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idksocrates
2006-12-07, 11:25 PM
I'm going to be starting up a webcomic soon, and i'm planning on doing it in illustrator (duel purpose there - one, it will force me to train myself with illustrator, because its pretty much an industry standard, and i keep putting it off; and two, because drawing in illustrator is infinitely faster than drawing on paper and scanning).

I'm looking at various wacoms, and I'm a little over my head about what brand and size to go with. I've seen one forum where the Intuos3 is highly recommended, but it's also significantly more expensive than other brands such as Graphire4. Is the Intuos worth the extra cash?

I'm also looking at a 6X8 tablet for right now... should i invest in a larger one, or should that cover me pretty well for awhile?

thanks in advance for the (if any) advice.

Brickwall
2006-12-07, 11:42 PM
Wacoms are fragile. They are good, but the more money you spend, the more you must pamper your Wacom. If you get an expensive one, put it in a special padded case with a cord protector, only take it out for art purposes, and don't position it radically.

In essence, my tip is to be careful. My Wacom got a tiny bit of superficial cord protector damage and now has issues. Make not my mistake.

idksocrates
2006-12-08, 11:29 AM
I'm going to be starting up a webcomic soon, and i'm planning on doing it in illustrator (duel purpose there - one, it will force me to train myself with illustrator, because its pretty much an industry standard, and i keep putting it off; and two, because drawing in illustrator is infinitely faster than drawing on paper and scanning).

I'm looking at various wacoms, and I'm a little over my head about what brand and size to go with. I've seen one forum where the Intuos3 is highly recommended, but it's also significantly more expensive than other brands such as Graphire4. Is the Intuos worth the extra cash?

I'm also looking at a 6X8 tablet for right now... should i invest in a larger one, or should that cover me pretty well for awhile?

thanks in advance for the (if any) advice.

Alarra
2006-12-08, 07:46 PM
Mod Goddess: I thinks this belongs over in Arts and Crafts.

That being said....While the intuos is lovely...I do not believe it to be worth the extra cash. There aren't that many features that the graphire doesn't have. I have a graphire4 6 x 8 and am very happy with it.

jami
2006-12-10, 12:31 AM
I've got three different kinds of wacoms, a graphire, an Intuos 9x12, and an Intuos2 6x8.

I've been using the 6x8 for most of Erfworld and it's become my preferred tablet. It's the right size for my desk, has the right pressure levels, works great. I can work at really high resolution without worrying too much about running out of room.

The graphire is an excellent choice, especially for the money. Not as pressure sensitive, but honestly, only snobs like me will notice the huge difference. I pack the little graphire with me when I go on vacation so I can work on my little laptop. Perfect for travel and for work work.

I got the gigantic 9x12 a long time ago to deal with carpel tunnel. But I found that if I draw less hard on the thing and put less pressure on my hand, it hurts less. I have one of these monsters at work and although it's nice to have such a big space to work with, I have to say that I still prefer my 6x8 Intuos.

The other nice thing about wacom products is that they hold up for a very long time if you don't go slamming them into things. All my tablets are two or three generations behind the current versions and all work very well for my needs. I think you'll find that if you pick up a Graphire, it'll last you a very long time.

Alarra
2006-12-10, 04:34 PM
Right, so I merged your two wacom threads.

DArKandEViL
2006-12-24, 09:30 PM
I just got a Graphire4 4x5 tablet. Is it worth the buy? Or did I just buy into all the hype?

TheSilverKnight
2006-12-24, 10:59 PM
Welp I got a Graphire4 for XMas(I open xmas presants on xmas eve) but it won't ship here till the day after xmas but the presantation of the gift was fablous. But n e way when I get it and have had some time to mass around with it I'll let you know what I think as a first time tablet user/owner.

SacredStorm
2006-12-26, 01:42 PM
Since I am about to order an Intuos 9x12 (latest one on their website.) Is there anything I can expect from the tablet? I would have went with the 6x8, but I had enough money for the larger one. Did I choose correctly?

I prefer more movement with my arm when I draw something so I picked the 9x12 for that reason. I think the 6x8 would force me to use more my wrist than my arm which I don't like. That and I have a big enough desk space for the larger Intuos.

Oh and a poster said that the Wacom's are fragile. Are there any specific ones that come to mind that are fragile? I would hope that a $500 tablet would not be easily damaged.

TheSilverKnight
2006-12-29, 10:59 PM
Well I got my Graphire4 and have been messing around with it for the past hour and must say I love it. Its not the least bit convinced its delicate the thing has a heavy clear plasitc cover that easily protects the surface and eve without it its pretty strong. The pressure sensitive things you can do in both illustrator are unmatched to what you can do with mouse and I say its a sound investment no matter what model. I only got the 4x5 Graphire4 but there seems to be more than enough space and its really comfortable to lean back and use it on my lap instead of on the desktop. My two GP.

Ciao.

Bearofbadnews
2007-01-22, 03:53 AM
Hey, I hope I'm not ruffling any feathers bumping this from page 2, but I am trying to get my very own Intuos tablet right now and I've hit a snag. I live in Japan right now, so I can't get the thing shipped here from the Americas site, but the Japanese site is written in Japanese (understandably).

My main worries are compounded by--
1. Japanese Wacoms are likely shipped with Japanese software.
2. Amazon's Japanese site is similarly difficult to deal with in Japanese, and I can't find what I want (assuredly English software).
3. I'd rather not pay to ship the dang thing twice.
4. I really want to buy it as soon as possible, as I've put off buying it a couple years (online purchases make me nervous).

I e-mailed the Americas customer service section, but I haven't heard anything yet. I am hoping for some help from anyone with insight into this problem. Thanks!

EDIT: No worries, I have taken steps. My shiny new tablet ought to be winging its way to me as we speak.

Deus Mortus
2007-01-31, 07:49 AM
Well I started drawing on a Intuos (A4 format) and recently switched to a Cintiq 21UX, I have had the chance to draw with a Graphire though.

Graphire's suck when you want to draw, they're too smalland not sensitive enough, the Intuos is great for those starting, they aren't to expensive and give great results once you get used to them. However if you are really serious about your art, you're gonna want a Cintiq, no matter how used you are to an Intuos or Graphire, drawing directly on a medium, is so much better and faster, an artwork I would usually need an hour for on my Intuos I can do in 15 minutes on my Cintiq and better too. So the choice is mainly how serious you are about your art and how much money you have to burn.

kuja.girl
2007-01-31, 11:49 AM
I've had an Intuos3 (wacom) for a year and a half and am very happy with it. It has some very nice improvements over the Intuos2.

I'm not sure what Brickwall did with his tablet, but I worked in a lab with over 24 Intuos2 tablets, none of which had cord (or other) problems after 5+ years of use.

Yes, it's a good idea to be nice to them but you don't need to baby it.
Just treat it like you treat any other piece of electronic equipment.

edit: Bearofbadnews (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/member.php?u=10265) - Order the tablet from a 3rd party vendor like CompUSA. They should ship to Japan. You also don't have to worry about Wacom's software as long as you have an internet connection - all their software/drivers are on the web and will be more up-to-date than what they ship anyhow.

Bearofbadnews
2007-02-05, 09:15 AM
Hey! My tablet came in and I love it!

Check out my first day's results in the arts showcase thread.

That Lanky Bugger
2007-02-05, 05:32 PM
I've got the Graphire 6x8 Bluetooth. It's pretty awesome.

Timberwolf
2007-02-05, 05:58 PM
I got the Graphire 4 A6 size and I loves it.