Best Tablet for Sketching?

Do you have a tablet?

Yes	66.7%	[ 20 ]
No	33.3%	[ 10 ]
Total Votes:			[ 30 ]

[Lost_Realms]

So, I'm mostly a paper and pencil/pen doodler, but I want to get a tablet because scanning in the pencil drawings aren't clean at all.

Does anyone have recommendations on a tablet that isn't too expensive and is good for sketching? Also, do these tablets have coloring options like photoshop or is that purely based on whatever is on your computer?

Thanks!

[Avatar-kun]

Wacom Bamboo

[Little-Missy-Moo]

I recommend a Wacom Bamboo tablet. :3

Wacom because the brand is popular and therefore easy to find. Also, if you ever need replacement parts in a few years (worn down pen etc.) it's likely the company will still exist.

Bamboo because the tablet is within an affordable price range while you adjust yourself to digital media.

As for programs, you can download free art programs (tablets work with most art programs). Oh, and generally tablets are packaged with free art programs on CDs. Good luck! <3

[IronSpike]

Even when price is a concern, it's a good idea to buy the most expensive Wacom-brand tablet you can afford. You won't regret it.

If you can only spend $300.00, maximum, buy the $299.99 model. The upticks in pressure sensitivity are perceptible, especially in the lower-end models.

[Desi the fuzzy fluffhead]

If you can't afford the newer versions of the Waccom tablet, the older versions are still available on Amazon and are pretty nifty.

[Lost_Realms]

Avatar-kun

Little-Missy-Moo

IronSpike

Hmm.. I think I'm getting confused ont he types of tablets. there are so many types besides the Bamboo.

Desi the fuzzy fluffhead

Thanks! So, Wacom is the way to go.

For the Bamboo , there's the Bamboo Connect, Capture, and Create. Any recommendations between those? I'm relatively new to tablets, so I'm not sure which is good for what.

Also, this may seem like a stupid question, but when I use the Bamboo tablet, do I look at the tablet or the computer screen? I'm used to drawing looking at the paper because of the pen/paper. I'm just curious is the resolution maps directly from tablet to computer.

[Little-Missy-Moo]

Lost_Realms

Thanks! So, Wacom is the way to go.

For the Bamboo , there's the Bamboo Connect, Capture, and Create. Any recommendations between those? I'm relatively new to tablets, so I'm not sure which is good for what.

Also, this may seem like a stupid question, but when I use the Bamboo tablet, do I look at the tablet or the computer screen? I'm used to drawing looking at the paper because of the pen/paper. I'm just curious is the resolution maps directly from tablet to computer.

I haven't had experience with those particular Bamboo tablets (I have Bamboo Touch) but this website has a good analysis.

Looks like the Connect tablet is for very simple art or design work. Therefore you would need Capture or Create. Create appears to be a larger version of Capture with the addition of Corel Painter. (A really nice art program.)

You will be looking at the computer screen 95% of the time. You only need to look at your tablet to reposition your pen; but after much practice, you should be able to feel your way around the tablet. It's difficult to coordinate your hand + eye movement at first, but it feels very natural with enough practice.

There are tablets where the surface is a drawing screen (Cintiq line) but those tablets are damn expensive. ($1000+.)

[kotalee]

I personally have a cintiq, and I couldnt love it more. It's the best choice overall

[Nineath]

IronSpike

Even when price is a concern, it's a good idea to buy the most expensive Wacom-brand tablet you can afford. You won't regret it.

If you can only spend $300.00, maximum, buy the $299.99 model. The upticks in pressure sensitivity are perceptible, especially in the lower-end models.

I disagree to be honest.

Read her posts and think about it for a moment. She's a beginner, she has never used a tablet before. What she needs is a decent yet affordable tablet to get her started. You wouldn't tell someone who is a complete beginner and has never used oil colours to buy the most expensive oil colours available either.

A beginner will not notice the difference between the 1024 levels of pressure sensitivity a Bamboo tablet offers, and the 2048 levels of pressure sensitivity you get with an Intuos4. Beginners who are not used to working with a tablet tend to press down too hard anyway.

Let her start out with a Bamboo. It's a good tablet and you can achieve amazing results with it. PS Elements and Painter essentials are also included in the Bamboo package, so she'll have everything she needs.

She can still buy a more expensive tablet when she's certain that she likes digital art and has gotten used to drawing and painting with a tablet.

A tablet is a tool much like the software you use and it's only ever as good as the artist who uses it.

[Sirtet]

Nineath

IronSpike

Even when price is a concern, it's a good idea to buy the most expensive Wacom-brand tablet you can afford. You won't regret it.

If you can only spend $300.00, maximum, buy the $299.99 model. The upticks in pressure sensitivity are perceptible, especially in the lower-end models.

I disagree to be honest.

Read her posts and think about it for a moment. She's a beginner, she has never used a tablet before. What she needs is a decent yet affordable tablet to get her started. You wouldn't tell someone who is a complete beginner and has never used oil colours to buy the most expensive oil colours available either.

A beginner will not notice the difference between the 1024 levels of pressure sensitivity a Bamboo tablet offers, and the 2048 levels of pressure sensitivity you get with an Intuos4. Beginners who are not used to working with a tablet tend to press down too hard anyway.

Let her start out with a Bamboo. It's a good tablet and you can achieve amazing results with it. PS Elements and Painter essentials are also included in the Bamboo package, so she'll have everything she needs.

She can still buy a more expensive tablet when she's certain that she likes digital art and has gotten used to drawing and painting with a tablet.

A tablet is a tool much like the software you use and it's only ever as good as the artist who uses it.

thumbs up!

[Seijaku_Ishida]

If you can afford it, get the wireless Intuos. The Intuos is a step above the Bamboo.

While I'm not sure about Intuos5, the Intuos4 has some connectivity issues with the miniUSB ports. So if you can, get the wireless.

You could also look into the Wacom Inking which is an ink pen that stores a digital copy of your drawing in a device you can connect to you computer.

[Little-Missy-Moo]

aguinasa

Nineath

IronSpike

Even when price is a concern, it's a good idea to buy the most expensive Wacom-brand tablet you can afford. You won't regret it.

If you can only spend $300.00, maximum, buy the $299.99 model. The upticks in pressure sensitivity are perceptible, especially in the lower-end models.

I disagree to be honest.

Read her posts and think about it for a moment. She's a beginner, she has never used a tablet before. What she needs is a decent yet affordable tablet to get her started. You wouldn't tell someone who is a complete beginner and has never used oil colours to buy the most expensive oil colours available either.

A beginner will not notice the difference between the 1024 levels of pressure sensitivity a Bamboo tablet offers, and the 2048 levels of pressure sensitivity you get with an Intuos4. Beginners who are not used to working with a tablet tend to press down too hard anyway.

Let her start out with a Bamboo. It's a good tablet and you can achieve amazing results with it. PS Elements and Painter essentials are also included in the Bamboo package, so she'll have everything she needs.

She can still buy a more expensive tablet when she's certain that she likes digital art and has gotten used to drawing and painting with a tablet.

A tablet is a tool much like the software you use and it's only ever as good as the artist who uses it.

thumbs up!

I agree with this also. :3

[vinnieg33]

Lost_Realms

Thanks! So, Wacom is the way to go.

For the Bamboo , there's the Bamboo Connect, Capture, and Create. Any recommendations between those? I'm relatively new to tablets, so I'm not sure which is good for what.

Also, this may seem like a stupid question, but when I use the Bamboo tablet, do I look at the tablet or the computer screen? I'm used to drawing looking at the paper because of the pen/paper. I'm just curious is the resolution maps directly from tablet to computer.

I actually own a Bamboo Create, I love it to death. It comes with 3 art softwares. Corel Painter Essentials 4, Photoshop Elements 9, and Autdesk Sketchbook Express(Perfect for sketching, I use it all the time for line art). They all come on a DVD, so your computer needs a DVD drive. It's a real great package and a larger workspace on the tablet makes sketching easier. Good Luck with your search.

[Bipolar Butterfly]

i use this one http://www.letsgodigital.org/images/artikelen/71/wacom-bamboo-fun.jpg and i can't say any bad word about it, it's sufficient for my occasional projects, and sensitive enough. photoshop and art rage are included in the package and i bought if four or five years ago for 200€. i think it's a great choice for a begginer 3nodding

[Lost_Realms]

Thanks! Judging from everyone's responses, I'll stick with a Bamboo prototype.