Hi,
I'm thinking about buying a graphics tablets and would like your advice. What are the benefits? Any downfalls? I'm hoping to make the transition from scanning endless paper drawings to creating my animation(vector art) on the computer.
the cheapest is the 4x5 tablet. It seems far too small. Does anyone use that size and how does it feel to work on such small area. Are they alright? How about the 6x8? Still fairly small but I probably can't go any higher than that due to price.
I've also come across a [color=red][size=2]Jam Studio Graphics Digital Note Pad Tablet 7x5 for only $34.99. Anyone heard of it? It probably isn't of good quality if it is that cheap.[/color][/size]
thanks
You should buy a Wacom tablet because Wacom is owned by Sun Myung Moon. Moon was crowned Messiah in the U.S. Senate. Can you imagine how good it will be for your soul to buy Senate-endorsed Messiah-brand drawing tablets? Maybe he'll use his Messiah powers to make you a better drawer.
I think Rev. Moon prefers the 6x8 tablets, but you can probably get by with a 4x5.
I love the Wacom tablet. Use it all the time. I prefer the 6 x 8 Intuous. Anything larger gets to be a bit cumbersome for me....
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I have the 4x5 because it's what I could afford at the time. Also at the time everything I was doing that may have resembled animation was done in Flash. I still use Flash, and mostly Toon Boom, but after being taught some traditional animation techniques I've found I would much rather draw on paper.
I've even tried scanning my roughs and using the tablet to do the cleanups, but it seems much faster and better when I do it in pencil. Once in a while I give it a shot again, but I don't feel I have the control I have with a traditional pencil and paper, even after working out several ways of mounting or placing the tablet.
That said, I still find the tablet (mine is a Wacom) absolutely irreplaceable when I'm fixing leaks, painting, and doing a number of other things digitally. I'd hate to have to do without it for many of the things I do.
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I work on the Wacom Intuos 6x8 both at work and at home. It took me a while to get used to it, but now I love it. I do rough animation straight in the computer using which would be very slow and dificult with the mouse. I also find that using the stylus instead of the mouse relieves any wrist pains that I would get from the mouse. Holding the stylus like a pencil puts your hand in a more natural alignment with your forearm vs. supinating your wrist, turning it in towards your body, then bending it upward like you do when using a mouse. Any way, it's personal preferance. But if you do get one, I would go with the best you can afford. If you buy a cheap brand, you'll probably regret it.
Aloha,
The Ape
...we must all face a choice, between what is right... and what is easy."
I have a Wacom Intuos2 6x8 and a Wacom Graphire 4x5. They are both very good I think. The 4x5 size is easy enough to draw on because it isn't the actual size of what you are drawing. The pen tip becomes very small when what you are looking at is the monitor, almost like you are using a thick crayon but the lines coming out are very thin pen lines. And because you are looking at the screen, you don't know that you might be drawing a full face in an area the size of a dime.
The 6x8 is better obviously, but 4x5 is still good. The Graphire is the less expensive version. I did notice that, because it has less levels of pressure sensitivity, you can not get quite as delicate of lines with the Graphire. I am happy with both of them. I have one in one state and the other in another state.
Harvey you are so cute and politcally active. I don't use a tablet. Tried they just weren't the same for me so I use a mouse. No political angle to my reference just experience.
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Whatever you do stay away from the cheap imitators. I have tried both the Jam Studio thing and the Aiptek graphic tablets and both are garbage. I would have been better off just spending my money on a wacom the first time (but when you get it on ebay as cheap as I did, the garbage was hard to pass up) I have not used a Wacom at all, but I have heard great reviews about it.
"All we have to decide is what to do with the time that has been given to us." ---Gandalf
wacom set the standard for tablets:
cordless: no annoying cord from the butt tip that dangles on your hand
that might restrict strokes
batteryless: none needed as the pen generates magnetic capacitance (or
something) that the tablet picks up. so they can design slimmer
and lighter pens. other pens have sleep mode to conserve battery
that may go dead on you after a period of inactivity. annoying to me.
which may be the reason for its high price, esp. the 6x8 and more so the intuos
with the programmable menu areas.
Don't worry. All shall be well.
Thanks you guys! Most informative and entertaining! But I do believe Sun Myung Moon is an asshole, so how can I buy from him? I'd rather not known that he owns the Wacom, but as I do now, what am I to do? Dilemmas, dilemmas...
What I'd like to know is, what does Reverend Moon need with a drawing tablet company? He owns the Washington Times, United Press International, and a bunch of other newspapers and magazines. This I understand. I can figure out why a religious leader would want to buy media outlets. But how does the Wacom tablet fit into his plans for world domination or whatever it is he's trying to dominate?
Moon University doesn't even have an applied arts program.
http://grus.sunmoon.ac.kr/english/main.asp
Color me puzzled.
maybe a 'Tablet' for his Commandments :D
That's acute.
For his Commandments? Sort of counterintuitive to use something so coveted.
(By the by, I have an Wacom intuos2 6x8 and it earns every dollar. Just the right size....not so big you have to lap it, or move your arm around, and not so small you feel that you're restrained even when you're probably not. Plus it leaves you with options if you like those lol....I have always read that you should buy the biggest you can afford....And never outside of the Wacom universe. Just do review searches on Google.)
ScatteredLogical,
It's a joke-no need to be analyzed. :)
Drawing with Wacom tablets can get close to a religious experience sometimes.
danielpoeira.org
His interest in Wacom is to bring down the last remaining free-thinking obstacle to his bid for world domination-- animators. Ever wonder how the pen works without batteries-- constantly sending signals even if not used?
Who knows what other signals it's sending out.
Don't worry. All shall be well.