graphics tablet

[werticus]

I have a 'cheapest' wacom graphics tablet (graphire I think), and when i bought it i didn't know if i would like it or use it.

but i love it - could not live without it and i was wondering if it was worth upgrading to a more serious tablet, like the intuos3?

or perhaps a different maker? I use it for post work in photo shop, so its not like i'm doing hand painted matt backgrounds or anything overly serious.

[instinct]

i'd say go intuos. They seriously rock and you'll fall in love with the accuracy and feel of them. Intuos all the way for me. Also the new multimonitor features of the latest driver look seriously damn useful tho i didnt test these yet.

Regards,
Thorsten

[pixelstudio]

i also have an good'n old graphire still rocks if you ask me.

at home i have the newest version of this type of wacom, also works very nice.
i have no need to buy a bigger tablet, but maybe if you do allot of photoshop it has his advantages.

[Bathyscaph]

I couldn't live without my graphics tablet, I can't even work max with a mouse.

The size of the tablet makes a big difference to me. The small tablets make fine movements a bit finicky and I don't like the huge size discrepancy between the tiny tablet and a large monitor. I tried one of the small Wacom tablets many years ago and couldn't get used to it.

I find that the 9x12 tablets like the Intuos are just the perfect size. They also fit nicely in a laptop bag and work well with very large monitors. The amount of arm movement required suits me fine as well.

With that said, I know one artist, a brilliant painter, who swears by his tiny tablet and one artist who loves the huge oversized wacom tablets; so it's a personal thing I suppose. A bigger tablet gives you more accurate scaling but you've got to move your whole arm around to use it. A small tablet can be tricky for making precise moves but it fits anywhere. For my money the 9x12s are the best all-around size. You might want to consider how the tablet you get will work with any future monitors as well. If you are thinking of upgrading your monitor size then that extra space on your tablet will benefit you.

[VKNT]

I couldn't live without my graphics tablet, I can't even work max with a mouse.

Could you please elaborate a bit on how you use your wacom for max? What hotkeys did you assign?

I owned a wacom graphire smallest size, but I have now switched to an intuos A4 (9x12). I only had it for a few days, but here are my reasons why I like my intuos better:

more precize because of larger area and greater dpi.
Working in with bezier curves in illustrator was a hell. I always missed the handles.
more comfortable to use.
The sides of the tablet are big enough to rest your hand on. Not the case with small graphire, my hand slipped of the tablet.
Pen is better too
Pressure sensitivity is better, plus I find the 2 buttons more accessable.

The intuos also has hotkeys on the sides. But I haven't found myself using them. I always work with my left hand on the keyboard, where I have access to much more keystrokes.

You can modify the behaviour of every action. Assign different keystrokes to buttons, or modify the working area. e.g. I only use the complete area in photoshop and illustrator. etc.

Hope this can help you in your choice.

[pixelstudio]

my college has a intuos, and i must say i don't like the pen. it has a soft grip or somthing. but well for me it doesn't feel good. i realy like the old style of the graphire...

[lukx]

i had graphire for few years and when I got last year intuos and I didn't even though it will be so HUGE difference. Graphire compared to Intuos is like you would sleep on hard floor compared to water bed I highly recommend it. But I would recommend going to anything bigger than A4 (I got t A5). Remmeber that bigger size your hand will got more work to do and after some time it might not be so fun.

[VKNT]

Remmeber that bigger size your hand will got more work to do and after some time it might not be so fun.

Don't let the size spoil the fun. As I mentioned you can set the tablet area to anything you want, on a program basis.

[lukx]

ok but it won't save the desk space :P

[VKNT]

ok but it won't save the desk space :P

True

[werticus]

just ordered intuos 3, 8x6 size, which is one size up from my graphire.

[Bathyscaph]

>>Could you please elaborate a bit on how you use your wacom for max? What hotkeys did you assign?

Oh, it's nothing very interesting. It's just that I don't actually know my middle-mouse button from my right button, etc. I switch back and forth between max, maya, Photoshop, and ZBrush and without my pen I can't navigate in any of these programs. With pen in hand I don't think of what I am doing. It's just a muscle memory thing.

I definitely prefer the feel of the pen over a mouse though. It's especially great because I can go from painting to 3d without missing a beat.

I know there is a row of macro buttons on top of the tablet but have never used them. After ten years with a tablet I finally decided to slip an image under the plastic film covering the top of the tablet. So that's a fun bonus of having a tablet that only took me a decade to use.

[etown]

I have been modeling in Max with my Intuos3 for over a year. I have hot keys set up so only one of the pens buttons is used as the right mouse button. I use Q as arc rotate, W as pan, and E as zoom. This eliminates the need for the middle mouse button.

Essentially I began to have horrible tendonitis in my right hand about a year ago and the wacom has helped alleviate the pain. Wonderful tool.

My only beef is that the driver will fail pretty much every day, but I have a feeling this is connected directly with the use of Maxwell...

[werticus]

sweet got it today! (that was fast)

i have not 'used' it as such, just played a little, certainly kills the graphire for resolution. Can probably draw ROUND things with this one

I'm mostly coming to grips with how big it is, i may end up limiting the tablet area in software, but ill try getting used to it first.

[instinct]

it actually "transfers" load. yes you have to move your arm more, but you have to use your wrist less wich i find a lot more comfortable after getting used to it