I'd Like Some Info

FinalCross31 · Very bored Joined: 07 Mar 2006 Posts: 137

I've just about had it with my unsteady mouse, so now I'm looking for my very first wacom tablet. I skimmed site after site, and I found out there were many lines of these tablets such as graphire and Intuos. I'm not really sure which type to choose from. I'm interested in these two types so far. As an extra note, I like to think of myself as a developing artist, always trying to get better and better.

Maybe this is just a personal preference, but do I really have to be careful of which line of tablets I choose from? I'm thinking about graphire because I heard that it's for hobbyist artists. Well, I like to think of myself as more of a developing artist, but details details... Well, anything for beginners sounds good to me.

BUT then I thought about intuos because it has more various sizes, such as 9''x12''. I like to work on a large scale so I can add little details and what not. I don't like starting out small. ...Or is there something about the sizes of these tablets that I misunderstood? I know that Graphire come in either 4''x 5'' or 6''x 8''. I heard that large sizes promotes greater cursor control?

Then again, they say intuos is used by professionals, which kinda intimidated me, and I began to wonder if I'd even get such a thing to work for me. So, yeah... I'm not quite sure which line of tablets I should go for. Maybe I should just stick with graphire after all?

EDIT: I took a quiz on the wacom website, and they said an Intuos3 would be perfect for me. Well, I'll do some more research on that brand.

Nintendude07 · Very bored Joined: 19 Jan 2007 Posts: 164

I just got the 4x5 4 days ago. It's pretty cool and works nicely. I haven't used the pen too much but it's quite useful. Also the extra programs it comes with like Adobe Photoshop Elements 3 are great! But I guess I could get better control with a larger pad.

London · Moderator Joined: 23 Mar 2006 Posts: 6474

Eh. My first one was a graphire3 (4x5), it worked great for a few years before it started to die on me. At that point I had switched to a widescreen laptop, and only the intuos line had widescreen tablets, so I replaced my old graphire with an intuos3 (4x[b]6[/b]).

Intuos does feel noticeably different from graphire, though. The intuous surface isn't as.. slick, let's say. It's easier to control (compare walking on stone to walking on ice). More buttons, twice as many sensitivity levels. IMO, unless you're relying on your tablet to make money, it's not worth it to shell out a couple hundred bucks just for a bigger tablet. My friend has a.. I think 9x12 intuos, it's not that different, and if you're on a laptop instead of a PC, it's pretty large and awkward to cart around.

I'd suggest maybe a small intuos?

And yeah, it does come bundled with a copy of Elements, Corel Painter, and this other useless program. Note that it is [i]elements[/i] and not the full fledged CS3 (and CS > elements, by far), so if you're on a limited budget... it's better worth your money to get some nicer CG software than a larger tablet.
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FinalCross31 · Very bored Joined: 07 Mar 2006 Posts: 137

Thanks a lot, guys:) Yeah, I've been doing research, and a large tablet would just be a waste of money for me. I decided to just stick with an Intuos3 6x8. The cheapest one I found was like $278 on Studica.com. It recently arrived, and I got used to it in less than a day. In fact, I don't think my gallery will really look the same anymore now that I have this.

lol! I'm such a geek; when I first got the tablet, I got all hyped up, and I had my brother and cousin write their signitures with the tablet. Hey, it looked really cool. lol!

A graphire was my first thought, but then I heard that the pen nibs actually dull down, which doesn't exactly sound like fun.

Has anyone ever heard of the new line of tablets for Wacom? Called Bamboo? It looks awfully pretty, but other than that, I don't know anything special about it.

London · Moderator Joined: 23 Mar 2006 Posts: 6474

Never heard of it. Haha, didn't realize till just now that the thread was a week old. Whatever.

Pen tips will get shorter with age. I think my intuos came with a replacement nib. You can also buy them online.
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