usb drawing pad

[baufian]

Hello there,


 First off I want to apologize if I have this in the wrong area. I was just curious about if anyone uses drawing pads. I work with trackball, mouse and keyboard. I am looking to get one but have no clue where to begin. I have came across a few but they seem kinda small and cramped, I.E. 4x2. what all does everyone use?

 

[HexMozart88]

Well, I don't actually use one, I draw directly on my screen, but usually if you use a drawing pad, you should get one around the size of your screen. It helps with proportioning if your screen is the same size as what you're drawing on. Those cost around eight hundred dollars. If you prefer to use that money on something else, you can also get a Surface Pro 4, as that has a stylus and lets you draw directly on the screen.  

 

[baufian]

I've thought about getting a surface pro before. I have a tablet (eek i know) and the jumps on it were horrible. as for the screen size i may just have to shop around as i have a 40/20 setup, mostly using the 40 inch for detail things.

 

[LaFlibuste]

Well honestly I have a drawing tablet (Wacom's Intuos Draw, small size) for a little under a hundred bucks and, as a hobbyist, I am entirely satisfied. Unless you meant pen display tablets (the exact name of these product is not clear to me) like the Wacom Cintiq series but these are upwards of a thousand dollars iirc. I can't talk about these much, never tried them. Although I'll say that, before even trying a graphic tablet, reviews made it sound like they were the unavoidable panacea of being able to draw on you computer but honestly a graphic tablet does just fine for me.


As for size, if we are speaking purely graphic tablet, it absolutely does not need to be the size of your screen. In fact, in most cases, I think it'd be much too large. The real decisive factor is desk space. Although there is such a thing a too small, you can always set it so the tablet does not cover your whole screen (it's what I did, it covers about 3/4 of my screen and works like a charm). If you are going for a wacom, you can look at this table to have an idea of what would work well with your screen size.


But then again, maybe you are just so much more advanced than me that the tablet just doesn't cut it anymore. Or the opposite. Or maybe you just have a crap tablet. Who knows?

 

[HexMozart88]

As for size, if we are speaking purely graphic tablet, it absolutely does not need to be the size of your screen.

Well, if you don't draw professionally, I think you'll do fine with a smaller one, all I meant was if you have a bigger one, it more closely resembles your screen, so it's a little less disorienting because you're working on a smaller scale.  

 

[Spoopy]

I'm currently using a Genius tablet, which is ok, but does not come near the quality or features of Wacom (previous Wacom Inteous 5 got stolen ~ sad face). Surface size is not a huge issue, the Wacom Bamboo ( used them in Uni for 3D animation classes ) is small but does what the bigger models do just as well. If you plan on doing professional Studio work, then the Wacom Cintiq is an excellent purchase, however expensive.

 

[Spoopy]

I'm currently using a Genius tablet, which is ok, but does not come near the quality or features of Wacom (previous Wacom Inteous 5 got stolen ~ sad face). Surface size is not a huge issue, the Wacom Bamboo ( used them in Uni for 3D animation classes ) is small but does what the bigger models do just as well. If you plan on doing professional Studio work, then the Wacom Cintiq is an excellent purchase, however expensive.

 

[Spoopy]

I'm currently using a Genius tablet, which is ok, but does not come near the quality or features of Wacom (previous Wacom Inteous 5 got stolen ~ sad face). Surface size is not a huge issue, the Wacom Bamboo ( used them in Uni for 3D animation classes ) is small but does what the bigger models do just as well. If you plan on doing professional Studio work, then the Wacom Cintiq is an excellent purchase, however expensive.

 

[kaukusaki]

I like large gfx tablets. I use a medion (pc) and huion (laptop). The medion is a bit bigger (12x14 ) the huion is 10x12. If you want a decent deal on large tablets hit up deal extreme. (dx.com). It'll take 4 weeks since its coming from china. Never had issues 

 

[Bitschi]

I just want to put in my two cents, as a long time user of a cheaper (and old!) bamboo tablet:


In 2011 I bought my first tablet, a Wacom Bamboo tablet, model CTL-460, which was one of their smaller, cheaper models during that time (I think I bought it for like... 40 bucks?? lol). I'm still using it now, for all of my paintings/drawings and stuff, so it's super reliable! The only reason I'd replace it now is because I messed up my pen a bit, though the pen getting messed up is entirely my fault. I have borrowed other friends' and my school's intuos before, and though I like it, I feel like my own work doesn't really have a serious change in quality. But, then again, Wacom in general is really nice, so I guess even their old, low end models are pretty good, compared to other off brands. Maybe? I need to re-check specs on tablets again! ʕ•ᴥ•ʔ   


I only have good things to say about Wacom. My tablet is 9.8″ x 6.9″, but the actual drawing area is only 5.8″ x 3.6″, so it is a little small (and I use two monitors too, lol!!), but I like it. The nice thing is that when I bring my laptop out with me, my tablet is nice and "travel" size, so its never really a hassle taking it around. I think the main thing when first buying a tablet is that it'll be a little disorienting to use at first, but if you use it a decent amount, after a week you should be fine! I've also done some freelance artwork and a lot of character design work for people with my little dinky tablet, so I definitely know you don't need an expensive tablet to get nice work... although if you have the money for it, I say go ahead (after doing proper research, at first!)!! 


I do have a friend who's been using a Huion tablet for a while who really enjoys it, and the reviews on Huion models seem to generally be very good. Another friend of mine uses the Surface Pro 3, but he prefers using his Medium Intuos for drawing over using the Surface Pro's screen. Aside from that, I can't really say much about other brands and models, sorry about that!

 

[mogwai]

I've been looking at getting a drawling tablet lately because my graphic design has been at the same level since 2004. I don't really know about the tablets that are basically like a blind signature pad; I fail at those signing my own name.


The Wacom tablets with the screen is expensive though. Wow! It would almost be cheaper to get an iPad with a stylus and then it's also a phone or whatever.

 

[LaFlibuste]

I thought the same as you before but honestly the standard tablets work really well, it's surprisingly instinctive. Worst case scenario, get the Intuos Comic or a bamboo tablet: it's not too big a risk for less than 50 bucks. Blind signature pads are unresponsive and the stylus suck, don't use this as a reference on whether or not you'd like a tablet. And an ipad's stylus wouldn't be as performant as a graphic tablet's, it would likely not e as sensitive, not take pressure or tilt into account, etc. I strongly encourage you to try out a graphic tablet, it's inexpensive and very, very effective

 

[LxCharon]

From a professional stand point, and someone who has used a number of tablets over the years if you're looking for something for hobby a bamboo splash is perfect, I used one for years even as a pro. It's simple, lightweight, and does the job. But if you want something fantastic the Wacom Cintiq 13HD is the bees knees. It's my current obsession, but all the doodads and price make it a pro tool primarily. But I can't suggest the Bamboo Splash enough. Huion is a good middle ground, though I'd only look at 1060 pro or up, the lesser ones don't have as much response as a bamboo for the price, and if you get over $600 start looking at cintiqs instead.

 

[kaukusaki]

Another chinese clone im working with is called the XP PEN star 03 tablet. for 55$ cant go wrong. 10X6 battery free and supports most programs. I have it working with manga studio draw plus even ms paint lol.
Stop buying expensive graphic tablets. They're mainly made in china anways XD