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Today we’re discussing digital art tablets. The brands covered include Wacom, (Bamboo, Intuos, Cintiq) Monoprice/Yiynova/etc., and Aiptek.
Things to consider:
Some artists still use and swear by a good mouse.
Sometimes even with the fanciest tablet there are types of strokes best done with a mouse.
The tablet is a tool. It improves your work flow but won’t by default make you a better artist.
Understand levels of pressure sensitivity. The Intuos is typically where the “pro” number of levels start on a Wacom device but plenty of pros use Graphire and Bamboo tablets.
If you are going for an Intuos or higher, get a larger model than the smallest.
Buy second hand, refurbished, and online. There’s no reason to pay more especially when you can get “like new” condition.
Tablets also come bundled with “lite” and “essential” versions of software.
The texture of a tablet is different than paper. There are ways around this but you’ll rarely get the same bite without taping paper to your tablet and wearing out your nib.
Try various nib tips.
Tablets with no built in screen require getting used to in terms of hand-eye coordination.
Here’s a nice video on deciding what tablet is right for you: