anyone have experience with any? I've looked around on google and found the general reviews and what not but I was curious if anyone on here as used any so that I can ask some more specific questions. I'm curious as to what brands are better, how much of a difference they make, price ranges for what is actually decent, any problems that you've found with them, software packages that work well or poorly with them?

also if you have any work that you've done with one could you post it or put it in your gallery.

thanks

[Edited on December 19, 2006 at 11:29 PM. Reason : .]

12/19/2006 11:25:25 PM

pay the extra, get a Cintiq, you will thank me later

12/19/2006 11:29:02 PM

drawing tablets are uber uber $$$$$ especially the good ones...

However, it's AMAZING how much easier things are to draw with one.

i don think i've helped very much. I'd ask http://www.deviantart.com

12/19/2006 11:29:04 PM

I was thinking something like the Wacom Intuos3 just from reviews that i've read and price range. But I really don't know much about them other than what I've read nor do I know anyone that has used any.

are the Cintiqs much better than Wacom?

12/19/2006 11:31:18 PM

Cintiqs allow you to "draw" directly on the screen as the tablet is the screen. With the Intuos and Graphire series, you draw on the tablet and the image appears on your normal monitor. It's a definate learning curve to have what you're drawing not actualy be where you are drawing. If you can afford it, a Cintiq would be preferable, but you can do just fine with an Intuos.

12/19/2006 11:35:30 PM

Holy cow Noen...I checked eBay to see what a Cintiq would run and those things are more than I paid for this Thinkpad. Must be crazy good.

What is your second choice?

12/19/2006 11:41:43 PM

yeah i was just looking at the Cintiqs, definitely out of my price range.

12/19/2006 11:46:04 PM

Honestly, I've used about a dozen various Wacom tablets and off brand drawing tablets, and after a year on the Cintiq's at school, I won't ever go back.

You can occasionally find the last generation 18" cintiq's on ebay for under 1k, the only difference being a smaller screen and a little heavier. The new 21UX ones are amazing, but definitely pricey in the 2500 range.

The other option I would actually highly recommend is looking at a low-end tablet PC that is Wacom enabled. My buddy just got a Fujitsu Stylistic 5031 brand new off ebay for ~1200 and it's amazing. I *believe* there's a Gateway tablet PC with a Wacom branded screen you can get for under 800 bucks. With that, you can take your tablet anywhere, and still be able to draw direct to screen.

If you really want to stay under the 500 dollar mark, really any Wacom traditional tablet will be damn good, and once you get adjusted to the eye hand coordination they all work just about the same. Definitely stick to Wacom though, off brand stuff in my experience has been pretty disappointing.

12/20/2006 12:56:09 AM

it really depends on what you will be using it for.



General photoshop work, simple photo editing, etc. - graphire series

Heavy duty designing / drawing - intuous series


The Cintiq are ridiculously awesome yet ridiculous expensive. You can do everything on an Intuous that you can on a cintiq, but if you have the extra $$ to throw away, knock yourself out.

12/20/2006 1:00:48 AM

Done by me with a Wacom Intuos 6x8:

http://www.deviantart.com/deviation/44302197/
http://www.deviantart.com/deviation/37014380/

However, a drawing tablet isn't necessary, as this was done by me on a regular 3 button mouse:

http://www.deviantart.com/deviation/36667832/

12/20/2006 1:05:09 AM

^ does the tablet make things easier and/or quicker for you? That's what I imagined the big difference would be, the other thing is that using a mouse for drawing feels very unnatural to me.

The Cintiq is definitely not an option considering it's just for a hobby. The Wacom enabled tablet sounds interested though because I need a new computer any way.

12/20/2006 2:33:26 AM

^Somewhat yes, it takes a bit of getting used to. The big issue is that the tablet is about a quarter of your screen size (depending on your monitor) so you have to draw really small. In addition, if you're one of those people who likes to tilt the paper diagonally when you draw, you'll have problems doing that with the tablet because drawing with the tablet diagonal still draws a horizontal line on your screen, and it really starts to mess you up.

12/20/2006 2:45:10 AM

Thanks for the help. I typically draw with the piece at an angle and I tend to move it around while I draw, has anyone that does this had difficulty adjusting to a tablet?

12/20/2006 12:02:09 PM

^that's exactly why i like the cintiq and portable tablets.

I don't know anyone who doesnt draw by turning the page as they go. The cintiq can be angled from flat on the work surface to about 75 degress vertical, and has 270 degrees of rotation.

with any tablet pc of course you have complete control.

the wacoms you really can't rotate the tablet easily, and it will quickly screw you up on screen because they dont match up. You really have to learn a different drawing style to use a traditional tablet.

12/20/2006 12:10:55 PM

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y184/tchenku/profile/project01.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y184/tchenku/profile/project03.jpg

$20 Pablo PC tablet from ebay

ability > hardware

Noen IS good but he's rich sooo..

[Edited on December 20, 2006 at 12:52 PM. Reason : awaiting tablet quality complaints ]

12/20/2006 12:50:40 PM

ack the jaggies, my eyes!

pretty much the only difference between a 20 dollar tablet and a 2000 is going to be pressure sensitivity. If you are going to be doing anime/line art/cartooning, then it really doesnt do much for you. Also unless you are going to do some major fiddling in photoshop settings or using a real drawing program like Painter or Sketchbook Pro, it's not going to make a big difference either.

^more hairy lines than a gorilla, but looks like its cleaning up nicely man, keep on it

12/20/2006 12:58:02 PM

too late, lost it all in a format a few days ago

I hardly ever use the tablet and am not used to it, hence all the jaggies/cheating

12/20/2006 1:02:00 PM

Quote :

"with any tablet pc of course you have complete control. "

what about tablet notebooks? not as good?

12/20/2006 1:26:10 PM