# I'm going to start drawing.



## Inuleki (Jul 14, 2009)

I want to become a famous drawer like Cerebrus or someone. ;o I know it's gunna take alot of work, and i've been trying to find a good tablet for 100 bucks.

Do you know any good ones? Sorry if this kind of thread isn't allowed.  :3


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## Impasse (Jul 14, 2009)

Drawing for the sake of being famous is not a good idea and will get you nowhere.


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## Inuleki (Jul 14, 2009)

Well, I want to do it to become good, to rephrase that.


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## Impasse (Jul 14, 2009)

Much better. Unfortunately I don't know much about tablets, so I can't help you there. I think drawing on paper is nice, though (also cheap).


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## InuAkiko (Jul 14, 2009)

I myself have a Wacom Graphire(not the fancy wirless one), and I adore it. It is very simple, but it gets the job done! I can even program all the buttons to use as shortcuts when I Photoshop.

*http://www.wacom.com/index2.php
*Try the 'Bamboo Fun:' the small model is only $100. My biggest philosophy when it comes to art is to start with the basic/lower end tools of the medium you want to try. That way if you find it's not for you, you haven't sacrificed much.


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## Kawaburd (Jul 14, 2009)

I can't vouch for the bamboo fun, never tried it.  Heard it does everything you need, though.

You really don't need anything bigger than a 4x6, either.  If you're REALLY concerned about quality, pen-tilting, etc. then spend the extra buck or 2 on an intuos, but you probably don't need anything THAT powerful.

Stick to Wacom though, they're the industry standard, from what I heard, for being durable.  You be using the same one years from now.

(Oh, and if fame's your game... it's gonna take a lot more than just a knack for making pretty pictures. ^_~ )


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## Arshes Nei (Jul 14, 2009)

Depending how far you want to go, pencil and paper is a must a sketchbook you can carry around is also a must.

A small graphics tablet, isn't a must..it's just a bonus. Depending on how serious you're doing to draw and how big is going to be a concern. A 4x6 is a good starter tablet but do not expect it to carry you further until you get a larger tablet. However, the larger more expensive tablets only justify themselves depending on how far you go getting better.


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## Kawaburd (Jul 15, 2009)

Of course, it depends on how you use them.  If you're planning to do EVERYTHING on the wacom, even the rough sketches, a bigger one does go a long way.  There ARE tricks to using a 4x6 just as well, though.  Ultimately it's a matter of taste which size you go for (Wait... didn't we already have this discussion on the sticky threads?)

Come to think of it, you might wanna get decent at traditional media first.  Arshes Nei is right -- the sketchbook and pencil will be your best friends forevers... and your foundation. ^_~  And you'll probably have a much better idea what you'll really need out of a tablet AFTER you get good at the basics.


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## Timbre-wolf (Jul 15, 2009)

I've heard that tablets stand up very well over time, so you might consider getting one used. That would bring the price down loads, and you'd probably be able to get a bigger one for your money. 

As for brand, I have a Wacom, and it works great. I cant really compare it to the competitors, though.


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## Ratte (Jul 15, 2009)

I'd try to use traditional to start, and then move on to digital.  Some people said it works better for them.

For something that cheap you could get a Bamboo or a small Bamboo Fun, or perhaps a small Intuos if you can.  Most people settle with the Bamboo Fun, though.


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## ElizabethAlexandraMary (Jul 15, 2009)

Ratte said:


> I'd try to use traditional to start, and then move on to digital. Some people said it works better for them.
> 
> For something that cheap you could get a Bamboo or a small Bamboo Fun, or perhaps a small Intuos if you can. Most people settle with the Bamboo Fun, though.


 Yes, of course. Traditional is much cheaper anyways if you keep it to sketches.
(But constantly wasting canvases trying to scrap the paint away isn't very fun.)


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## Ratte (Jul 15, 2009)

FrancisBlack said:


> Yes, of course. Traditional is much cheaper anyways if you keep it to sketches.
> (But constantly wasting canvases trying to scrap the paint away isn't very fun.)



I can't afford things like that.  :V

I still say go for a Bamboo Fun.


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## Kawaburd (Jul 15, 2009)

FrancisBlack said:


> Yes, of course. Traditional is much cheaper anyways if you keep it to sketches.
> (But constantly wasting canvases trying to scrap the paint away isn't very fun.)




Any decently thick paper like bristol board would work just as well for paint practice.  Also, a little trick that classes taught me -- use the thin boards from like a home-repair store.  They don't have quite the same effect as canvas, but they work just as well in most cases.


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## Arshes Nei (Jul 15, 2009)

Moleskin sketchbooks also have ones for Watercolor and can take acrylics. 

http://www.amazon.com/Moleskine-Wat...=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1247694738&sr=8-5

http://www.amazon.com/Moleskine-Ske...=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1247694738&sr=8-1


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## Pokedextress (Jul 16, 2009)

Just thought I'd share my first experience with you~

If/When you do get a tablet, keep in mind that when you first start using it, it's going to be really weird. (You may be continuously trying to look down at the tablet as if it were the paper you were drawing on~) Don't set it aside and think it was a waste of money (like I did for a year). It will take you a little time to get used to the tablet before you can work with it properly, but a little practice with these things goes a long way!

I agree with those who say you should get a Wacom. I've been using mine for about three years now and it's still plenty great. I hope you'll get the tablet that works for you. Good luck~<3


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## Inuleki (Jul 16, 2009)

I really don't understand how we're supposed to look at the screen but draw on the tablet, it would be hard to not make mistakes, i'd think. D:


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## Kaamos (Jul 16, 2009)

Inuleki said:


> I really don't understand how we're supposed to look at the screen but draw on the tablet, it would be hard to not make mistakes, i'd think. D:



That's exactly what I've been thinking about digitally drawing.


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## Inuleki (Jul 16, 2009)

There's a tablet that has a little screen on the tablet but it was like three grand.


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## Arshes Nei (Jul 16, 2009)

Inuleki said:


> There's a tablet that has a little screen on the tablet but it was like three grand.



Yess, and?


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## cheeriocheetah (Jul 16, 2009)

InuAkiko said:


> I myself have a Wacom Graphire(not the fancy wirless one), and I adore it. It is very simple, but it gets the job done! I can even program all the buttons to use as shortcuts when I Photoshop.
> 
> *http://www.wacom.com/index2.php
> *Try the 'Bamboo Fun:' the small model is only $100. My biggest philosophy when it comes to art is to start with the basic/lower end tools of the medium you want to try. That way if you find it's not for you, you haven't sacrificed much.



I too attest to the value of Bamboo Fun, as most everyone said before me.  Good luck with your arting!  Be forewarned though, just as some folks mentioned before, using a tablet will indeed feel quite odd for a while.  And can occasionally be a pain before you know just how all your programs work and how to get the most out of them.  I suggest you download the free program GIMP.  Using my Bamboo Fun tablet and GIMP I made my avatar and quite a few other pieces.  Pretty easy to use, seems fairly free of glitches, and safe.  A definite step up from Paint and such.  Though you may already have a good program.  And the tablet comes with a few programs that I just don't really care for.  Anyway, enough blathering from me.  Practice, practice, practice!  And the best of luck to you!


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## Kawaburd (Jul 16, 2009)

I've seen a tablet that appeared to be a monitor/laptop overlay.  Is that the 3-grand thing you're talking about?

As for the 'draw on what you're NOT looking at thing', it's instinct, for lack of a better term.  After a good deal of practice your brain just kinda figures out the relation between your hand location and the pointer on the screen.


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## Arshes Nei (Jul 16, 2009)

I think the person should worry about DRAWING first before all this tablet talk. If you want to be good you'd stop asking about what tablet to buy and how confusing it is and put some pencil to the paper!


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## Corto (Jul 16, 2009)

Protip: What Arshes said. Getting a tablet won't turn you into an internet Picasso with people loving your art and paying to you so you can draw porn of their characters (that's what Picasso did, right?). First you need to learn how to draw. Then you need to practice until your drawings are actually GOOD. Then, and only then, you get a tablet, promptly forget everything you've learned so far and relearn how to draw using said tablet. Then you give up, realizing this dream was never meant to be while your parents call you a failure and make you enter law school to be a good little pawn of society, all of this while your soul is slowly consumed from within because of all the hate you feel towards your parents and yourself. Mostly yourself. Then you find a safe way to make yourself feel better, such as becoming an alcoholic or turning into a mod of a furry community to make everyone pay for your mistakes.


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## blackat (Jul 17, 2009)

I have a genius tablet and it sucks, the wire got broken two weeks after I bought it and itÂ´s the only part that doesnÂ´t have warranty. However I fixed it and works, but iÂ´m saving up to get a wacom. As for those tablets with screen on them, once you get used to look at the computer screen you wonÂ´t like them, mostly because your hand blocks part of the drawing. And as everyone else said, if you never drawn anything on paper it would be so hard to you to learn to draw directly on the tablet.


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## Centradragon (Jul 17, 2009)

I agree with what Arshes and Corto said.  Tablets do not magically help you learn to draw (unfortunately).    You can do tons of really useful computer art things with your mouse if you're willing to learn (Photoshop layer effects, contrast adjustment, and other simple tricks are all mouse-compatible).  C:

I only spent the money on a tablet after I KNEW I was going to stick with it.  I spend 4-6 hours a day practicing art (and have been for years), so a $400 tablet was a worthwhile investment.  I also ended up buying a smaller tablet (Bamboo Fun = awesome) to take with me so I could practice at school, too.

One mistake I've made:  I dropped $120 on an airbrush I've never used, for the sole reason I have no idea how to paint properly by hand.  XD  Think very carefully about your purchases or it'll just end up sitting around not being used.

Draw to have fun, and only buy the expensive equipment if you know you'll keep with it and enjoy yourself.


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## Gnome (Jul 18, 2009)

good luck with your new finger callous
i know i love mine!


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## BlackDragonAlpha (Jul 18, 2009)

Well, I got my tablet for P6,000+. If you convert that to US dollars, you'll get....um....$125? I'm not sure.

But it's okay to use. I only hate the bubbles in the plastic protection. I want to take it off but I don't want to scratch my tablet... D:


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