I want to get a wacom, and I want one tonight. I'm not sure if Wacom is the best company though? I really want to spend 100, (Otherwise, I have to take a loan out from my parents, with 10 percent interest, my budget for other things is far more important than this) but I don't know what I should get? Opinions? Suggestions? ANY information at all?

I'll be using this for modeling, drawing comics, web-graphics, and hopefully for model texturing.

JediKirby

Wacom is the best, hands down.
It's also well worth the money.
A Graphire 3 should suit you just fine, although I'm not sure how useful they'd be for modeling and texturing...but hey who knows.

I bought mine on an impusle, and haven't regretted it once.

I can almost guarantee that everyone whose used multiple kinds of tablets will recommend the wacom.

When I bought my Graphire 2 it was 100 bucks.. It's a nice pad, hasn't let me down. I'd reccomend it (though they are probably cheaper nowadays).

Wacom Graphire 3 is what I use. Works great. But be careful with the cord. I had to get mine replaced because the cord got wrecked.

Wait, do they use USB 2.0? My USB ports are fuggled, and I'd really hate to get a wacom only to not be able to use it...

On that note, I should make a USB port post in the technical discussion.

JediKirby

USB 1.1, they don't need 2.0.

Get a Wacom Graphire3, either 4x5 or 6x8. 6x8s will cost around $160 to $180 online after shipping, the 4x5s will cost around $60 to $80. Don't but it retail, it's a waste of money. Get it online, you'll probably get the retail package anyway. Use Froogle to search for a place to buy.

Do you have to hold a button for information to be sent, or can I draw without pushing a button down? Reason being, I am crippled if you didn't know, and I can't grip and move a pencil at the same time, well. If it's an easy press, than yes, but if the click is even sort of resisting, it won't work for my fingers, and I'll need to tape it or something.

JediKirby

No, you simply draw like it's a pen or pencil...the harder you push the harder the line is. The buttons are for whatever you choose to set them for. I have one set to right click and one set to shift key...I think I dunno I don't really the other one. Erasing is nice too, just flip that thing over.

It works exactly like a pencil. You press down on the pad, it draws. You lift off the pad, it doesn't. If you hover the pen slightly over it (About an inch or less), it moves the cursor without drawing.

There are two sides, just like a pencil. One is the drawing tip, and one is the eraser. Both work as you would expect them to. (The harder you press, the harder it draws/erases. That is, if your program supports it. Wacom usually ships a Painter Classic which does support this. Photoshop does support it also, and I think Gimp also. There are plenty more, I'm sure.)

There is also 2 buttons on the pen, but they are just as an added feature. You can set them to do any keyboard command (I use one to do CTRL+Z, and the other to Right Click, since the eraser does NOT act as a right clicker), or pop a menu up, or do nothing. They are VERY easy to press, probably easier than the buttons on a worn out controller. It's a rock-back switch kind of 2-button thing. It looks like this:

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Pushing down on the one wedge sticking up is button 1, pushing down on the other wedge is button 2. It's really easy, and you don't really need them. I rarely use them except in AutoCAD.

Anyway, I recommend you get the Graphire3 6x8 (The 4x5 is just too small, at least for me.). It's really nice, and I am in love with it.

And as long as you can use a pencil, you can use this thing. Also, it comes with a mouse that works on the board too. It's a 2 button mouse with a mouse wheel. Feels like any old mouse, but only works on the tablet.

And one final thing (lol): A lot of people ask this. THERE ARE NO BATTERIES. Not in the pen, not in the mouse. No wires either. I think it runs by magnet (although I am not entirely sure.). The only thing that gets any juice is the board itself.

I have a Graphire 3, it's great! It's 200ish dollars though -_-

Great. I have stable control and I can press DOWN on the pencil and such, but to position my finger and press a button would probably cause the pen to get pushed out of my hand too often.

I'm almost certain I want it now, though. I just need to fix my USB ports, before anything.

JediKirby

How's this? I need to be able to use paypal, so I don't know what newegg does...

JediKirby

That's a great deal

Thread Necromancy:

I just ordered my Graphire 3 from newegg. Now I'm wondering what sort of programs I should look into for the graphire. I don't have photoshop. OR a lot of $$$$

JediKirby

I also need assistance with a problem I'm having with my USB ports.

PSP is fabulous.

ArtRage Free. Intuitive. Realistic oil/charcoal/pencils/watercolours painting program.

If nothing else...GIMP is free...and is fairly powerful, especially for an open source application...nowhere NEAR the power of Photoshop, but hey.

Project Dogwaffle
http://www.squirreldome.com/cyberop.htm

is really good for drawing, not so much for photo editing. The older version is free. The freeware supports only targas and bitmaps, but the GIMP will convert those. An older version that I have supports 60+ formats, but he's not releasing that anymore.

I don't know if it will work with a tablet, as I have never tried.

I say if you've got the money for a Wacom, go for it. You'll get more from your money with one than you would with any other brand. They're rediculously reliable.

Both kinds of Wacom tablets come with a version of photoshop elements, I think.

Just don't get an AIPTEK--it's cheaper, but that ***** of a tablet stopped recognizing the pen less than a year after I got it.

Well, just my luck, my old friend came over slinging in hand a gift for me for my birthday. He couldn't get to duluth on time back in july because he had some college studies thing to do. Anyway, he hands me PS7, and Microsoft Office (A newer version than what I have) all that he got at his college's store, making them uber-cheap and affordable. I have no clue how to use PS, but if anyone has any ideas of different places I can go to learn...

JediKirby

A free version of photoshop? You lucky son of a...

Well, mine was free too, but not legally free.

I'll google you some basic PS tutorials if you want, but I think there's some kind of tutorial that comes with the program. I have no clue where it is, though, I never used it.

You should still get ArtRage or Corel Painter (especially Painter) since Photoshop is worthless for painting with realistic brushes.

It's not useless, it just takes more practice. Painter or artrage or opencanvas are definetly better for straight painting/drawing though.

For realistic oils and brushes, Photoshop can't touch Painter. It's not what it's designed for. Likewise, Painter can't seem to make a GIF transparent.

I am also looking into getting one of these.

Anyways does anyone know why the images on Newegg are different than the ones on the Wacom site?

They both say Graphire 3 but the ones at wacom look newer. I don't wanna get an older model.

The Graphire2 line has a little pen holder near the top, like a thing you'd put a fountain pen in. The Graphire3 has a seperate pen holder and a horizonal recession in the pad at the top where you put then pen for more lengthy storage. As long as NewEgg says Graphire3, you're fine. They probably haven't updated the pictures.

Hmm... maybe once jEDIkIRBY gets his he could tell me which one he got. It looks like the newegg ones might just have a different appearance because graphire 2 looks different from thier image.

I really doubt newegg, as reputable as they are, would try to pass a 2 for a 3.

Remember everyone; A Wacom is completely useless if you can't draw on paper

hehe

Well I only mention this because a couple of people I know saw me draw with mine and were like "omg that's so cool lolz" and then went and bought one expecting to pump out awesome artistic things. They forgot that you can't purchase artistic ability as a bundle, I guess.

Whelp, just got my WACOM a few minutes ago (Holy crap, fast shipping. Not express, either.) and yes, it's a graphire3. Now I just need to get my ****sucking mother****ing stupid goddamn USB ports to work. GRRR

You must post the very first thing you draw with it. Lemme find mine...
Reference photo used, really ugly huh

That's not bad at all. I'm sure my stuff won't be half that. I'm a cartoonist, anyway. I also plan to use this for modeling and graphing more than anything. Textures as well.

JediKirby

I know they're not trying to pass a graphire 2 as a graphire 3. I was just wondering why the ones at newegg had light gray photos on the tablet and the ones at wacom were solid colors.

I'm working on my cartoon/comic styles. I want to start either a graphic novel or webcomic...probably a graphic-novel though as I would easily run out of things to make my comic humorous

I'm working on the forms needed for Graphic Novels (comic books for the laymen ;)). Man, lemme tell you, that's just...some fun art right there.

I really need to get a graphire.

Ok I took a closer look at one of these at a local circuit city and it looks like they all come with a paper card over the tablet that has the pictures on it. Newegg just chose not to remove it in thier photos.