Computer drawing Tablets

bartender · Post by **bartender** » Sat Jun 02, 2007 5:45 pm

Hey im looking into buying a computer drawing tablet, to draw directly into my PC applications. Ive been using a mouse for AS, but for applications like flash and Photoshop i think the pen tablet is the way to go. My question for anyone out there is what do you guys use and what brand do you suggest? I would want one that works great with flash and photoshop!

thanks!

bartender

Mikdog · Post by **Mikdog** » Sat Jun 02, 2007 6:29 pm

Wacom Intuos 3 A5 tablet.

slowtiger · Post by **slowtiger** » Sat Jun 02, 2007 7:36 pm

Any wacom tablet will do, personally I prefer the A5 size, too. For bitmap animation I use my Cintiq.

human · Post by **human** » Sat Jun 02, 2007 9:03 pm

I use the Graphire 4, which is at the low end, but nevertheless it has improved my life enormously.

The Cintiq sounds like nirvana...

rylleman · Post by **rylleman** » Sat Jun 02, 2007 10:15 pm

Go for a Wacom.
If you get one of a cheaper brand, like Trust, you will regret it. I had a trust tablet once, almost impossible to work on. I hated it. Got myself a Wacom intous3 A5 wide, and that tablet I love!

Touched · Post by **Touched** » Sun Jun 03, 2007 3:11 am

I've owned 2 Wacom and 1 Aiptek. The Aiptek was absolute crap. The first Wacom was an ArtZ II 6x8" serial. When computers no longer came with serial ports, I had to get a replacement, so I got a Graphire (3? 4? I don't remember) 6x8" again, USB. The Intuos has more levels of pressure sensitivity and tilt, but the Graphire works well enough for my purposes.

heyvern · Post by **heyvern** » Sun Jun 03, 2007 10:14 am

I have a Wacom Graphire... 3? It has a mouse and a stylus.

It was good for a while... but some of the "pixels" went wonky on the pad thingy. The mouse is useless now. When it crosses a dead spot the cursor flies off on strange voyages across the screen. Very annoying.

I only use it now for painting. The pen still works pretty good as far as I can tell. Those wonky pixels haven't caused any trouble. It could be the mouse that is the problem and not the pad area. I have no idea.

I have run the pen nib or tip down to almost nothing. I don't even know if you can put a new one in or not. The old one I used years ago had replacement nibs. This one I can't figure out if it even opens.

I was disappointed because it went bad so quick... it out lasted the warranty but still... you would expect it to last longer than that. I got a good year or so out of it and it was fairly inexpensive.

-vern

Mikdog · Post by **Mikdog** » Sun Jun 03, 2007 10:35 am

Lol. Dude. For the WACOM pen nib, just pull it out with tweezers, turn it around, or get a replacement nib.

AmigaMan · Post by **AmigaMan** » Sun Jun 03, 2007 10:45 am

Some of the Wacom tablets do have pens that you are unable to replace the nib. I have a Volito 2 which I have had for nearly 2 years (everday use - I don't use a mouse at all on my laptop) and found excellent. I have seen them for £26 on Amazon! The pen has to be replaced when the nib wears (and I did buy a spare pen from the Wacom spares store) but that hasn't happened yet so they obviously last a while.

The only other tablet I've seen get as good reviews as Wacom was a Genius Pensketch which cost under £100 for a 9" x 12" but they seem to be very rare.

slowtiger · Post by **slowtiger** » Sun Jun 03, 2007 1:17 pm

I have one Wacom in daily use for more than 13 years now and had never to replace the nib - it still works. I still have the bundled replacement nibs somewhere. I hope for the best for the new tablets: a small sapphire and a big cintiq.

Touched · Post by **Touched** » Sun Jun 03, 2007 6:40 pm

Same here, about the nibs. My ArtZ II's nib outlasted the tablet's usefulness (this was the serial port one), and I never needed to use the replacement nibs. I'm sure I still have them around somewhere, but have no idea where since the move.

maxuser · Post by **maxuser** » Mon Jun 04, 2007 1:15 pm

read this:

http://graphicssoft.about.com/od/aboutg ... ablets.htm

maybe it heip!

LittleFenris · Post by **LittleFenris** » Sun Jun 24, 2007 7:46 pm

slowtiger wrote:Any wacom tablet will do, personally I prefer the A5 size, too. For bitmap animation I use my Cintiq.

I wish I had the money for a Cintiq. It would make traditional animation much easier in apps like Flash.

As for the original question, the only way to go is WACOM. All the others are trash in comparison. I use an Intuos 3 6x"8" tablet and like it. A Cintiq is the best, but at $2500 I won't have one of those anytime soon.

oferhod · Post by **oferhod** » Sun Jun 24, 2007 9:28 pm

I'm in love with my Wacom Intuos 3 A5 tablet!

toonertime · Post by **toonertime** » Sun Jun 24, 2007 10:47 pm

i use a flair II, a cheapo tablet, and it works fine