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Let me add at start that I'm pretty awkward at writing this because blogging feels selfcentric from me and I'm total noob about digital drawing/painting so there's surely misconceptions in my head even when I'm trying to avoid such things.
So, I'm starting to feel like making lines with mouse is really awkward and annoying when wanting to do precise female legs for example. It felt almost natural with pen compared to mouse and some lines are hard to do with mouse. I wondered if this is something I can overcome or if I have to get drawing tablet. Looked mouse painters from youtube and it didn't look promising..
How skilled or into drawing I shall be before investment is reasonable. You maybe think that I know better than you do how much I want drawing, but I even I can't measure it and as I said I wonder to what point it's possible to keep rising 'skillcap' with mouse. After 6months what's difference with mouse and tablet? Is there one? ~I draw avg 2hr per day atleast I think, sometimes more when I get good grasb.
If I should get one what kind of one?
Bamboo Fun Small Pen & Touch 16:10 small - is what I'm thinking about buying at this moment.
TL;DR
At what point is it good to consider buying drawing tablet?
Is there drawing tablets that are not good at all and from other side, good tablets for casuals?
I'd be glad to get info from anyone who has opinion or experience about this.
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Estonia4644 Posts
when buying a graphic tablet, i would only suggest Wacom
I used a cheapass Trust tablet (A4+ for 100€ like 4 years ago), which got me by until i scratched the surface, but lacked precision. And in the long run was too huge to me, i was not used to drawing that big.
So a cheap Bamboo is a good choice for your first tablet.
Itll take a while to get used to, since you will not be looking at your pen or hand while drawing, but the screen instead.
If you are an enthusiast though and look forward to do doing plenty of digital art, a tablet is the only answer.
Another option is to look around the internets for a used Wacom Intuos 3, you might find a bargain thats well kept. Though i wouldn't count on that. It might be an old model, but its damn reliable :D
gawd i want an intuos 4 :<
rereading now, im actually surprised you manage to draw with a mouse D:
examples plz
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I could never draw with a mouse, lol. I tried and went straight back to pencil and paper - until my friend brought his tablet to school one day and I used it and I was like holy shit, I have to get one of those.. I got one ASAP, but it's really big. His was small but it fit my needs just fine, I could afford a larger one with touch capabilities so I just got it. I have a wacom bamboo tablet
http://www.amazon.com/Wacom-CTH461-Bamboo-Craft-Tablet/dp/B002OOWC42/ref=sr_1_32?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1322421790&sr=1-32
Kind of like this one but I got it for a lot cheaper. It's by no means high end but it's just fine.
If you're thinking about getting a tablet, just look around until you find one at a good price. IMO tablets are well worth the price if you love to draw, if I had the time I'd be using mine several hours a day haha
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I randomly decided to start drawing a couple months ago (haven't drawn prior to that since like, elementary), and it was cool so I went and bought a tablet a few days later. Had no regrets since, definitely 70 quid well spent. It's pretty different from drawing with a pencil - but it's definitely much, much better than using a mouse. Apart from being more natural to control when drawing lines and such, you get the pressure sensitivity options and whatnot; if you're like me and like being around a PC, I would say it's a must have.
Can't really comment on which tablet to get, since the only one I've ever laid my hands on is the Genius I'm using, so I can't compare.
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Estonia4644 Posts
heres an example, did this with a tablet some time ago
pen sketch -> scanned -> then tablet + photoshop, no selections, only freehand
http://img3.imagebanana.com/img/hw6vy8us/hugeworkinprogress.jpg
using a tablet makes the workflow so much faster and more intuitive
and now that i spent some time on the wacom page, the bamboo looks impressive actually
not sure what the multitouch is like but i'd start off with a simple bamboo pen tablet.
actually now thinking where to find the money to get myself one :O
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If you want to do digital art, a tablet is almost a must.  As fusefuse said, best thing to go for is a Wacom (Bamboo, Intuos etc), regardless of skill level. I've been using a Bamboo Fun that I got back in... '07? Maybe '08? It's a model older than the current Bamboo's out there now, but it's still going strong (even though it has a few minor scratches on the drawing surface after all wear and tear that can get a bit frustrating when drawing). ^^'
Regarding what level of skill you should have before buying one: Personally I wasn't exactly good when beginning with my tablet (and I still isn't anywhere near the level I want to be ^^), and I've heard of others that can't draw by hand for shit but can make beautiful stuff digitally with a tablet (even though it's rare). I'd say that if you have money to spend on a small-mid sized tablet and the motivation to want to do amazing digital art, buy one.
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Thanks, a lot for answers.
I thought about it and it's not that expensive with some budget 60-100€ range tablet (when you think about all hobbies there is). It's very enjoyable hobby for me and one of those ones where I love the act of itself in my hobby.
I just have to look around what kind of tablet would do best for me and check what differences there is etc.
Bamboo Fun Small Pen & Touch, and
Bamboo Pen & Touch looks identical by features. Only that Fun Small pen & Touch offers Adobe Photoshop Elements 8, ArtRage 3.0 for extra 5€.
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I'm surprised that you use a mouse o.o
Anyway yes I think tablet is absolutely necessary. Like others said they're not all that expensive. Only the ones that actually have a display and/or are big are really expensive (BUT SUPER NICE). For simple ones that are like a standard mouse pad size, it should be much easier to draw than using a mouse (enough to be worth it to buy it. Plus, what's drawing a mouse gonna help you with if you have to draw on paper?).
One question I have though is: with a no-display tablet, is it that hard trying to draw on the tablet to get what you want on the monitor? I know there's 2 ways you can draw, 1 of them is where the tablet becomes proportional to your monitor, regardless of where your mouse is. That one sounds hard to do since i don't think you can see where your pen is until you draw? The other one is you set your mouse where you want to draw (like a break in a line) and then draw on the tablet. Both ways seem a bit hard to me but the quality of the drawing should be much better?
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If you're not getting paid for your artwork yet, get a cheap one for now and decide what you like/dislike about it, and then you'll know whether or not it's worth upgrading.
Technique comes before tools.
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Like everyone else said, start with the cheap one! There is no skill level too low for the tablet, all that matters is your dedication to it. If you are going to spend a lot of time using it, you will get your money's worth.
I had a Bamboo (or whatever the equivalent was called back when I bought it) for about 6 years. It broke last year and I bought a really big Intuos 4 which I love. It does take a while to adjust to using a tablet and gain a new kind of hand-eye coordination, so some people discover it is not for them. The cost of a Bamboo is definitely not prohibitive even if you discover you just don't like it, so go for it! If you are a student, try to order through an educational discount store for even cheaper. I bought my Intuos from Provantage and saved quite a bit of money.
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On November 28 2011 08:17 mmp wrote:
If you're not getting paid for your artwork yet, get a cheap one for now and decide what you like/dislike about it, and then you'll know whether or not it's worth upgrading.
Technique comes before tools.
I agree with this guy. I bought a cheap one (http://www.xp-pen.com) to try out about 5 years back and I've yet to actually use it as much as I'd like to. Until I feel like I'm being handicapped by this tablet, I'll stick with it.
Are you good with your pen/pencil drawings on paper? You should practice some with traditional mediums even though it's quite different to draw with the tablet (it feels like plastic on... plastic). I feel that it'll give you a better sense of things when you start drawing on the computer with a tablet.
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On November 28 2011 08:17 mmp wrote:
Technique comes before tools.
this little piece of advice is the thing you need to think about the most. focusing on the aspect of digital drawing is great and all, but if you really wanna get a lot out of art as a whole, you should focus your attention on your overall skills. if you can't draw well on paper, you won't draw well with a tablet either.
don't just dip your toes into the water, dive right in.
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Estonia4644 Posts
tbh i'd be worried if he sunk nearly 2k $ and bought a cintiq. then i'd advise him to first acquire the techniques necessary.
60-80€ is not too much for an entrylevel tablet that has resale value, should he not feel comfy with it for some reason.
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The bamboo is a pretty solid tablet. I think you've made a good choice with that.
I had a friend back in college who used a bamboo, and she made some pretty solid work with it. The bamboo not going to be as sensitive as other tablets in the wacom line, but if you're just starting out, it's definitely worth the money.
Personally, I use a intuos 4. Love it to death. I had a old graphire 2 before.
I use a cintiq at work.
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Bamboo is fine your needs. Step up to the Intuos line once your skill gets better.
It's a pretty big jump from $100~ to $300+ for a medium-sized Intuos, but you'll love tilt sensitivity and the pressure awesome.
I'm going to have to agree with everyone else here that you should focus on perfecting drawing with pencils/paper first before thinking too much about a tablet.
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EPT
