Tablets 2018: Wacom, Huion, or Something Else ... ?

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#1

Greetings fellow Blender uses! This is my first post, hope I get off to a good start. :slight_smile:

I’ve recently been ramping up my Blender skills and am sold on the benefits of using a drawing tablet. I’ve never owned one. I’m primarily a VR developer using Unity and have no plans to become a world-class digital artist but I’d like to develop some fair-to-middling modeling/sculpting/texturing skills even if it’s for something simple like tutorials.

The standard question: which one to buy? The nicest option in the under-$500 range appears to be the Wacom Intuos Pro ($300) but the Huion Inspiroy Q11K has similar features for only $120.00, and I’m not sure the extra $180 is worth it. I’m tempted to stick with Wacom because it has the name WACOM so another option is to save some money and get a lower-end model like the Intuos Comic Pen and Touch ($120) or Draw (about $90). But, then how much am I giving up in features? There are even cheaper options like MonoSpace ($50) but I’m wary of getting something too cheap.

Your thoughts and recommendations … ?

#2

I also had once to decide. Found wacom support only soso and the devices overpriced.
Thus i got an XP-PEN for around 50 bucks and never regretted. Its also without battery, which is nicer in daily use imho.
The tablet was recognized ootb by xinput as UC-Logic TABLET 1060N and is driven by evdev. Mapping and buttonflips all possible with (startup-)scripts.

Jens

#3

One big thing is the size, because it matters in this case.

The tablet maps to your monitor and if you have a big screen and a small tablet, it will be harder to control. The precision suffers when the smallest movements on the tablet are large movements on the screen, a bit like turning the mouse cursor speed as fast as possible in the settings. Also even the smallest defects on the tablet surface can be detected by the pressure sensitive tip.

A small but proper tablet can be enough for things that don’t need high accuracy, like sculpting or painting, but for drawing you want a bigger one. Medium size tablets are most popular.

I bought a small Wacom Intuos because I wanted to be sure it works on Linux and it did. Plugged it in and it worked right away.

They have new Intuos and the medium is 200. It has close to the same active area as the Intuos pro medium but smaller physically. Compared, it doesn’t have tilt sensor, eraser, and the battery is built-in.

What to buy depends on your usage and setup. Intuos pro is expensive but it’s got everything: Asbestos, lupus, the magazines from Supercuts, Dan Cortese. If you don’t need all that, there are options, also non-Wacom ones. But a tablet of any price is expensive if it doesn’t work, so would probably be a good idea to check for driver problems.

#4

Hi there,

yes the main issue to all is the size of a tablet in conjunction with the size of the monitor, you are working on. So…well Wacom is the state of the art for most professional artists. BUT! Just to compare some prices and also features:

Wacom Intuospro medium: Acive area: 224 x 148 mm (nearby A4-format) - Pressure-sensitivity: 8192 levels - Resolution: 5080 lpi
Huion Inspiroy Q11K: Aktive area: 279 x 174 mm (clear A4-format) - Pressure-sensitivity: 8129 levels - Resolution: 5080 lpi

So quiet equal. Thus the Wacom adds 60 tilt-levels to the pen.

Both wireless/usb.
Actual price WACOM 299,95 USD (at the moment normally 349,95 USD)
Actual price Huion: 119,99 USD (via AMAZON)

So more than double the price only for the name and the tilt-option? Tests found on the net are not showing significant differences.

I will soon buy an HUION. :slight_smile: But maybe I’ll switch to the biggest one of them - Huion Giano WH1409 :slight_smile:

#5

My recommendation, you start with a cheap graphic tablet. Then in the next few years you will see if you really need something better.
If you are using Linux, first make sure that the tablet will work on Linux before you buy it. Wacom are supported in Linux by independent project:

And other tablets are supported by evdev driver (some non-wacom use wacom driver too):
https://digimend.github.io/tablets/

I recently bought a Wacom Intuos Draw tablet (152x95 mm work area version), and it’s more than enough for me. In 2018 there are new models and I am not sure if they are already supported for linux (especially bluetooth ones)

I personally do not feel comfortable with tablets that have rough texture on the surface like the wacom (other people love that), this also wear away the tip of the pencil. But you can place some kind of film over the tablet (there are many tutorials on how to do it). Just make sure that the film material is one that does not stick to the skin on the side of the hand, that is that you feel that your hand glides smoothly on the surface. I used the non-transparent part of one of these kind of plastic folders:

#6

some Wacom tablets lets you change the texture sheet. I bought a Wacom intuos pro medium and the smooth texture sheet ,but have yet to change to it. I haven’t noticed very much tip wear with the standard texture ,but once I do I’m gonna change it.