Does anyone here have reccomendations on a graphics tablet. I'm trying to equip myself so that I complete those NESi comics with quality, but also with efficiency and speed. I'm not too interested in sketching on paper, then scanning and inking with the mouse in illustrator, as that it tedious, long, and annoying.

Right now I'm looking at the WACOM Graphire4 and the Intuos3, though I will frankly say that I am leaning towards the Graphire4 for monatery reasons. While the intuos3 offers a more comfortable pen, and extra tools, the Graphire4 is essentially the same quality but for 100-200$ less depending on the sizes.

Now my second choice comes to tablet sizes. There are 4x5, 6x8 and 9x12. The 9x12 are out of the question right off the bat for the unique reason that I have no desk space for it. Its massive. Now I'm leaning back and forth between the 4x5 and the 6x8. 4x5 sounds small to me, though of course for most online work, I'll never need grand strokes and I could most likely work with limited space. Especially since its 80-100$ less than its 6x8 counterpart AND I could have it within the hour, while the 6x8 I'd have to order from Future Shop, and I have no experience with their service.

Now my real question is, does anyone have an real experience with the WACOM Graphire4 or Intuos3, or with 4x5 or 6x8 sizes. Can any of you flat out say DON'T GO WITH SOMETHING SO SMALL, or do you think it would be fine?

I'm anxious to get cracking on NES. ^_^

Thrawn and I share a wacom. It's about 8x11 and it works for me.

Dont go with something small

You get like no room to move your pen across the tablet. Id say go medium - large if youre getting one. Oh and the big 9x12 ones, I see people lean those up on the desk at an angle when they draw

The problem also the storage for the 9x12. It drives me nuts to have things laying about my desk, and god-forbid putting it on the ground.

Thats true. Just dont go with the smallest one, itll drive you insane.

Very true.

Heed his words.

I use the medium size one though, without trouble.

I use an 8x6 Wacom Graphire 3, it is le ****. I reccomend it... 8x6 sounds small, and i suppose i'd prefer larger, but it's quite large enough for the kind of work you're suggesting. It's not too terribly expensive either.

I use a graphire 3, it's pretty good.

So far I haven't manged to get it working in Gimp in linux, but thats a different story...

I shall heed all your works and go with a 6x8. I'll see what prices are up for the Graphire4 and Intuos3.

Meh, the tablets are out of stock. Just my ****ing luck. lol

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16883100025

Newegg's got the Graphire4.

They don't ship to Canada.

I have a 6x8 Intuous2. It is a very nice tablet.

A 6x8 tablet is a perfectly good size; I never really liked bigger tablets because they require more movement to do large, sweeping strokes. I've only ever used a 4x5 tablet at a friend's house once and it was tres annoying.

Try tigerdirect.ca ?

6x8 is indeed a good size. Bigger can be too big for creating large strokes, and smaller creates an unbearable loss of precision that is only remedied by redefining sections of the screen to draw on.

If you're only doing simple illustration, the Graphire would be perfect for you. The Intuous line is compatible with the more advanced pens that can give you control over brush rotation and other fun stuff like that. They also have twice as many sensitivity levels, but I don't think you'll need that.

I got a Graphire4 4x5 this last Christmas and I love it. A 6x8 would be nicer I suppose, but I draw fairly small anyway, so 4x5 doesn't bother me too much. Especially when I have a really big canvas, 1280x1024 or bigger.

I use a Cintiq its only thing I can now ever use to do inking in cartoons.
but bigger is better, I used to use a A3 Wacom and that was great. get as big as you can afford.

Some RTS's let you use tablets as a means to control your units.

It will work with any RTS...and that's a really good idea, I should try it.

EAW with an Intuos3 is actually quite smooth.

Mind though, that the tablet mouse will suck for FPS gaming. Scrolling in, say, Far Cry, will make your character do a 180 and look down. :/

Graphire4 6x8, and I love it. Obviously if you had more money to burn (it didn't sound like that), you would take Intuos3. But you won't be disappointed in Graphire4, either.

But like it has been said, don't try to save money and get the small 4x5 thing. You would probably regret it later. 6x8 is the way to go. Not too big nor too small.

Well, I was actually looking for the Intuos 6x8 but most suppliers out here seem to only offer the 4x5 or 9x12 version. I wish I had money enough to by : [URL=Cintiq]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=58_GruOfYo4[/URL]

Yeah, a good Cintiq is the first thing I'll buy once I win the lottery.

Yep me too. :p

Some much more effectively than others, which is why I said some. I know Warhammer 40K: Dawn of War doesn't really support tablets that well.

I REALLY wish I would have got the bigger one when I got mine. The small one is just annoying, and it's rare that I use it instead of the mouse, now. It's that bad.

I use a small 4x5 Graphire2 and I like it much more than the 6x8 Graphire3 we had at my school. I like the smaller ones because I don't have to move my arm around as much with them.

Why get a Cintiq when you can get a tablet pc? Wacom has a driver set that lets you enable the incredible sensitivity of the Cintiq on PenEnabled displays.

I think that a tablet PC is too restricting, myself. You basically get laptop speeds, which kinda sucks for big illustrator files and the such.

Agreed - if you get a weak tablet. The newest generation of them are outstanding, though, and can stand up to last generation's desktops easily, if you have the right RAM.

Because cintiq's have better responsiveness, are larger, have more tools specifically made for graphic designing, and are just effing amazing. Not to mention you can look at your product on a big screen when you're all done.

Yeah. 23" tablet PC? Kinda unweildly.

[QUOTE=Cool Matty]Yeah. 23" tablet PC? Kinda unweildly.[/QUOTE]
Not to mention...well...nonexistant for consumer use. And if you had it special-made I'm SURE it'd be a helluvalot more expensive than your average tablet PC.

And so it has begun. I have ordered a brand new 6x8 Intuos3. I had the brilliant idea to check my company's account at our supplier and they had a bunch of them in stock, so I get them at its base cost. If all goes well, I'll have it tomorrow. *victory*

The reason i dont use a tablet pc and a Cintiq is a) its not a Mac b) 21" desktop is amazing

YAY FOR BEING COMPLETELY AND UTTERLY HELPFUL!

A. Cintiq is an LCD monitor that you can draw on. It works on PC and Mac...

B. It's 23", even bigger than your monitor.

Help!

I have a Graphire3, but I lost the pen... is there any way to buy a new pen without getting a whole new tablet?!

I can't seem to find them being sold separately..