Graphics/Drawing Tablets?

Submitted by tbag on
Forum
Artists

Hi everyone.

I've been looking into graphic/drawing tablets at the moment and was wondering what is best (So far Wacom looks really good but slightly more expensive [:p]). I was just wondering what these Studio Jam tablets are like ([url]http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B000050AVT/qid=1076309157…])? They look alright and most reviews gave them a decent rating. And for $20 USD or so, hell why not? (Its because the company that made them went bankrupt) [:p].

All im looking for is a basic tablet that is good enough for going over scanned artwork in Photoshop. Im not sure how much im willing to put aside but it looks like its gonna have to be $300 upwards...

All posts appreciated!

Thanks,

Tom

Submitted by Sorceror Bob on Tue, 10/02/04 - 6:33 AMPermalink

A quick search through the forums, using the word 'tablet' as the main search parameter comes up with 6 topics. They all have information in regards to what you'll get out of a graphic tablets, and issues that surround them.

Here are the ones that best deal with the topic of buying a graphics tablet.

http://www.sumea.com.au/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=296 - the most informative.. Should be stickied.
http://www.sumea.com.au/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=970 - more of the same.

I think the general consensus is that wacom are quality, while the others can be regarded as semi dodgy. Though I know of a few people who have had good experiences with them.

You should be able to pick up a baseline wacom tablet (graphire series most likely) for about $160. Could be wrong though, was two years since I've had mine (not a single problem with it.) The software shop in Phillip(woden - I think thats where it is) stocks them.. You can also pick up cheap and nasty ones at computer fairs for a low price. But I generally regard these as flimsay (the stylus is as breakable as a piece of wet cardboard.).

Hope this helps.

Submitted by tbag on Tue, 10/02/04 - 6:53 AMPermalink

Sorry, i forgot too search!

Thanks for that. Im liking the look of the Graphire3 6x8 for $264. It looks great and is cheap but i think it might be worth the extra 1000 DPI over the Graphire2 [:p].

Is 6x8 a bigger enough working space for drawings etc...?

Thanks!

Submitted by Aven on Tue, 10/02/04 - 7:05 AMPermalink

The Software Shop
www.softawreshop.com.au
They are fantastic people and are always willing to help out. I just can't say enough good things about them :)

I personally run a Wacom Intuos2 6x8. I find that 6x8 has become a lot more comfortable to use than the 4x5. I don't really know what the larger ones are like as I have never used one to any great length.

When deciding on a tablet ask one question. What do I want to do with it? If it is just to get away from those lovely RSI inducing devices more commonly known as a mouse, then a cheap no-name brand would probably do quite an adequite job. If you want to get into digital art/painting, then you will probably have to start parting with a bit more cash. Size just comes down to preference. Some people hate anything larger than 6x8s, some people refuse to use anything less than a 12x12. A Graphire is perfect for most things, but if you really want to get into apps like Painter, I really do recomend the Intuos'. The Stylus Tilt and Stylus Velocity are just excelent to have.

If I had my way (and more money :p), then I would buy a Wacom Cintiq 18SX in a second
http://www.wacom.com/lcdtablets/index_18sx.cfm
Absolutely spooge worthy :0~~~~~~

Submitted by tbag on Tue, 10/02/04 - 7:16 AMPermalink

I will probably be using it for tracing over scanned images etc or just plane drawing concept art [;)] and maybe a little comic...

What exactly does Stylus Tilt and Stylus Velocity do?

Anyhow i think a Graphire3 would suit me unless Stylus Tilt/Velocity is something really cool. As for the Cintiq 18SX, wouldnt it make more sense for that price to buy a whole new kickass system and a 12x12 Intuos2 or a good TabletPC?

Submitted by J I Styles on Tue, 10/02/04 - 7:22 AMPermalink

6"x8" is fine - that's what I use at work. At home I use a smaller cheapy thang (said all of this before in those other threads Matt posted, so I won't go off on a tangent here [:)]). that's fine too. Everything in my website is done on that, and had no troubles at all; in a lot of ways I prefer it over the intuos 2 i use at work sad enough [:)]

Submitted by tbag on Tue, 10/02/04 - 7:29 AMPermalink

Sorry to ask but which one do you use Graphire2 or Graphire3? [:p]

Submitted by hobonation on Tue, 10/02/04 - 7:45 AMPermalink

i just got a graphire3 today! i cant use it yet, really wierd to use.

Submitted by Aven on Tue, 10/02/04 - 8:26 AMPermalink

Here is a quick example of brushes in Painter

[img]http://home.netspeed.com.au/mlanham/Painter_brushes.jpg[/img]

The top black line is made with a Fine Airbrush. The pen is pointing directly down at the tablet. The black arc at the bottom was made by holding the pen at an angle and just pressing it down.

The two Oil Paint colours are to show off Stylus Velocity. The top smear was made by dragging the brush slowly across the paint. The bottom one was done with the same amount of pressure, but a lot quicker. As you can see, it bleeds a lot more paint across.

Although I don't use Stylus Tilt too much, Stylus Velocity is very handy to have.

Submitted by maliao on Wed, 13/09/23 - 10:40 PMPermalink

Photoshop’s brush tool is pressure sensitive and thus using a pen tablet here is very helpful. 
I am a professional artist who largely draws comics. I do my work entirely in Photoshop and Illustrator, with a Wacom tablet. 
Wacom has two options: Intuos and Cintiq.
I recommend Wacom Intuos as a beginner tablet, affordable and 4 express keys will makes your workflow a bit easier.
If you can shell out the bit extra, get the Cintiq,  because it is much more easier and intuitive to draw directly on something that you can see.

Posted by tbag on
Forum
Artists

Hi everyone.

I've been looking into graphic/drawing tablets at the moment and was wondering what is best (So far Wacom looks really good but slightly more expensive [:p]). I was just wondering what these Studio Jam tablets are like ([url]http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B000050AVT/qid=1076309157…])? They look alright and most reviews gave them a decent rating. And for $20 USD or so, hell why not? (Its because the company that made them went bankrupt) [:p].

All im looking for is a basic tablet that is good enough for going over scanned artwork in Photoshop. Im not sure how much im willing to put aside but it looks like its gonna have to be $300 upwards...

All posts appreciated!

Thanks,

Tom

Submitted by Sorceror Bob on Tue, 10/02/04 - 6:33 AMPermalink

A quick search through the forums, using the word 'tablet' as the main search parameter comes up with 6 topics. They all have information in regards to what you'll get out of a graphic tablets, and issues that surround them.

Here are the ones that best deal with the topic of buying a graphics tablet.

http://www.sumea.com.au/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=296 - the most informative.. Should be stickied.
http://www.sumea.com.au/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=970 - more of the same.

I think the general consensus is that wacom are quality, while the others can be regarded as semi dodgy. Though I know of a few people who have had good experiences with them.

You should be able to pick up a baseline wacom tablet (graphire series most likely) for about $160. Could be wrong though, was two years since I've had mine (not a single problem with it.) The software shop in Phillip(woden - I think thats where it is) stocks them.. You can also pick up cheap and nasty ones at computer fairs for a low price. But I generally regard these as flimsay (the stylus is as breakable as a piece of wet cardboard.).

Hope this helps.

Submitted by tbag on Tue, 10/02/04 - 6:53 AMPermalink

Sorry, i forgot too search!

Thanks for that. Im liking the look of the Graphire3 6x8 for $264. It looks great and is cheap but i think it might be worth the extra 1000 DPI over the Graphire2 [:p].

Is 6x8 a bigger enough working space for drawings etc...?

Thanks!

Submitted by Aven on Tue, 10/02/04 - 7:05 AMPermalink

The Software Shop
www.softawreshop.com.au
They are fantastic people and are always willing to help out. I just can't say enough good things about them :)

I personally run a Wacom Intuos2 6x8. I find that 6x8 has become a lot more comfortable to use than the 4x5. I don't really know what the larger ones are like as I have never used one to any great length.

When deciding on a tablet ask one question. What do I want to do with it? If it is just to get away from those lovely RSI inducing devices more commonly known as a mouse, then a cheap no-name brand would probably do quite an adequite job. If you want to get into digital art/painting, then you will probably have to start parting with a bit more cash. Size just comes down to preference. Some people hate anything larger than 6x8s, some people refuse to use anything less than a 12x12. A Graphire is perfect for most things, but if you really want to get into apps like Painter, I really do recomend the Intuos'. The Stylus Tilt and Stylus Velocity are just excelent to have.

If I had my way (and more money :p), then I would buy a Wacom Cintiq 18SX in a second
http://www.wacom.com/lcdtablets/index_18sx.cfm
Absolutely spooge worthy :0~~~~~~

Submitted by tbag on Tue, 10/02/04 - 7:16 AMPermalink

I will probably be using it for tracing over scanned images etc or just plane drawing concept art [;)] and maybe a little comic...

What exactly does Stylus Tilt and Stylus Velocity do?

Anyhow i think a Graphire3 would suit me unless Stylus Tilt/Velocity is something really cool. As for the Cintiq 18SX, wouldnt it make more sense for that price to buy a whole new kickass system and a 12x12 Intuos2 or a good TabletPC?

Submitted by J I Styles on Tue, 10/02/04 - 7:22 AMPermalink

6"x8" is fine - that's what I use at work. At home I use a smaller cheapy thang (said all of this before in those other threads Matt posted, so I won't go off on a tangent here [:)]). that's fine too. Everything in my website is done on that, and had no troubles at all; in a lot of ways I prefer it over the intuos 2 i use at work sad enough [:)]

Submitted by tbag on Tue, 10/02/04 - 7:29 AMPermalink

Sorry to ask but which one do you use Graphire2 or Graphire3? [:p]

Submitted by hobonation on Tue, 10/02/04 - 7:45 AMPermalink

i just got a graphire3 today! i cant use it yet, really wierd to use.

Submitted by Aven on Tue, 10/02/04 - 8:26 AMPermalink

Here is a quick example of brushes in Painter

[img]http://home.netspeed.com.au/mlanham/Painter_brushes.jpg[/img]

The top black line is made with a Fine Airbrush. The pen is pointing directly down at the tablet. The black arc at the bottom was made by holding the pen at an angle and just pressing it down.

The two Oil Paint colours are to show off Stylus Velocity. The top smear was made by dragging the brush slowly across the paint. The bottom one was done with the same amount of pressure, but a lot quicker. As you can see, it bleeds a lot more paint across.

Although I don't use Stylus Tilt too much, Stylus Velocity is very handy to have.

Submitted by maliao on Wed, 13/09/23 - 10:40 PMPermalink

Photoshop’s brush tool is pressure sensitive and thus using a pen tablet here is very helpful. 
I am a professional artist who largely draws comics. I do my work entirely in Photoshop and Illustrator, with a Wacom tablet. 
Wacom has two options: Intuos and Cintiq.
I recommend Wacom Intuos as a beginner tablet, affordable and 4 express keys will makes your workflow a bit easier.
If you can shell out the bit extra, get the Cintiq,  because it is much more easier and intuitive to draw directly on something that you can see.