Which tablet or pad do you prefer

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Which tablet or pad do you prefer

I am curious,which if any, tablet or ipad do you use to draw your designs. I am looking into buying one and I want to get one that will work for me, but with having 4 kiddos to feed, I don't have a lot to spend on one.

eta: 1/23/14
Mary and Lorien: I'm going to transfer this post over to the digital scrapbooking discussions forum since this is where most people will probably look for this subject in the future. We currently have another member asking the same question in there and I'm thinking logically it may be where the next members may look, too. smiley Thanks for starting this informative Q&A thread Mary!

I thought I´d answered this post last week o.O If you´re looking for a "pen tablet" to design, the best ones are the ones made by Wacom. If yu can find an used one on one of those sites who sell used things, this may be a great deal. That was how I adquired mine. You must plug it on your computer and then use it on a image-creating/editing program. I use mine on photoshop.

I never heard on anyone who designed papers/elies on a "smart" kind of tablet (i.e, Ipad, galaxy note, etc) but some used them to digiscrap. But I never did it, so I can´t say for sure.

I've heard that Wacom is the go-to brand for designers and I'll be getting a Wacom pen tablet of my own in the Spring smiley

Thanks for your comments and I did buy a Wacom. At first I wasn't sure I was going to like it. When I first hooked it up the pen was a little hard to control, then after I unplugged it and plugged it back in, apparently it configured itself because now it works great!

I have a Samsung and love it - I do tech support for the "Fruit company" - and those work ok - but you have to use a computer to synch and backup the information if you want to be safe with itunes.

I have a wacom I used for my computer... love it. but i also have an iPad that has photoshop on it and i use that for when i am on the road smiley

I have a Wacom pen tablet that I love. It depends on the operating system brand/version on the level of inherent support for the pen tablets. What I mean is, more recent versions of Windows will auto-install basic drivers when you plug in the device for the first time, and it might take a few minutes. (I can't comment on Apple products because I have never seriously used one, and never will.) Newer versions of Windows also have tablet "support" in the form of on-screen keyboards that automatically pop up and gestures - all of which IMHO get in the way of using a tablet for art purposes, and are somewhat irritating to find and disable. And, then, Wacom offers specific drivers on their website that will sync your tablet up to your display, so the right corner of your tablet is the right corner of your screen, etc. Which is very nice, but expect it to run in the background even when your tablet hasn't even been in view of your computer for months! Depending on how much memory and processing power your computer has, this could or could not be a problem. And Wacom still supports their older models with drivers, which I think is very nice.

That being said, I love my Wacom more than my 120 set of Prismacolor pencils and ALMOST as much as my cherry red KitchenAid mixer (named Audrey), which are two of my most favorite objects in the world. The hassle is miniscule, the pen tablets last freaking forever, and they're IMHO computer magic!

I have poked around with designing on a tablet (lol, the other kind of tablet). I have a Nexus 7 by ASUS, and it's nice for a LOT of things, but I wouldn't recommend it for design. The Samsung Android tablets and phablets are, or so I have read, a little more agreeable to designing (like, the ability to upload and integrate custom fonts into the tablet, something the Nexus cannot as of yet do). But on the whole, tablets for design suck. While you CAN actually connect a pen tablet to a tablet with an adapter called USB To Go, it's hit and miss finding a program that recognizes the pressure sensitivity. And Photoshop is available but severely neutered... If you want to make a 12x12 page in 300dpi, the program will limit you to only a few layers. You cannot use masking layers at all. You can't import fonts, and to my knowledge can't import brushes either. You can't input colours in hexadecimal code, can only choose between saving JPEGs and PNGs, and cannot control file sizes at all. And the controls in Photoshop Touch have a bit of a learning curve - I tend to consider myself more tech-savvy than the average bear and I was really close to throwing it out the window. It isn't a TOTAL waste, but don't expect it to be more than a shadow of it's full-fledged PC/MAC cousin. (I have resigned myself to making scripture memory pictures for my digital picture frame, which is fun, but not what I had originally intended to be able to do.)

These tablets, however, should not be confused with "tablet PCs", which are full-fledged laptops (and some have some GREAT specs) with touch screens and connectable keyboards and mice, etc. Though, where tablets like the ASUS Nexus and Samsung Galaxy Tab run in the ballpark of $150-$600, the tablet PCs can be upwards of $1700 for the super-shiny models. (Yum!)

Anyway, once again, WAY more info than asked for. Hope I could clear some things up... Or maybe muddy up the water some more? ;P

Thanks for your comments ladies smiley As I said in an earlier post, at first the pen of my Wacom was hard to control and then it did great and now we are back to being hard to control smiley Actually I have not been using it much, back to the mouse for drawing. It is very frustrating after spending money on something and then it doesn't work like I thought it would. When I try to draw a line, it will jump and make squiggly lines and then it doesn't stop drawing when I lift the pen, I'm not sure what is going wrong.

Driver problems Mary. Try to download the latest driver from here:

http://us.wacom.com/en/support/drivers

As I said above, sometimes windows "corrupts" the driver trying to make it work with the deaful drivers if you have windows 7 or above, so, sometimes, you´ll have to reinstall to make it work right again. But it´s totally worth and sooner or later you get used to keep reinstalling.

Thanks Lorien! I will check in to that, I do have windows 7.

I have a wacom but I have never got used to using it.

We have a Wacom Intuos 3 I think for my husband. He's the true right brained artist in our family. smiley I bought it for him for Christmas about 3 years ago. It has a mouse and a pen. He loves it!

How's your's working out for you?

I have to say, I have left my Wacom on the shelf for a while. I became very frustrated with trying to get it to work, it just took up too much time. Hopefully, someday I will get the hang of it or figure out what was going wrong.

I cant live with my Wacom pen and tablet.

I am new to both digi scrap and tablet worlds. I got an iPad air. Love it. Photoshop Touch lets me work with all the elements from pixelscrapper (not some of designing I want to do) but there are a ton of drawing / writing apps like bamboo that's amazing. There are reviews with images online. I'm in love.

If the pen is not acting like you want it to go to your programs listing and click on Bamboo properties. This will bring up a page where you can adjust the pressure of your pen etc to what you want it to be. I use this all the time depending on what I want to do with the tablet.

I just bought a new Wacom tablet. OK lost has a whole new meaning for me now. I have not one clue where to start. I have tried to draw and I am all over the place. To those that love the tablet please let me know of some tutorials available to learn. I want to use it so badly. It is just Greek to me.

Thank you in advance.

Nancy

Nancy .... you have to learn to draw with it .... it is very different from drawing on paper .....it looked like I was back in kindergarten when I started lol ... you have to be patient....I downloaded a few kids colouring pages and started there until I had control of the pen...it didn't take long .... you can add a new layer and start drawing over the lines that are already there, paint with the brush etc. Most of the people I know who have purchased one expect they will be able to use it like a pro when they first open it and then when they find out they actually have to learn to use it put it back in it's box and refuse to learn .... really sad in a lot of ways. Once you get used to how it works you will use it for selecting, adding little bits of colour, erasing those little in your pngs etc etc as well ... it is an awesome tool.

Hello Susan! I have a Wacom Intuos. I thought I would go zippity zappity and do it! lol Coloring book pages is a great idea. I just need to take the time to learn it a little each day.

Thank you so much for the wonderful advice! I will keep you posted!

Nancy ... mine is the older bamboo ... my kids gifted me with it several years ago ... love my kids smiley .... Since I learned how to use it properly I don't know what I'd do without it. It sits right behind my monitor where I can grab it quickly now.

I know this thread has not active for a while but ... I just got a small Wacom Intuos 3-4 months ago I was considered before ordering it because I only use one hand but I love it.

I only use with Photoshop and Corel Paint Shop Pro & Animation Shop . It is easier for me then a mouse ..

I got to admit it is different when you first get it. The key is keep practicing with it .. I watched this video it helped allot and he gives tips to get use to it .. all the Tips are very useful I loved all the tips. https://youtu.be/PdIoRJn4-QE

I did all tips but #2 I only use it in my design programs because with one hand the mouse is easier in some programs for me ..

I have a Wacom but never used it. I just can't get the hang of it.

I swear by my Wacom. I got an Intuos 2 some 13 years ago to use for drawing and coloring in Photoshop and it was a staple on my desk until earlier this year when the stylus finally died (after going through 2 or 3 OS changes and still holding strong; I think the cat was the one who finally killed it by chewing on it). Rather than shell out a pretty penny for a replacement stylus for an old tablet, I replaced it with an up-to-date Intuos that works much better with Windows 10.

I find that I switch between tablet and mouse frequently, though. I don't use just one or the other exclusively. For precise clicking, the shape tool, path tool, etc., I use the mouse. When I need to freehand something (lasso tool, paint brush, quick mask tool) or pressure sensitivity matters, then I use the tablet. It takes getting used to, but I find that just practice sketching in Photoshop helps get the hang of the disconnect of using your hand like with a pencil but having to look somewhere other than the paper. The very first thing I did when I got my original tablet way back when was do a practice painting in Photoshop (very basic) and then doodled a character in front of it to get the feel for how the tools and the pressure sensitivity worked.

I bought an iPad with pencil and never have used it. I use a Wacom Intous (the cheapest one). I use it mainly for simple doodles and dynamic brushes.

My daughter turns 14 in november, she loves to draw and is really good. That comes from my mother-in-law, who had this blessed talent too.
After buying her all these very expensive pens last year she now wants a graphic tablet for this birthday.
But usually we don't spend hundreds of Euros on a birthday present.

After reading a lot about graphics tablets Wacom will be a good choice or not? But which versions are good?
And is there an alternative out there to Wacom?

We can also search for a used one. This will not bother her at all.

I've only ever used Wacom, so I don't know of any alternatives.

For a beginner, a basic Wacom Bamboo should be enough to get started. You can do a lot even with that. It would also be the least expensive option.

Thank you Amanda smiley

No problem. I generally advise people to wait until they're absolutely certain they're serious about digital art before spending the money on a nicer/larger Wacom tablet, and if it's just for a beginner go for the "beginner" option Wacom has. smiley

Mostly I use my Kindle Fire even though I love my old Wacom Intuos and its pressure-sensitivity. Might make some little embellishments from budgie feathers and perhaps some pieces of corn and other stuff. Maybe some birdie patterns too. Also thinking of making some candy and button embellishments.

Might also try making some custom brushes for my Craft Artist program even though DaisyTrail is defunct.

My first was a Wacom but when I needed a bigger I found the Huion Inspiroy Q11K Wireless Graphic Drawing Tablet with 8192 Pressure Sensitivity. I like it much better and it really wasn't expensive.