Choosing a Drawing Tablet

Drawing Tablets, what are they and what kind should i get?

A Drawing tablet allows you to use natural drawing techniques to help make creating digital art a more familiar, comfortable process. If you are serious about creating digital artwork and you do not yet own one, I highly recommend you consider making a purchase. You see not only does a tablet allow you to create art work naturally but more often than not it also allows you to produce it at a faster rate than using a mouse.

When it comes to choosing a drawing tablet I strongly recommend Wacom tablets. Other brands are available such as Aiptek though for the most part Wacom tablets are considered to be a cut above the rest. I would suggest looking at the Intuos and Cintiq lines when purchasing a Wacom tablet. While there are less expensive brands these will provide just about all of the functionality you will need.

What is the difference between the Intous and Cintiq tablets?
Well in short the Cintiq has a built in viewing screen and the Intous does not. When you are drawing on the Intous all the work you are doing appears on your computer monitor in front of you, and while you are drawing on the Cintiq all the work happens where you place your pen on the Cintiq's viewing screen. (see the image above) Needless to say the Intuos tablets are less expensive than the Cintiq.

What size tablet should i get?
Most people prefer the 6x8 graphics tablet. All though it is important to know that a bigger tablet doesn't make you any better an artist. What kind of an artist are you? Some people prefer the smaller tablets because they prefer to draw or paint with the motioning of their wrists, while others may or may not like the larger tablets because you motion more with your arm.