Tablet Discussion Thread - Everything You Need to Know!

What brand of tablets, other than Wacom, should I include?

Trust	13.0%	[ 59 ]
Aiptek	8.4%	[ 38 ]
Digipro/UC Logic	8.4%	[ 38 ]
Genius	34.0%	[ 154 ]
Calcomp	4.2%	[ 19 ]
Other (Please Specify)	32.0%	[ 145 ]
Total Votes:			[ 453 ]

[Zephire]

Probably the Intous. I was looking at images of the Bamboo Fun and the mouse had the exact same scroll wheel as my Graphire's ;_; It's not bad at first, but eventually my finger starts slipping and gets sore from the friction. I'm not going to bother getting mouse from Wacom, though. It wouldn't be any cheaper than any other mice, and Wacom doesn't have any grooved mice for the Graphire 3 that I could see.

[Fallen Star]

Two days of nothing then like 2 pages. XD

The first thing I did was try out the new tilt function on Photoshop. It affects lines like the pressure tool, but it's a bit different on the way it's handled. I just can't put my finger on it. ><
I haven't tried Painter with my tablet yet. I will get to it eventually!

I already set all my shortcut keys on the Intous though! Alt, increase, decrease and spacebar. Having more than two expresskey is nice, but being that I bought the smaller version, I only have four keys instead of eight. However....I don't know what I'll do with four extra keys. XD

[Espiritual]

Fallen Star

Two days of nothing then like 2 pages. XD

The first thing I did was try out the new tilt function on Photoshop. It affects lines like the pressure tool, but it's a bit different on the way it's handled. I just can't put my finger on it. ><
I haven't tried Painter with my tablet yet. I will get to it eventually!

I already set all my shortcut keys on the Intous though! Alt, increase, decrease and spacebar. Having more than two expresskey is nice, but being that I bought the smaller version, I only have four keys instead of eight. However....I don't know what I'll do with four extra keys. XD

Shift and Control you should add to your list. Do forget you can add quick commands to them like control+s (Save File) and control+o (Open File). 3nodding

Tip for Painter: Painter has an option where it'll customize itself to your stroke and pressure preferences. In order to do that go to Edit> Preferences> Brush Tracking and follow the instructions given.

[Tyl0r3]

So, I have 200 dollars exactly to spend on a tablet (as of now), and I'm wondering....

Should I get the Bamboo Fun , Medium sized? (Which is a good upgrade from my Graphire4 4x5 now )


OR

An Intuos 4x6? I know that Intuos is a better quality and has more features, but I don't like how small the one I have now.



But then again, I could hold out for a few more weeks and get the Intuos 6x8 ...)


Whaddayall think?

[Espiritual]

Tough call. If you want try out Wacom recommendation quiz on their site if you can find it. It was really noticeable on their last site version. But really it depends on what you're going to use it for. What are you planning to use it for and what level of work? Also what's your work space?

[Tyl0r3]

Espiritual

Tough call. If you want try out Wacom recommendation quiz on their site if you can find it. It was really noticeable on their last site version. But really it depends on what you're going to use it for. What are you planning to use it for and what level of work?

I'm nowhere near professional, if that's what you're asking >_>
I use it for digital art, drawing, painting, etc.
But my skills aren't very "fine tuned".

I think I might go with the Bamboo Fun.... But, is the Intuos that much better?

[Luc_iole]

The thing I like best about Intuos and Cintiqs is that the surface is like drawing on paper. It has a slight resistance sorta like smooth paper that feels very natural. I haven't tried a Bamboo yet but the Graphire I had had a plastic cover, so the stylus runs against it like plastic on plastic.. very smooth, very slippery and very annoying. I could never improve on my Graphire and only got interested in digital art after getting a Intous.

I always think of Graphires as a stepping stone to Intous if you're serious about your art. Sooner or later, you're gonna want to upgrade to Intouses >_>

[Tyl0r3]

Luc_iole

The thing I like best about Intuos and Cintiqs is that the surface is like drawing on paper. It has a slight resistance sorta like smooth paper that feels very natural. I haven't tried a Bamboo yet but the Graphire I had had a plastic cover, so the stylus runs against it like plastic on plastic.. very smooth, very slippery and very annoying. I could never improve on my Graphire and only got interested in digital art after getting a Intous.

I always think of Graphires as a stepping stone to Intous if you're serious about your art. Sooner or later, you're gonna want to upgrade to Intouses >_>

That's another thing I was considering. I'm nowhere near professional now, but I'm very serious about my art, and I know I'll need an intuos eventually.

The question is whether I'll take another "stepping stone" in the process.

[Espiritual]

Ty-Sama

Espiritual

Tough call. If you want try out Wacom recommendation quiz on their site if you can find it. It was really noticeable on their last site version. But really it depends on what you're going to use it for. What are you planning to use it for and what level of work?

I'm nowhere near professional, if that's what you're asking >_>
I use it for digital art, drawing, painting, etc.
But my skills aren't very "fine tuned".

I think I might go with the Bamboo Fun.... But, is the Intuos that much better?

It's has 1024 levels vs the 512 but the results don't really vary unless you're a**l noticing the very minor differences. The Intous has a smooth surface and it's harder for the surface to scratch than the Bamboo. But eh... my first tablet was the Intous3 6X8 and I've been just downgrading for reasons such as one needs of repair and the other lost the pen at a very disparate time. You can go with either, if you plan to get serious with your work in the near future, I would recommend the Intous. If not, it's your choice, but have a large tablet can be cumbersome towards space but you'll have more acuteness to where you're at than a small one.

[Luc_iole]

If you have the dough, get the Intous XD The Bamboo isn't exactly necessary as a stepping stone if you have the dough.

[Newnewsfriend]

I also forgot to ask, this might be a stupid question but let's say you drew a picture with a pencil and scanned it into the computer then saved it. Is it possible to re-do the lineart with a tablet? Or would you have to draw it again because the tablet can't open up a document saved to your computer?

I hope I explained this right. XD

[Espiritual]

Yep you can I tend to do that with most of my pencil sketches. You can pull up the image in the program on your choice in it own layer with a lowered opacity and ink on top of it.

[Newnewsfriend]

Heck yes! That helps a lot. Makes me want to buy my tablet right now! biggrin DD

Also, is the Medium Wacom Bamboo Fun tablet really slippery? That's the one I'm planning on getting...

[Zephire]

I was in the same boat as you, Ty-Sama (before my tablet revived itself). In the end I decided I would get the Bamboo Fun Medium instead of the 4x6 Intous. My reasoning was that I didn't need the extra sensitivity, nor the different nibs and buttons. Or the tilt feature. I did, however, need a larger surface area since 4x5 is too cramped for me now, and the Bamboo was something like 5x8. I figured that at the time being it would make more sense for me to spend $200 on a larger tablet than $230 on one that's only an inch wider than my current one, until I'm at a point where my skill in digital art is sufficient to warrant spending $330+ on an Intous (at which point I may just skip the Intous and go for the Cintiq).

[Tyl0r3]

Zephire

I was in the same boat as you, Ty-Sama (before my tablet revived itself). In the end I decided I would get the Bamboo Fun Medium instead of the 4x6 Intous. My reasoning was that I didn't need the extra sensitivity, nor the different nibs and buttons. Or the tilt feature. I did, however, need a larger surface area since 4x5 is too cramped for me now, and the Bamboo was something like 5x8. I figured that at the time being it would make more sense for me to spend $200 on a larger tablet than $230 on one that's only an inch wider than my current one, until I'm at a point where my skill in digital art is sufficient to warrant spending $330+ on an Intous (at which point I may just skip the Intous and go for the Cintiq).

I may do the same ... I just don't know...
I feel like the Bamboo might hold up better compared to the Intuos. And if what Espiritual says is true, then I'll go with the fun Medium...


Now WHAT COLOR WILL I GET>?!?!!?!?