# Tablet questions for newbie.



## Anepo (Jul 14, 2008)

Hi. im wondering what is the cheapest tablet which is also ok for beginners which has a screen you can watch on the tablet while you draw? and whats the best you recomend ANY tablet under 350$ can be without a screen. and photoshop will be used with it.


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## Anonymous1157 (Jul 14, 2008)

You Engrish is hard to read (No offense!), but it sounds like you want a touchscreen. TigerDirect has a few models for exactly $350. eBay has a lot of everything, really, including touchscreens.

If you'd rather just use your current display and get a tablet instead, Dragoneer wrote a nice guide to Wacom tablets, and eBay has a pretty nice selection too. In particular, its awesome shit like this that you need to look for on eBay. *Drool*


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## Anepo (Jul 14, 2008)

My engrish?  Now I'm kinda offended lol ^^ But after all I'm very tired. Ive had no sleep for 3 days and then only 1 hour sleep last night. 
And i mean a Drawing Tablet which also functions as a screen which you could have just sitting flat on a table. 
But those touch screens are also good thanks ^^ You should hear me speak English  Wouldn't know if I am american or not lol ^^ i can speak with no accent when i am calm.


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## Koda (Jul 14, 2008)

http://www.wacom.com/cintiq/index.cfm This is more of what you're looking for, but sadly, you'll probably never find something as nice as this for anywhere near $350US. :/

http://h10010.www1.hp.com/wwpc/us/en/sm/WF25a/321957-321957-64295-321838-306995-3355644.html 
Another option... again, out of the price range, but its worth mentioning


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## Jarz (Jul 15, 2008)

Actually i have been looking in buy.com and they arent so expensive (though im a cheap person), and would like to get one but cant decide...


http://www.buy.com/retail/usersearchresults.asp?querytype=home&qu=wacom&qxt=home&display=col


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## Anepo (Jul 15, 2008)

Thanks guys. btw just a little info it will be used with a laptop. So something compact but not to small or huge would be nice.


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## Anepo (Jul 17, 2008)

very stupid question now to add which will probably get a few laughs but im being serious.... How do you know where on your pc screen you are drawing with a tablet which has no screen?


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## markwhitewolf (Jul 18, 2008)

Anepo said:


> very stupid question now to add which will probably get a few laughs but im being serious.... How do you know where on your pc screen you are drawing with a tablet which has no screen?



On most tablets, the pen is simply acting as a touch-sensitive and pressure-responsive mouse.  The harder you push on it (in some applications) the thicker the line.  When you drag the pen along the surface, what would normally be the mouse moves around.  In the case of Photoshop, you know where you are drawing because you can see the mouse move, and because of that, you can get it to the correct place on the screen to start your drawing.  You can also use it to select menus and options off of the tool table in Photoshop by moving the cursor over to the button and tapping on the pad.

Tablets are really smart pieces of technology, actually.  If you truly want to have a touchscreen drawing tablet, I hear the one mentioned earlier by Wacom is amazing.  I think, though, that you could probably do just fine with an Intuos or other drawing tablet and just take the time to grow accustomed to using it as a very finely tuned mouse that also happens to work like a digital paper and pen.  

Hope I helped some!


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## Hollud (Jul 18, 2008)

markwhitewolf said:


> On most tablets, the pen is simply acting as a touch-sensitive and pressure-responsive mouse.  The harder you push on it (in some applications) the thicker the line.  When you drag the pen along the surface, what would normally be the mouse moves around.  In the case of Photoshop, you know where you are drawing because you can see the mouse move, and because of that, you can get it to the correct place on the screen to start your drawing.  You can also use it to select menus and options off of the tool table in Photoshop by moving the cursor over to the button and tapping on the pad.




Advanced tablets can register levels of pressure to properly represent the same pressure you would exert when using paper and pencil. This allows for a more "realistic" digital representation of traditional mediums.

On that note, have you ever considered a Tablet PC? Some of them (especially this Fujitsu model I have around the office) utilises Wacom technology, the same folks who make damn fine tablets. HP does have some pretty decently equipped Tablets PCs as well, so that might be on your consideration list for the future.


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## Anepo (Jul 18, 2008)

didn't know those tablet Pc's existed ^^ God Iceland is like so behind. all we got are normal Pc's and laptops. no touch screens or anything lol. And maybe a few tablets which everyone says are crappy from some company i haven't even heard about ^^. But how much do those tablet Pc's cost normally?


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## Hollud (Jul 21, 2008)

There's one by HP, the tx2500z. Click on to HP's web site to check it out.

Fujitsu has quite a few, but they are quite a bit pricier than HP. You can browse their selection by clicking here.

Here's the X-series Tablet from Lenovo/IBM.

Overall, there is a premium to be paid for tablet PCs. Check to see if there is an educational discount being offered if you're a student. Most educational institutions do offer some form of a rebate or discount.


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## RailRide (Jul 21, 2008)

Anepo said:


> very stupid question now to add which will probably get a few laughs but im being serious.... How do you know where on your pc screen you are drawing with a tablet which has no screen?



Most folks using tablets aren't using them to draw their pics 100% digitally--they usually scan an inked pencil drawing and then use the tablet like an extra-precise mouse (they can also be used as a pointing device outside the drawing environment) to clean up the linework and then add color + effects. Or they scan a pencil drawing and trace/paint over it digitally. 

Most decent drawing applications show you where your brush is on screen, and the pointer's position corresponds exactly to the position of the pen--if you lift the pen and put it down on the other end of the sensor area, the pointer will jump to the new position instead of staying put like with an ordinary mouse. 

The rest of it is just practice--you eventually develop the hand-eye co-ordination that allows you to use the tablet "pen" without having to stare at the tablet, much like you'd use a mouse. 

---PCJ


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## Hollud (Jul 21, 2008)

RailRide said:


> Most decent drawing applications show you where your brush is on screen, and the pointer's position corresponds exactly to the position of the pen--if you lift the pen and put it down on the other end of the sensor area, the pointer will jump to the new position instead of staying put like with an ordinary mouse.



Actually, I don't think you'll even need to put your pen down on the tablet at all. Simply hovering the pen over the surface of the pen will cause the pointer to jump that straight away.

It's kinda like traditional drawing. You hover your pencil over where you want to draw, then start drawing. Same concept here with the only difference being that the mouse is your pencil.

As RailRide has mentioned, it will take quite a bit of practice to get used to using your tablet. That is, of course, unless you can afford that mega-huge pretty-darn-expensive Wacom screen-tablet thing.


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