Drawing Tablet

*Paradise Island*

Teeny Tiny Baby Pony
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**I wasn't sure which board to put this in; if a mod feels it doesn't belong here, then by all means move it.**
So I have made the money and have been bugging the parents for a while to order a drawing tablet. It is a Wacom Pen and Touch drawing tablet, which costs $99. I've really wanted to try digital art for a while now, so a tablet is just what I need. Being naturally curious, I want to know what people think of it before I buy. I've found mostly good reviews, but I want to know what my fellow TP'ers think. So have you ever bought/ used a drawing tablet before? Was it good for what you were using it for??

tl;dr: I want to know your opinions on drawing tablets.

Thanks for looking and/or responding. :winkpony:
 
I bought a Wacom Intuos 3 tablet used a few years back (have two actually, a small & medium). I also asked around and the Intuos 3 constantly came up. It's got great pressure sensitivity, I can assign key combinations to the tablet's pad. I quite like it.

Something I wish someone had told me though: tablets are not for everyone. If you're serious about owning one, be prepared to basically learn how to draw all over again. Some people find this easy, but I really struggle with it & will soon replace my tablet with an old, used cintiq.

Also important to note: make sure to find out about the longevity of the pen nibs. With the Intuos 4, and some of wacom's other products released around that time, the surface was made rough so as to purposely wear down pen nibs. It caused these products to be more costly in the long run due to having to replace them constantly.
 
I bought a Wacom Intuos 3 tablet used a few years back (have two actually, a small & medium). I also asked around and the Intuos 3 constantly came up. It's got great pressure sensitivity, I can assign key combinations to the tablet's pad. I quite like it.

Something I wish somepony had told me though: tablets are not for everypony. If you're serious about owning one, be prepared to basically learn how to draw all over again. Some ponies find this easy, but I really struggle with it & will soon replace my tablet with an old, used cintiq.

Also important to note: make sure to find out about the longevity of the pen nibs. With the Intuos 4, and some of wacom's other products released around that time, the surface was made rough so as to purposely wear down pen nibs. It caused these products to be more costly in the long run due to having to replace them constantly.

Thanks for the advice. I will definitely keep this in mind. :smilepony:
 
Ooh, what a convenient topic! Truth is, I'm saving up for a drawing tablet myself, and I do believe it's the same model *Paradise Island* is shooting for.


I actually already have an Intuos 3, it was given to me like 6 years ago by someone who didn't need it anymore and thought I had a lot of talent to use it well. I appreciated the gesture, but the thing is so ENORMOUS I don't have room to work with it anywhere. :cry: Also, whenever I tried hooking it up to my Mac the lines always came kind of choppy for some reason. I've been told it's a driver problem, but since I don't use it on a regular basis I never did full research on the subject.
Still, the few times I've tried it (on a PC) had me make huge leaps in progress (like Inuranchan said, you DO have to learn how to draw all over again), so I'm certain that when I get one of a more manageable size I'll be churning out digital drawings like nobody's business. :D


Speaking of which, do you have a specific software in mind? I was thinking of getting Clip Studio Paint since Adobe Photoshop is a bit on the expensive side.
 
Ooh, what a convenient topic! Truth is, I'm saving up for a drawing tablet myself, and I do believe it's the same model *Paradise Island* is shooting for.


I actually already have an Intuos 3, it was given to me like 6 years ago by someone who didn't need it anymore and thought I had a lot of talent to use it well. I appreciated the gesture, but the thing is so ENORMOUS I don't have room to work with it anywhere. :cry: Also, whenever I tried hooking it up to my Mac the lines always came kind of choppy for some reason. I've been told it's a driver problem, but since I don't use it on a regular basis I never did full research on the subject.
Still, the few times I've tried it (on a PC) had me make huge leaps in progress (like Inuranchan said, you DO have to learn how to draw all over again), so I'm certain that when I get one of a more manageable size I'll be churning out digital drawings like nobody's business. :D


Speaking of which, do you have a specific software in mind? I was thinking of getting Clip
Studio Paint since Adobe Photoshop is a bit on the expensive side.

They GAVE you a drawing tablet?! Where do I get friends like that? XD
Great advice, though, thanks. :) sounds like I'm gonna learn to draw again soon lol. I do believe that the tablet comes with four kinds of software when you purchase it: Photoshop Elements, Autodesk Sketchbook Express, ArtRage Studio, and Nik Color Efex Pro. I don't know if that's good enough for you, but they sound pretty nice to me.
I've already ordered my tablet and it should arrive within a few days. If you like, I can try it out and let you know what I think of it :D
 
I haven't upgraded either one of tablets in years, so I can't offer any suggestions for new models, but from what I've heard Intuos are pretty nice. Is the Wacom Pen + Touch a Bamboo edition? I've got one, and it works really well, the drawing space is a bit smaller than what I'm used to though.

Tablet drawing is entirely different from traditional drawing, you'll have to learn to draw blindly - I've had mine for over five years, and despite using it often I still face difficulties with line art. Your lines will likely be wobbly and uneven at first, this is normal and isn't a fault of either you or your tablet. Be sure to update your drivers when or if new ones are released, they'll improve your tablet-to-PC compatibility.

Photoshop Elements is a great program for amateur digital artists; once you get a bit more advanced you might want to upgrade to SAI, which has more options and better line control than PS has.
Best of luck, and hope to see some of your artwork soon!
- Mimic
 
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