By using this site, you agree to our Privacy Policy and our Terms of Use. Close
kain_kusanagi on 01 February 2013
Edit Thread
Trunkin said:
kain_kusanagi said:
Trunkin said:

You don't have a tablet? Mine's a hand-me-down, but Wacom's Bamboo tablets are pretty cheap these days. I'm guessing you use the classic scanner/paper combo to do your work, then? Does that mean you do your lineart with a mouse? I can't even draw a stick man with a mouse! 

Yep, good old pencil to scanner combo. Most of the time I leave the dirty pencil lines and just enhance them. Then I like to do a water color style background and coloring job. Sometimes I'll paint over the pencil lines completely and other times I'll redraw them in Photoshop.

Right now I just have my dependable laser mouse. I've never even used a tablet or a light pen. I've always done it all with a mouse. It was tricky, but now I can do it well enough that I'm happy with the results. I've wanted a drawing tablet for a long time, but every time I start shopping for one I find other stuff to waste my money on.

I really should just buy one. I've looked at the Wacom tablets and I like what I've seen. I want to get a nice big one. I've also been considering getting one that doubles as a monitor. It would be pretty sweet to be able to draw right on the screen as if it's an interactive canvas.

Any tablet suggestions or tips you have would be greatly appreciated.

As a Linux user, I'm pretty much limited to using Wacom tablets, which isn't so bad; As far as I know, there's are the best. Mine's a medium sized Intuos3, which is more than enough for my needs, but if you're looking for something bigger(and newer), the Large Intuos5(8.0 x 12.8) is the ideal choice. That'll set you back around $400 though. If you're fine with a medium sized tablet, it's between the Bamboo Create and Intuos5 Medium. Personally, as a hobbyist, I have no need of any of the advantages of an Intuos tablet(superior pressure sensetivity, variety of nub choices, tilt support), so when the time comes for me to replace my tablet, I'll probably save $100 and go for the Bamboo. Wacoms tablets are rather durable, so buying one used is also an option, if you can find a good deal.

As for other brands, the only tablet I've seen that looks mildly decent is the VisTablet Muse Pro. It has a battery free pen, and it's active pen area is 10x6, which is a bit more than the Wacom's medium models, but it costs about the same as the Medium Intuos5, doesn't include bundled software, doesn't double as a multitouch touchpad, and isn't as aesthetically pleasing as the Bamboo Create.  There are more choices for you If you don't mind the added weight of a battery in your pen, but I do, so I haven't really looked into them. :)

When it comes to display tablets, I've always wanted a Wacom Cintiq, but they are expensive! The price ranges from $800(12in.) to $2500(24inch) For that price you could get a Penabled laptop with pretty high specs. Yiynova offers a 19in. display tablet that has good reviews, It's only $500, but you get what you pay for. It doesn't have the IPS display of the more expensive Cintiq models, it's not as accurate, doesn't have tilt sensitivity AFAIK, and it is WIndows only.(blegh!) Probably has a few more drawbacks, but I don't know of them.

Thanks for all the info. I'm not sure if I want to save money and go with a standard or spend a bit more for a display tablet. That Yiynova seems like it would do what I'm looking for. I'll have to start saving some money. Probably by the time I decide I'll end up spending the money on a next gen console and convince myself that my mouse is good enough. ;)