I need Tablet opinions please?

[Anamya]

I hope this is in the right spot. I tried to use the search function but that pretty much left me nowhere.

I've got a Graphire 4x6 tablet.

Now all the absolutely amazing digital artists I see definitely do not use Graphires. All I see is Intuos, Intuos. I know MOST of their ability has to come from... well... skill. But is some of it from the hardware/software they use?

Is an Intuos REALLY that much better? What exactly IS better? Are the extremely large tablets a hindrance or a help? I can see obviously how a larger pad would be nice, but I'm unsure if the extra hundreds of dollars will do that much for me. I saw the Intuos' 12x19 price and almost choked. (Mostly I'm curious about size difference though?)

I'd ask about other brands, but Wacom seems to be the highest standard possible.

I want to become more of a serious artist-- and I am going to HEAVILY base my buying decision on the opinions of you wonderful artists here. So please give as much input as possible on what you think hardware wise would be helpful and necessary for me now, when I am trying to improve myself.

Thank you! ^_^

Edit: Oh! And is there any difference (aside from aesthetically) between Intuos 2 and Intuos3? I could probably get an Intuos2 a lot cheaper. =_=

Edit2: I used the search function, I swear I did. And out of looking at 3-4 pages full of non-related threads... I found nothing. I come back to check on this thread after reading posts in the -same part of the forum- and notice a similar question only four posts below mine.
One time I went in the fridge looking for mayo, and looked and looked and moved stuff around....and then my brother comes up and says "It's right in the middle of the second shelf you idiot." where I should have obviously seen it. >_<
Well, either way, this is here now. And I'd like opinions on size difference mostly... so it's not quite the same as the "Intuos vs Graphire" question. (Pleasedon'tshootme?)

[Snarfevs]

I have had an intuos 3 6x8 for about 1.5 years now and I love it to bits. I played with a friend's graphire 4 4x6 and whilst the pressure/positional tracking wasn't as good as the intuos 3's, the main things that struck me about the particular tablet were the texture of the surface (intuos 3 overlays are very smooth, whilst the graphire overlays seem to have a more paper-like quality) and slight troubles coordinating brush strokes on the smaller active area (though this is something I believe users could get rapidly used to)

I have also used an intuos 2 A4 for about a week, it was very good in terms of surface and tracking. The main benefit the intuos 3 has over the intuos 2 range are the touch strips and side buttons (functions on the intuos 2 are programmable and accessible from a special active area at the top of the tablet). Other than that, the two editions seem very comparable.

Hope this is helpful to you

[Anamya]

What could one do with these extra programmable things? Is there much use for them, or are they more of a spiffy novelty?

I can't imagine what an Intuos feels like if it's more smooth than a Graphire. I had a Graphire 2, and THAT was kind of papery... but I have a Graphire 3 (I think?) one and that's hard, smooth plastic.

And thanks for the help and input Snarfevs. :D I hope I can get several responses and get somewhat of a feel for the tablet. I wish there was somewhere to just go test one, but I can't find them for sale in a store anywhere near here so I doubt there'd be somewhere to test one. Blah.

[Snarfevs]

Programmable buttons/touch strips are good for assigning commands for zooming, panning, colour picking etc. They are pretty much indispensable.

That reminds me - if you're left handed, do not buy an intuos 3 4x6 as they only have buttons on the left hand side (unless you want to rotate the tablet mapping and work with the thing upside down). The 6x8 and larger have buttons on both sides.

If you want to test one, you might get lucky at an Apple store. At one I visited they had one hooked up to a demo system. It did have a ridiculous mark-up iirc however.

[skidu]

Now all the absolutely amazing digital artists I see definitely do not use Graphires. All I see is Intuos, Intuos. I know MOST of their ability has to come from... well... skill. But is some of it from the hardware/software they use?


I used to also think this but then after reading a cgtalk article about arcipello (http://arcipello.deviantart.com/) was shocked to find out he has always used a scratched up old graphire3 4x6 lol.

So just remember that new hardware/software will not make you a better artist, it'll just speed up your workflow and make your life a bit eaiser.

Btw I also own an Intuos 3 6x8 and totally agree with all the points that Snarfevs made, they're awesome tablets :}

[Kongni]

I just upgraded to an Intuos3 9x12
I've found that drawing is a LOT easier and accurate compared to smaller tablets. Painting is about the same. There is no substitute for talent though. I've seen some pretty sick stuff done with smaller tablets but in order to get the proper control, you have to get used to zooming way into the image to paint. Just my 2c.

The concept art director on the project I'm working on right now uses a Cintiq and claims that "there's no going back" once you use one. They cost $2500 though. Yikes!

[Anamya]

Cintiq looks amazing. It takes away 90% of the hand-eye co-ordination required. I don't think I'd have a light enough hand for it though. >_< I'd be scared of breaking it.

Yep, currently, I end up making 3-4 extra sketch layers because it's hard to get the weight and overall flow even remotely right if you're drawing all zoomed in. @_@; So I draw zoomed out, then zoom in, then zoom out... and somewhere it loses a lot of what I liked about my original sketch. :/

I will definitely call the Apple store Monday and see if they could show me one . Thanks so much for the ideas. :D

Thank you all for the input... it really helps me out a lot. ^_^

[hasansgrafix]

Hi to all..Well tell me something about WACOM BAMBOO??