wacom

[TheNeverman]

Only thing I could really recommend is buying one of the inexpensive Graphire tablets so your not out a big chunk if you don't like it...

The thing to keep in mind is that the equipment dosen't make you a better artist... If you have no art skill whatsoever, then a tablet isn't going to magically create it...

If on the other hand you are artistically gifted, then you can understand the frustration of trying to create art with that funky chunk of plastic they call a mouse...

=o)

[boutwell]

If you have no art skill whatsoever, then a tablet isn't going to magically create it...Damn. [heads to Amazon to cancel order...] :)

[TheNeverman]

...instead - purchase one of these boutwell...
http://gfx.dvlabs.com/klipmart/campaigns/sta001/images/easybutton_lg_top.gif

[jcambece]

...instead - purchase one of these boutwell...
http://gfx.dvlabs.com/klipmart/campaigns/sta001/images/easybutton_lg_top.gif

HAHAHAHAHA...i liked that

[Beamtracer]

i want to use it more for control over photoshop.
You do get more control with a Wacom. It's pressure sensitive, so you can do things you can't do with a mouse.

It takes a short time to get used to the Wacom, but after the first half hour you should feel at ease.

I'd recommend one.

[Rabid pitbull]

A tablet will certainly not make you a artist, but if you inspire to create art then a mouse will just be a huuuge anchor if you are planning on creating artwork on a computer. I would recommend a graphire as well, at the very least it will be a more comfortable input device for day to day computing.

[nkabuto]

Why using a Graphire but not an Intuos ? I heard that it`s only has 512 level of presure sensitivity, and Intuos 3 has 1024.

Anyway, i need help. I really want to have a graphic tablet right now, cause using mouse make me tired. But when i decided on Intuos 3 size 6x8 ( ~ 260$ ), my friend told me that i should look for a Pensketch 6x8 of Genius ( only 160$ ). Pls, if somebody know about this, pls help me. I want to know that Wacom is more expensive than Genius cause its quality or it`s just has more free softwares than Genius ?
http://www.geniusnet.com.tw/product/product-1.asp?pdtno=591 <== Genius Pensketch 6x8`s link.

P/s : sorry for my bad English. And dont tell me that the equipment dosen't make me a better artist, cause i just want to have a more comfortable feeling in drawing ( using mouse is pain in the ... )

[Beamtracer]

my friend told me that i should look for a Pensketch 6x8 of Genius ( only 160$ )
The non-Wacom tablets are good. The main difference is that the Wacom pen needs no battery, while the others need a battery in the pen.

The reason for this is that Wacom has a patent on its batteryless pen, which stops the others from copying it.

But the non-Wacom tablets are usually cheaper.

[Alex K]

Well all i can say is that if you really wanna get serious with it... go and get one. In my opinion the best you can get is the Intuos 3 A4 Tablet.
I do have one myselfe, and it was definately worth it. It will take some time to get used to it but once u get there your workflow will improve a lot.
First i thought about getting one of the smaller tablets too ( grapphire ... intuos A5 aso... ) but now i´m really glad that i did not and go for the bigger version.


Alex

[bale]

if money is not a concern, I recomend the wacom cintiq. Best tablet ever!

[Matt]

I'd say go for the Intuos3 6x8.

I have the Intuos3 9x12, and it took a week to get used to, because I usually draw very small strokes. I love it. I got it at Newegg.com, and saved $100 over the store price.

Cons:
1. The lowest pressure isn't sensitive enough. It'll go from a hair thin line to a marker thick line with no smooth gradation at all.
2. Tilt sensitivity makes it hard to draw if the tablet is completely flat on a table, so I have to rest the tablet on my knees and tilt it. You can turn tilt sensitivity off, I believe.

What it's best for:
Coloring, erasing, masking, painting, blending, shading.

What it's not so great for:
Sketching as if you're using a pencil or pen. The lines are never as high quality as pencil or pen lines, unless you zoom way in or turn off tilt sensitivity.

The tilt sensitivity isn't really necessary at all. You can get some cool effects out of it, or if you're using some brushes in Corel Painter, they'll tilt as if you're tilting the brush, but for the most part it's worthless to digital artists. It's more of an 'effects' thing that you can use if you're wanting to create certain effects, but I don't necessarily like it.

Overall:
Out of the box it's 9.9 out of 10. I got my tablet for illustration, and so far it's been wonderful. Make sure you download the newest drivers from Wacom's website. I had a hissy fit when I first installed the tablet and the cursor lagged everywhere. They've since fixed that issue with their new drivers, and I was extremely relieved.

To make it a perfect 10 out of 10, you have to customize the tablet settings to fit your needs. For example, for me it would be turning off the tilt sensitivity. Hopefully in a future driver they'll have an advanced option to turn off the LED. When you draw, an LED on the tablet lights up, so if you're making a bunch of quick strokes, it'll look like it's flickering and in a dark room it's annoying.

Wacom tablets won't make you a super CG artist, but they will make you quicker and give you easier options. I used the mouse for a decade, and I got to be really good with it. The only problem is, doing everything manually like setting opacities, took more time. Now I can just do it with one stroke, instead of 20 clicks.

They're a great investment, and I hope you find one that suits you.

[mikebranski]

Nice post Matt. Although I haven't run into any problems with tilt sensitivity, it is different for everyone.

I have the Intuos 3 6x8, and I love it. One thing that's nice about this one is the two sets of hot keys right on the tablet, which are fully customizable. I used to have the Graphire 2 4x5, but found it to be too small to do anything precise, so I upgraded to the Intuos 3 6x8. Now the 4x5 makes a good traveling tablet for on-the-go uses.

I did use an Aiptek tablet (another company that makes tablets and other electronics), and I just wasn't comfortable with it. It was a 9x12, and I found it to be not as smooth as Wacom's. Also, the pen was a bit to bulky for my taste.

Hope you find this useful!

Regards,
Mike

[DorisDay]

Wacom are battery less, so in around ten years your cheaper battery powered tablet will have cost you just as much as a Wacom but without the performance (joking), actually I doubt a cheaper tablet would last 10 years.

Wacoms are an investment, it's all a matter how serious you are...

[CoolDuck]

Would you recommend a Wacom Intous3 for 3d modeling? I want one because of RSI, after long hours of intensive modeling I get a lot of pain in my wrist and arm.
Would A5 be better or A6 if using it mainly as pointing device... not painting.
I want to do some digital sketching with it too.

Can you setup of of the buttons on the left to be middle or right click? Or even to shift, alt and ctrl?

[Matt]

Would you recommend a Wacom Intous3 for 3d modeling? I want one because of RSI, after long hours of intensive modeling I get a lot of pain in my wrist and arm.
Would A5 be better or A6 if using it mainly as pointing device... not painting.
I want to do some digital sketching with it too.

Can you setup of of the buttons on the left to be middle or right click? Or even to shift, alt and ctrl?

Absolutely.

Modeling is moving in a more organic direction with tools like Modo and ZBrush leading the way away from tedious vertex pushing. ZBrush works incredibly well with Wacom tablets, so if you're going in that direction I recommend it without pause.

You should get the Intuos3 6x8. For your health, for your art, for piece of mind.

You know when we're old videogames will be created just by speaking to a computer telling it what we want, much like the Holodeck in Star Trek: The Next Generation. Why be stressed and regretful that you wasted your youth working with a mouse that damaged your hand and caused irreversible damage?

Sit back with an Intuos. You'll find it's a completely different experience all together. You fell more human.

[DorisDay]

Would you recommend a Wacom Intous3 for 3d modeling?

I use it in ZBrush & Silo to great effect, it feels very natural...

The buttons can be assigned any key...

[Matt]

Although you might want to disable the touchstrip if you use the buttons often. It's far too sensitive, and if you accidentally touch it (which happens often) you'll end up zooming into your image.

[splintah]

hey


i need to get a wacom too

question :

graphire or intuos ?
a5 or a4 ?

my primary use - Animation and all thats connected to it


graphire has 512 preassure levels
intuos has 1024
intuos has tilt sesivity - grapire not

[Wanderer]

The Intuous models have a higher sensitivity and PPI than the Graphire models. Never used a Graphire, so I can't elaborate whether that's noticable or not.

As for the physical size of the model, it's all personal preference. You don't really gain anything special by going to a larger tablet. Except for maybe the larger 9x12" models where it's a little easier to assign a region in the corner to navigate around quickly (versus using the whole tablet to navigate around Windows).

[CoolDuck]

Just got an Intuos3 A5. :D And wow, she is fabulous! It will take some time to get accustomed in Maya, because I've used the mouse all this time. But it definitely feels more natural and most importantly reduces the stress on my arm.

Well, the surface is very good imo, it has a much nicer feel than with a Graphire2 I tried before > the cursor travels through the screen much smoother. Like a MX1000 laser mouse compared to a ball mouse.
And those buttons are very handy.

What I like about the Intuos is that you can setup different settings for each app. I dunno if that is possible with the Graphire, you should check it. The last time I checked it was a Graphire2.

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