Drawing tablet?

SRHowen · Oct 2, 2011

My daughter wants a tablet for Christmas, she is both an artist and has started writing, I have no idea what I am doing looking for one for her. She needs to draw freehand with a pen, not the mouse, and she said she doesn't want a lot of software to do coloring in for her, she uses GIMP --I have no idea if they come with GIMP--can programs be loaded on them or do they work through your PC?

uMm, HELP???

Deleted member 42 · Oct 2, 2011

GIMP is a Unix graphics program—does your daughter use a Mac? (Most graphic designers do).

I'd look at Wacom, if she uses Mac or Windows. They pretty much own the graphics tablet market.

Don't get one of the huge ones; I ordered those for a bunch of designers and artists, thinking they'd like them, and they honestly didn't. Look at the ones from Wacom's Intuos line, and don't go for the largest size.

CircusOfCrows · Oct 2, 2011

I have a Wacom Bamboo tablet. I like it, but I quickly outgrew it. I'd also suggest something from the Intuous line. While they are a bit more expensive than the entry level Bamboo, it's less likely that your daughter will outgrow it any time soon.

SRHowen · Oct 2, 2011

Right now she uses my desktop, Windows PC. I've been so darn busy finding stuff to make my life work with going blind, I am way behind on other tech stuff.

I know she does use GIMP. She did mention Bamboo (LOL thought i heard her wrong) (Man I feel old right now.) She's almost 18, so I do want something that she will use for awhile, collage is going to cost enough without replacing tech just out of boredom with it.

I'll check out the Intuous

Chumplet · Oct 2, 2011

My daughter used a generic tablet for since she was about twelve, and the stylus finally wore out. She recently bought a mid-sized Wacom Intouos and is happy with it so far. It's interesting that the larger ones aren't necessarily better. You don't want your hand to travel too much - a smaller space makes for better economy of movement, thus not tiring out the hand, I guess.

Williebee · Oct 2, 2011

Not sure what your budget is, but +1 on the Wacom Bamboo.

Don't just hit the local store, though. There are a number of places online where you can watch for deals (tigerdirect, newegg etc.) Also, depending on what state your in, there may be some educational discount purchase options, because she's a student.

Deleted member 42 · Oct 2, 2011

SRHowen said:
Right now she uses my desktop, Windows PC. I've been so darn busy finding stuff to make my life work with going blind, I am way behind on other tech stuff.

There's a LOT of adaptive tech--much of it is tax deductible in the US, and/or covered by insurance. Not sure about the rest of the world, but I suspect it's true there too.

SRHowen said:
I know she does use GIMP. She did mention Bamboo (LOL thought i heard her wrong) (Man I feel old right now.) She's almost 18, so I do want something that she will use for awhile, collage is going to cost enough without replacing tech just out of boredom with it.

I'll check out the Intuous

Bamboo is especially good for non-mouse using people. In very crude terms, Bamboo is an alternative to mouse/keyboard use, while Intuos is specifically designed for graphic artists, and is not dependent on keyboard or mouse/trackball use.

The Bamboo stylus and apps (as a separate product from the tablet) are especially dominant in terms of iPad. They pretty much own the top levels.

You might want to just get your daughter to specify what she really wants, with a second choice. Also, Wacom is pretty good about educational discounts at campus stores.

SRHowen · Oct 2, 2011

I should have thought of tigerdirect. I don't drive anymore so she is my transportation to anywhere, so I will be getting it online, not to mention I live in booneyville on a dirt road 40 miles from anywhere.

I appreciate the help.

Deleted member 42 · Oct 2, 2011

SRHowen said:
I should have thought of tigerdirect. I don't drive anymore so she is my transportation to anywhere, so I will be getting it online, not to mention I live in booneyville on a dirt road 40 miles from anywhere.

I appreciate the help.

Price check with Amazon too, and check out her campus to see if they have a computer store.

Campus / educational discounts can be huge.

benbradley · Oct 2, 2011

Medievalist said:
GIMP is a Unix graphics program—does your daughter use a Mac? (Most graphic designers do).

Gimp is multiplatform, I've got it on Windows XP.

I'd look at Wacom, if she uses Mac or Windows. They pretty much own the graphics tablet market.

Don't get one of the huge ones; I ordered those for a bunch of designers and artists, thinking they'd like them, and they honestly didn't. Look at the ones from Wacom's Intuos line, and don't go for the largest size.

I suppose the "standard" size is 12x12 (drawing area is 12 inches square)? That's what I recall using many years ago on CAD systems.

DrZoidberg · Oct 3, 2011

My wife's an artist. She did extensive research and went for Wacom. It works will all kinds of programmes. I think she uses the Adobe suite. But it isn't necessary. She's very happy.

She got a fairly large one, but found that she only uses a tiny bit of it anyway. A friend who is also an artist said the same thing. But it's of course nice to have a big space to draw on if the need would arise.

But she does do a lot of freehand with just the mouse as well. It's more of an added tool than a total replacement of the mouse. It's how she uses it anyway.

Cath · Oct 3, 2011

I vote Wacom too. I went with a Bamboo tablet because I wanted it primarily for photo manipulation and second Medi's comment, it's not quite precise enough for illustration. The Intuos line is excellent for only a little more.

I also strongly recommend getting a graphics package such as Photoshop while she's in school too, there are crazy discounts for students (and it's really expensive otherwise). GIMP is great but it's limited on functionality.

Tirjasdyn · Oct 3, 2011

Another vote for Wacoms. Check for bundles, often you can buy photoshop or painter bundled with a Wacom tablet.

SRHowen · Oct 3, 2011

We do have the most recent versions of photoshop and paint. She is looking for one to draw freehand, but not with the mouse.

She's not going to school for art. So it is for her personal use.

kuwisdelu · Oct 3, 2011

SRHowen said:
We do have the most recent versions of photoshop and paint. She is looking for one to draw freehand, but not with the mouse.

She's not going to school for art. So it is for her personal use.

You don't have to be going to an art school to get the educational discounts, as long as it's a school.

Theo81 · Oct 3, 2011

I got this one a month or so ago and I'm really happy with it although I've never used a graphics tablet before.

I use it for photocorrections in PS Elements and to draw vectors. I find it fine for both of them.
I've tried using it to sketch stuff in PSE but I don't get on well with it - it is very different to drawing with a pencil and paper. It's not terribly sensitive even though I've tweaked the settings, not quite as sensitive as a biro.
The big thing I miss from it is having hotkeys on the actual tablet, if I was buying again I'd definitely prefer one with them on (although I do now work with my feet on the desk, the keyboard on my knees and the tablet in my lap)
Mine is about A5 size which sounds small but I wouldn't want a bigger one. The tablet area corresponds to the screen size so using it as a mouse, the tracking felt very slow at first, but I have got used to it.

This is the "standard" first tablet, so it might be a good choice to see how she gets on with it and she can upgrade in a couple of years.

If you've any questions, feel free to PM me.

PEBKAC2 · Oct 3, 2011

I picked up one of the mid-sized Intuis tablets refurbished for under $90 on one of the educational software discount sites. It also came with a full, special version of Elements which was upgradeable to full Photoshop for $300. My daughter has used the tablet for years and I got the copy of Photoshop. You can find some great deals out there if you look around.

Cyia · Oct 3, 2011

Inkling is coming out this month. It turns any paper surface into a tablet with the pen.

Dani · Oct 4, 2011

I just bought the intuos4 tablet (medium sized) and I love it. The pen pressure and sensitivity are insanely good. I thought about the bamboo tablet, but I changed my mind at the last moment because I wanted something I could grow with - art-wise.

The bamboo has a lot of limits and is great for photo manip, but if she has aspirations beyond basic sketches then I'd go for the intuos instead of the bamboo. That pretty much confers with what I've been reading while researching what to buy. I spent at least 4 months going over tablets and drawing pads - including the bamboo, intuos, ipad, hp etc. I looked at them all. Only the intuos and cintiq seemed to be designed for /artists/ rather than just hobbyists.

Hope that helps =) And you're an awesome mom!

SRHowen · Oct 4, 2011

The inkling looks really cool. It's a little more than what I wanted to spend on a tablet thingy, but might be worth it. Looks like it will be out soon so there should be some reviews of it before I would have to buy it to get it by the holidays.

Canotila · Oct 5, 2011

We have an Intuos4 in the largest size. It's enormous and I like it very much. Then again, my husband and I both like sketching on large paper. For us it's a matter of being able to incorporate arm movement instead of tiny little finger movements while working.

Intuos is very good though. The pressure sensitivity is excellent. You can do some very subtle shading with them.

One downside to the large ones is they aren't very portable, which makes it hard to go work at a cafe or something.

Gale Haut · Oct 5, 2011

The Inkling does look cool. I don't really understand how it's going to work or if there will be an eraser, which would be a big drawback, IMHO.

But why not just get her a small Intuos4 used or refurbished for around 150 bucks? It's affordable and has all the fixings. You might also consider getting her Photoshop on a student discount. The Intuos comes with digital painting software and an additional discount to PS--though I don't know if you can stack the two discounts.

The reason I suggest Photoshop over Gimp is because your freeware programs tend to have trouble with pressure sensitivity, which is a big downfall for tablets. I don't think it will be an issue with the Inkling, however, since everything is uploaded from the sketches and she will not be sketching onto the screen.

SRHowen · Oct 5, 2011

@Gale she's a teen, LOL and is stuck on GIMP, not because it was free.--I have no idea why she likes it so much. We do have Photoshop and Paint. though i end up using those more than she does.

I had no idea that the tablet things were so popular and didn't really understand how they worked. In my mind they were like the old MS draw program not worth a whole lot as far as real art went. I see I am wrong,

Too much tech to keep up with I guess, and my main focus has been learning tech to help me with my vision loss, I do appreciate all the suggestions on here. The inkling is cool, but she did mention she wanted to get away from so much paper, she has boxes and boxes filled with sketch books. And the Inkling uses paper from what I read.

Right now I am thinking the Bamboo might be the way to go. It's the one she keeps talking about so it may be worth it to get her the one she thinks she wants. LOL

Gale Haut · Oct 5, 2011

It sounds like a wise decision to get her what she wants rather than what she might need. Especially when what she wants is so affordable.

And don't worry about Photoshop. I did some research and Gimp documentation claims to support pressure sensitivity for the Bamboo Tablet. She might have to enable it, though.

Good luck! I'm sure she'll love it.

Snitchcat · Oct 5, 2011

I bought one of the early generations of the mid-sized Wacom Intuous tablets about 5 - 6 years ago. I used it on Win XP and I'm still using it now for Win 7 (driver is available online). It's great for GIMP, Paint.NET, MyPaint, and the full the Adobe Suite. And it works fine on a Mac or a PC.

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