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Does any of you have ever used a wacom pen tablet

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Tue, 05/14/2013 - 11:05
larienna
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I am considering the possibility to buy a wacom pen tablet to actually practice doing digital painting rather than using the mouse. The problem is that I don`t know how it feels to use such tablet and that is something I would like to know before actually spending 100$ on a tablet. There also does not seems to be any store that allows you to try such device.

It seems it would be easier to draw using your pen directly on the screen, but touch screen laptop or pen tablets with integrated LCD are very expensive.

I know that the device works with absolute positioning rather than relative positioning like the mouse. So where you point on the tablet is where you point on the screen. I also know that you need a lot of pratice with it before being efficient. That means using it for regular OS operation before drawing. I also know that there can be short cut keys on the tablet or the pen.

What I am not sure is how the pointing and the pressure system works/feel. For example, can I see my cursor on the screen before starting to write to make sure I am at the right location. Or does it start writing when I push a button, or only when I put more pressure.

Else it would be very hard to guess where must I place my pen on the tablet to match the screen position. Considering that some tablet use an electromagnetic system, it might be possible to detect the position before putting pressure on the pen.

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Tue, 05/14/2013 - 11:28
#1
irdesigns510
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they are great - just takes a little bit of orientation

Alot of your questions deal with the settings you have set on it.
I have a smaller bamboo, and sometimes I turn the pressure sensitivity off if I just want a consistent line weight/size.
I dont think I've ever met any two people who's settings were the same, haha.

The biggest learning curve is that you will have to get used to looking at the screen without looking at the tablet.
Either way, totally worth it.

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Tue, 05/14/2013 - 13:55
#2
Martin-r-m
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bamboo with manga

Hi,

I am using a Wacom Bamboo with Manga Studio (I upgraded to Manga Studio 5). This program supports the normal way of painting with sketching, outlining and coloring. I am a biginner (didn´t draw for a long time) and was very content with my first drawings, much better than when I would have painted them on paper. With about 150 € a good deal.

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Tue, 05/14/2013 - 18:16
#3
Knicksen
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Using graphic pen / tablet

Hi,

I use a Wacom pen / tablet at work to avoid mouse RSI and also to do graphics. I have my own Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 which has an on screen pen. See here for some information on hardware / software and game design.

http://magic-maelstrom.blogspot.co.uk/2013/02/game-graphics-creation.html

You can usually set an on screen hint to show cursor position. It doesn't take long to get used to using a pen.

Pens can be used with either raster or vector applications. Former for 'painting' tonal art, latter for scalable cleaner lines.

Happy to answer further questions.

Knicksen

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Tue, 05/14/2013 - 20:58
#4
McTeddy
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^ Pretty much, what they

^ Pretty much, what they said. ^

There are quite a few ways that you can customize the functionality. Mine was set to function with the mouse cursor. I can hover the pen above the tablet to slide the cursor around, and only put pressure where I want to draw. There was also an option on mine for either relative or absolute positioning. It even had an option to draw lines based on the amount of pressure, so that more pressure lead to darker and/or thicker lines.

As for the feel, there was definitely a learning curve. I found it very awkward because it was neither like drawing nor using a mouse. The tablet was cool, but as a programmer with little art experience everything was unnatural. I went back to using a mouse because it better suits my purposes.

That said, I know MANY artists who wouldn't go back to mouse for CG work. The tablet has the potential to make things MUCH more efficient if you learn to use it.

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Tue, 05/14/2013 - 21:46
#5
Aerjen
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Joined: 08/28/2008
I borrowed a Wacom tablet

I borrowed a Wacom tablet from a friend for a while. Not for drawing, but to completely replace the mouse. I was surprised by how fast I got used to operating windows and other software programs with it.

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Wed, 05/15/2013 - 07:00
#6
Procylon
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Joined: 06/27/2012
I can't tell you anything

I can't tell you anything specific about how it feels to use one, but I was told by some artist friends that they had noticeably better results on the larger Wacom's. I can't remember exactly what they said, but if you do buy one I believe going cheap is not the best decision.

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Wed, 05/15/2013 - 13:22
#7
dabuel
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I've got a Wacom Intuos 3

I've got a Wacom Intuos 3 that I really like. You do see the cursor when just hoovering with the pen above the tablet (I think it is via magnetism, the pen does not have a battery).
It did not take long to get used to it and I only use it when drawing. For other applications I use the mouse.
You can customize the buttons on the tablet. For example I have keys for zooming, moving canvas and undo. In addition the pen has a button which can be used to select brush. The backside of the pen can be used as an erasor. Remember, all these functions can be set to your liking. You can also have separate settings for different programs.
I remember I had some trouble with setting the brushes in Photoshop but searching some forums solved it. You can make brushes that will produce a fat line if pressing hard and a thin line when pressing soft. But pressure can also be coupled to for example color or spray intensity - all depending how you set up the brush in Photoshop (probably similar in other programs).
All in all I am really happy with my Wacom. Loved drawng as a kid and this made me start again. The one bad thing is that I feel that the hardware limited pressure range would have been wider. This would allow better control of the pressure you are applying...
Anyway I can only recommend buying one if you want to make drawing easy!

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Thu, 05/16/2013 - 08:25
#8
eponym
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Try Monoprice

A friend of mine who is a professional illustrator highly recommends the inexpensive tablets from Monoprice. Super cheap and very usable. Pros still use the fancier stuff from Wacom, but these are great for average/new users.

http://www.monoprice.com/products/subdepartment.asp?c_id=108&cp_id=10841

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Thu, 05/16/2013 - 08:27
#9
eponym
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A review

Here's his review:

http://frenden.com/post/31659364200/the-little-monoprice-graphics-tablet...

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Fri, 05/17/2013 - 08:30
#10
larienna
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I cannot find them in any

I cannot find them in any store, probably, they are only available only from their site. In that case I might not really save anything due to shipping fees, and maybe even custom fees.

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