# Looking for a quality tablet!



## Sisterwolf56 (Feb 10, 2013)

Hey guys. I'm currently looking into buying a tablet. I didn't want to spend over $100 if possible but ill spend up to $200 if I must. Someone that is proven to work well with paint tool sai and actually be a decent tablet. Thanks for any help!


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## RTDragon (Feb 10, 2013)

The Bamboo Series of tablets for wacom are a good start.


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## Ilayas (Feb 10, 2013)

Wacom's Bamboo line would be in your price range 

http://www.wacom.com/products/pen-tablets/bamboo

Wacom tablets work just fine with SAI.  Obviously the more money you spend the larger and more pressure sensitive it'll be but you want something cheep it's a good place to start looking.  There are other brands were you can get perhaps more bang for your buck but my experience with Wacom has been very positive.


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## Teal (Feb 10, 2013)

The Wacom Bamboo are good. The cheapest is $60.


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## Zydala (Feb 10, 2013)

If it's your first tablet, get a Monoprice tablet. 50-something dollars for one three times as big as a wacom bamboo that's the same price, and 2048 levels of pressure sensitivity. Works great on PC or mac!


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## Taralack (Feb 11, 2013)

Zydala said:


> If it's your first tablet, get a Monoprice tablet. 50-something dollars for one three times as big as a wacom bamboo that's the same price, and 2048 levels of pressure sensitivity. Works great on PC or mac!



And if you're like me and a bit leery to buy expensive products from a largely unknown brand, this review might change your mind. http://frenden.tumblr.com/post/31659364200/the-little-monoprice-graphics-tablet-that-could


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## Sanat (Mar 19, 2013)

Sisterwolf56 said:


> Hey guys. I'm currently looking into buying a tablet. I didn't want to spend over $100 if possible but ill spend up to $200 if I must. Someone that is proven to work well with paint tool sai and actually be a decent tablet. Thanks for any help!




Wacom Bamboo is on Dickblick.com for around $100. They're having a 20% $99 or more sale, you could get it for around $75 + shipping.


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## Sanny (Mar 28, 2013)

Relating to bamboo dont cheap out on em as the lower range dont even have preassure nor erasor (found out the hard way), so i suggest go for the artist labeled bamboo and it should be fine.

The only negative with wacoms sadly is they are bit overpriced, but they are still the top of the line in its area, allso dont expect to be mastering it emidietly as i rember ti was very tricky to get a hang of it but one did eventuially as one got to understand it.


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## Tignatious (Mar 28, 2013)

I was able to snag a used Wacom Graphire 3 for $50 after shipping. eBay is your friend, but make sure you read the return policy and where it's coming from before buying. But there's a crap ton of used or refurbished Wacoms on there.


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## EloeElwe (Mar 31, 2013)

I hope this isn't to off topic. I've been using pencil and watercolor for years, but somewhat new to computer art. Is it possible to transfer and/or modify existing paper art with a tablet?


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## Arshes Nei (Mar 31, 2013)

EloeElwe said:


> I hope this isn't to off topic. I've been using pencil and watercolor for years, but somewhat new to computer art. Is it possible to transfer and/or modify existing paper art with a tablet?



Huh? Do you mean scanning artwork? A tablet isn't magic, it's just a tool to draw with. You can get software that emulates some media but and you can modify it but you need to learn the software more than the tablet itself to do so.


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## EloeElwe (Apr 1, 2013)

Thanks for the quick reply. I guess I'll just have to select a good tablet and start drawing. I was hoping to maybe combine some of my early work with a digital twist. Having spent the last few years concentrating on watercolor, my figure drawing skill have gotten a bit rusty. Thank you for help, Eloe


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## mapdark (Apr 2, 2013)

EloeElwe said:


> Thanks for the quick reply. I guess I'll just have to select a good tablet and start drawing. I was hoping to maybe combine some of my early work with a digital twist. Having spent the last few years concentrating on watercolor, my figure drawing skill have gotten a bit rusty. Thank you for help, Eloe



If you want to go with more traditional media , you might need to buy a scanner though.
You can find relatively cheap ones.


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## mapdark (Apr 2, 2013)

I still have the first Bamboo model for a tablet , it's a bit more expensive than the basic offerings from other companies , but overall the quality of the bamboo tablets is worth the price.
I can't count the number of times i dropped the tablet by accident and it never suffered any damage.

The only thing you might need to adapt to is the relatively small size of the tablet compared to say , an intuos tablet , but it's workable.

and by the way , there's a cheaper model called the bamboo splash at 79 bucks. It seems to lack the touch sensitivity feature (which in my mind would be an inconvenience more than a feature) compared to the Capture and Create models but other than that should be perfect as someone's first tablet.


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## EloeElwe (Apr 2, 2013)

Thanks, I've been looking at the larger Bamboo, but the touch sensitivity is a must I believe. At any rate, it will help keep me from wasting good drawing paper, and newsprint sucks for anything other than sketches. Thank you again! Eloe


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## EloeElwe (Apr 6, 2013)

OK, here I go again. I went ahead and bought the Capture model, however I have found the apps available from bamboo underwhelming at best. The tablet it self has been challenging, but a great deal of fun so far. My question is if there are any better selections of tools for this tablet, something I can load into my PC, and not depend on some site to keep up with my inputs?


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## QT Melon (Apr 7, 2013)

EloeElwe said:


> OK, here I go again. I went ahead and bought the Capture model, however I have found the apps available from bamboo underwhelming at best. The tablet it self has been challenging, but a great deal of fun so far. My question is if there are any better selections of tools for this tablet, something I can load into my PC, and not depend on some site to keep up with my inputs?



Hello EloeElwe,

I am confused. Was some of the bundled software Adobe Elements? Many people can work with various programs even if they have their preferences when it comes to drawing. It is like learning a new medium.
I am particular to Corel Painter because I like certain brushes and the color wheel, but other people will swear by Easy Paint Tool Sai, Photoshop or other program. Even though  Painter is the one I use most, I still find myself using other programs. I'm quite sure there are threads mentioning other programs and tutorials on them if you look.


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## EloeElwe (Apr 7, 2013)

Yes, I did get the Adobe software along with several updates. In fact they have been pestering me all day, haven't been able practice much. I thank you for the names of these programs, I wasn't sure where to start. The stuff from Bamboo was mostly games and photo manipulation, one decent paint mode had a selection of brushes that pretty much produced the same effects. I'd be making nice curve for a dragons neck, then about 3/4 of the way through, the line would stop before I completed the stroke. Most irritating! Thank you again, I'll be sure to check these out.


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## QT Melon (Apr 7, 2013)

If I may offer some advice?

Download the latest drivers from Wacom's site and not the ones from the CD. I also found that I need to turn off the Tablet PC service in Windows 7 to provide better strokes.

I found Painter, and Easy Paint Tool Sai best for inking - but these cost money

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But I also have done some inking with AZ Drawing which works well for free.

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## EloeElwe (Apr 7, 2013)

I wonder if I'll have the same problem with Windows 8. I guess I'll have to wait and see, can't do it till Tuesday, since I have two huge watercolor commissions to do. Both over size on 400lb Arches paper, can't afford to screw up at $50 a sheet. Thank you for the tips! Eloe


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## QT Melon (Apr 7, 2013)

Hello EloeElwe and thank you

That is possible. I had issues with losing pressure sensitivity on Windows 8. It also seemed to decide which driver it wanted to use during certain apps. I had a lot of difficulty with Fresh Paint because it would not recognize a right click from my stylus switch.

The two programs I know that are decent with watercolor emulation are Painter 12, and Artrage.


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## mapdark (Apr 7, 2013)

The software you get with the basic Bamboo model isn't geared towards heavy art creation because that model is marketed towards families and super-beginners.

You might want to check out programs DESIGNED for art production like Painter or SAI .


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## EloeElwe (Apr 7, 2013)

Yes thank you, SAI seams to be the direction I'm heading at this point. I probably won't do anything in a watercolor style at this point, as I really need to regain my figure drawing ability. So far, kicking around with the onboard apps, I'm making fair progress. It's definitely something to get used to, but as they say, practice, practice, practice! You all have been most helpful, thanks, Eloe


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