…but know nothing about them.
Is there anything I should know? Would you recommend a drawing screen, or a cheeper black tablet that appears on your computer screen? What about applying more pressure for a darker/thicker line? Do they all have this feature? Do these things come with software?
Any and all help is very much appreciated.
Wacom seems to be The source for drawing pads/tablets. They started with separate pads, so you had to look at your screen, not where you were drawing. They still have these and they are considerably cheaper, but I gave mine away as I could not get used to not looking “where” I was drawing. (I’m told there is a learning period, but once you get it, it’s not too bad).
With touchscreen technology improving, they’ve now moved to drawing on the actual display surface. I think this is more natural, but it is more expensive. You’re basically buying a tablet (computer) with the additional software to handle the pressure sensitive “pen”. But again, there are different models depending on how much you want to spend. And you can use the tablet as a regular computer as well.
There are other software packages, but it appears most people just use Photoshop. I think the Wacom pen and drivers integrate will with Photoshop, so it is easy to change things like the pen width, color, etc…
And, of course, you can use the pen/tablet for more traditional Photoshop functions (modification/touch-up on digital images).
Similar experience to cormac262: I got a decent (cheap!) one and it works fine…but I can’t quite coordinate to it.
TMI, but say I draw a line. Now I want to extend it. I have grave difficulty putting the pen down again exactly on the end of the line. I can get close, but never exactly on target. So either I do all my drawing without ever lifting the pen, or I accept zigs and jags and clean them up later. Both ick.
My daughter’s been using Wacom Intuos tablets since she was able to ask for one (she’s a 17 year old art student now). The ~$80 ones.
For programs she likes FireAlpaca (easy to use), Krita (good brushes but doesn’t work on every computer), and Gimp (powerful but harder to learn). I think they’re all free.
I pot a pencil for my iPad pro but she didn’t use it nearly as much as the intuos + PC monitor.
Hmmm… Thing is, I was going to see about getting one with a laptop, however, I’m not sure I have cash for both. I think I’d want one with a screen.
I’ll probably wait to get one, but any more information would help.
Thanks to those who helped out already.