Wacom Neccesary

[lokki]

Hi Sam,

A tablet is not necessary - it's just a tool to make things easier. Some people find them indespensible, others could care less.

The best thing to do is try one out. Find a friend with one, or a store or school and play around for a while. They take some getting used to, but you should know pretty quick if you'll want one.

[Ryan47]

euhm,

i just want to ask is a wacom really neccesary or is it better/easier
and could someone plz tell me which is the best choice for a poor 17 year old boy?


haha 17 here aswell.
I would like some advice on Wacom too

Considering there are many threads ..i will ask in this Recent one

I am no artist by any mean..some oil painting, not the best :P

i have no real drawing or sketching work. My school had a horrible programme for art , so i lack that

And to be successful in tyhe 3d business i would like to draw and sketch i do not know where to start but a tablet seems good

Better than a sketchbook..has a digital feel..whhich i would love'

i am loking at a iintuos 6 by 8 is that good..smaller than that is cramped i heard and larger is a hassle and large :(

graphire is more for for phtos...sorry if this is complicating but im tired lol


^^ What are you looking at SAM..are u still considering?

Thanks again

~RP

[Yourworstnightmare]

If you're a cheap bastard like me go withe the graphire3 6x8 it sells for only 159.00 us and it's a good size and has all features that you'll need. If you have a little more money you can go for a intous 6x8 with bluetooth for about 219.00 us.

[rblitz7]

i got this http://www.journeyed.com/itemDetail.asp?T1=51122106N

[Yourworstnightmare]

i got this http://www.journeyed.com/itemDetail.asp?T1=51122106N


Rblitz7, yeah I saw that one and it's pretty good for the price but it's a bit small.

[aldog]

I have a 4x5 gray graphite wacom and am EXTREMELY happy with it!

[Bohemiantoe]

I just bought one about 2 weeks ago, and am in love with it :D It's a Graphire 3 6x8 which I found on sale at Amazon, total price (shipping etc) $174.24 It was the cheapest I saw brand spankin' new. If you shop around like that, you could get lucky like I did.

Prior to that, I did the old fashioned scan pencil sketches and color using a mouse (in my case laptop touch pad, too) and it really just stunk for me. The process just seemed to take longer and there was some lack of control and the smoothness stunk. Blending was a bloody nightmare. I would recommend it basically as an artist, you save a LOT of money on the costs of inks or paints...lol. If you plan on making any kind of career or income off it at least. If it's just a glorified hobby, well... depends. I am certainly going to use it to make homemade digital art prints as gifts this year, and take the finished image to Wally World to turn them into photo's. So even there, comes in handy :-)

I wasn't sure about getting a graphire, either - since it didn't talk much about using it in digital art - but it's working. I'm not nearly as good as most of the people on here- but the tutorials are helping a lot. Digital painting human beings, I am having some problems not graphire related, but the fantasy stuff I've been working on (dragons, etc) has been coming out like a DREAM! and there's no mess. lol

I've also played with its other features; annontations on photo's, handwriting in photoshop, etc and it is well worth the price, I tell you. (especially if you get the infamous "mouse claw hand".

If you can afford it, get it. I say. :-) Took me a while to save up, but it's the best money I ever spent in a looonnggg time!

*shameless plugging over*

[Sam Sys]

Well, actually i'm aiming at digital painting and stuff not really fixing photos or such :)

[MasonDoran]

heh...i am drooling over the Cintiq. I have been using the intuos for years now. I do a lot of drawing and painting as it is....so i NEED a stylus....but a Cintiq looks like the closest to the real deal when you actually draw ON the monitor and be able to rotate the monitor like a a real drawing pad.


thats not to say that you cant draw with a mouse....but there is a big differance. with you mouse u draw with the fingers....with a pen you draw with the wrist and shoulder...which creaters smoother and better arcs

[Ryan47]

Well, actually i'm aiming at digital painting and stuff not really fixing photos or such :)

yea im going for painting and art more than editing my photos..isnt that why intuos is there for that purpose.adn graphire serves the Photo purposes?

Why did u guys go for the cheap ones, and why is intuos a bit more $$$ Is it different bundled software

And one has a more pen pressure right

Im going to look at the site now, but input is appreciated
Thankks for the help

~RP

[Bohemiantoe]

yea im going for painting and art more than editing my photos..isnt that why intuos is there for that purpose.adn graphire serves the Photo purposes?

Why did u guys go for the cheap ones, and why is intuos a bit more $$$ Is it different bundled software

And one has a more pen pressure right

Im going to look at the site now, but input is appreciated
Thankks for the help

~RP

I haven't used anything other than a Graphire, so the Intuous vs. Graphire for digital art, I can't give a firmly held opinion, but the only differences I read about was the price and the pressure sensitivity - the Intuous has like 500 pressure points more I think. But is it really necessary? I don't know. It also depends on your skill level and what you are used to. My friend can color up a storm like a pro - and she uses a mouse because she's using what she has and can afford...lol. I've made some good quality paintings with dollar store brushes. So don't worry too much about that, really - it can be a gimick levelled to brainwash people into thinking the Intuous is sooo much more superior for artists when it probably does the same things the graphire does, with maybe just a wee smoother flow or something?

I didn't go for the cheap one as much as I did for the "lower price" *wink -- I can tell it's already worth more to me than the price I paid, and I haven't even skimmed the surface yet! Been playing too much. LOL!

I did these on my Graphire, and I stronly point out I am not a professional - this is just my doodling because 1. people aren't my strong points as an artist, and 2. I haven't done digital painting before and am still trying to get accustomed to it.

These were done on Paint Shop Pro "free hand" (with graphire pen) with nothing particular in mind


http://www.geocities.com/rebeccatreadway/digitalart/screencap.jpg
http://www.geocities.com/rebeccatreadway/rethonafinish.jpg


then I did this one on Corel....

(it's a large image...)

http://www.geocities.com/rebeccatreadway/hummy.jpg

Most of this was using the airbrush or pencil function with a lot of opacity changes and smudge tool use. ;-) All of the changing around was just me getting used to what does what and how well it works.

Um...and I have Photoshop. I've been having issues with PhotoShop; meaning trying to figure the dang thing out - and at most points, the smudge tool has been staggering and delaying its effects, but this is an abstract doodle I did last night - when I decided to hunker down and experiment with every single brush in their library to see which ones I like most.

*See attachment*


And some "step by step" funky line art that I was squiggling around with on Photoshop....

http://www.geocities.com/rebeccatreadway/digitalart/step1posture.jpg

*that's really bad, like I said - people aren't my strong suit....lol*


I hope some of that experimental junk I threw up there helps out - I think when it comes to the Graphire vs. Intuous it's skill level and practice more than the machine's capabilities. I've had PaintShop Pro "forever" but never used it for digital art - Corel and PS I recently acquired as presents, so don't blame the tablet on anything you view here. LOL!


Cheers

[aldog]

I really couldn't see myself using mine for photo fixing/manipulation...i actually still use the mouse for that.

[lokki]

simply put, Graphire is for occasional or incidental use, and for people on a limited budget. The Intuos line is aimed at professionals who plan to use a tablet as part of normal, ongoing workflow.

I use my Intuos for photo editing quite a bit, usually when building masks or doing tight touchups. I'll jump to my trackball for dialogue boxes and sometimes menu selections, but most of the rest is done with the pen, including vector work. I could see a pro going for a Graphire for vector stuff since there's generally less call for pressure sensitivity, same with 3D (which I wouldn't use a tablet for at all). But that sensitivity and the extra features are definately worth the money for photo retouchers, too.

[matty2x4]

A tablet is a must if you are getting into photoshop, especially the artistic & photographic side.
Sure you can do heaps with a mouse but the pressure senstivaty of a tablet is sooooo worth it. I have used a few of the cheaer ones in my time but I find the Wacom to be the best by far. At home I have a Intous 3 6x8 and at work a Intous 2 6x8. Keep an eye out for the Intous 2s they should be going cheaper and cheaper now that the 3 has been out a while. And on a side note: in a way I recomend the 2 over the 3. The 3 is nice but I have found that the drag window thing is kinda anoying... ie. I have my tablet in front of my keyboard and often when I reach over to change tools (key board shortcut) I often find my job zooooooming in like crazy or scroling up to the top when my arm goes over the top corner of the tablet... kinda anoying but not life shattering.
6x8 is the best size smaller is anoying and bigger is to big.

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