Tablets

[Lunarman]

Second topic in a day, whoo!

I'm thinking of buying a Wacom Tablet, it would help with my comic coloring and skinning as well as making notes. What is the general price range? Can you recommend any, and is there anything to watch out for?

Thankyou very much


Lunarman

[captainspud]

The cheapo ones are are between $80-150 for a 4"x5". As you get up in size (6"x8" or 9"x12") it goes up into the $400-$700 range. The really nice ones get up over $1000.

Nothing you really need to "look out for". Personally, I find the ones that come with a mouse are kinda useless, so if it looks like you're paying more for that, skip it. Otherwise, though, they're all pretty much the same. I've had tablets from three different manufacturers (e3works, Wacom, and some other company I can't remember) and they all performed about the same.

[UnfluffyBunny]

my advent A4 (9x12) only put me back £70 (just over $140)
came with 3 button pen, wireless mouse, 24 macro spaces, 512 levels of pressure, and 3048 lines per inch.
it's extremely smooth to work with and I highly reccomend it to anyone interested in buying a tablet

[Shazam]

Young man!
Since you live in England, take yourself to your nearest Argos store or Tescos. There you will find a Trust TB-2100 graphics tablet for 20 some odd quid at tescos, and 30 some odd quid in Argos. I have it myself and it works ok. The wireless mouse that comes with it, is as much use as a chocolate fire guard however.

[Lunarman]

Well since it is for Christmas I'm probably gonna look at the high end of the market (like £100). What Syn suggested sounds very good, so thankyou for all the info guys.

[Renegade]

I've used Wacoms for almost 15 years and trust no one else. Their stuff has performed flawlessly and is pretty much the industry standard. I just passed on a ten year old Wacom tablet to my niece and it still works like a charm, even without a usb connection.

Having used everything from a 4x5 tablet to a 21 inch Cintiq I'd advise you not to underestimate the importance of tablet size. Avoid the smallest ones, the "postcard" tablets, if you can. They are not the most comfortable things in the world to work on. The standard 6x8 or, if you can afford it, the 9x12 are much much better choices.

And if a rich uncle dies anytime soon and leaves you a pile of money, drop 2.5k on a Cintiq. Of course, that ain't likely to happen, but you can dream. The Cintiqs are stupidly expensive yes, but by far the best computer art production tool you'll have ever used. Believe me, next to my family, I love my Cintiq more than anything else in the world.


---RENEGADE

[Blkcasanova247]

I'm probably gonna get myself one for my birthday in the next couple of week...and all of my buddies and through my own independent research say Wacom is the way to go. I'll get myself the Intuos 9x12 and save up for that Cintiq......it'll just take me two years. :(  :lol:

[murs47]

I'm going to go ahead and strongly agree with Renegade. The Wacom tablet has been the best investment of my life.
I'd have to say the tablet is the 3rd greatest invention in the history of man-kind. The 1st and 2nd being the toilet and toilet paper of course :P

[Podmark]

Do any of you guys have any comments on the Wacom Bamboo line in comparison to the Intuos and comparable tablets?

Or what about the Genius tablets? Or any other models.

[Epimethee]

Tablet affinity seems often quite different from one person to another; if at all possble, try a couple for yourself. Personally, I've got the most basic Wacom and don't really like it; OK for coloring, not large, ergonomic, sensitive nor well-textured enough for real drawing. But a good friend loves the same exact model, which he prefers to larger ones.

[Podmark]

I'm trying to find something affordable, preferably around $100 Canadian, but I don't know enough about them to know what you lose with the cheaper models.

[Valandar]

My Adesso 8x6 cost me about $100 and has lasted two years so far. Only 512 levels of sensitivity, but that's good enough for most uses.

[Lunarman]

I'm going to get an Wacom Bamboo Fun, which although it sounds low quality apparently isn't, and got tons of 5 star reviews on amazon.

[Figure Fan]

My gosh, I have a Wacom Tablet and I never use it..

:(

[Cardmaster]

I saved up and bought my 6x11 Intuos and I use it on a daily basis.

Second to my computer it's the best technology investment I've ever made.  :wub:

-CM

[Midnight]

I hit the low end of the market (a $120 Graphire4 A6) about two years ago. Having a tablet is nice, but I wish I had spent $80 more and gotten something bigger than 5" x 3.7".

The Bamboo seems to be the successor to the Graphire and is fairly decent. The lowest end Bamboo has more features than the one I bought two years ago and has a larger active area. Now, if this were me, I'd get something like this.

[captainspud]

*sigh*

...


*paws at the screen*

[Podmark]

*sigh*

...


*paws at the screen*

I think that one is a little out of the price range I mentioned Spud.

[Cardmaster]

*sigh*

...


*paws at the screen*

You and me both, man... one of my neighbors in my dorm has one and I just go and stare at it sometimes... I think he thinks I've got a problem..

*wipes drool*

[Glitch Girl]

*sigh*

...


*paws at the screen*

[looks at link]

(double sigh)

[Valandar]

WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!

I WANT!

[Lunarman]

I had a go on a Wacom today, it was pretty nice. It wasn't set up properly though, I just plugged and played it at school. I'm going for a smaller one (A5) but I think A4 is over the top anyway.

I'm getting my Wacom Bamboo for Christmas

[Cardmaster]

I had a go on a Wacom today, it was pretty nice. It wasn't set up properly though, I just plugged and played it at school. I'm going for a smaller one (A5) but I think A4 is over the top anyway.

I'm getting my Wacom Bamboo for Christmas

Ooh, nice. I've heard pretty good things about the Bamboo. Especially the fact that it has buttons, which is something Graphire lacks. Heh.

Ooooh, and on the topic of Cintiqs again, any of you Cintiq wanters see the new 12" model!? It's "only" a thousand bucks! I mean, it's still expensive, but that's something I could maybe actually save some money for and buy! Glee!

[captainspud]

OH.

MY.

EFFING.

GAWD.

:blink:

I can afford this.

[BlueBard]

I wish I could afford a tablet... but for me it would be more for putzing and less for anything truly useful.

{looooonnnngggg sigh}

[thalaw2]

I agree BB...they should come up with something for writers....it could add in some sentences when you get writers block or something like that.

I want to get a tablet that lets me draw characters from other languages and then translates them into English...those are cool!

[Mr. Hamrick]

I agree BB...they should come up with something for writers....it could add in some sentences when you get writers block or something like that.

I want to get a tablet that lets me draw characters from other languages and then translates them into English...those are cool!

I think they are getting closer to that:   click here

[Figure Fan]

OH.

MY.

EFFING.

GAWD.

:blink:

I can afford this.

Thats what I need! Its hard for me to use a regular tablet  :(

[stumpy]

OH.

MY.

EFFING.

GAWD.

:blink:

Baby got backlit LCD drawing tablets. Sir Mix-A-Lot could hardly have said it any better.

[MJB]

I can afford this.

You can?! Bull!!

/me is jealous

-MJB