I have been wanting to get some kind of graphics tablet for quite a while now after getting more and more interested in the world of art (also for GCSE). But I have been having trouble on choosing what tablet to get. Something fairly simple and not too expensive.
Cryxo
Wacom, and buy the cheapest one (that is the cheapest of the models and has the smallest drawing space). There is even a low budget series (but not quality affected, just in how many options there are) I think it's Bamboo, not sure though.
There are cheaper brands but Wacom is pretty widely used and since you're a newb (no negative connotation) it's better not to start with bad quality tools but something that will last while you get used to a tablet as such and get better at drawing.
Of course if you're already good with drawing on paper then get some more expensive model (wider board to draw on so you can get more comfortable).
If money is an issue, I'd go with a used but large wacom tablet of an older model (art pad, intous 1/2). A4 is a nice size, and should be cheap at this point.
Newer models are a bit more fancy, but the additions usually have little or no actual impact on your drawing/painting performance. Some programs like Painter have features that require newer models, which are able to detect the tilt of the stylus for instance, but very few people I know actually use these features.
So a large, used and old wacom would be my budget recommendation.
Quote from: loominous on Mon 27/04/2009 21:38:24
If money is an issue, I'd go with a used but large wacom tablet of an older model (art pad, intous 1/2). A4 is a nice size, and should be cheap at this point.
Actually...in most cases I would suggest A5 rather than A4. Particularly for a 'training' tablet; (depending on the way you draw of course) A4 is just too big for easy usage. Especially when you just start out. Plus you will need the space on your desk (which is the reason why I stuck with my A5). Wouldn't go any smaller than A5 though. Smaller sizes are fun to play with, but of limited usability if you want to keep using it for a few years.
Eventually, once you get used to working with a tablet you might want to upgrade to a bigger size or better model.
Apart form the size-issue, I agree with Loominous.
Misj'
I wanted to try one, and A4 seemed the best size as the papers I usually draw on are A4. However, I realised (people told me) that I rarely draw images so big, that the deatils fill the whole area. So I bought the Wacom Volito2. Of course it's different than drawing with pen and paper, but I'm not professional, and wouldn't need anything better at this point. One the size of your mousecarpet is just fine :)
I bought a fairly cheap, no-brand graphics tablet on eBay. It didn't really work. It's probably worth dishing out a little extra for something you can actually use.
Quote from: Misj' on Mon 27/04/2009 21:58:23
Quote from: loominous on Mon 27/04/2009 21:38:24
If money is an issue, I'd go with a used but large wacom tablet of an older model (art pad, intous 1/2). A4 is a nice size, and should be cheap at this point.
Actually...in most cases I would suggest A5 rather than A4. Particularly for a 'training' tablet;
The reason why I usually suggest large tablets is that the large surfaces help activating the whole arm when drawing, where just moving your fingers won't be enough to reach areas. Relying exclusively on the fingers when drawing is extremely common particularly among beginners, which severely limits the looseness of lines, and smaller tablets encourage these small motions.
You can draw with tablets of any size of course, but to get nice flowy lines, which I think in many ways is the foundation for good drawings, a large surface is pretty much the only way to go.
Thank you all very much for your advice. It's been very helpful :)
If you want to replace your mouse with the tablet, I also suggest to take the A5. Otherwise you would have to do big arm movements just to navigate your browser.
Make sure you have enough desk space if you get the A4. I have to keep mine unplugged most of the time. :(
Heyo. Sorry for resurrecting this thread (it was the latest graphics tablet related one I could find). My problem here is a little more specific. I can only really buy from a very small range of what is available here. If I order from abroad, the postage costs (and the customs here) will kill me, and unless someone is coming here from somewhere else, (which happens rarely), I can't ask them to buy it.
So, my choices seem to be:
Genius G-Pen 560, 4.5 x 6 (http://www.amazon.com/Genius-G-Pen-560-tablet-cordless/dp/B000KE3ESG) for about $55.55 (cheapest one)
Wacom Bamboo "Make your Mark" 5.8 x 3.7 (http://www.studica.com/products/product_detail.cfm?productid=53642) about $131
If my friend (who hasn't even opened his, and seems difficult to convince to sell it to me, even at full price, although that is his right) sells me his, it would be a Wacom Bamboo Fun 5.8 x 3.7 for about $100 (that being the full price)
There is also a Wacom Bamboo Fun 8.5 x 5.3 available here, but that is for about $206, which would be a little out of my league, unless I really really really want it.
I've checked out the models on the net, and read a couple of reviews, but I wanted to make sure here as well. People here seem to be really against non-wacom tablets, but the Genius g-pen seems to be the cheapest (although people here were really against cordless pens also :D). Should I drop that? Does anyone know about Genius stuff?
Also, the "Make your Mark" wacom, by looking through the stuff, it seems to be geared towards writing instead of drawing. Does anyone know otherwise?
I'm not too worried about warranties, mostly because I can't be- there are none for the products here, so if something busts, I'll be stuck with it. Any help would be appreciated, though.
Go with the cheaper one and if you like it and use it a lot save your money for a wacom.
They don't even have the Trust (http://www.trust.com/products/group.aspx?coll=TABLETS&sbs=PC) ones?
I'd go with the trusted brand, especially since you can't return it. I have no personal experience with Genius tablets, but I've heard the pens aren't durable (and they need extra batteries too, according to that production description. Boooo). I've used Wacom (although not the Bamboo line) for about a decade, and I've never had a problem with them... plus the pens don't need batteries.
Pens that need batteries are a bit of a drag, it's indicative of poor design overall.
I've been thinking of getting the wacom one myself too. Looks like a nice little device, altho the drawing surface is A6, which is rather small
I originally started out with a Trust (yeah, I know: we don't trust Trust...but it was actually quite a good tablet to be honest)...but I also found that certain pieces of software that were optimized for tablets required the Wacom-drivers (and hardware) to work. While I found that such software was quite rare, it did happen to me once or twice over the years. Personally I would go with the Wacom Bamboo Fun and think it has a good price-to-value...and from what I've seen of it (and my limited use of a colleague's tablet) it does do the job well.
Size has already been discussed earlier in this thread so I won't bother with that.
I just had a "to heck with it" moment and just bought the Wacom Bamboo. It's really nice piece of solid hardware (no el cheapo feel or anything), and it's really responsive. One thing that I noticed is that it's really thin, it's maybe 0.5cm high. So far I'm just trying to get used to it. One of the hardest habbit to get rid of is "mouse dragging" That, and the "harder i press the bigger fatter the line" option.
and because of the A6 format, it's actually a decent way of browsing :P
Quote from: Mr Flibble on Mon 27/04/2009 22:52:18
I bought a fairly cheap, no-brand graphics tablet on eBay. It didn't really work. It's probably worth dishing out a little extra for something you can actually use.
Same here.
QuoteI originally started out with a Trust (yeah, I know: we don't trust Trust...but it was actually quite a good tablet to be honest)...
Not really what I remember.
Don't trust Trust.
Made a good dust collector, anyways.
About a month ago... I eventually decided to finally buy a Wacom Bamboo One.
It's is absolutely brilliant! Apart from the obvious uses of drawing with it, it is great using it for playing Crayon Physics Deluxe http://www.crayonphysics.com :)
that game is pretty sweet with the tablet
I would also suggest InkBall on Vista, another fun game for tablets.
~Trent
Just for reference: earlier upthread there was a question about Genius tablets. I've just lost my Wacom pen (I'm really bummed :( ) so I've resorted to borrowing my husband's Genius G-Pen M712. It's heavier than my Intuous 3 and the pen runs on batteries.
Of course it goes without saying that I prefer my Wacom: the Genius tends to lag a little, especially when the pen goes near the edge of the tablet where there are all these shortcut keys. Also, the pen nib retracts slightly into the pen when you put pressure on it, which I'm really not used to. I prefer the illusion of using a real hard pen, but that's just me and my years of being a loyal Wacom user. And the blue lights on the top are kind of distracting...
But there my list of complaints stops. In every other way it's almost identical to my Wacom. Sure, the pen's shaped weirdly so that you can only really hold it one way comfortably, but that hasn't been an issue to me yet. One advantage this thing has over my Wacom is that its touch-sensitive parts are all on top, so I never touch them accidentally. And finally the price - it's less than HALF the price of the Wacom, with a HUGE drawing area! If I were a little less picky about tablets (i.e. if I were buying my first tablet) this would be a great bargain.
So yeah, make of that what you will. Right now I'm feeling a lot less panicky about having lost my Wacom pen. That actually says a lot about the Genius's ability to replace the Wacom.
I've had my share of cheap tablets in the past, and I can say they are ok for beginners (I actually learned on them). It also depends on how much you will actually use them. I personally have to use it all day long, as I work as a graphical artist/designer, so I may have some problems due to wear and tear.
First I bought a Trust one (A5), worked fine for a few months, then the pen broke in half, litterally.
I then re-bought the same model because a replacement pen would cost more or less the same with shipping and stuff. Again worked fine for a year or so, then it started making weird jaggy lines when I attempted to draw.
I got a Genious one for my birthday the next year (A4), and it didn't give me any problems other than a little lag (jaggy lines) sometimes, but nothing to worry about.
Finally I decided to switch to Wacom when I got my job, so I went big, and got an Intuos 4 Large, it's got different tips that feel like drawing with different materials, it's orgasmic. (I wonder if the Bamboo has spare tips as well, they make a difference)
So there, on my opinion, Trust ones are the most fragile, Genious feels like the Trust ones but has lasted more and are a great start, cheap and reliable as well. And Wacom is top notch, although I might need to order more tips as they get consumed preety quickly, way more expensive, but it's worth it if you plan on giving your tablet a lot of use.
(http://img17.imageshack.us/img17/5623/thankus.png)
Guess what I got today?
It is a Wacom Bamboo Fun small (5.8x3.7). So far I have no complaints, but I get the feeling my wrist will be aching in a bit soon, as the angle of the wacom/desk isn't all that comfortable. I've been going at it in Adobe CS2, and I think it is more some memory problem with my PC, because (among other unrelated stuff) occasionally, like right after I save, it starts lagging. As you can see, right now my art seems more of a blur-fest hi-res version of most of my pixel art, but I'm learning slowly :D.
Most amateur artists draws with fine movement. In these cases a A5 or even A6 is to recommend. Professional artists tend to work with greater and greater movement, and prefer to zoom in to >200% even on highres images for precision work.
Therefore, first take a look on your analogue technique. The above is of course a generalisation.
Me myself started out really small, but started working on larger and larger originals. When I finally bouught a tablet, I went for a used Intous 3 A3. There's no real wear and tear on these suckers and a new stylus is (relatively) cheap. You can always scout eBay for a nice deal.
I'll second the oppinion on older models. New models mean new finesses, but they does not have a direct impact on your drawing. I checked out the Graphire 4 on SPX09, which had a couple of nifty gadgets to increase and decrease brushsizes dynamically and a focus mode. But apart from an alleged increased pressure sensitivity, everything new was time saving gadgets.