# LCD screen graphics tablets?



## Ro4dk1ll (Feb 27, 2010)

Simple question; I'm absolutely sick of only being able to sketch like a drunken toddler on my Intuos 3 after investing about four years worth of practice with it and would love to know from anyone with experience how well an LCD screen tablet such as the Cintiq series of tablets will emulate drawing on paper or, at the very least, some variety of white-board. I'd love to know that from someone with experience using LCD screen tablets so that I can make a decision as to whether or not it could be a worthwhile investment.

If it's not a decent investment, I'm just going to go back to drawing on paper entirely. So I'd really appreciate not getting any "PRACTICE MOAR" comments; I haven't improved in the least at sketching on tablets since I started, so I'm just going to assume that I really just can't draw worth crap in the environment created by a screenless graphics tablet.

Price doesn't concern me, either. I hardly ever spend a substantial amount of money on anything, so I can save up for it pretty easily.


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## Smelge (Feb 27, 2010)

If you can't get the hang of a tablet, then why spend even more on a better one for you to suck at?

If it's that much of an issue, go back to paper. For one thing, it's cheaper.

Failing that, if it's the tactile issues with the tablet, try taping a bit of paper over it. Gives more resistance so feels more like a real pencil.


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## Ro4dk1ll (Feb 27, 2010)

Voidrunners said:


> If you can't get the hang of a tablet, then why spend even more on a better one for you to suck at?
> 
> If it's that much of an issue, go back to paper. For one thing, it's cheaper.
> 
> Failing that, if it's the tactile issues with the tablet, try taping a bit of paper over it. Gives more resistance so feels more like a real pencil.



<__________________________________________________________>

I think you're missing the whole point of LCD screen tablets. I appreciate that you're trying to help, but I really need feedback from someone who has actually used a Cintiq or Cintiq-like tablet.


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## Smelge (Feb 27, 2010)

Not really.

You draw straight onto the screen, so you can see what you are doing rather than working on hand/eye co-ordination with tablet and screen.

But it is more than just hand/eye co-ordination. The tablet screens and work areas are still plastic, the nibs are plastic, so you have a fairly frictionless feel about it. The solid feel of a pencil dragging on paper makes the difference for a lot of people. Which is where a cintiq will fail. You can't increase the screen resistance without obscuring the screen.

But if you want better information, go to your local store hat sells stuff like that, and ask for a demo. You shouldn't be putting a few grand down on something you may not like without test-driving it first.


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## Ro4dk1ll (Feb 27, 2010)

Voidrunners said:


> Not really.
> 
> You draw straight onto the screen, so you can see what you are doing rather than working on hand/eye co-ordination with tablet and screen.
> 
> ...



Did I say my issue was with the tablet surface? No. I don't want your opinion on what could make X tablet garbage. I can draw fine on a variety of surfaces(Whiteboards, chalkboards, _glass_); the thing that makes me dick up so much on a screenless tablet is having to go about my drawing motions on a completely different surface to the one I'm working on, as well as occasionally having issues in regards to positioning of the tablet itself, since I can't draw straight onto it, making finding a comfortable position to draw with it rather difficult. Stickytaping a sheet of paper to it or any of the other techniques people use to make drawing on a screenless tablet easier haven't helped a single bit, and the only other solutions I could think of to fix some of my issues with it would cost about the same as a Cintiq to get done, anyway.

As for trying to find a demo, I've been to pretty much every art joint in every major city in Australia and haven't been able to find a single Cintiq or LCD tablet demo, or even a place that is able to sell them without making it a special order. I can't trial the tablet.
Could you please stop assuming that I have or haven't tried things? I'm sorry, but the purpose of the thread wasn't to get this sort of feedback . I thought I made that clear in the original post.


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## Taralack (Feb 27, 2010)

Hmm for me a normal tablet and a Cintiq feel pretty much the same. Maybe it's just me though.


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## Ro4dk1ll (Feb 27, 2010)

Toraneko said:


> Hmm for me a normal tablet and a Cintiq feel pretty much the same. Maybe it's just me though.




Are you looking at the computer screen, or the one on the tablet? :neutral: To me it seems like it'd be similar to comparing drawing with a tablet to drawing on a DS.

Regardless, thanks for the most useful reply I've gotten so far.


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## Taralack (Feb 27, 2010)

Ro4dk1ll said:


> Are you looking at the computer screen, or the one on the tablet?



What do you mean, when I'm using my normal tablet, or when using a Cintiq? 

I don't personally own one, but I've got a friend who does have one, and I've doodled on them back in Singapore during IT conventions, when Wacom has demo booths. 

They're awesome to use, it almost feels like drawing on paper. Might take a bit of getting used to, as all things of this nature require. I would totally get one if I could afford it/had the space. 

As for my normal tablet, I have an Intuos4 that feels amazing to use. I started using tablets since 2004, and it's been a slow progression uphill to where I am now. I can now draw on tablets like I draw on paper, they feel like second nature to me. As I said earlier, could just be me.

What size are you planning on getting? I've only drawn on the 21" ones as that's the one my friend has.


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## Ro4dk1ll (Feb 27, 2010)

Toraneko said:


> They're awesome to use, it almost feels like drawing on paper. Might take a bit of getting used to, as all things of this nature require. I would totally get one if I could afford it/had the space.



Oh, sweet. You were sort of vague in your first post but this is fairly good news, thanks.



Toraneko said:


> What size are you planning on getting? I've only drawn on the 21" ones as that's the one my friend has.



Honestly, whichever size I can get. Probably the cheaper one on the Wacom site. If it's at least as big as my laptop monitor (17") I'll be happy.


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## Taralack (Feb 27, 2010)

The smaller one is 12", and 1.5k AUD. 21" is 2.7k AUD.


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## Ro4dk1ll (Feb 27, 2010)

Toraneko said:


> The smaller one is 12", and 1.5k AUD. 21" is 2.7k AUD.



Bummer. Guess I'll have to wait till I've got 2.7k to spare, then.


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## Kangamutt (Feb 28, 2010)

In some ways it's a lot easier, you're able to track your movements more easily and all that good stuff. The con in it though, is that the cintiqs have a smaller screen in comparison to the monitor you'd use for the job. We use em in my class, and most of us have set them up to work like a screenless tablet so we could use the really big monitors for using things like Photoshop and ZBrush. Really, you have to balance the screen size and way to use it, like an Intuous would work, or the Cintiq way.


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## HyenaIsSpider (Mar 1, 2010)

Is it only sketching that troubles you on the tablet or is it all steps of completing an image? If it's only sketching that bothers you then just going the pencil & paper route and scanning it in would probably be the most efficient.

I have no personal experience with a cintiq or anything like that, but I feel it would be more difficult for me to use than my regular tablet... I imagine the pen tip would cover up the part I'm trying to work on and my hand would also block out part of the screen so I wouldn't see what's going on as I work. So, it might still be better for sketches, but maybe more difficult for detail work. Again, this is just speculation on my part.


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## mapdark (Mar 2, 2010)

Well .. I think it's kind of expensive .

Buy it if you REAAAALLY want to , but 3000+ for a tablet is a lot of money.

And if you can't do better on the new one you'll regret it.. I say ask for a test drive beforehand. just to be sure.


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## Farfa (Mar 6, 2010)

I can't afford a cintiq but I have an HP TX2500 convertable Laptop/Tablet and it's SO much better than my old wacom was with the desktop I had before. I just couldn't get anything to look decent on it at all, but this has really helped. Actually being able to draw directly on screen is awesome. Well worth the price, and cheaper than a cintiq if you can't afford that! The screen was made with Wacom's help too so it has pressure sensitivity and all that jazz.


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## Arshes Nei (Mar 7, 2010)

Monitor calibration is a bitch on the cintiq. There is no end to the number of complaints the colors can be very off no matter how much you try. Also, many people have complained about calibration with the pen. It can be worth it, but it depends on how much you're drawing. This really is the high end of professional tablets. They came out with a new Cintiq that's compatible with the Intuos4 with the same level of pressure and lots of buttons.

It pays itself off if you're a pro and doing it for a number of hours. If you're just drawing furry art, definitely overkill. 

Other problem is getting the tablet to function with a laptop. If you don't have the right kind of video drivers AND VIDEO CARD, you're honestly shit out of luck. So enjoy spending that 3k if your laptop can't handle it.


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## SilverEyes (Mar 8, 2010)

I love my boyfriend's Cintiq and I bloody hate tablets. I have 2 tablets that I have never touched, and never will either. To me, they are not the same at all. Cintiq is more like drawing on paper, which I am used to. Tablets I could never get the hang of.

And there are cheaper interactive monitor screens, carpediemstore.com has one that's the size of the large Cintiq, but that is like $200 less than the small Cintiq. BUT it's NOT Wacom, and I have never heard of P-Active before so buy at your own risk.



Arshes Nei said:


> Monitor calibration is a bitch on the cintiq. There is no end to the number of complaints the colors can be very off no matter how much you try.



This is true :c the Cintiq I use is a bit darker and duller than my monitor no matter how much I mess with it. AND another thing they don't mention is about an inch all the way around the edge of the drawing area is *completely unusable* because of jitter. Even drawing using a ruler will produce eff'd up, wavy lines. When you call and complain, they tell you that "no one draws on the edges of the screen, _ur doin it wrong_".

Maybe they fixed that in newer models and all Cintiqs might not have the jitter, all I know is what I have experienced ^^;

Despite the problems, I still love it. Tablets blow (for me, personal opinion, I know people do amazing work with them.. just not me XD) and using the Cintiq has helped me do much better digital work.


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## krisCrash (Mar 8, 2010)

Jitter is sometimes caused by having 2 versions of the driver installed, just FYI if you ever updated it.
2 versions can have minutely different tracking if they have attempted to correct a positioning error from previous versions, and they WILL conflict.

I am still pretty curious about helping Ro4dk1ll get along with his tablet better :s


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## fluffy-wolf (Mar 9, 2010)

I'd really like to get a 21" Cintiq but they're way too expensive for me. I just got a tablet netbook a few weeks ago, it's better/easier in some ways to be able to draw on the screen, but mine doesn't have pressure sensitivity and the screen is only 8.9". So it's quite hard to draw on. Also annoying that I can't rest my hand on the screen while I'm trying to draw. Don't know if that helps you at all


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