what's a good inexpensive tablet?

[Rental Daughter]

so.... after watching countless videos of people photoshopping/SAI...ing/CGing/"coloring" on niconico ... I seriously want a tablet. I doubt I'd ever really get one but hopefully I could save up enough money before my "tablet wanting" phase ends. I promise I'll learn to draw once I get one! XD

well then... what's a good tablet that isn't too expensive? I'm hoping... something around the $100 range (maybe cheaper?!? :3) and could be purchased at somewhere like Best Buy... Circuit City...... etc. ==; Hopefully Circuit City though since that's close to my school and I can buy it secretly without my parents noticing! XD

any suggestions? ^^;

(sorry if this is the wrong forum thingy or something! D: I don't really... talk about technological stuffs much and... yeah <__<;; )

[SkyeDarkhawk]

Wacom Bamboo tablet, I think.

[Rental Daughter]

hmmm.... yeah I was looking at that.... I'm eyeing one that's $99.99 and comes with a mouse (it'd be nice... considering I use a laptop) but is that any good? <__<;; is it... "big" enough to try and do some coloringness on? I love the fact that it comes with Photoshop though XD even though I "kind of" like SAI better. is it even worth getting a tablet if I can't draw? >>

[Bolweevil]

They come in various sizes too. The size you need depends on your artistic preferences. Some people draw with big strokes and they need a larger tablet, other people can use the smaller models just fine.

You don't need to be able to draw to benefit from a tablet. They make graphic design easier in many cases.

But you can't really go wrong with a Wacom. They;re excellent tablets. Many design professionals use them.

[Wyf]

If you go into a bestbuy (if they have them from where you are from).
They carry the best low priced Wacoms there.
Dont sacrifice quality over price!!
Its worth it : )

[Rental Daughter]

Bolweevil> I suppose I can get used to using a small tablet... considering I've never used one before.

hmm.... I suppose that's true ^^;

I suppose Wacom is the brand of choice then. >>

Wyf> bah bestbuy is so far... but yes there is one semi-near where I live. but do they have good quality... affordable Wacoms based on the budget of a 15 year-old girl who gets by with $5 a week? <__<;

[Markup]

Just to let you know. It comes with Photoshop Elements not Photoshop, and it isn't even the latest version of Photoshop Elements either.

[Pirogoth Wolfblood]

The Wacom Bamboo series of tablets is what you are looking for. However, I'd get mine online directly from Wacom.

Keep in mind that while tablets are excellent tools for doing just about any kind of art or design work, they will not suddenly make you an artist. If you've never done any drawing before, I'd highly recommend not getting a tablet and simply buy a sketchbook, a few pencils and maybe a real art book or two.

If you really want to learn to draw, these would be the books I'd recommend.

• Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain by Betty Edwards.
  
• The Natural Way to Draw: A Working Plan for Art Study by Kimon Nicolaides.
  
• Color By Betty Edwards.
  

All of which are very cheap and totally within your budget. Not to mention some of the best books to learn from. A great many professionals learned their trade from these books and are often used in beginning, intermediate and some advanced drawing classes in colleges/universities. I'd recommend any of them (though start with one of the first two).

Expect to spend a lot of time learning to draw. Pace yourself and keep in mind, it's supposed to be fun. wink

-Piro

[Rental Daughter]

Noriscaliwag> yeah I just noticed that ==; is that no good? ^^;

Piro> why? is it better to get it directly from Wacom?

and as great as those books are... those look like some serious artwork. <__<; I mean to only draw simple things and then color them in using Photoshop or SAI with the help of a tablet ^^;;

thanks though :3

[Markup]

Photoshop Elements isn't bad, it is just different. You said Photoshop, so I just wanted to make sure you understood that it didn't come with something like Photoshop CS3.

Although I don't know much about the Photoshop series seeing as I use The GIMP, you should probably ask someone else about the major differences in the two.

[Senility]

The wacom site doesn't charge shipping or handling or tax. At least I didn't notice any when buying it and looking at my bill. I have photoshop elements 5.0 and I'm having the worst time trying to figure it out.

[machineman9v1]

gah, that small blue font hurts my eyes.

As I have found, a good brand will get you the best tablet... a good brand costs more money... and thus quality=more money in this case.

I have a Wacom Volito 2... £40 or so, I think it is much less now though (bought it like 2 years ago)


Apart from the controls at the top of the Bamboo (FUN version) It doesnt look too much different from the Volito... and the price difference is certainly aparent. I cant speak for the quality of it though, but the Volito 2 works very well.


A brand I was hoplessly dissapointed in was Trust, whos tablets wwere glitchy when I used them. The pointer would shake and not always react properly. Their one also used batteries (unlike the Volito 2 and probably many other Wacoms) and after several days I had used up a packet of batteries just from clicking on webpages. I got the Volito 2 from the refund money.