Graphics Tablets?

[Gnomish Wanderer]

Hello y'all! For a few years now, I've found the idea of a tablet interesting and always lamented my lack of disposable cash whenever I thought about possibly purchasing one. Now instead of being frugal with a recent windfall I decided it might be wise to splurge and buy myself such a treat. I just had a few questions to ease my troubled mind.

What do you all think of tablets? Are they actually useful or just too novel? Which one should I get? What programs sync well with drawing tablets? Are they THAT hard to use?

Also, I believe I've seen this thread before but it is lost in the annuls of history. (That is to say, googling 'giantitp graphics tablet' did not provide the information needed)

[Crimmy]

My Wacom Bamboo and the Paint Tool SAI program mix well. GIMP works well too, and iirc, Photoshop does as well. If you're like some of us, you can also go for plain, simple MS Paint.

Tablets, in all honesty, are as useful as you want. It's a bit difficult to adapt to it at first, but practice helps. It's not hard to use, it's simply different than usual, so it's just complicated for a bit.

Which one? It depends on the class of work you're going to do. I'd say go for a simple small one if you're just interested in getting started and avataring. Wacom (http://www.wacom.com/) sells quite a variety, and from my experience, it's quality for a great price.

I'm not too much of a tablet-wise person, but the things I've learned from experience can be helpful. Feel free to ask me via PM if you want to.

[mistformsquirrl]

Alrighty - just to cover my tail in case I'm misreading this; I'm specifically referring to a drawing tablet like a Wacom or something. <@.@> If you're referring to something else, none of my advice applies! Please do not hate me if I am wrong <T_T>

Okay let me break this down into chunks since you're asking a lot of different questions here:

What do I think of tablets? Are they actually useful?

Freaking awesome. I don't do art with traditional media anymore, the tablet just makes life that much easier. I'm not saying it'll be for everyone; but for me? It's fantastic. I'd never go back if I could help it.

Utility-wise they're a godsend since I can use all the features of a program like OpenCanvas or GIMP from the first stages of a design - imo it helps immensely and prevents a lot of crumpled paper in the wastebin.

Which one should you get?

That really depends on a LOT of things, price range, how much you expect to use it, if it's for professional or personal use, etc... I have a Wacom Intuos 4 Large and I love it - it was NOT cheap though. Well worth every cent though, especially since I intend to use it professionally if I can ever get good enough. I feel that one strikes a good balance between 'personal and professional' too. A smaller size might be better for a smaller budget too.

Which programs?

That's going to depend on your preferences, but my personal tools of choice thus far have been GIMP, and more recently OpenCanvas. GIMP is completely free and served me well for many years - it is NOT perfect though; and I've been enjoying OpenCanvas and have largely moved on to it. Both seem to work well with tablets though.

Photoshop is of course "the" program, but it's extremely costly; still, it's an option.

Are they hard to use?

Not at all. It'll take some getting used to, but once you get the basic feel of it down it's just as natural as pen and paper; and you have a lot more options.

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Hope that helps >.>

[Flickerdart]

Wacom is basically the only company worth going to with this. You'll want something at least 6x8 inches - the tiny 4x5 models really cramp your style. If you have a couple of bucks to spare, pick up some felt nibs when you order, since they make adjusting to the tablet a lot easier (though some people just put paper under the pen to get back a measure of traction).

In terms of software, don't bother with Photoshop. Instead, pick up Autodesk Sketchbook, which is designed for painting with a tablet and has much friendlier menus for that interface method. There's a free demo (15 non-consecutive days or something like that) and if you're a student, you can get it free.