Experience with Drawing Tablets

[Gdepp519]

I have been considering invest in a drawing tablet because I'm a 3D artist.. and supposedly
even though there is a bit of a learning curve with using these tablets they're great once
you have one.. so I was just curious if anyone has had any experience with using any of
the Wiacom tablets they use them in my 3D graduate classes at Boston U.

I always like coming here and getting everyones input..


*as a sidenote i've done reasearch on my own but just wanted so feedback..*

 

[Anttwerrp]

depends on how much you are wanting to spend but here where I work we all us the Wacom Cintiq 21UX. They are wonderful and it just makes things happen easier. price is around $2,400.00. But I will not go back to the other ones after using the Cintiq.
I do believe they come in smaller sizes too.

 

[Gdepp519]

yea thats alot of money.. i was thinking of either the 3x5 for $80 or the 6x8 for $300
I mean i don't think its a good idea at this stage of the game to invest that much $$$ into it yet..
but thats a possible item for the future in a year or later

 

[JMWarren]

I love my Intuos 6x8. My graphire 4x5 that I use with my laptop just doesn't compare.

 

[MagnusTheBrewer]

Using drawing tablets is an intensely personal experience. I would never reccomend purchasing one based on price, function, or stats. You HAVE to try them out. Go to B&M stores, local colleges and tech schools and give each a spin. This is definitely an area in which art supercedes tech.

 

[benplaut]

I've used a bunch of sizes, but eventually settled on buying a 4x5. It's plenty big for anything i use it for (graphic design, mainly)

 

[Hakuryu]

I have a Wacom Graphire 4 (4x5) that I bought for $70, and have used it with the included Photoshop Elements 3.0, Maya 7.0, and other art programs. Initially it felt strange to use it. You can use it without any drivers and it works like a mouse (ie it picks up it's start point relative to where the cursor was already) or if you install the drivers your entire screen is mapped to it (so if you start in the top right corner of the device that is where it will start drawing on-screen).

I'm not much of an artist, but I do enjoy playing around with it. The main benefit is using it in Maya 7. Being able to draw heights on a polygon plane by pressure instead of constantly resetting the Sculpt Geometry tools' max displacement is very nice.

If I had the money and was an artist, I think I would want a larger one. It does definately make drawing easier than a mouse, but a small screen takes some serious practice to use.

 

[Gdepp519]

hak.. thanks for the info thats the information I was hoping to get because we haven't started
using the pad yet in the class.. but i did play around with it for a minute or so and found it enjoyable
so we'll see what happens.. hopefully.. i can get my parents to fork over the $$ by saying this
is "a neccessary educational tool"

On a side note I didn't realize you could use it in Maya.. and increasing and decreasing the vertex
height on planes.. hrrmm.. i wounder how easy it is to use the scult geometry tool on.. organic models???..
im going to have to try that out in class tonite...

 

[corkyg]

Once you get used to a digitizing pad, you'll always prefer it to a mouse. I have used Wacoms since Win95 days - am now on my 4th generation.

Sometimes you can get a good deal on a good used Intuos on E-Bay.