Comments on: Wacom Intuos Tablet question

Question: Wacom Intuos Tablet question

orlin — Mon, 26 Dec 2005 10:39:40 -0800

I have the opportunity to buy an used x Wacom intuos graphics tablet to use with my photoshop program. It would cost about $85.00 with shipping. It is being offered on e-bay without the software that the owner says is free to download from the Wacom site. My question is to those of you with Wacom experiance, would it be better for a newbe to go for the more expensive (new) wacom to take advantage of the provided software and hard copy instructions or do you think a person that is reasonalbly technologically proficient with computers / downloading etc. be able to get up to speed using advice typically found on the internet? Thank you...

By: evariste

evariste — Mon, 26 Dec 2005 10:46:41 -0800

The paper instructions and cd, plus two dollars, buy you a cup of coffee. Go for it.

Here's a little internet advice: expect to be a little disappointed with the tactile feel of the tablet, unless you already know what they're like.

By: miniape

miniape — Mon, 26 Dec 2005 10:46:42 -0800

I just got a tablet. I haven't looked at the instructions yet and I've been using it for four or five days without problems. The software is very small and installed very quickly from one cd. Once you've got it installed, you'll see a the set-up in your menu. The options are self-explanatory.

p.s. My experiences are with a wacom tablet on XP.

By: evariste

evariste — Mon, 26 Dec 2005 10:47:59 -0800

A little more internet advice: go download a program called ArtRage. It's a really awesome drawing program designed for tablets.

By: orlin

orlin — Mon, 26 Dec 2005 10:48:23 -0800

I see there is a slight typo in my question. I ment to write that it is a 6X8 tablet. I think that would be a good deal!

By: punilux

punilux — Mon, 26 Dec 2005 10:54:24 -0800

Well, I see Wacom are still offering drivers for the tablet I bought seven years ago, so I'd say go for it. They're really simple to use, Photoshop will work with it without any complex setup.
Does anyone really ever use the supplied disc with any piece of hardware and not just hit the website for the latest drivers anyway?

By: wsg

wsg — Mon, 26 Dec 2005 11:26:12 -0800

You don't need the disc. The downloadable drivers do everything and there's prolly plenty of instructions at the site, too. It's very simple really.

By: devilsbrigade

devilsbrigade — Mon, 26 Dec 2005 11:35:54 -0800

The only thing the disk gives you is a light version of Painter, which, if you don't have the software already, is a lot of fun. Photoshop is nice for tablet stuff, but Painter is designed to simulate traditional media with a tablet and does it very well. If you haven't already, check out ConceptArt.org - they have great forums for digital painting, lots of tips, lots of inspiration. Get started doing their daily assignments, and you'll be well on your way.

By: lunarboy

lunarboy — Mon, 26 Dec 2005 11:37:55 -0800

I concur with what everyone's been saying. The tablets last a long time and the drivers are always available for download from Wacom.com. I have an older model 6x8 Intuos at home and a newer one at work--I like my older one because it's less complicated. The only thing that I care about is the tablet and the pen. All the other extraneous buttons and scroll pads just get in the way.

By: poweredbybeard

poweredbybeard — Mon, 26 Dec 2005 11:41:37 -0800

i use an intuous for graphics stuff, it's great... i was also pleased to recently find i could just plug it in to a friend's old win98 box and use it right away, no software, no drivers. the software does let you customize it a bit more, including shortcuts for the two buttons on the pen, so if you can DL it, it's worth it... but even without, $85 for a 6x8 intuous is a great deal.

By: Rumple

Rumple — Mon, 26 Dec 2005 12:06:58 -0800

piggyback question: can a tablet drawing be turned into a vector file suitable for tweaking in something like coreldraw, without using coreldraw 'trace" routine?

By: five fresh fish

five fresh fish — Mon, 26 Dec 2005 12:08:19 -0800

Natural Painter, especially the latest versions, is completely mind-blowing. If you have any artistic talent, it's worth every penny to purchase.

By: zadcat

zadcat — Mon, 26 Dec 2005 13:29:15 -0800

rumple, a tablet is an input tool. you can draw directly with vectors using a tablet if you want to. i do it all the time in Illustrator and Freehand.

By: Corky

Corky — Mon, 26 Dec 2005 13:29:29 -0800

I love my Wacom. I have a teeny one; lust after a larger one. I use the stylus instead of a mouse all the time now. It's wonderful. Go for it!

By: devilsbrigade

devilsbrigade — Mon, 26 Dec 2005 14:16:04 -0800

Just remember that if you can't move your mouse, and are getting really confused, to check where the stylus is... I leave my wacom propped up, and the stylus sometimes falls across it, and overrides the mouse. Very frustrating.

By: orlin

orlin — Mon, 26 Dec 2005 16:53:47 -0800

Thank you for your expertise, I bought it on e-bay...

By: roue

roue — Mon, 26 Dec 2005 16:55:09 -0800

One note about the wacoms -- be sure you know that the interface will work properly on your system. I had a serial tablet that worked fine with my MacOS 9 mac (using a serial to USB adapter), but they dropped support for that with the OSX driver. So long as it's a USB interface you should be fine.

By: Rumple

Rumple — Mon, 26 Dec 2005 17:50:09 -0800

thanks zadcat. i am going to look into that for doing my soild profiles from fielddrawings to digital. thanks for asking the question, orlin!