What kind of drawing tablets do you guys use?

[Snowflower]

Honestly, only recently I have heard about the drawing tablets (mainly because of this forum and people's fabulous skills)

And by the sound of it, drawing on it sounds like a blast, not to mention less time-consuming than doing it on photoshop.

Sooo... I am willing to shell out some of my hard-earned money on the product. However, when I googled the products, there are HUNDREDS of different kind

I don't know if this is the right section for me to post this... But hopefully you guys can give me some advice on which brand and which product I should splurge on. teehee

I would like it if my artwork for my next VN project is more original <3

Thanks guys!

[Deji]

I used a Genius tablet for years and it worked pretty nicely. If your budget is limited, you could go for one of those.
I'm currenlty using a Wacom Bamboo Fun and I really reallly like it C: Wacom tablets are very reliable and are actually what most artists I know and/or admire use, so if you can afford it, I'd reccomend you to get one.

[LVUER]

I (and perhaps many more people) will recommend Wacom Bamboo. Try googling for Wacom sites and you could find the exact specification there (though price could vary depending on where you live). I have Wacom Bamboo Fun medium. There's also a new Bamboo line, Bamboo Touch.

But whichever you pick, you can't go wrong with Wacom Bamboo series. It's cheap (so even if you don't want to use tablet anymore, you don't waste too much money), durable, easy and comfortable to use, but also quite good at drawing (enough for professional use). Cheaper tablet from other brand is (or most often) sucks for drawing.

[Snowflower]

so if you can afford it, I'd reccomend you to get one.

Oh wow, some of the ones I saw were like couple hundred dollars (aside from the few cheap ones)
So I think I'm highly considering the bamboo fun one that you've recommended & also the G Pen M712X

But seeing as how the Bamboo include some softwares, I'm leaning towards that one

[Samu-kun]

I have the same one as Deji (Bamboo Fun), although it is an older model. It still works without a problem though. It would be a pretty good buy, I think.

[Sakura02]

I use the Intuos 4 Wacom ^_^, It's my baby *w*

[Snowflower]

I have the same one as Deji (Bamboo Fun), although it is an older model. It still works without a problem though. It would be a pretty good buy, I think.

Now that couple of people can vouch for the fact that the product is good, I am realllyyyyy wanting one of them.

I use the Intuos 4 Wacom ^_^, It's my baby *w*

I think this is good to. However, the price isn't within my range

[PrettieAngel]

I have a Wacom Intuos 3 and it works very well without taking a long time to get the hang of. In my opinion, using a tablet still isn't quite the same as drawing on paper with a pencil, but it's definitely a whole lot easier than trying to use the mouse so it's definitely worth it. It's not obvious from your post whether you know this or not so I apologise if you do, but a tablet is just hardware and will require a program to be used with so, taking PS as an example, you'll likely still continue to use Photoshop. A tablet simply allows you to move the mouse around with the pen (and there are other functions but I think that's the most important). Again, I am sorry if you already knew this but I guess it's good to make sure?

[Snowflower]

I guess it's good to make sure?

Definitely!

I am aware of the fact that the tablet is just a hardware.
I do have Photoshop on my pc. However, because my mac laptop is so much more convenient than the desktop pc, I liked the fact that bamboo included a basic PS.

I remember thinking some time ago that drawing with the mouse was a pain in the butt so tablet sounded like a good investment

[Elze]

I use a medium Wacom Intuos 4 tablet. It works lovely, has fantastic pressure quality (actually, too sensitive, that I sometimes need to tweak the sensitivity) and it has a really sleek exterior too. It costs a lot though. I hesitated and dragged my feet about it for 2 months after my old tablet broke down, before finally resigning to fate and getting an Intuos4. From what I've heard from friends, the bamboo is almost or just as sensitive as the intuos. The main difference, however, is the durability. Most intuos tablets are known to last for at least 3 years. On the other hand, I've heard people complaining about their bamboo tablets breaking down within 2 years. It may be pure coincidence, but I tend to run on the safe side. ^^;

Getting a tablet is definitely worth the investment. It allows you to ink tidily, work much faster and most importantly, it gives you pressure functions. Unless you intend to do anime cell shading or vector art for everything, pen pressure will be very useful. It gives you many effects and dynamics that you can't achieve with a mouse. Of course, it'll take some time and practice before you can fully exploit the tablet's sensitivity, but once you do, you'll never be able to work with a mouse again. C:

[Deji]

From what I've heard from friends, the bamboo is almost or just as sensitive as the intuos.

I'm not sure about other artists and the use they give to their tablets, but at least for me it feels pretty much the same when I work on SAI.
(I used an Intuos 4 medium for about a year and switched to the Bamboo Fun a few days ago)

[IceD]

As for now both me and my sis: http://www.eternalcoffee.deviantart.com used a Pentagram Quadpen tablet; it's an excellent alternative to a lot more expensive Wacom Bamboo series and a perfect choice for starters. While my sister went away to study to another town and took our precious Quadpen with her, I'm now planning to buy a Pentagram Virtuosso, which is propably the best available counterpart to proffesional line of Wacom Intuos Tablets, and it costs half of their price while retaining almost the same quality and characteristics. We used to draw a lot on Quadpen and I had an opportunity to already see both Virtuosso and Intuos and I have to say, there's almost no difference in the workflow beetwen those. Pentagram's tablets are really solid, and propably the only ones that could fight with Wacom in terms of quality.

Other than that, Genius improved their tablets over the few past years, you may also want to try looking at those, especially the new G-pen M series. And don't try to waste your money on Trust, their tablets are pure trash (I had a semi-pro TB-4200 tablet, it was propably my worst buy in my entire life ;_;).

[charmwitch]

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a344/ ... 002102.jpg


I use a Cintiq 12x although it's professional grade it also requires a lot of tender loving. Bamboos are great, I had a Graphire before the Bamboos came out, I think? Right now my sister and I alternate between Cintiqs and Intuouses. Oh god this is the most expensive thing I've purchased (with my own money!!) next to my car.

[Duredhel]

The only answer is really a Wacom. Now as for the series, try Bamboo if you're an amateur and still have no done a commitment to art for living.

Intuos and Cintiq each have some pro and cons. On one hand, Cintiq has the obvious advantage of being able to see what you're drawing directly on the tablet, I think it may also have more pressure levels. The Intuos, however has the advantage of being cheaper, and it's a much faster tablet. All that prettiness and cool stuff on the Cintiq make it have a slight delay. Many artists don't even notice it, but if you like to draw fast & loose for sketching and do stuff like crosshatching, you might. The times I tried a Cintiq I noticed the delay and it bugged me (it's why Cintiq is used mostly by 3D artists).

However, either a Cintiq or an Intuos are professional tablets and, as such, are more expensive.

[LVUER]

@charmwitch:
Cintiq!!! Droooooll..... Man, I'm sooo jealous. I want one too...