A tablet, do I need one?

[Midgardsormr]

I find my tablet indispensable for painting in Photoshop. Also, I have some difficulties with tendinitis in my mouse-driving hand, and simply changing my primary input device has helped quite a lot with that. The big downside to it for me is the lack of a middle mouse button. I've configured a button on the tablet's surface to fill that role, but it's still difficult to navigate in Maya, which requires middle mouse for quite a few tasks. Also, any time I have to manipulate something on my secondary monitor, I still have to grab the mouse, since the Wacom is mapped only to the primary screen.

As far as getting used to it, I played a few hours of Neverwinter Nights with the thing, and now it's even more natural to use than the mouse. It's a little strange, though: I have a widescreen monitor, so horizontal movement is more dramatic than vertical movement. That takes some getting used to.

The biggest advantage I find in Photoshop is the ability to use pen pressure to control line width. That allows me to get very nice tapers for things like rivers. Some people like to use pressure to control opacity or flow from their brush. This allows for a much less mechanical look in painting than is possible with a mouse. The primary disadvantage for me is space. I am short on USB ports, so any time I need to plug in my external hard drive, I have to unplug something else. I suppose a USB hub would take care of that, but desk space is also at a premium. The tablet takes up quite a lot of territory when I have it out, and I have cables running everywhere for far too many devices. Someday I'll have a real workspace and a good-sized desk with some reasonable cable management. For now, though, adding the tablet to my mess just makes the spaghetti a little bit worse.

Anyway, the only thing that makes my mouse superior to the tablet in any way is that middle mouse button issue I already mentioned. In all other ways, I consider the tablet the better choice.

edit: Oh, and I wouldn't consider any brand other than Wacom at the moment. They're miles ahead of their competition in terms of quality, compatibility and support.

[jwbjerk]

I've had tablets for maybe eight years, so i'm well used to them. At work (being the art/tech guy) and at friend's homes i've had a chance to play with a good cross-section of wacom tablets. Currently i have a bamboo, and am perfectly happy with it.

I don't use them for clicking through options or menus, a mouse is better for precise clicking IMHO.

A tablet helps with freehand drawing on screen, but it blows away the mouse when you are using a pressure sensitive tool. For instance in good applications like photoshop, illustrator, or GIMP you can paint/draw with brushes that get wider the harder you press with the stylus, or brushes that fade to become highly transparent with a light touch. A mouse can't do anything like this.


Wacom has some sort of patent on their technology. I've never heard of a professional or semi-professional who used another brand.

What you can get away with is using Wacom's cheaper or older tablets. Unless you have ingrained habits of drawing with your whole arm (which would only be the case if you normally draw on something much larger than a regular sheet of paper), i've found that larger and more expensive wacom tablets offer negligible advantage. Some of the higher end ones also track the stylus' tilt, but i haven't found that nearly as compelling as pressure sensitivity. Similarly the basic technology is well established, newer models offer little advantage unless you have a preference for a certain configuration of buttons, which seems to change with the versions.

[RobA]

If you search for threads with "tablet" in the title you will find a number of such discussions, including this one: http://www.cartographersguild.com/sh...use-vs.-tablet

Which is reaaaalllly long, but provides much good info.

-Rob A>

[Servant Of Thor]

Cool, so I guess i'll just have to try one out, as soon as I get the money. Thanks guys!

[Jaxilon]

Don't worry SOThor, I'm in the same boat. One day I will get a tablet myself. Until then I have to use my digital camera. Unless I can get one of these stupid scanners I have here to work worth a dang.

[tilt]

Almost got a tablet last week - but the ¤"#¤&&# postman didn't read the adress label properly and returned it to the company *sigh*... so now I have to order it again...

[Steel General]

Need a tablet...no

Would like to have one...yes

[Natai]

I toyed with getting a tablet for years, not wanting to spend the money because I don't consider myself much of an artist, but eventually I picked up a cheap one on MacMall. I agree with jwbjerk, the pressure features alone make a tablet unbelievably valuable when working freehand in Photoshop. I don't really have any drawing ability, and I certainly can't draw anything with a mouse. I'm also still learning when it comes to mapping in Photoshop, but I'm happy with what I've done so far. I would not have been able to do most of it without the tablet. I have a 6x9 intuos and would recommend it.

[Gidde]

I have a tiny little Bamboo and I can't imagine life without it at this point. It was the cheapest I could find, and doesn't pay attention to tilting the pen, but I have to agree with the previous posters. The pressure sensitivity alone is vital to trying to do things like taper rivers.

[tilt]

Joey: "Whoa, what's complicated? You spin the Wheel of Mayhem to go up the Ladder of Chance; you go past the Mud Hut; through the Rainbow Ring to get to the Golden Monkey; you yank his tail, and BOOM you're in paradise pond!"

Yep, got my tablet today, and looking forward to practicing tomorrow - just went through the tutorial, which was mostly a waste of time ... but now I'm happy happy happy