[noname1978]

I've never posted here before, but here goes: I'm very interested in getting a Wacom tablet, but which one? The official Wacom website makes it sound like the Graphire is good for nothing but touching up pictures, but the Intuos is a little on the expensive side, which basically means it might take me a LONG time to get one. But I'd like to start soon.

So I guess my question is; Will the Graphire work? Does it just suck? Which one do you guys use?

Thanks.

[Frog]

Hi and welcome

Your question is probably one of the most asked around here so doing a search on the subject within the forums will yield you a lot of information.

IMO the Graphire is excellent, it's a well priced product that does it's job very well. I own an A5 Intuos (6x8) as well as a Graphire and I've used many tablets in my time, all sizes up to A4 (8x12). The Intuos feels slightly nicer, the higher resolution of the larger tablets offers you more precision and control as well but I honestly don't think that there is much you can do with an Intuos that you couldn't do with a Graphire.

You can draw with the Graphire very well, and you get round the small size of the tablet by zooming in and out so you shouldn't feel constrained by the size of it unless you draw very big sweeping strokes.

If budget is an issue I would strongly recommend the Graphire, you can always save up for one of the larger Intuos tablets if you start to feel constrained by it's size.

The Intuos does have a few extra features such as programmable buttons on the tablet and tilt support but they aren't really worth all that extra money. You can still customise the Graphire's buttons extensively and to be honest I use the pen's buttons and menu more than the tablet buttons.

[noname1978]

Thank you very much. That was exactly the kind of feed back I was looking for. This website is now officially a dream come true... plus, there is some really cool art in here as well. I'll be back.

[Asurfael]

By the way, you DID take a look at the wacom product specifier on the wacom website did you? It's probably the best way to know which wacom tablet suits you the best, since nobody else can know it for you. But you can draw on a graphire as well. I know some excellent artists who have done most of their work with a graphire. For me, it was a bit too tiny, but it was good for colouring if I scanned in the lineart.

Also, the buttons thing is very true. I just put every button on my intuos2 to ignore since they tended to be on the way. So if you're going for a 4x5 tablet in any case, at least then graphire's your pick. If you use your wrist when drawing instead of your shoulder (to move the hand, that is) then graphire should be good enough. The tilt sensitivity isn't really worth it unless you're going to do calligraphy with your computer or something.

[ceenda]

Ironically, bigger is not always better.

I'm considering downsizing from my A4 Oversize Intuos as it's unwieldy and difficult to work with.

If possible, go to PCWorld or somewhere that stocks them and have a look at the size of them first hand. Or, for that matter, just look at A5, A4, A3 sketchpads to give you a rough idea of the size.

[Frog]

I agree, it's very hard to control your stroke on a larger tablet, unless you are trained to draw big. They also take up a lot of desk space, very hard to fit on a normal sized desk in front of a keyboard. And it pushes the keyboard way back too, if you do get it to fit.

I would say that A5 (6x8) is probably the ideal size for most people, but you can easily get away with a Graphire if you need to.

[Dekard]

Yeah I was given a 12x12 ArtZ II Wacom awhile back and have used it but have never gotten used to it, it's also serial.

You think I should trade down and get better usage out of a smaller one that doesn't take up so much room?

[noname1978]

I'd like to try a graphire out, I wonder if CompUSA has any out that I could play with. I've been taught to draw with my arm (from the shoulder) more than my wrist, but maybe I can adapt.

I did go to the Wacom website, but I felt as though it was one big push to try and get me to go with the bigger, more expensive one. So I thought I'd get more useful feedback here, which I have and am grateful for.

A question though: What is all this A5, A4, A3 stuff? I didn’t find any info about that on the Wacom site.

[Mindsiphon]

I've been using my Graphire for a year and a half now with no complaints. It still cannot beat sketching with a pencil but for painting and modifying a sketch it's leaps and bounds better than a mouse.

[ceenda]

noname1978: Ah, maybe they only use inches over there. In the UK we have standardised paper sizes. A4 is the standard letter/printer sized paper. A5 is what you get if you cut a piece of A4 in half. A3 is what you put 2 pieces of A4 together (next to each other portrait-wise).

[noname1978]

Yeah, we just call it 8 1/2" X 11" and stuff like that. I like your way better.

I don't even have a scanner, does anyone sketch straight-out on a wacom? Or do most scan first?

[Frog]

I used to sketch on paper & then scan, but now I just go right in with the wacom. Takes a bit of getting used to but it's just as effective as the old fashioned methods

[Asurfael]

I always sketch with the tablet. I only sketch on paper when I'm at classes and I'm bored...

[eyewoo]

I've done all my sketching on a tablet for about 10 years now... Last week on vacation I decided to do some pencil/paper sketches... Good Lord!!! They were awful...

[gigatron]

Hey guys thaught id post too I'm so excited, I got my Wacom Artz-II 6x8 tablet from ebay!!! It looks soooo kick A$$!! But i cant use yet................... i am awaiting my Griffin iMate ADB-USB thing-a-majig so i can connect the adb (mac connection) shit to my usb port on the pc (the guy wasnt selling his so i had to order) will take up to 7 days to come argh .. im so excited :X I was thinking the 6x8 would be a lot smaller in fact i measured with a ruler and hmm it looked smaller then it is (at least now that i see it im like hey this is cool enough).. I CANT WAIT TO USE

I have one question though, does this tablet hmm have the 'feature' so that when im even above the tablet with pen, the mouse moves on screen. My friend's intuos2 does so i was like hmm im wondering if this old thing does Im assuming yes if it works on the same principle. Just wondering thanks IM SOOO EXCITED