Shirt.Woot

Helooo,

I've been torturing myself for the past months digitally drawing with the mouse, and I'd like to purchase a drawing tablet. For the people who have one, does the tablet size matter, besides of course the obvious difference such as portability and drawing area? Are there other things I need to consider like drawing technique? Say if I want to get into digital painting, which I badly want to, would a medium size be more limiting compared to the large. I can afford the current Large Intuos, but if the Medium is good enough, then I'll settle with that!

Thanks a bunch you helpful person you .

imsochady wrote:Helooo,

I've been torturing myself for the past months digitally drawing with the mouse, and I'd like to purchase a drawing tablet. For the people who have one, does the tablet size matter, besides of course the obvious difference such as portability and drawing area? Are there other things I need to consider like drawing technique? Say if I want to get into digital painting, which I badly want to, would a medium size be more limiting compared to the large. I can afford the current Large Intuos, but if the Medium is good enough, then I'll settle with that!

Thanks a bunch you helpful person you .

How serious are you about using it?

If you've got the money, you probably won't want one too small, but if you're mostly a hobbyist, or if woot is where you do most of your digital design, you'll likely want to start with a medium. I've got a pretty small one because it was free from a friend who upgraded, and it's pretty good for what I would use it for (though pulling it out is usually too much of a hassle), but I'd love a bit more room. I would imagine the average person isn't going to need a massive one, though.

The other perk to a medium one is that you can always upgrade if you need more, and likely you can sell the other off (though I don't know the best place one would do that). The fact is, though, tablets are different than drawing or mousing... it's a combo of both, and it does take getting used to. If it ends up not being for you, it's better to take the loss on one that isn't quite as big as you'd like than spend hundreds of dollars on a huge one and decide you hate it. For me, I'd never buy a bigger tablet without getting a stronger feel for the one I have. It's like buying a vintage les paul for your first guitar... if you get great and use it all the time, you've already got one of the best. But if you decide you're just not cut out for guitar, or else you just play for fun or at a low level, you blew a lot of money when you could have gotten a Squire and saved a grand and still gotten the joy of playing without needing the bells and whistles.

Obviously better quality is better quality, and I'll let the real artists talk about that, but I felt I'd give some basic arguments for starting smaller.

imsochady wrote:Helooo,

I've been torturing myself for the past months digitally drawing with the mouse, and I'd like to purchase a drawing tablet. For the people who have one, does the tablet size matter, besides of course the obvious difference such as portability and drawing area? Are there other things I need to consider like drawing technique? Say if I want to get into digital painting, which I badly want to, would a medium size be more limiting compared to the large. I can afford the current Large Intuos, but if the Medium is good enough, then I'll settle with that!

Thanks a bunch you helpful person you .

I'm not sure how helpful this will be, but I use a Cintiq 12wx. I think it's about the same size as a large Intuos. There's a larger version that I thought I could switch to if the 12x didn't give me enough room, but it's never been a problem. I just zoom in when I'm doing fine details and zoom out to see the big picture. I do think that if the drawing area were any smaller, it would feel a little cramped though. Also, since you draw right on the screen with the Cintiq, you might need more room with that than with an Intuos.

I'm beginning to think that I'm not being helpful at all. I'll say that I love the Cintiq, though. If you can save up the money for one, it's well worth it. It speeds up production SO MUCH and it just feels satisfying to not have the disconnect between your hand and the screen.

I use the Wacom Bamboo. Affordable, readily available, and it my opinion it works great. And I've dropped the pen about a thousand times because I'm a huge klutz an it still works great.

Linkage

BootsBoots wrote:I'm not sure how helpful this will be, but I use a Cintiq 12wx. I think it's about the same size as a large Intuos. There's a larger version that I thought I could switch to if the 12x didn't give me enough room, but it's never been a problem. I just zoom in when I'm doing fine details and zoom out to see the big picture. I do think that if the drawing area were any smaller, it would feel a little cramped though. Also, since you draw right on the screen with the Cintiq, you might need more room with that than with an Intuos.

I'm beginning to think that I'm not being helpful at all. I'll say that I love the Cintiq, though. If you can save up the money for one, it's well worth it. It speeds up production SO MUCH and it just feels satisfying to not have the disconnect between your hand and the screen.

I like my Intuos, cause that's all I could afford at the time when I bought it. That said, if I ever like get a paying gig as an artist or, say, actually get a shirt printed? I'll totally use the money to buy a Cintiq. It's like on the list of things I'd like to buy, next to ridiculously expensive computer parts and a scooter.

That said, for a beginner you can pick up the Wacom Bamboo for relatively cheap. I got one (I use it as a travel tablet!) at CompUSA before they closed up shop here a few years back. It wasn't my first tablet, but the Wacom's have WAY more reliability than my first one did.

I have a Wacom Intuos 3 with 9 1/2 by 12in drawing space I think. I love it. The drawing space is just about the size of a regular piece of printer paper, which is what I was used to drawing on in the first place so it's just enough room to make fairly large strokes but not too large that it takes up a ton of space on my desk. I would've been irritated if I'd gotten a smaller one because I like to make long drawing strokes without zooming in, but that's just a personal preference. I don't think I could use a smaller one actually.

Having a tablet does take a bit to get used to though. I drew with a rolly ball mouse for the longest time until I got an optical one, and after getting the tablet it's all I ever use. It is very different to draw on one area though and look at the screen to see your picture - somewhat disorienting at first. I'd say do some research before you buy to assess your financial status and check out different brands. If you are unsure about the size, try recognizing how large your strokes are when you draw, or find someone's tablet to borrow and try out! :p

homeschoolwinner wrote:I use the Wacom Bamboo. Affordable, readily available, and it my opinion it works great. And I've dropped the pen about a thousand times because I'm a huge klutz an it still works great.

Linkage

Totally agree on this. Affordable, and it comes with all the software you should need.

It's funny with the ad at the top of this thread. Gee, which brand of tablet should I buy? Wacom! Hahah...

AdderXYU wrote:How serious are you about using it?

The other perk to a medium one is that you can always upgrade if you need more...

Obviously better quality is better quality, and I'll let the real artists talk about that, but I felt I'd give some basic arguments for starting smaller.

Good point with the upgrading if unhappy. Medium seems to be happy jump off point from what I read at other sites. I'll just have to try it for myself if it's the same case for me. If not, Craigslist will always be there. A friend said something to the same effect, why get a kid Lamborghini when he only needs a bike, hahah. I don't know if that made much sense, but I want something I can use now, and hopefully can still accommodate what I'll be doing later.

BootsBoots wrote:I'm not sure how helpful this will be, but I use a Cintiq 12wx.

I just zoom in when I'm doing fine details and zoom out to see the big picture.

If you can save up the money for one, it's well worth it. It speeds up production SO MUCH and it just feels satisfying to not have the disconnect between your hand and the screen.

That Cintiq is sure one fine piece of technology. It never occurred to me that I can zoom in to stuff when thinking about this. Maybe a larger drawing area isn't needed after all. And maybe when I win over here I'll get one, or when my money tree has grown enough leaves for me to pluck them without it dying, whichever comes first.

Icemank91 wrote:Totally agree on this. Affordable, and it comes with all the software you should need.

homeschoolwinner wrote:I use the Wacom Bamboo. Affordable, readily available, and it my opinion it works great.

Linkage

My friend has the same thing, but he hasn't used it!!! If only he lived closer I could try it for him! But yeah, Bamboo is definitely under my radar

binkdrop wrote:I have a Wacom Intuos 3 with 9 1/2 by 12in drawing space I think. I love it. The drawing space is just about the size of a regular piece of printer paper, which is what I was used to drawing on in the first place so it's just enough room to make fairly large strokes but not too large that it takes up a ton of space on my desk. I would've been irritated if I'd gotten a smaller one because I like to make long drawing strokes without zooming in, but that's just a personal preference.

If you are unsure about the size, try recognizing how large your strokes are when you draw, or find someone's tablet to borrow and try out! :p

Ah, larger size allow larger strokes and less zooming. Very interesting. Excellent suggestion on recognizing my stroke size/length, I'll definitely observe carefully.

KittyPryde wrote:I like my Intuos, cause that's all I could afford at the time when I bought it. That said, if I ever like get a paying gig as an artist or, say, actually get a shirt printed? I'll totally use the money to buy a Cintiq. It's like on the list of things I'd like to buy, next to ridiculously expensive computer parts and a scooter.

Cintiq is sure the holy grail of drawing tablets. Have you guys seen the 21" model!? Hot dizzam! I'll probably won't come out of the house if I had that thing to play with. I'd like a scooter too, but first I need to live in a scooter-friendly neighborhood .


Well, thanks guys and gals for the input and insights. Now I can't wait to get one and begone with the mouse with its limited capabilities. Though I don't think it's gonna make me a lot better, just love the fact that it will open up things for me like using all sorts of texturing techniques or that sketchy style or even 10 parallel dash strokes in a second! Thanks again !