture is all frigged up.

Medium size tablets are the best way to go, the smaller tablets are too small and make it difficult to work with, but the medium tablets give you just enough range to do what you need to do. It really depends on how much work area you have available, but medium does the job just fine.

I would only recommend Wacom because it has served me really well over the years, Intuous is apparently great too. I wouldn’t trust the other brands unless I got to demo them first, so if anything you’re at least assured that Wacom will provide you what you need.

[fasola]

Well, almost any digital artist will say Wacom. Wacom is for what I heard the leading brand. However, I’m using ome from genius, because I got it at a third it’s original price, and because it ws the first I was buying, I decided to give it a try.

The Intuos are very good mid-price/range talets. And about the size, I’m using a 8’x6′ tablet, wich is fine for me. Of course, you really need to get used to working with it. Also, be aware that there are for 4×3 and 16×9 screens.

This days, I’m thinking about getting an Intuos.

Hope it helps.

[Solarian, aka LordDaroth]

I know intuos is good, but also very expensive. Not to talk about Cintiq…

As my fist tablet I got my eye on the new Wacom Pen… Small and Cheap.

Or a bigger Genius or Trust…

[Holiday]

Wacom has been a reliable brand.

[refaal]

I felt a huge difference when i switched from my old genius wizardpen to my actual wacom bamboo. If you’re serious about DA, wacom is your only choice. About the working area, I think ’tis a matter of personal choice. I like the tiny bamboo because I can carry it around with no major concerns. (Be wary, though- smaller tablets usually means lesser pressure points).

[Debido-San]

Again I’ll agree with the Wacom crowd. I have a little 4×5 Graphire4 that’s served me well over the years, but I’m looking to upgrade to an intuos4 medium…not because I’d use it much, I just like shiny new things to play with.

As for genius/trust, I hear they’re not terribly unreliable, and you get a lot of size and function for the price. BlackKusanagi had a refurbished Genius that broke on him, so he had to buy a Bamboo v1 (the original square types with four buttons and a scrollwheel up top) to replace it. After using his genius for so long, the “higher quality” bamboo was actually a downgrade for him in size and functionality. So he eventually sold his bamboo and got the exact same genius, but brand new.

if there’s one huge difference between wacom and anything else, it’s probably just that wacom’s pens don’t need batteries, but the others require you to put in a battery. I think that’s enough of a dealbreaker for me – to think “I want to draw!” and pick up the pen just to have to find a battery for it.

Also, if you’re looking at the Bamboo v2s (horizontal, with two buttons to the side), I would suggest you go for the Bamboo Pen and touch. You may not need the touch features, but the pen itself is improved over just the regular Bamboo. If you’re looking into intuos at all, the intuos3 6×8 isn’t a bad option. It’s got a nice amount of space, a buttload of programmable buttons, good sensitivity, etc. You’ll probably find that a lot of artists that have been at it for a while have this one. (DCM, Jebriodo, Mikazuki)

[David C. Matthews]

Keep in mind that Intuos is Wacom; it’s one of their model names, like Graphire and Bamboo. (Cintiq, the tablet that incorporates a monitor screen into the drawing surface, is yet another Wacom product.)

And I’d recommend Wacom as well; they’ve worked reliably for me for years, and the only reason I ever find myself replacing one is for one with a bigger working area. Plus, almost all major graphics programs like Photoshop and Painter are designed to work with Wacom tablets.)

For me, the size of the working area was the main consideration for which tablet to get. A few years ago I was able to replace a 6″ x 8″ Graphire with a 9″ x 12″ Intuos3, and the extra size made a big difference! And I prefer the drawing surface of the Intuos to the Graphire (or any other tablet for that matter). I still carry the old Graphire, though, in my backpack for use with my laptop.

[Reason]

The first tablet I got was a real cheap one and it was just horrible. The pen was so thick, you pretty much had to use your whole fist to hold it and it even had an annoyingly heavy cord between the pen and the tablet! However, as bad it was, I couldn’t go back to a mouse after that, so on DCM’s recommendation at the time, I got a Wacom Graphire, and while it was awesome for airbrush type work, the resolution and area wasn’t really good enough for linework.

Unluckily, or perhaps luckily in the long run, my sister, presumably mistaking my tablet for a coaster, spilt a drink on it, and I had to replace it. Again, on DCM’s recommendation, I went with a 6×8 Intuos this time, and was absolutely blown away with the results I was able to achieve with it. It has double the resolution of the Graphire, as well as a much larger area, and it really shows when using it for digital inking. I also like that you can get additional pens for it, like the inking pen (with actual ink) or the marker pen (with rotation).

I’ve never used a Genius tablet, so I can’t say how that would compare, but I can’t help but think that there is a reason that the Wacom tablets are the most expensive, as well as being the most popular, especially amongst professionals.

[Solarian, aka LordDaroth]

Thank you so much.

I know that Wacom is the best, forums and reviews says so.

I have no hope of getting an Intuos 4 M (geez, that would be so awesome), because I’m living difficult days… Not to speak of that it would cost me more than my notebook! But getting a Bamboo Pen is quite possible.

[Author]

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