Hey all, I'm not sure if this is the right place to be posting this but.. I'm thinking of buying one of those tablets you can use to hand draw directly on the computer. I've looked around the WACOM site but I have absolutely no idea which one to pick. Or am I looking in the wrong place? I want to be able to draw in a program like Photoshop with a pen-like thing, just as you would draw with pencil on paper. Also, I don't want to spend too much money. I'm not an artist whatsoever, I just like drawing occasionally ^^. If anyone could give me any advice on this I would be very grateful. Thank you in advance ^^!

There's been a few of these threads, you might want to have a search for them. IIRC generally recommended is the largest Intuos you can reasonably afford.

Since this thread already exists, I will describe my experience with the tablet I bought.

It's Intuous 9x12 and I use it with Windows XP. Its size actually makes it very awkward to use, and I regretted not buying a slightly smaller tablet. Of course it's fine if you have the table space (and especially if you have a sliding-out thingy in your table), but I don't - I usually end up holding it in my lap, and every time I have to reach somewhere (to pick up headphones for example) it tries to slide off and I have to catch it and put it on my monitor, overstretching the cable.

The device driver also crashes once every 5 hours like clockwork :) When the driver crashes, the sliding buttons "freak out" and if you happen to have a file open in Photoshop, it starts zooming in and out like crazy so much that Photoshop starts using 100% CPU and you have to close it from task manager. Then you have to restart the computer to get the driver to restart.

Forgive me for starting with the negatives, but you already know the positives from reading their marketing literature - just repeating what they said would not be useful.

The mouse that comes with the tablet is supposed to be useful as a replacement for your real mouse, so that you don't have to keep your regular mouse and the tablet on your table at the same time. I however could not configure it to my liking - when using the tablet mouse, all the pointer ballistics are completely shot, and I start getting angry just watching my pointer move slow when I want it fast, or too fast when I want it slow. Sometimes it doesn't respond to movements if you move too little even though the resolution is supposed to be fantastic. Even though this mouse doesn't work for regular GUI interaction, I found it to work better than my regular mouse (which is A4 Tech SWOP-35PU) with games. Just seems more natural to look around with it in FPS environments.

The last negative thing is that after about half a year of usage, the receptive surface is starting to peel off at one corner. I will have to see about gluing it somehow.

I use my tablet primarily for tracing in photoshop with the pen tool to remove background from pictures of highly detailed objects. Occasionally I use it to create painterly art, but I don't do much of that. I typically use it in long sessions of at least 3 hours at a time.

There is a button on a pen that can be wired to any command through the tablet's control panel config, which is wired to right-click by default. After changing that binding a few times, I returned it back to the default, because that seems to work out best.

There are also four buttons on each side that can be wired to any command (including keyboard shortcuts, launching applications, etc - very powerful), and one slider button on each side. The prolonged slider buttons are much like the laptop mousepad, you can drag on them with the pen or with your finger, or just tap on each end to scroll a fixed amount (the last is most useful when wired to zooming). I left my left-side four-button configuration to be the default (wired to ctrl, alt, shirt and spacebar) and wired my right side to Ctrl+Z, Shift+Ctrl+Z, Alt+Ctrl+Z, and Del. I usually still keep my hand on the keyboard's space bar for panning, because it's awkward to press the buttons at the same time as using the pen when the tablet is somewhat unstable on my knees.

Well, that's pretty much it. I guess I could mention that you can set up your options in Photoshop so that the pen pressure affects the size of the brush so you can make variable-width strokes, and you can set it up so that opacity of the brush fades out over time. This is useful when painting. I believe the pen angle can also be setup to affect brush width.

I use a Wacom Intuos3 6x8, and have had no negative experiences to speak of so far. The "felt" nibs wear down pretty fast, but replacement packs are rather inexpensive. I haven't had any of the driver problems mentioned above.

While your first inclination might be to get the biggest tablet possible, I've actually found the 6x8 to be a great size - I've a habit of using small gestures when drawing, so as these transfer to larger strokes on a smaller tablet, the smaller size is greatly beneficial. Granted, if I was working on a Cintiq, I'd want as much space as possible, but with the indirect tablets I think it's almost more effective to get a mid-size.

Not to mention, while it's not the largest, it feels significantly larger than I would have expected, as the 6x8 is just the receptive surface, the tablet as a whole product is more than 12" across and feels very substantial.

As a last note: it takes a while to get used to the disconnect you feel when drawing on a tablet, when I first picked one up it just felt "wrong" as I wasn't able to look at my pen while drawing, but the more you play with it the more natural it becomes.

I've had an Intuos2 6x8 for a couple of years now and I think it is the perfect size. Initially I had thought that bigger would be better, but "settled" on this size for cost. After I got in and started using it, I couldn't imagine using a larger tablet. The 6x8 surface area is definitely sufficient for all the graphics work I've had to do with it. Maybe if you were wanting to do large scale drafting or are used to very large brush strokes for painting you'd want something bigger, otherwise I'd highly recommend a 6x8.

I currently own a Wacom 6x11 Intuos3 tablet. I also own a 4x5 Graphire4, but that's not usable for my purposes, so we'll focus on the Intuos.

I would agree that the 6x8 is a better size for the majority of uses. The 6x11's aspect ratio can make configuration a challenge, and its physical size consumes more space... I'm in the market for a nice, wide workbench-type desk. [smile]

The device has been an absolute joy to use, though, and it's worked flawlessly with several PCs (desktops, laptops) and an iMac. I've experienced none of ValMan's problems. Also, I've had an exceptional support experience with Wacom: my tablet and pen were flung across the room (long story) and, other than a small chip of the plastic bezel in the upper right corner, both continue to work fine. The pen lost its rocker switch (the two-way button on the pen barrel), however. I called Wacom one Saturday and asked if they sold replacement switches. They said they'd send me one, free, and I should get it in about five business days. It came the following Tuesday. [smile]

If you're just playing around, consider getting one of the entry-level Wacoms like the Bamboo Fun. Me, I'm hoping to get a Cintiq next year!

I see that the Intuos is the most recommended one :P. But I've just started my first year of Computer Science five weeks ago and I'm moving out of the house soon, so I'm rather short on money ^^.
I think $300 still is a bit too much when I'm just going to use it as a hobbyist. But the Bamboo Fun (small) is only €100 so I think that is going to be the one I buy.

Thank you very much (all of you) for your advice!

Quote: Original post by Arjan B
I see that the Intuos is the most recommended one :P. But I've just started my first year of Computer Science five weeks ago and I'm moving out of the house soon, so I'm rather short on money ^^.
I think $300 still is a bit too much when I'm just going to use it as a hobbyist. But the Bamboo Fun (small) is only €100 so I think that is going to be the one I buy.

Thank you very much (all of you) for your advice!

I would advise not going the cheap route and would recommend an intuos at the min. You can try checking ebay for a nice used intuos II, you may get a good deal.

I should add, I originally bought a different manufacture of tablet (Hyperpen) due to money constraints, and it illustrated to me just how much quality I ended up with when I finally got the Wacom. In this situation in particular, you really do get what you pay for.

That being said, I've never used any of Wacom's economy models like the Bamboo series, so I can't be certain if their quality extends to that line.

A cheap tablet is better than drawing with a mouse, but you're not going to get the degree of control and subtlety a quality tablet gives you. Go cheap if you must but you're better off saving your pennies for something good. Anything in the Intuos range is good, 6x8 is more than enough room for a hobbyist. I've been using my Intuos2 6x8 for years, I love it with an unhealthy passion.