I am thinking of buying a Wacom drawing tablet

[William Overington]

I am thinking of buying a Wacom drawing tablet

I have been learning to produce images using Affinity Designer.

https://forum.affinity.serif.com/index.php?/topic/138654-artwork-for-greetings-cards/

I do not currently have a graphics tablet.

I am very impressed by the image of the robot in the following thread.

https://forum.affinity.serif.com/index.php?/topic/141604-may-the-4th-be-with-you/

Upon asking, I have been advised that a Wacom drawing tablet was used and the actual model used stated.

The easiest way for me to get a Wacom tablet is to have it delivered by courier from Currys.

So I had a look at what they have available.

Here they are, sorted from low to high pricewise.

https://www.currys.co.uk/gbuk/search-keyword/xx_xx_xx_xx_xx/intuos/1_20/price-asc/xx-criteria.html

So what to get?

As a beginner and a hobbyist?

Is the 2048 resolution adequate or does one soon get that one feels it is in insufficient?

I am thinking in terms of producing artwork for greetings cards 2171 pixels by 1571 pixels, and 2048 is less than 2157.

But then, images often have plain border area, maybe of some colour, so making a slightly smaller image and pasting it on may not in practice be a problem.

So what size tablet and what resolution do users of Affinity products use please?

All advice welcome.

Thank you.

William

 

 

[Alfred]

3 hours ago, William Overington said:

Is the 2048 resolution adequate or does one soon get that one feels it is in insufficient?

The 2048 value refers to levels of pen pressure, not pixel resolution. The active area of the tablet is mapped to your computer screen, so the drawing resolution is determined by that.

A small Wacom Intuos tablet (active area 6″ × 3.7″, or 7″ diagonal) costs about £90. The medium version (active area 8.5″ × 5.3″, or 10″ diagonal) — as used by the creator of the ‘May the 4th’ painting — costs twice as much. Both of these models offer 4096 levels of pen pressure.

If you’re willing to consider alternatives to Wacom you can get a bigger tablet for less money. I bought my XP-PEN Deco 03 (active area 10″ × 5.62″, or 11.5″ diagonal) on sale for less than £60, but even at full price it’s only about £100, and its stylus offers 8192 levels of pressure sensitivity.

[Andy05]

I'd like to add my 2 Cents about pressure levels. In theory, the more the better. But in a real workflow, the difference between 2048 and 8192 is minimal (if noticeable at all), if you set up your tablet/pen driver correctly. 

Pressure levels/sensitivity is one of the driver settings which one should definitely set to one's own liking as people use different pressure behaviour when drawing.

[William Overington]

 

On 5/8/2021 at 10:40 PM, Alfred said:

The 2048 value refers to levels of pen pressure, not pixel resolution. The active area of the tablet is mapped to your computer screen, so the drawing resolution is determined by that.

A small Wacom Intuos tablet (active area 6″ × 3.7″, or 7″ diagonal) costs about £90. The medium version (active area 8.5″ × 5.3″, or 10″ diagonal) — as used by the creator of the ‘May the 4th’ painting — costs twice as much. Both of these models offer 4096 levels of pen pressure.

If you’re willing to consider alternatives to Wacom you can get a bigger tablet for less money. I bought my XP-PEN Deco 03 (active area 10″ × 5.62″, or 11.5″ diagonal) on sale for less than £60, but even at full price it’s only about £100, and its stylus offers 8192 levels of pressure sensitivity.

 

On 5/9/2021 at 6:55 AM, Andy05 said:

I'd like to add my 2 Cents about pressure levels. In theory, the more the better. But in a real workflow, the difference between 2048 and 8192 is minimal (if noticeable at all), if you set up your tablet/pen driver correctly. 

Pressure levels/sensitivity is one of the driver settings which one should definitely set to one's own liking as people use different pressure behaviour when drawing.

Thank you both.

As 2048 is levels of pen pressure, not pixels of the image, the following has a wider selection, not so expensive.

Although I may well try to use the pen pressure, the main reason that I am thinking of buying a graphics tablet is so that I can draw ands sketch much as if I am drawing on a piece of paper.

https://www.currys.co.uk/gbuk/wacom-computing-accessories/computer-accessories/graphics-tablets/318_3420_32060_160_xx/1_20/price-asc/xx-criteria.html

I am thinking about buying this one.

https://www.currys.co.uk/gbuk/computing-accessories/computer-accessories/graphics-tablets/one-by-wacom-ctl-672-n-10-9-graphics-tablet-10205357-pdt.html

Does anyone here use one of these please?

An interesting thing about delivery by DPD in these pandemic times - an option not to open the door, but it needs a note.

https://www.dpd.co.uk/content/how-can-we-help/parcel-delivery-during-covid-19.jsp

One needs to click on each of the four + signs to display the details.

William

 

[Alfred]

38 minutes ago, William Overington said:

I am thinking about buying this one.

https://www.currys.co.uk/gbuk/computing-accessories/computer-accessories/graphics-tablets/one-by-wacom-ctl-672-n-10-9-graphics-tablet-10205357-pdt.html

Does anyone here use one of these please?

In terms of active area (which is what really matters, desk space permitting) that’s the same size as the Intuos medium tablet used by the OP. It looks like quite a good choice for a basic tablet.

[William Overington]

3 minutes ago, Alfred said:

..., desk space permitting) ...

Thank you for your reply.

Ah, that is an interesting comment.

I had been thinking of holding it in my left hand and using the stylus with my right hand.

So perhaps not.

So how do people use a drawing tablet please?

William

 

 

 

[Alfred]

22 minutes ago, William Overington said:

I had been thinking of holding it in my left hand and using the stylus with my right hand.

That’s probably doable if you’re not using it for long periods. I usually hold my iPad in my hand; the size of a Wacom One medium tablet, as detailed below, is not hugely greater (and the weight is almost exactly the same).

Weight: 447 g (0.99 lbs)
Dimensions: 277 x 189 x 8.7mm (10.9 x 7.4 x 0.3 in), without tag and rubber foot
Active area: 216 x 135mm (8.5 x 5.3 in)

[RichardMH]

I have a medium One by Wacom. Its their most basic and cheapest model and is just a drawing tablet. No bluetooth. No shortcut buttons. I previously had a small Intuous that was getting a bit old and battered (I now have it in my travel bag with my laptop). I didn't use many shortcut buttons and the pen buttons give me two which is enough. I'm not a very sophisticated user. Its great for masking and brushes.

[David Gerson]

I would like to ask if anyone found any quality issues between the Wacom and the XP-Pen ? I am in the market for a tablet to learn to draw - like the OP - and from my research it seems the XP-Pen meets all the quality of the Wacom, but wins on price mostly because of branding. If this is the case, the XP Pen 03 suggested above would seem to be the far and away best bet?