# First Time Tablet Buyer: Suggestions, Please?



## Devochka (Nov 18, 2009)

Okay, so I've finally saved up a good chunk of change for the specific task of buying a tablet for digital art. Problem is, though I have searched for months on the topic, I can't exactly find much reliable information on the differences between brands.

So, I was wondering, if any fellow artists out there have bought a tablet [or a few] in the past, what would you guys recommend? What brands have you guys bought and what were the up-sides? What were the grievances? Which ones would you suggest to first-time buyers?

I'd really like to know, because I'd like the best deal for my money


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## FluffMouse (Nov 18, 2009)

If you're just starting, and new to everything.. get a Bamboo Fun. It's 99$ depending on the size, and works well. It's what I use, even though I find myself to be somewhat in the above average range with photoshop and digital art.

If you're wanting something better.. try other Wacom models, they have tons of features/sizes and are pretty reliable and such. :>


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## Ladyfaegassr (Nov 18, 2009)

Get the Bamboo pen and touch. $99 on the wacom website. :3


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## Jynxkat (Nov 19, 2009)

yeah I have the Bamboo Fun as my first tablet right now and it's working out great. I have the medium sized one though because it was a gift and my friend wanted to splurge 
one thing though- not all drawing programs work well with the tablet. I switched to the corel program that came with it because it had the easiest interface- gimp hated this tablet! so if you have enough i'd encourage you to get the one with the software rather than the bare one.
some of my recent work with this tablet and the corel program are at 
http://jynxkat.artspots.com/
and
www.valorofzen.com


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## Ladyfaegassr (Nov 19, 2009)

As another tip, I hear all of Wacom's tablets tend to do great in photoshop. I'm not a tablet user myself, because I'm reeeeally broke, but I'm hoping to get my hands on the one I mentioned, simply because it seems really nice over all.


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## Arshes Nei (Nov 19, 2009)

Ladyfaegassr said:


> As another tip, I hear all of Wacom's tablets tend to do great in photoshop. I'm not a tablet user myself, because I'm reeeeally broke, but I'm hoping to get my hands on the one I mentioned, simply because it seems really nice over all.



Intuos 3 tablets and actually other ones I've heard have a tendency for the driver to die in various versions of Photoshop. You have to restart the program to get the drivers to recognize again.

That said, they still do a hell of a lot better compared to some models of tablets out there.


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## Ladyfaegassr (Nov 20, 2009)

Arshes Nei said:


> Intuos 3 tablets and actually other ones I've heard have a tendency for the driver to die in various versions of Photoshop. You have to restart the program to get the drivers to recognize again.
> 
> That said, they still do a hell of a lot better compared to some models of tablets out there.



Intuos are the hella expensive ones, right? Yeah, I don't have any experience with tablets, like I mentioned. That's just what I was hearing from other artists, and from some reviews. I was talking more for the cheaper ones too.


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## shadowswan (Nov 21, 2009)

My intuos driver has died more than several times on my windows computer, but it seems fine on my mac.

I'd really push you toward my personal favourite, the Graphire, if you can still pick one up on ebay or something. They're very good for the cost, and though the intuos is nicer to use they can get ALMOST the same look. Not quite. The intuos is nicer and easier for painting and blending.

A word on size, don't go for the biggest, sometimes smaller is best. You'll find you move the canvas round and work in the middle of the tablet rather than need a big drawing space, and there is no difference in functionality between sizes. A 6x8 graphire was perfect sized for me, and I wish my intuos was that dinky


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## Farelle (Nov 21, 2009)

i dont have a bamboo pen and touch actually, but thats my choose for my next tableau^^

because it has a bigger resolution then the bamboo without touch (the normal ones have 512 pressure sensitivity and the one with touch have 1024)
also its not very expensive (if you buy the small one) or be a student XD

but i recommend wacom, because they are specialized on tableaus, as i have a Trust tablet myself, i know that trust as example is not very good >.< its frustrating if you wanna make a line and it ends up like this: ----------_---------
because its not working right...-.-

also A4 is not needed after all^^ im always adjusting the size to a smaller one, because that way i dont have to pull my arm over the whole tableau to make one single line from one side to another^^
also, its more comfortable to have a smaller one and you can still adjust the zoom in programm if more accuracy is needed^^

anyway...i hope you find what you want


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## Arshes Nei (Nov 21, 2009)

shadowswan said:


> My intuos driver has died more than several times on my windows computer, but it seems fine on my mac.
> 
> I'd really push you toward my personal favourite, the Graphire, if you can still pick one up on ebay or something. They're very good for the cost, and though the intuos is nicer to use they can get ALMOST the same look. Not quite. The intuos is nicer and easier for painting and blending.
> 
> A word on size, don't go for the biggest, sometimes smaller is best. You'll find you move the canvas round and work in the middle of the tablet rather than need a big drawing space, and there is no difference in functionality between sizes. A 6x8 graphire was perfect sized for me, and I wish my intuos was that dinky




I disagree about small size because smaller ones can actually start causing RSI injuries, which is ironic since the claim is it's supposed to help you from getting one.

So why is this happening? This is because you restrict the movement to your wrist. You may not feel it now but it will add up and years down the road you can find yourself regretting it. Desk space is a consideration for a user so I understand why a smaller tablet may seem more useful.


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## Scribbles_Ayashi (Nov 21, 2009)

I currently own an Intuos. It is small and cost $250, but it has some pretty great features that the cheaper tablets like bamboo doesn't have to offer (such as precision mode and directional sensitivity), especially if your gonna be doing a lot of drawing. Just be sure to get the smallest one, unless you wanna spend over a thousand dollars ^_^

It's important to remember that the price of something is almost always correlated with the quality.


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## ZiggyTheWolf (Nov 22, 2009)

Ok instead of starting a new thread i guess i'll ask here,
I'm looking to purchase a Wacom Intuous 4 tablet.
Now my question is that i have heard mixed suggestions
by people about which size tablet to get and i was wondering your honest
recommendations. Naturally i assumed that it would be better to get
the largest tablet i could cause it would equal more accurate brush strokes and be more like real drawing.

Anywho my monitor is a 24" samsung at 1920 by 1200 incase that helps
in suggesting what size tablet. Please any suggestions would be much 
appreciated for i dont want to shell out some dosh and regret it.


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## Arshes Nei (Nov 22, 2009)

Here is the general way of going about the right size for your setup.

Doing a lot of travel, going outside with a laptop...doing this for a few hours at most per week - Go with a small. (4x5 or 4x6) - If you use it for more than than this time I do not advise this tablet if you plan to use it for years as you will develop an RSI due to restrictive movement of the tablet.

Doing this maybe for couple hours a day, have a medium workspace and it's for hobby go with the Medium - 6x8 (whatever) - however, take care that you take breaks because it will still lead to RSI later down the road.

You are mostly a traditional artist that has done large canvas painting or you were taught by moving your arm more when you draw, and if you plan to do this for long hours at a time  Go with the Large or Extra Large (make sure you have desk space). RSI injuries are a serious consideration here regardless of what Wacom tells you that it's supposed to HELP with RSI - smaller tablets do not because of restricted movement to your wrist.

You don't believe me, look at how you handle a mouse versus your stylus/tablet. The mouse you're moving more of your arm, vs a stylus, you're using more of your wrist - unless you have a large area to work with.

Trust me, you don't want to develop things like carpal or ulnar and have mangled baby hands in your late 20's or 30's.


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## ZiggyTheWolf (Nov 23, 2009)

Arshes Nei said:


> Here is the general way of going about the right size for your setup.
> 
> Doing a lot of travel, going outside with a laptop...doing this for a few hours at most per week - Go with a small. (4x5 or 4x6) - If you use it for more than than this time I do not advise this tablet if you plan to use it for years as you will develop an RSI due to restrictive movement of the tablet.
> 
> ...


 
Cheers, glad to here someone positive about larger tablets, as for needs i am planning to use it quite regularly and after reading everything that has been suggested i am thinking of going for a large Wacom Intuous 4 (was going to be extra large) anywho so i thank you muchly for your suggestions.


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## Ladyfaegassr (Nov 23, 2009)

Am I the only one that moves my wrist with a mouse? x3 At any rate, Arshes seems very knowledgeable. I'd really listen to her. <3


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## Arshes Nei (Nov 23, 2009)

Before I got a tablet, I'd actually do work digitally with the wrong hand. I'm left handed and use the mouse with my right.







Old work but yeah it's mostly about drawing and practice...but I still stand by my statement about sizes.


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## Jaxinc (Nov 24, 2009)

Ladyfaegassr said:


> Am I the only one that moves my wrist with a mouse? x3 At any rate, Arshes seems very knowledgeable. I'd really listen to her. <3


I used a mouse for two years before buying a tablet...now I cant go back and as I recall Tailsrulz used a mouse for the majority of his work until recently when he got an Intuos4.

I bought an Intuos3 6x8 for my first tablet, I skipped right over the 4x6s and Bamboo Funs. I absolutely love the thing, pressure sensativity is an amazing thing in photoshop.
Given I carry a 15lb laptop around with me everywhere, I didnt exactly care about the size of the 6x8, it goes with me in my backpack along with my laptop. I will admit that anything larger than the 6x8 would be very hard to carry around on a daily basis.


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