Considering a Graphics Tablet?

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There's a bunch you could say about graphics tablets. Most other people have said it elsewhere- so I won't wast your time. After many hours of research and study I purchased a graphics tablet to see what all the hype was about. This is my story.

For those of you who don't know, a graphics tablet is like an electronic piece of paper. It can be used to replace your mouse or used in conjunction with it. There are different names for a graphics tablet: digitizing tablet, graphics pad, or drawing tablet- but they all mean the same thing.

There are different companies who make graphics tablets, like Aiptek, DigiPro, and Wacom. The most well known and well used is Wacom. Wacom (pronounced “wah-come”) is the standard in the graphics tablet market. Their medium sized are known to be the “work horse” of the graphics industry because of the quality, price and versatility.

I just happen to have a Wacom Intuos 3 6x8 tablet (pictured above...I think that's the size anyway). It is comparable to the new Wacom Intuos 4 Medium (pictured below)... in size – but the new Intuos 4 has a new design and other bene's that I'ld love to have... I just can't currently justify spending the money since my Intuos 3 works so very well.  (But I really REALLY want one.)

A graphics tablet allows you to draw on the computer screen just like you're drawing on paper. It takes a little practice... but within a couple of hours it came very naturally for me. I started off just using it as a replacement for my mouse as I navigated the computer and surfed the web.

After I got a little comfortable with it I decided to open up my version of Photoshop (CS2) and see if I could make anything happen. I was immediately amazed at how easy it was. It took me a little while to become more proficient but I was amazed.

Next I learned that I could reprogram the buttons on the tablet to fit what I needed as an artist. This was like heaven. Many frequently used tasks were shortened from 4 or 5 clicks to 1 click of a button... which also greatly improved the speed of my work. I could flip images, re-size things, and draw straight lines- with the greatest facility.

I have since used my tablet for many hours and it is still holding up like new.

If you have ever wanted to work electronically you should get a tablet. I recommend a Wacom Intuos 4 Medium. If you have never worked digitally – I highly recommend you try it out. This has brought a lot of fun back into drawing for me.

There are many tablet options out there. The bottom line is get one.

   (from Amazon)

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