Wacom drawing pad

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Wacom drawing pad

Hubby's getting me a Wacom for Mother's Day! I had a Bamboo many years ago but never got it to work. I kept getting the message in Photoshop that I needed to install a drawing pen that had pressure capability, and even though the Bamboo manual said it was supposed to be able to do that, it never worked. I got so frustrated that I gave up ever trying to use it again (yes, I still have it, I'm a hoarder).

Recently I started playing with Illustrator and now I REALLY want to try it out with the pen. I assume Wacom is good? Any tips on getting started, please feel free to let me know.

Thanks!
Tracy

I have a Wacom, my second one (after the first's stylus finally died last year and it was more cost-effective to get a new tablet than to try to find a replacement stylus for a years-old tablet). I love them, and they're considered a good brand (though not the only good brand these days). If you run into errors with Photoshop again this time, I would do some troubleshooting before giving up, just in case something besides the tablet is causing the issues.

As for tips on getting started, I would say start by just practicing with it. Open up a canvas and just doodle. Get a good idea for the feel of the tablet and get used to looking at the screen and not your hand.

@Amanda Oh I did troubleshoot. Over the years I've tried it on four different computers, both laptops and desktops. Even tried it in Linux. I think the pad is faulty. I'm not sure exactly how since it DID draw, it was just the pressure option was never available no matter what I tried.

Thanks for the tips, I'll definitely be practicing. smiley

Tracy

Yeah, the troubleshoot comment was a "just in case." I'm not saying you did, but I have known others who went, "Well, couldn't figure it out. Must be broken." I know the Bamboo should work with Photoshop, pressure included, so that it didn't no matter what computer you tried it on probably means it was faulty. smiley

I look forward to seeing what you come up with. smiley

I'm looking at the Wacom small with Bluetooth. Now I just have to decide between the black and the pistachio! lol The black one is 55 cents cheaper. smiley

My Intuos BT Medium is pistachio. I love it.

@Tracy - that is so nice that you husband supports you like that. I have an old old Wacom that I never use because I often use my laptop on the couch and there doesn't seem to be a way to set it up here. Your discussion has inspired me to try to set it up again.

@Holly Miller, You'll get best results with any drawing tablet if you set it up on a hard surface where your hand can move freely; perhaps a lapdesk or an over-the-couch C-table?

I've not used the wacom, I use the Ugee with Corel painter 2021 and essentials. I love it. I'm very curious about the Wacom though.

From what I can tell, the Ugee's not much different in function; one of my artist friends uses one for her work in the fandom community. She was tight on money when her old Wacom died and purchased that instead, and hasn't had any real complaints about it, so I'm guessing it's serving her fairly well.

Thanks for that, because for the price difference I think I'll stick with the UGEE for now.

I do my work entirely in Illustrator, with a XP-Pen Deco 01 V2 drawing pad tablet . Mostly with the Pencil too.

When I need to do logos or whatever I will also do it with the tablet. Drawing paths with the pen tool feels immensely more fluid and organic to me with a tablet than a mouse.