[Iddi]

I finally got myself to buying a drawing tablet today, a Wacom Graphire 3 classic. A friend of mine has the Intuos 2, and keeps telling me how Intuos is for the pros and the Graphire is for amateurs. Is this true, that the Intuos is so much better than the Graphire? What's so special about the Intuos (except for more tools and buttons)?
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The truth hurts. Sure not as much as jumping onto your bike with the seat missing, but it hurts.

[Jin]

Intuos tablets have 1024 levels of pressure sensitivity and support Tilt (meaning the brushstroke responds to the angle at which the stylus is held in relation to the tablet surface).

The newest Intuos tablets, Intuos 3, also support Rotation and work with the new Wacom 6D Art Pen and Painter IX with the 9.1 Update/patch installed. There's a good write up by one of the original Painter developers at Conceptart.org in the Painter Feedback & Help forum that you might find much more interesting and informative than what I can tell you about Rotation and the Wacom 6D Art Pen.

Scroll down to the post by "pixlart" (John Derry) and ignore the guy who calls the 6D Art Pen "crap". He obviously didn't learn how to use it and he's been spreading that nonsense around the Web. Pay attention to what "pixlart" (John Derry) says. He developed and has been using Painter since the beginning, back in the early '90s and, I expect, Wacom tablets and pens for as long as they've been around. Wacom tablets and pens are designed to take advantage of Painter's capabilities and Painter's designed to take advantage of Wacom tablets' capabilities. John does know what he's talking about.

Thread name: Review - Wacom 6D Art Pen with Painter IX


Graphire tablets have half the levels of pressure sensitivity, 512, and do not support Tilt or Rotation (neither of which is critical to painting with and enjoying a Wacom tablet). However, they're good, solid tablets and just fine if you're beginning and/or can't afford the expense of an Intuos tablet. If you ever decide to upgrade to an Intuos, no matter how many years go by, I'll betcha your Graphire will still be working, good as new. My first Wacom tablet, an ArtZ II bought in the mid '90s, was similar to today's Graphires and I used it for almost nine years on a daily basis. It sits in a drawer now, good as new, and waiting for the time when I can hook up a second monitor and use two computers for different purposes.


Don't let your friend make you think you have an inferior product. You'll enjoy it a lot and the extra bells and whistles are things you may be able to afford later anyway.


Happy Painting!


Jinny Brown
TutorAlley Forums
Tutorials and Painter Info at PixelAlley

Edit on July 21, 2005, after a good night's sleep, to correct two really dumb looking typos.

[balistic]

Practice and practice until you can make better art with your Graphire than your friend can with his Intuos, then call him a JERKFACE.
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brian.prince|light.comp.paint

[Jin]

There ya go, ballistic!

Why didn't I say that?




Jinny Brown
TutorAlley Forums
Tutorials and Painter Info at PixelAlley

[Iddi]

Whoa, I didn't expect anything like this at all, and not this quick

Thanks a lot, all of you In my opinion I'm already better than my friend at traditional drawing and watercolor painting (maybe oil too), so I'll see what happens. Thank a lot for the help and cheer-ups, especially Jin

So, expect me to start posting here at a regular basis, now that I have a tablet I'll be sure to show off my pieces! I'll need the comments and critique.

Jin, you say your tablet is still working and good as new, but doesn't the tablet get scratches etc., and don't you have to buy new tips for your stylus and so on?
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The truth hurts. Sure not as much as jumping onto your bike with the seat missing, but it hurts.

[Jin]

Hi Iddi,

My old tablet does most likely have some scratches on the surface but nothing that ever bothered me. I believe I changed my pen tip once, maybe twice. What I was referring to when saying "good as new" was that it never broke, never stopped working, not for a minute. Replacing a nib or the plastic flap is no big deal for such a great tool.

My newer Intuos 2 seems to have a less durable plastic surface and that has become scratched pretty quickly. I cover it with one thing or another and when that gets scratched, I just toss and replace it.

I'll have to admit I wasn't using my older tablet all day long like I do now with the Intuos, all day and often half the night. No wonder this one shows some wear and tear. So do I !

It'll be nice to see your work when you're ready to show us. Have fun painting and drawing!


Jinny Brown
TutorAlley Forums
Tutorials and Painter Info at PixelAlley

Edit on July 21, 2005, after a good night's sleep, to correct two more really dumb looking typos.

[Freebooter]

Yeah my Intuous has a nice, uneven texture to it but it has never bothered me. I got this Intuous from my brother Mikko K shame on you if you didn't know we were brothers: we share all the traits of bad taste and worse execution ) and it was well worn already.

[noxi]

It�s Volito or nothing.

[Ranath]

.. or mouse.. okay, I have graphire, works just fine. Tablet is not the first thing to worry about, graphire won't hold you down I guess. Intuos might be simply more comfortable.

[Duracel]

Agree with Ranath!

And you can't see if a finished piece is painted with a Graphire or an Intuos - i.e. take a look at my gallery, all work is done with my good old Graphire1.

There is no need to buy an intuos and you can't go wrong with a graphire, but if you have the money and you know you will use the graphic tablet alot (everyday working needs the "most ergonomic" tools) then an Intuos(or better a cintiq ) is the right choice.

If you're just strating into digital art and if you are no professional who have to use his tool all the time, an Graphire is the right choice i think.

A Volito is just for those people who just wanne try a pen and don't know if it is worth the money you have to pay for a graphire.
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Lars G�tze

www.duracel.de Gallery

Detailling a speedpainting is nothing but speedpainting in detail.

[neff]

i'm using my intuos2 for about 4 years now and have no probs, but just because i'm a damn technic nerd i ordered me today a intuos3 a5 for even more fun, wheee
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[Iddi]

Yeah, see I got my Graphire 2 (used by a friend about three times) for less than what a Volito the same size would cost, so I guess it was worth it anyway
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The truth hurts. Sure not as much as jumping onto your bike with the seat missing, but it hurts.