[Bots]

Hello everyone,

I've been browsing the forums on this site for about 2 months now, and some of the artwork has really inspired me into trying it out for myself. In order to follow my inspiration, I wanted to buy a Wacom tablet, but I'm not entirely sure which one is the best one for me. I was curious what tablets some of the artists use to do their pieces diplayed on these forums. I have about $400 I feel comfortable parting with, and of course if there's a good one that costs less, I'd go with that instead. Any advice is much appreciated.

Thanks!

[xzacto]

ok first let me say... i would sleep with my wacom tablet if it wasn't considered "wierd". i love the thing. I got mine as a gift.. but i told people that i wanted one really bad which is why i got it. I wanted the larger one, 12x12 or whatever, because my friend had one and loved it. but i have the 6x9 instead, and i am actually happier that i have that one instead, because it allows you to have much broader faster strkes at 100% canvas zoomage, but it is great because if you zoom in (didn't realize this until i got one) the tablet still uses the whole screen, which makes it easier for detail.

i have the 6x9 wacom intuos 2... get the intuos 2, it's one of the best ones out there for the price and has over 10,000 levels of pressure sensitivity... much higher than the intuos 1 i believe.

look into getting a refurbished one.. they are cheaper but work just as good.

hope this helps
_________________

[Al Ian]

I didnt have the $400 to spend on one. I bought the Graphire 3 for $99 and I'm blown away by it. Probably not as big or cool as the Intuos series. The size being 4x6 or whatever it is is perfect for how I used to draw.

P.S.- Sleeping with your WACOM is not only NORMAL but reccomended by the FCC.
_________________

http://jmarkey77.home.bresnan.net/

[Bots]

thanks guys! I was also wondering what programs you guys use to paint/draw w/ your tablets. I have photoshop 7.0 at the moment, but it looks like corel painter 8 might be better... any ideas or suggestions for software??

[ColdKodiak]

From the other side of things I recently got the AIPTEK hyperpen 12000 costing 150$
here's a quick review:

1st let me explain that I have been working on a 4x6 wacom tablet for over a year now. After getting a 9x 12 tablet this thing is wacky getting adjusted to, but I really love it so far.

People will downplay the tablet just because it isn't 600$ like a wacom, but really, this thing is an absolutely wonderful for it's price vs. size, and generally what you are getting.

I really see NILL differance in performance vs. a Wacom.
It installs easily, and is easy to adjust to your specifications.
This thing is much easier to draw on than a 4x6 tablet, and even without as much pressure sensitivity it paints charmingly. Drawings on the other hand will not look as smooth in line quality, and will take a little extra work to make your lines pretty, but really the difference is minimal and doesn't bother me much at all.

The pad is fairly light, and will be a little wonkey if you don't have a large work area. So take that into consideration; if you work really close to your moniter, the pad starts going crazy, but you have to be fairly close for it to do that.

Technically the two major downsides to this pad is the 512 vs 1024 pressure sensitivity... and the battery you have to stick into the pen. This is kinda sucky, but the pen takes one AAA battery to work, and if you don't take the sucker out of the pen when you're not working with it, it will drain the battery in about 3 days. The loading mechanism is kinda cheap looking too, so be gentle not to break the thing.

All in all: extremely worth buying if you have a 4x6 tablet or no tablet at all. Saves you a lot of money, and you get a great working product that holds up very well to a similar sized wacom.



Also I fialed to mention this, but there are a bunch of hot key touch buttons that work wonderfully in photoshop... loading up new images, opening files, copying and paste... etc etc. And they are completely customizable. A great feature if you want quick access in photoshop.

9 / 10 goes me.
_________________
http://kontinue.com/coldkodiak/

[Tomasis]

Go for Intuos 2.. never for other

6x8 is just excellent as allround

[Tinusch]

Stick with PS7. It's by far the most popular app.