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Subject: Drawing tablet. What's it like?

A cornered fox is more dangerous than a jackal.

And from FOX, two phantoms were born.

Hey Flood I'm doing art in college and applying for an illustration course next year.

Does anyone here use/have used a tablet to draw with? If so what's it like? Is there a steep learning curve?

There's a Wacom Bamboo tablet on Amazon for £30 odd so I may get it

  • 01.03.2013 4:45 PM PDT
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Once you get over the fact you're drawing on one surface with the result coming up on another they're spectacularly good. Bear in mind though that the Bamboo is the absolute lowest entry level tablet you can get, the drawing area is tiiny.

  • 01.03.2013 4:47 PM PDT

I'm in an illustration program. I don't do digital art often, so I wouldn't be able to recommend a specific product to you, although my school does have these nifty Wacom tablets that I use when I need them.

  • 01.03.2013 4:48 PM PDT

A cornered fox is more dangerous than a jackal.

And from FOX, two phantoms were born.


Posted by: elmicker
Once you get over the fact you're drawing on one surface with the result coming up on another they're spectacularly good. Bear in mind though that the Bamboo is the absolute lowest entry level tablet you can get, the drawing area is tiiny.


Is there anything better for a reasonable price?

  • 01.03.2013 4:50 PM PDT

It takes a while at first to get used to mostly because of the smoothness of the surface. But once you get the hang of it things can only go up. If you want a good starter tablet, bamboo pen works wonders.

[Edited on 01.03.2013 4:50 PM PST]

  • 01.03.2013 4:50 PM PDT

Never make me angry. I am a Hitman and I can easily find you and take you out.

I have the wacom bamboo fun pen and touch small. I love it!

I can draw fun stuff with it. :)

I'll actually make something quick and show you.


[Edited on 01.03.2013 4:50 PM PST]

  • 01.03.2013 4:50 PM PDT

I'm in love with Jesus and proud of it!

I used a Wacom Bamboo fun for years. Loved it, although their driver software can be buggy. Mine died about 5 months ago and I'm upgrading to an Intuos4.

There is a bit of a learning curve... it's not 100% like using pen and paper. But it gives you a degree of control and fine tuning that a mouse just can't offer.

The thing that bothers me most is that unlike a sheet of paper, you can't turn the tablet to reorient yourself to make drawing something easier. The way the cursor works (jumping to a relative position of your screen to the coordinates on your tablet rather than staying where you left it) will take some getting used to.

I recommend anything with 1024 pressure levels or more. Bigger isn't necessarily better, either.

  • 01.03.2013 4:50 PM PDT

It's a little difficult at first, but you learn fast.

  • 01.03.2013 4:51 PM PDT
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Posted by: Kai Hiwatari
Is there anything better for a reasonable price?
to be honest until you're sure you'll be doing a lot of digital illustration, you probably can't go far wrong with the bamboo. it's only 30 quid.

  • 01.03.2013 4:51 PM PDT
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Posted by: Kai Hiwatari

Posted by: elmicker
Once you get over the fact you're drawing on one surface with the result coming up on another they're spectacularly good. Bear in mind though that the Bamboo is the absolute lowest entry level tablet you can get, the drawing area is tiiny.


Is there anything better for a reasonable price?
The best are Intuos, where you can actually see the screen on the tablet but they're close to $1000USD.

There are also different pens.

Look into the 6D pen. It's able to recognize varying angles, more akin to a paintbrush, then other pens.

  • 01.03.2013 4:52 PM PDT

I'm in love with Jesus and proud of it!


Posted by: elmicker
Posted by: Kai Hiwatari
Is there anything better for a reasonable price?
to be honest until you're sure you'll be doing a lot of digital illustration, you probably can't go far wrong with the bamboo. it's only 30 quid.


If it's the Bamboo Fun it's a good tablet. If you have a bit more money, try Intuos3.

  • 01.03.2013 4:53 PM PDT

A cornered fox is more dangerous than a jackal.

And from FOX, two phantoms were born.


Posted by: elmicker
Posted by: Kai Hiwatari
Is there anything better for a reasonable price?
to be honest until you're sure you'll be doing a lot of digital illustration, you probably can't go far wrong with the bamboo. it's only 30 quid.


Well one of the courses supplies tablets and it is entirely digital illustration.

The other course is just general illustration though so it'll be a mix.

  • 01.03.2013 4:54 PM PDT

I'm in love with Jesus and proud of it!


Posted by: Murcielago00

Posted by: Kai Hiwatari

Posted by: elmicker
Once you get over the fact you're drawing on one surface with the result coming up on another they're spectacularly good. Bear in mind though that the Bamboo is the absolute lowest entry level tablet you can get, the drawing area is tiiny.


Is there anything better for a reasonable price?
The best are Intuos, where you can actually see the screen on the tablet but they're close to $1000USD.

There are also different pens.

Look into the 6D pen. It's able to recognize varying angles, more akin to a paintbrush, then other pens.


I think you mean Cintiq, not Intuos (I could be wrong). Even the cheapest Cintiq is $999, with the professional models going as high as $4500

  • 01.03.2013 4:56 PM PDT

Never make me angry. I am a Hitman and I can easily find you and take you out.

This is a fine piece of art even though I say it myself.. *AHEM*

[Edited on 01.03.2013 4:56 PM PST]

  • 01.03.2013 4:56 PM PDT

On Waypoint I'm rocketFox;
http://halo.xbox.com/forums/members/rocketfox/default.aspx

Old GTs; RebelRobot, Flamedude

Get a Wacom Bamboo. They're cheap and accurate, they're only let down by the smaller surface area but to be honest you adjust very quickly to it.

Eventually you might one of the bigger ones but for now the Bamboo is a perfect entry level tablet.

At home, and on the move, I use a Bamboo and at work I use a Intuos medium tablet. If you're worried about budget then perhaps you could look for the older Bamboo models, but they're already very cheap if you look around.

This tutorial can help you get started. It's got some common sense stuff but well worth knowing. Setting up your tablet for your tastes is paramount.

Also something worth thinking about down the line is pen-screen-lag which is quite a problem when you get into bigger projects. There are lots of tips on the web about how to speed up performance and there are a lot of annoying things that Win7 does that slows down your tablet performance unnecessarily. If you need help PM me and I can send you in the right direction.

Oh and if you're wondering why I know about tablets I'm a graphic designer in real life. Maybe I should go outside.

  • 01.03.2013 4:59 PM PDT

A cornered fox is more dangerous than a jackal.

And from FOX, two phantoms were born.


Posted by: III H1TMAN III
This is a fine piece of art even though I say it myself.. *AHEM*


neat

  • 01.03.2013 4:59 PM PDT

/\ /\ OOO OOO
/ \/ \ O O O O
/ \ O O O O
/ \ OOO OOO

I use Wacom Bamboo for Flash and it works great, i don't know what else would a tablet need. You plug it in, draw something and there. Like many said before you might have to get used to drawing on a tablet and looking at the screen at the same time, but I didn't have that problem

  • 01.03.2013 5:00 PM PDT

Sometimes, I dream about cheese.

I use a dinky little bamboo "fun" tablet.


It's okay to use I guess, although I am much better at pencil and paper. Practice by drawing something without looking.

  • 01.03.2013 5:00 PM PDT
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Posted by: Fahn777

Posted by: Murcielago00

Is there anything better for a reasonable price?[/quote]The best are Intuos, where you can actually see the screen on the tablet but they're close to $1000USD.

There are also different pens.

Look into the 6D pen. It's able to recognize varying angles, more akin to a paintbrush, then other pens.


I think you mean Cintiq, not Intuos (I could be wrong). Even the cheapest Cintiq is $999, with the professional models going as high as $4500


Hmmm, I believe you are correct. I think I may have mixed up Intuos and Cintiq.

My mistake.


Posted by: III H1TMAN III
This is a fine piece of art even though I say it myself.. *AHEM*
Once again, you've outdone yourself.

[Edited on 01.03.2013 5:02 PM PST]

  • 01.03.2013 5:01 PM PDT

On Waypoint I'm rocketFox;
http://halo.xbox.com/forums/members/rocketfox/default.aspx

Old GTs; RebelRobot, Flamedude

Shameless plug but this is something I drew using a tablet.

I love my tablet, best investment I've made in a long time. There are lots of Craig Mullins tutorials and things like that all over the place too, showing you not only how to use the tools but how to think creatively and practically.

  • 01.03.2013 5:06 PM PDT

Never make me angry. I am a Hitman and I can easily find you and take you out.


Posted by: flamedude
Shameless plug but this is something I drew using a tablet.

I love my tablet, best investment I've made in a long time. There are lots of Craig Mullins tutorials and things like that all over the place too, showing you not only how to use the tools but how to think creatively and practically.


0.o


Wow.. you're nearly as good as me. ;)

  • 01.03.2013 5:08 PM PDT

I've been using a bamboo and yes, there is a pretty steep learning curve but it's really nice once you get used to it. I recently got a Cintiq and I'm waiting for an adapter for my computer so that I can set it up.

  • 01.03.2013 5:08 PM PDT

A cornered fox is more dangerous than a jackal.

And from FOX, two phantoms were born.

Do I have to download any programs once I get it or is it all there ready to go?

  • 01.03.2013 5:12 PM PDT

Never make me angry. I am a Hitman and I can easily find you and take you out.


Posted by: Kai Hiwatari
Do I have to download any programs once I get it or is it all there ready to go?


I recommend you download the bamboo dock program. That thing has some good apps in it. Lke I use the Sumo Paint app to draw stuff.

  • 01.03.2013 5:15 PM PDT

My father has a bamboo tablet, he never uses it though... I might " borrow" it once...

[Edited on 01.03.2013 5:18 PM PST]

  • 01.03.2013 5:17 PM PDT

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