Choosing a Wacom.

[Meowster]

Welp, I was thinking there yesterday... when I go to college, I'm gonna be needing the following:

1. Wacom Tablet (Mmmmmmm....delicious)
2. Laptop, for those long, commuter train journeys.
3. Lots of funky clothes and some dodgy mates. (Mmmm. Brains.)

Anyway. I figured that all this stuff... all two pieces of stuff... it's gonna cost me a lot. So I'd better start getting it now. Also, what a great excuse for when I ask my mother for $1600!!! "It's to ease the pressure on my freshman college year, mom. I'm only thinking of you."

You see, I have thought very carefully about this.

So the first item on my list just so happens to be a Wacom Tablet. I've wanted one of these for ages, and if there's a reason to work my lazy, no good butt over the summer, this is it. That, and also all the illegal drugs I can buy with the money I earn. Talk about long-term investment!

So what would you guys recommend? Does size matter? What's the best option for me, concerning a Wacom Tablet, and how many of my organs am I going to have to sell to get it?

I have heard good things about the Intuos 2, but I'm not sure what size to get. Obviously, I want the biggest one there. But perhaps this is not even nessecary. Who knows? I could make a living out of drawing postcards. Perhaps, if I got one of the very small ones, I could even use it as one of those awesome little doodling machines. You know, the ones with all the pixels, and it looks really cool, but inside there's all these toxic chemicals? Yes, except inside mine, will be circuit boards and wires!

PS: I am not sure if circuit boards are supposed to go in drawing tablets. I am only guessing, because I do not know much about electronics. But it is a minor detail.

[MrColossal]

size shouldn't matter really and a wacom would be your best bet

my girl has a graphire i believe hang on

http://wacomdirect.wacom.com/wacomdirect/product.asp?dept%5Fid=32&sku=CTE430SA

oooh sapphire blue

this isn't the one my girl has, she has a Graphire 2

but this one is 100 dollars and the size of the tablet doesn't mean you're restricted to postcard sizes

http://sylpher.com/jes

that's here site filled with digital images she painted

so there you go

[TheYak]

I've got a Graphire 2 (about $99).  I think it's THE tablet to get unless you don't care about price... in which case, I'd say go for the Intuos and make it large.  The size doesn't come that much into play for me, but I have wished it were larger (We are still talking bout tablets here, right?).  Since mine's the 4x5, each square inch represents nearly a quarter of the screen. Still, it's perfectly alright for sketching/painting.  I've heard the main reason to go for a large Intuos-type is that the precision is necessary for CAD work, etc.  

Here's a link to a sketch I did on mine:
Wacom - Angry Fat Man

A couple things I like about it.  It's got the main point, and a 2-button finger-trigger.. and the eraser end (in most graphics programs, it switches to the eraser tool for you.. quite nice).  Also, should you feel the need to trace one of your hand-sketches, it's got a see-thru layer you can lift up.

(BTW, Eric, thanks for sharing the Jes-page.  Amazing stuff..  I think my jaw dropped a couple of times..  PRobably get in trouble at work though because of all the B :o :oBIES)

[MrColossal]

yak, yea jess is fucking amazing............. damn her

and if those images are too nude for your work ([i thought you were a security guard? damn if there's ever a time to break into LA [not los angeles, they just let you in] it's when yak's on duty) then i won't show you the other stuff!

and yes go with wacom definetly cause i got an Aiptek the thing is freakin huge and wicked cheap but the pressure sensitivity is in the pen and not the bad so it gets real wobbly sometimes

and the program is shitty the pen jumps around all the time and stops working [i have to shake the pen like it's out of ink, gimme a break there's no ink in a digital pen... i checked!! TWICE!] and it takes a battery unlike wacom

[Miez]

Go for the Wacom - any other brand and ultimately you'll be sorry. I've got an Intuos - but a really small one (the postcard A6 sized) but as long as you don't have an incredibly huge monitor or work on 6000x6000 pixels images you're not really going to need a big tablet.
The intuos tablet is also nice because it takes it's power from the USB port and the pen (and mouse) in turn take their power from the tablet (in some vaguely electromagical way). So you don't just have a pen - you also get a cordless mouse!
I luv my wacom.  

[TheYak]

and if those images are too nude for your work ([i thought you were a security guard? damn if there's ever a time to break into LA [not los angeles, they just let you in] it's when yak's on duty) then i won't show you the other stuff!

I am a security guy.. I patrol hourly but other than that, I can surf the 'net, read, draw, whatever.  Pretty cool gig.. only things that suck are the hours and the drive.

[MrColossal]

mmm yes yes.. very interesting.. oh patrols? oh the drive is shitty yea isn't it...

* MrColossal breaks into Lucasarts

[Meowster]

Hmm.

Thanks everybody. Definitely, Wacom seems to be the one.

Also, I have a love for things that take power from the USB port. I blew up three scanners consecutively, until I got one that took power from the USB port. Now I can't even blow it up even if I try, and believe me, I have tried.

So, an A6 Wacom Intuos 2, or something? That seems to be the impression I'm getting. Besides, whatever Miez uses, his art is fantastic, and I'm sure that I'll magically get brilliant at art when I get a Tablet. Man, I'm just gonna go "click" and then I'll be able to draw. Didn't you know, that's what happens when you get a tablet?

As for LucasArts... I thought you worked at LucasFilms (Or whatever the special FX studio is called)? We could steal the blueprints for that swanky site they have. Hmmm, the possibilities...

I heard that they also have some of those triangular shaped Day of the Tentacle boxes lying around...

Hmmm...

[justG]

There used to be a "wizard" that helps you pick which tablet is best for you on the Wacom site, dunno whether or not it's still there.  It depends on how you are accustomed to drawing.  If you tend to draw/paint in large, sweeping arm movements, you'll want a large tablet, no matter the size of your drawing.  If, on the other hand, you tend to draw/paint with small wrist movements, you'll want the 4x5 or 6x8.

I've been using a Wacom for several years, and the only reason I have a 4x5 Graphire (bought after my 4x5 ArtPadII, bought after my 4x5 ArtPad) is because I can't afford a 6x8 Intuos2.  If you can, or if you can save up for it, go for it.  

Oh... one other reason to go with 9x12 or 12x12 is if you do CAD stuff.  From what I've heard and read, tho', the 6x8 is the most popular model among graphic and fine artists who can afford it.

Hope that helps.

[Miez]

Salks, take a look at the new Wacom pad, the Volito. It's about as big as an Intuos 2, has mostly the same features (resolution is 1000 DPI instead of 2500 though) but it costs a LOT less than an Intuos: 50 Euro's instead of 200.
It's still a Wacom ...

Oh, and the art thing: yes, Wacom pads collect creative energy that gets collected in great big Wacom storage facilities and redistibuted to all Wacom tablet owners. Just sign in your own blood; here, here and here please ...

[TheYak]

Not to detract from the subject anymore... but yeah, I work at LucasFilms..  LucasFilms is the head company, below that are the sub-companies, Industrial Light&Magic, Skywalker Sound, LucasArts.  And, I work at the new site in San Francisco which is under construction until Aug. 2005.  If Mr. C wants to break into LucasArts, it won't affect me as it's about 18 miles away from here.

[Meowster]

You live in San Francisco!?

Listen, I need you to do me a huge favour, which has nothing to do with voodoo spells of any kind. Go to Simons Olympia Deli (It's somewhere around 215 Clara Street) and steal me a salt shaker.

Then send it to P.O. Box 11, Dublin 4, Ireland.

Thank you.

[MrColossal]

* MrColossal gets arrested

I'LL GET YOU YAKSPIT!!

[Paranoia]

yak, yea jess is fucking amazing............. damn her

don't ye just hate clever ppl ? ? really like her style, v talented young lady

[Evil]

Like I say all the time, I love my tablet. Its like a big mouse pad. Its spill proof, easy to clean pop messes. Even has a little light in the corner, ooo, light. The only bad thing is that it has very little pressure sensitivity, with no side pressure. Works well for pixeling. The pens clicking features also take a while to get a hang of. Its larger too so its harder to carry around and needs to be installed before use. So for laptops is pretty much a not do.

http://www.aiptek.com/products/pctablets/12000u.htm


WOOOSH!!@11212 TEH HYPer PEN IS t3h R)0XORS!!!112213214dksjhfds;

[MrColossal]

no no no

don't go for the hyperpen

that's the one i have and if you're serious about using it for art i'd stay away from it

at least on my machine [windows xp] it suckckckckkckckkcs maybe another operating system would work better for it

edit:

well goddammit... i just taped the battery into the pen and it works very well...

having this thing for over a year and i just figure that out now

eric is a jerk

[scotch]

While I'd usually say only go for a wacom, if price is a big concern I wouldn't rule out a Hyperpen.. I'm using a Hyperpen 6000 now my wacom pen is lost and it's actually not really any worse than a Graphire, the drawing surface is not quite as nice but it's bigger/cheaper and doesn't seem to affect my drawing too much.  I'd prefer the wacom if I could be using it though.(the pen is heavier..)
Just get the most expensive wacom you can get, that's the best thing to do..  I wouldn't reccomend going for the smallest of any type of wacom, I have one and it's too small.

Eric: I had the same problems in windows 2000, but it started working a month ago  I certainly can't say they're reliable as Wacoms which are very dependable.

[MrColossal]

hehe scotch... taping the battery in has helped LOADS!

i painted 3 backgrounds today and it went so smoothly...

i guess my biggest problem now with the pen is the battery and this:



wearing that plastic down baby

[AGA]

Heh scotch, rename your avatar, it keeps getting blocked by my work and school proxies (it's called porn.gif)...

[PeaceMan]

I got this one because it was only £25.

It works pretty well too.

[Evil]

Yeah Eric, I have the same problem and I cant find my others. Do you also have a problem getting the flat part of the side button(s) to work? I still have trouble with that.

[MrColossal]

i don't use the buttons at all... why use them?

[Evil]

I'm just too damn lazy to change from mouse to pen.

[._.]

Heh scotch, rename your avatar, it keeps getting blocked by my work and school proxies (it's called porn.gif)...

I am not porn k ._./

[AGA]

Not yet...

[TheYak]

Sorry to reincarnate an old thread but I was browsing the Wacom thread and looking at the Intuos.  Particularly, I was looking at the nifty Intuos 2 features vs. the Graphire 3: Tilt detection, Grip pen, handy menu-buttons on tablet, 1024 levels of pressure vs. 512.  I was thinking, "Hey, I can actually afford this now! Hooray for commercialism!"  
So, I wanted to get an opinion or two from people with some experience with tablets, particularly Wacom, to see if it's worth the $$$ to upgrade from my Graphire 2.

[RickJ]

I noticed that the Wacom Graphire thing comes bundled with Adobe Elements for $99.  Elements usually retails for $99 so thats a pretty good deal if you don't already have Photoshop or something.  

[TheYak]

Good comment..  useless to me.    I've got the Graphire 2 and it is a sweet tablet.  It actually comes bundled with its control panel/driver software, Photoshop Elements, Painter Classic and PenPalette (plug-in for extra versatility for tablet in Photoshop).  Photoshop Elements is quite useful (The options cut from Photoshop I don't even miss) and Painter is a very cool program, particularly with a tablet.

[Elianto_Guestmode]

I'm thinking to buy a tablet too but I'm stuck choosing among ultrapen 12000/8000 and the graphire3 some suggestion??? It's really worth the extra price for the wacom or for a starter the aiptek are just good???

[TheYak]

I believe it's been stated once or twice already but here goes: The Aiptek, while being a hell of a lot better than the Wacom, has some design flaws.  I haven't heard from any Graphire 2 (or 3) user that finds their tablet difficult to use.  Spending about $100 isn't much when you're talking about professional (or at least semi-pro) equipment.  If you really want to test the waters and see if you even wanna blow that kind of money, get a cheaper Logitech (I believe a $25 one was mentioned) or a JamStudio (If they're still sold).  I can pretty much guarantee that if you put any use into the cheapy, you'll be salivating over the possible use of a Wacom.  [Of course, 'tis only a Yak's opinion but I think a few might agree]

[Scummbuddy]

I just went with my Dad to CompUSA and bought a Wacom Intuitos 2 6*8 tablet.  I want to use it now, but I have to wait til Christmas, so I'll soon upload my art that I do with that and the programs.  Thanks for all your help guys. (in convincing my Dad to get me one, especially Miez's quote of "I love my Wacom"