not sure if this is the right section to ask but I’ve got a question regarding the wacom tablet : I want to use it for sculpting in blender ( it can be done with a tablet right? thats what I heard ) and for animation with synfig and probably be using it for inkscape too the one I’m looking at right now is the Wacom Cintiq 12WX and it’s cost so much I think I’m going to faint I can’t really afford it I think it cost about 1000USD if I got no other choice I would probably go for it but I have heard of wacom other products mainly the bamboo tablet edition I don’tknow if it’s any good does anyone here have any experience using the bamboo tablet? could anyone suggest a good tablet? I hope to be able to buy a good product that can handle professional use ( okay maybe not professional but good enough to use for artist) there’s a bunch of cheap tablets out there there’s even tablets that costs about 60$ but I read some reviews and it can’t really handle hardcore things really well the reviewer said it felt like he was using a crayon instead of a pencil :no: I asked this because I thought maybe there’s people on this forums that’s using a tablet so…could anyone spare an advice?
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Wacom is definitely the way to go. They are the only tablet which can perform pressure sensitivity with a batteryless pen (they have patented this in a very anti-competitive way, so really I kind of hate them but there’s little I can do about it).
I suggest you buy your wacom online on secondhand sales like ebay. That’s how I got mine. It’s only a small one, you don’t need the really big models if you want to try one out for cheap.
Oh and… they don’t seem to work out-of-the-box on Linux… had to configure mine heavily from some web page I searched for.
Haha, sorry, but you made me laugh… At least a good start in the day.
You are actually torn between a Cintiq and a Bamboo?
Thats like wondering wether you should buy a Bentley or a Dacia.
I´d go with the Intuos series, maybe grab an old I2 or I3 off ebay. And it should be A4+ IMO.
I´d definately let cheap tablets be where they are. It shows nowhere more clear that quality has its price as in tablets. Thats why the Bamboo already seems pricey.
I had 4 Tablets before I made my way to Wacom. Had each one for less than a year because it didn´t satisfy my needs anymore. I regret buying each of them.
I got the Wacom now since 3 years and woulnd´t miss or trade it.
I’ve had my Intuos for years. I don’t want to say it is indestructible, but it is close. Yeah, they’re pricey, but it is an investment that lasts (unlike your computer). So, buying used isn’t as bad as it sounds.
Mine is the old Serial Cable kind. I had to buy a USB-> serial converter (which Intuous won’t even promise you works) and it works just fine.
The levels of pressure are really not a “nice to have” it is a must have. If you are going to do a tablet, my suggestion is to do it right, and go for the best you can possibly afford.
just to let you know that I got the Wacom Bamboo pen and tablet. spent hours trying to get everything to work on Ubuntu using Blender Inkscape Gimp and Alchemy. Never got it working right. There are people working on it. But for now, I just stay in Windows, boo.
But in Windows, the Wacom Bamboo Pen and Tablet for $70 US is so f!@#ing awesome. If you just want to try out something on the cheap, this thing is so much fun. I’ll never live without pressure sensitivity again. Seriously.
BTW, Intuous was at a trade show I was at recently, and I visited their booth. Someone was thinking of buying one for his daughter, who was in college as a graphics arts major. He wanted to know why the tablet was useful.
Sadly, the booth guy wasn’t articulating the features of the tablet very well. I got a pencil and paper and showed the guy the difference pressure made. He got it instantly. He went from: “Why a tablet?” to asking “Which tablet should I buy?”
The head of the booth came up then, and thanked me and asked me what model of Wacom I used. I told him, and he sighed: “Yeah, that is our one problem as a company… We have almost no repeat business. You guys use one tablet forever…”
He said that as though it were a bad thing… And, actually, as a company, I understand their problem. But as a user, it makes shelling out the outlandish money for one more palatable. I mean, don’t get me wrong… I think they are over-priced. The good news is that you really only have to pay it once. If the same were true for a laptop or a desktop, how much do you think you would have to pay to get one?
wacom wacom wacom, I fight on a genuis and for my money’s worth I bet I can give you wacom boys I ran for your money.
ImagineFX when reviewing the bamboo fun: pen and touch were favourable to the Genius G-Pen M712 saying its was more feature rich and was about half the price. Frankly the whole batteryless thing is overated it has zero impact on how well you can paint with a tablet.
the tablet don’t make the artist. If you suck at traditonal pencil and paper during expect to suck as much with a tablet. So I would take the wacom gashing with caution I know I did and am thankful I did so.
True. It is the artist that counts. I’ve seen some amazing speed-up drawings done in MS Paint… but take this logic far enough and you’ll soon be saying that Blender is not a “good” example of Open Source or a 3D app for that matter… because they are all equal.
Speaking as one who has the job of cutting up all our firewood (and as someone who suffers as a dialup user) I can tell you there are advantages in having good (as in sharpened) tools. The reason for a batteryless pen for me is twofold…
The whole cost thing, and I hated it when the battery in my previous Genius got low and the pad would stutter. It’s like having someone come along and unexpectantly move the paper while I’m drawing. I like being able to just plug my (admittedly old & cheap version, I should get a better one sometime) USB Wacom in and knowing it’s going to be 100% charged, and won’t cost me mileage.
Having come from Genius (with battery) to Wacom (no battery) it was like; “it’s so light!!!”. Seriously, the weight of the Genius pen makes it feel like you’re trying to draw fine hairs with a chalk pastel. Doable yes, but not the same.
I use one for inkscape. I found that using the tablet makes me just not want to touch the mouse, a lot of things are quicker and easier with the tablet. And there is less stress on the wrist.
If the Easter Bunny hasn’t already brought you one, I’d say check out the new Wacom Bamboo “Pen & Touch”! The other day I was browsing and saw that they now have a much cheaper version with the same features?
I payed $230 for mine and saw the same thing in a smaller box (but same tablet dimensions) for $150 Canadian.
Like someone else stated above, I had a Genius before the Wacom and … NO comparison! I wear out one tip / month and by the rate the new Apple intelli mouse eats batteries, the Bamboo will be free … eventually
If you are going to buy an Intuos 4 keep in mind that the pen nibs flatten quickly,really quick.
For quick I mean 2 weeks/1 month ,depending on your style.
Intuos 4 models have a surface more rough,not smooth as Intuos 3,and this makes the nibs wear out really fast(it gives also a much more pleasant feeling of course).
Using the nibs of Intuos 3 helps a bit.
Look at the wacom’s forum for more information
I’ll probably be going for the intuos 4 medium it seems like a good product for the price it offers thanks again 
