Any of our resident artists using a graphics tablet?

I'm in the process of designing a new website (content still under wraps) but in part it will involve me getting my drawing skills back up to par as a large part will be involving my art.

I'm not sure that traditional marker/pencil art is really the way to go with this project though and find myself thinking of at least giving a graphics tablet a go of it due the complexity of the art I need to create rather than try to bring my subpar vector graphics skills up to par using a mouse. I've never used one before. Wondering if any of the artists on here have gotten into creating digital art VS traditional and how you like it comparatively? Any recommendations on an entry level one with a screen?

I still remember when I got my Wacom Intuos4 tablet. It was a game changer for me in terms of my artwork, mostly cartooning. I actually used it to draw my wedding invites years ago. I used it with Photoshop and though it took some time to get used to (you draw on the tablet and have to look up at the computer screen while you're drawing) I loved it.

Here is my deviantart if you want to check out some of the digital artwork, I haven't drawn anything with it in years and I'm sure there are newer ones out now but yeah it definitely is a useful tool. I'm in no way a professional or that good at drawing but it was really a nice tablet.

I was looking at the ones with a screen built in because I think the variety without a screen would leave me creating images that look like a drunk 3 year old drew them Problem is, the ones with screens start at around $200, mid-range is in the $500 area and high end ones are $1000+.

I may do some experimentation with high resolution photos of hand drawn art first before buying anything after seeing the prices. I do have a good DSLR setup for product photography and an extensive collection of Tombow markers already.

BTW- Did you ever sell on deviant art? I have thought about setting up an account.

I have played with a Wacom, and it's great, but I am still sticking to my traditional method, which is an odd multi-media mish-mosh of a sketch which I convert to a Paint App and then play with, eventually printing it off in layers, gluing it onto canvas, and then texturing/finishing with acrylics.
I suspect that if I really LEARNED a tablet and got skilled, it would at the very least replace the sketch-Paint steps.

Kiwibird said:

I was looking at the ones with a screen built in because I think the variety without a screen would leave me creating images that look like a drunk 3 year old drew them Problem is, the ones with screens start at around $200, mid-range is in the $500 area and high end ones are $1000+.

I may do some experimentation with high resolution photos of hand drawn art first before buying anything after seeing the prices. I do have a good DSLR setup for product photography and an extensive collection of Tombow markers already.

BTW- Did you ever sell on deviant art? I have thought about setting up an account.

Click to expand...

I never was that good enough to sell anything but it is such a great place to put your portfolio of all your work and get it out there. The tablets do cost a bunch -- I think mine was around $200.

I haven't done much drawing since I way way younger but there are some things we want to start saving for that are slow going on our current budget and since moving to our current place, finding stuff to flip on ebay is so unreliable these days. So, I've been bringing my drawing skills back up to speed to see if I can make a bit of money with that. I at one point tried selling my sewing on Etsy, but there are just SO many others selling similar items I never sold anything and wasted several hundred dollars in the process. Such total BS too as people stop e on the street and ask all the time if I sell my handbags, but I actually put them up online for sale and not a single bite. People have also always complimented me on my art, so we'll see if thats just more crap like all the people who compliment my sewing. I just don't want to invest too much money in this before I can be certain I can actually turn a profit and get burned again.

I have no real marketable skills anyone would actually hire me for, so it's either go flip burgers part time or try to sell something creative if we want to reach some life goals. I do have a pretty cool concept for a website (which is why I'm keeping mum about content. Thousands of people look at this site so I don't want someone stealing my idea, which would be just my luck!). I have done web design for family/friends in the past, so really I just need to get the art created and design a fairly simple website. Thinking of then linking over to a deviant art page or Etsy for custom drawings too.

I’m a professional photographer I use the new Wacom Intous that connects with Bluetooth to my MacBook Pro for my editing. It’s great. I also use an iPad Pro with Apple Pencil when I do feel like doing a bit of hobby drawing. If Apple would make a 2-in-1 MacBook tablet that would allow me to use the Apple Pencil on the screen I’d be in heaven! I’d even be happy if I could use the full photoshop CC program on the iPad Pro.

So I have narrowed it down to a XPEN brand new from amazon or a refurbished Wacom off ebay, both under $300. Leaning towards the Wacom since everyone here seems to have used that brand, 2 of you professional artists. Its a few years old, but so are my MacBooks I'd be using it on (I have a 2013 pro and a 2011 air).

But before I buy it, anyone know anything about these?
https://www.xp-pen.com/goods/show/id/92.html

Seems to be the only halfway decently reviewed one with a screen in my budget. There is another brand with a low end model in my price range, but when I watched youtube demo videos of that one, the sensitivity of the screen didn't appear much better than I can do on my junker old tablet with a stylus.

Also, drawing software (I was looking at the full version Sketchbook app) and books to learn more about the various techniques with digital art, which I'm sure are quite different than traditional mediums. Thanks so much you guys!

Thank you Ladies,

I’ve been thinking about getting one myself and I appreciate the info in this thread.

Tami2 said:

Thank you Ladies,

I’ve been thinking about getting one myself and I appreciate the info in this thread.

Click to expand...

Curious what model(s) are you considering? For professional or hobbyist use?

If things work out with my website/art sales, I'll almost certainly want to upgrade to a more professional model. So just getting a lot of opinions

So I'm very excited! I managed to find a nice, refurbished 16" Wacom tablet with a screen (a few years old, admittedly) for $200 on ebay. Seller was very nice and able to tell me the cables etc... I needed to get as it was missing them. I think it'll be a more solid product than the cheapest new ones on the market and it's a much bigger work surface than the 10" ones in my budget. I've also decided to give Autodesk Sketchbook Pro a try first instead of subscribing to the Adobe suite. Will be messing with Sketchbook this weekend just using my mouse to get familiar with the tools as I couldn't find any books available covering the newest version of the program. Fortunately, while I may not be college educated, if given some time to experiment, I can figure most things out pretty quickly. Very eager to get started creating digital art!

Kiwibird said:

Tami2 said:

Thank you Ladies,

I’ve been thinking about getting one myself and I appreciate the info in this thread.

Click to expand...

Curious what model(s) are you considering? For professional or hobbyist use?

If things work out with my website/art sales, I'll almost certainly want to upgrade to a more professional model. So just getting a lot of opinions

Click to expand...

Honestly, I don't know as I haven't done any of the research yet. That's why I was lurking in this thread instead of adding to it ...

SUPER excited this morning! The tablet arrived yesterday, but as it needed some replacement cables (which I knew when I bought it), I am yet unable to do anything with it. The cables should be here today and I can't wait to get started! Feeling like a kid on Christmas. Hoping I made the right choice to go with the few year old top of the line model (at the time it was made) instead of a brand new lowest quality one

I used a tablet for a while during my days of image manipulation, they're pretty good but honestly for me with my hands being all shaky and what-not I found for me that a miniature mouse was the best for the fine detail work, though I did still use the tablet for the broader stuff

LordTriggs said:

I used a tablet for a while during my days of image manipulation, they're pretty good but honestly for me with my hands being all shaky and what-not I found for me that a miniature mouse was the best for the fine detail work, though I did still use the tablet for the broader stuff

Click to expand...

What is a miniature mouse? I googled it and it looks like just a miniaturized regular mouse? How did it help do detail work better? Now I'm curious Or maybe this is one of those cases of something in the UK referring to an entirely different thing than in the US (like chips and biscuits!).

no it was as you describe a standard mouse but very small.

I would use photoshop and for very fine detail work use the 1 pixel sized brush. I could rest my hand on the mouse mat and just use my fingers for very small movements. It came in especially hand when I made 16-bit character animations

side note don't get me started on chips and biscuits! I'm pretty good with Americanisms but some really grind my gears! the whole 1st floor ground floor thing is the worst

LordTriggs said:

no it was as you describe a standard mouse but very small.

I would use photoshop and for very fine detail work use the 1 pixel sized brush. I could rest my hand on the mouse mat and just use my fingers for very small movements. It came in especially hand when I made 16-bit character animations

side note don't get me started on chips and biscuits! I'm pretty good with Americanisms but some really grind my gears! the whole 1st floor ground floor thing is the worst

Click to expand...

Huh. If I ever run across one, I might have to pick it up. For now, I need to get used to this tablet. Curious if the one you used had a screen or if it was one of the ones you had to look at the compute while drawing to see the image?

As for the serious matter of "chips and biscuits", while we may respectfully disagree as to what foods they respectively describe, Kiwi is at least "culturally sensitive" about the issue. He will gobble down with equal excitement both the American AND English versions

my one was the kind you looked at the computer with, it was one of the main things I disliked about it as there was an extreme disconnect.

In fact it's not even chips and biscuits! Cause your chips are our crisps, though that one is easy. Don't you call our biscuits crackers or something?

LordTriggs said:

my one was the kind you looked at the computer with, it was one of the main things I disliked about it as there was an extreme disconnect.

In fact it's not even chips and biscuits! Cause your chips are our crisps, though that one is easy. Don't you call our biscuits crackers or something?

Click to expand...

I saw those and thought "but I don't think my brain is wired that way!". Can't imagine how people could ever get used to that:06: I got one with a LCD screen, similar in appearance to a regular tablet but it's only responsive to a special stylus and cannot work independently of a computer. That's why I opted to get a used one, new ones started at around $250 for a 10" tablet whereas the 16" ones like I got started at over $1000

THIS is what an American thinks of as a biscuit. Like a flaky dinner roll kinda deal (very tasty!). What you call "biscuits", we call cookies. A cracker is like a hard, unleavened bread cut into little squares and salty

Kiwibird said:

LordTriggs said:

my one was the kind you looked at the computer with, it was one of the main things I disliked about it as there was an extreme disconnect.

In fact it's not even chips and biscuits! Cause your chips are our crisps, though that one is easy. Don't you call our biscuits crackers or something?

Click to expand...

I saw those and thought "but I don't think my brain is wired that way!". Can't imagine how people could ever get used to that:06: I got one with a LCD screen, similar in appearance to a regular tablet but it's only responsive to a special stylus and cannot work independently of a computer. That's why I opted to get a used one, new ones started at around $250 for a 10" tablet whereas the 16" ones like I got started at over $1000

THIS is what an American thinks of as a biscuit. Like a flaky dinner roll kinda deal (very tasty!). What you call "biscuits", we call cookies. A cracker is salty

Click to expand...

yeah it's hard to get your brain used to it with the disconnect, I'd live to get one of the ones with a screen but I can't warrant the price with how little I use them

see that there looks like a scone. Yes Cookies, which is double confusing for us here as we also have cookies which are a form of biscuit! So many minor differences that all add up