Reddit mentions: The best computer graphics tablets

Others have given advice, but I might as well chime in.

The Bamboo is a great little starter pad to play with. I wouldn't reccommend it as a real graphic design tool, but it really is a functional little pad that can get the job done and has some fun extra functionality with gestures and what not. The Bamboo is NOT specifically a graphics tablet though. It can function as one, but it is also touch sensitive and most graphics tablets are not reactive to anything but a pen or a conductive mouse created for the tablet surface. But it does have the same technology as an Intuos tablet, which is amazing tech, so it's very capable.

You can get a Wacom Graphire for around the same price as a bamboo, (I owned one of these for a couple year) and it is made for this kind of thing. It is a decent little tablet, and would be alright for a hobbyist or a beginner, but i'd skip it. But it isn't as advanced as the next type of tablet...

which is an Intuos3 and Intuos4. Here is where I would start. I would actually skip the intuos3 simply because the intuos4 is basically an industry standard now. It's tech is updated often and it is simply a fantastic tablet. The intuos 4 is what most people end up with. There are small, medium, and large versions. The size you get is a personal preferance. It also comes down to desk real estate. Not a lot of desks have a huge chuck of space for a large intuos. The medium is a great compromise of space vs. functionality. And actually, a lot of people prefer the slightly smaller ones to reduce having to move your arm/hand around as much reducing fatigue. Also the price is obviously better for a medium sized one than a large one. There is also the wireless version, which is awesome since you can simply stow it away somewhere quick and easy. I would recommend a carrying case for it though to keep it safe. Even just a small laptop bag would be fine. But it's an investment you will want to keep safe.

Finally you have the amazing Cintiq line. The Cintiq 12WX and Cintiq 21UX and I just learned about the silly Cintiq 24HD.

I have a Cintiq 21UX and it has changed the way I work. It has sped up my workflow and made things so much easier and faster and accurate and simply amazing. (Note I didn't quite pay what they are asking for on Amazon but that's the same model). the cintiq's are expensive as hell, but it's an amazing investment if you are really going to take advantage of it.

Note however, that you can do everything on an intuos4 that you can do on a cintiq. The thing with the lesser tablets under the cintiq is you will have a real learning curve dealing with drawing on your desk/lap while looking at the screen. It's weird and takes time to get used to it. But there is AMAZING art done on them. As I said, they are industry standard and amazing pieces of tech.

So I recommend the Intuos4 Medium or the Intuos4 Wireless in the end.

Hope this helps a little. There are alternatives to Wacom, and some can get the job done, but I won't recommend them as in the end, you want a Wacom.

Hey there!

Glad to hear there is another potential animator/artist in the world :)
A lot of your question depends on your budget as tablets can get very expensive very quickly based on size and quality. For instance buying something that lets you draw directly on the screen is going to run you several hundred dollars for the lowest tier models (Wacom Cintiq's are currently considered the gold standard but their monitors and tablets start at over $1000 new so that is out of the question for most people and definitely not worth it for a beginner). So if she's just wanting to explore, a drawing app on a samsung galaxy tablet is a cheaper option that works great for beginners and allows them to work directly on screen. Plus is she loses interest you'll still have a tablet to use for other things.

However most people start with something like a Wacom Bamboo tablet. They are high quality, very responsive, and made by Wacom (the current industry leader) for a much more reasonable price. However you're drawing on a tablet placed on a desk while watching your work on a separate monitor and this can take some serious getting used to. Once you've got it figured out though they're great (they come in various sizes and are used by professionals throughout various industries)!

As for software consider these:
Art/Drawing - Sketchbook Pro

Animation - Anime Studio 10
keep in mind animation programs can be tough to learn so she'll definitely need to watch tutorials online. However this is an awesomely priced option with a lot of great features to make jumping-in easy



If she really catches the animation bug there are two books that are wonderful (although they are thick and may be better for when she is a little older? Up to you but they could make great future gifts):
Animator's Survival Kit by Richard Williams

and

The Illusion of Life by Ollie Johnson and Frank Thomas - Two of Disney's original master animators known as the Nine Old Men

Anyway that's a quick rundown of where equipment and resources stand. If I were you I'd probably go for the bamboo tablet and Sketchbook Pro to get started (for drawing) + Anime Studio 10 if animation is definitely something she wants to explore as all these items are an outstanding value for what they offer.

If things get super serious as she gets older prices begin to jump up very quickly (especially on the software side) but I believe the items listed above should suit her perfectly for at least through all her high school years. As she improves and explores you'll naturally learn what all the tools and options are on your own, as well as what her preferences are.

3D animation as a whole is a different beast that is very computer/technical heavy with a steeper learning curve. So if she wants to start trying that it becomes a whole different realm as you'll need a solid PC and a lot of time and patience when it comes to learning one of the various computer graphics programs out there.

Hope this helps at least a little! Good luck, and feel free to PM any time :)

Learning how to draw and animation at the same time might sound really tough, but as long as you start simple with animation it wont be too bad of an experience at all, you just need patience. Though learning how to animate came to me MUCH quicker than how to draw and got to the point where my inaccuracy in art was hindering my animation, so just practice drawing a bit, don't expect to make Disney quality art and animation because not only do they have many years under their belt, they also have a whole team.

Actually starting is the hardest part. One thing you need is an animation software. I personally like Adobe Animate, it is pretty easy to use and you can get really good results out of it if you use it right. It does cost quite a bit of money, though. There is a free program that came out not long ago called OpenToonz, it is arguably better than Animate though a little more confusing. There are other animation programs like Toon Boom but I've only really used the first two.

If you want, you can do animation with a mouse, almost all of Salad Fingers, a weird internet series, was. Though, I would save up for a drawing tablet, some thing like this. It will run you from 70 - 100 USD for a really good one but there are definitely cheaper once you can get for around $30. Just look around and find things in your price range and find one you like. I must note, drawing with a tablet is significantly different than with paper, it will take a bit of getting used to.

At this point pretty much the only thing to say is to learn the in and outs of the program you choose, if one seems too complex try another. Sadly, I can't find most of the videos I watched to get started, which kind of sucks. But this guy makes nice tutorials mainly for flash, though some can be applied to any program. There are two playlists I would REALLY recommend. Alan Becker's 12 Principles of Animation playlist and this one by Harry Partridge(specifically the first two episodes, which cover the basics.)

P.S. when they say "Flash", it is just an older version of Adobe Animate

I know that was a lot but again, starting animation is honestly the hardest part in my opinion, hopefully I didn't scare you off with my wall of text! I'm sure more people can give you a much better help over at /r/animation.

TL;DR

Programs you can use could be Flash, Open Toonz, Toon Boom or something else you find. Get a cheap drawing tablet to test the waters, if you like it try out some by Wacom, they make great tablets. Watch videos on YouTube, read up forums and ask questions!

I do hope this got you pointed in the right direction, I hope it didn't make things more confusing!

>don't understand all of what's important regarding stats

• Figure out what form factor you want, either a slab tablet or a monitor tablet. Slab tablets are MUCH cheaper, but you need to have an external monitor and computer to use them, whereas a monitor tablet you only need a computer and can draw directly on the screen.
  
  
• Figure out what size you want.
  
  This one is kind of tricky as there's no right or wrong answer to this one, it's entirely subjective. I personally use a tablet that's 10"x6" which feels comfortable to me, but I know people who use massive ones twice the size as mine, and some who use ones smaller than mine, it's all about what's comfortable to the artist using them.
  
  
• Pressure levels.
  
  Every tablet will list their "Pressure levels", this is just the level of sensitivity that the pen is capable of achieving. In general the higher the number the better.
  
  For reference the tablet I use everyday for work is quite old at this point and has either 2048 or 4000-ish (It's been a while since I bought it, I honestly can't remember =P.) levels of pressure, whereas most modern tablets will have 8000+.
  
  
• LPI (Lines per inch.)
  
  This is basically the tablets "Resolution". Same deal as pressure levels, the higher the better.
  
  
• Screen type (Monitor tablet specific. Doesn't apply to slab tablets.)
  
  When it comes to monitors and thus monitor tablets as well, IPS monitors are generally better for art related things as they offer a better colour range, but because of this they're also more expensive than something like TFT monitors. There's tablet monitors out there that use all types of monitors in them, and while I would personally suggest one that uses an IPS monitor in it if possible, it's usually not a noticeable issue unless you have something like a TFT and IPS monitor side by side.
  
  One thing they do vary on quite a bit is their viewing angles. IPS has much better viewing angles whereas other types of monitors tend to "Colour shift" when viewing them from anything other than straight on.
  
  Note: "Colour shifting" is when as you look at the screen at more and more of an angle the colour starts to drain away and in some cases when viewed at extreme angles will actually look like a negative image.
  
  Some other things to keep in mind:
  
  
• Is it modular? aka can the cord be removed from the tablet it self meaning if the cord breaks in the future (And trust me, it will.) can you replace the cord easily without needing to replace the whole unit.
  
  
• Is the tablets surface textured or smooth? Some tablets are perfectly smooth while others have a paperlike texture, which one is better is another case of personal preference (Personally I prefer my tablets like I prefer my peanut butter, nice and smooth.), but if the tablets surface is textured then it will wear down the stylus nibs quicker than a smooth one would. Nibs are replaceable and tablets will always come with some number of replacement nibs and a nib removal tool, so it's not a huge deal.
  
  
• Does it work with your OS? It's pretty rare for a tablet to not be compatible with modern versions of Windows and OSx, but I'd be lying if I said I hadn't seen some that will only support the latest version of each OS, or will only work on one and not the other, so just make sure to double check that the unit you're buying does say that it works with whatever OS you use.
  
  If you're looking for a solid and inexpensive tablet, I would personally reccomend the Huion h610 pro, I've been using ths non-pro version (Which has since been discountinued apparently.) for the past 4 years now everyday for work and have no major complaints about it other than the drivers were a little finicky when I first set it up.
  
  If you're wondering what the differences between my non-pro version and the pro version are, the pro version has slightly better specs and a textured surface. My dislike for textured tablets was why I went with the non-pro version at the time.
  
  If you have any questions feel free to ask and I'll help as best I can.

Adobe has several subscription based packages for their software. I agree with the above comment, Photoshop would be a great place to start. Adobe has a "Creative Cloud Photography" subscription, which gives you Photoshop along with a few programs for photographers. The extra programs may not be helpful but I believe this is the cheapest plan that includes Photoshop, and could be a good place to start. Ultimately, learning a program like Adobe Illustrator to use along with Photoshop would be very helpful, but that will be a more expensive subscription. Best to learn the programs one at a time anyway, at least in my opinion.

Link for creative cloud students plans:
https://www.adobe.com/creativecloud/buy/students.html



As for the computer, a Microsoft surface would be a great option, but there are also cheaper alternatives for starting out, like a USB pen tablet. These can be found on Amazon and even the cheaper ones work well.

My friend has this pen tablet and she loves it. Ultimately a tablet computer would be a better option, as it allows you to draw directly on the screen, but if you're just looking to help get him into working in the graphic design world, this would be a much cheaper entry-level option

Huion Inspiroy H640P Graphics... https://www.amazon.com/dp/B075T6MTJX?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share

IMO, don't even consider anything other than a Wacom. For your price point, get a Bamboo and if you feel you need something bigger/better, sell it and upgrade to an Intuos. I have had an Intuos 3 for several years and love it. The new version is very slick but I don't really have a need to upgrade.

In regards to your specific points:

1. Photo editing is wonderful with a tablet. Both Photoshop and Lightroom are great with a tablet. Much faster and more natural than using a mouse.
   
2. If you want to pick up a fantastic painting / drawing program, check out Painter Essentials, which is a lite version of the full Painter. It really brings the tablet to life (very different than Photoshop's painting).
   
3. You can get a refurb Bamboo for under $50, but they aren't much more brand new.
   
4. There isn't much of a learning curve, though learning to use the hotkeys (Intuos only) will make you more productive. Windows 7 has some very good built-in tablet support.
   
5. This is where Wacom tablets shine - they tend to be more responsive than other tablets. They are the gold standard for good reason. You can also place a sheet of paper over the tablet to give it more texture; it will not affect the tracking/sensitivity.
   
6. I have a medium Intuos; it is a great size. I haven't found myself wishing it were bigger, but maybe I've just used it so much that I'm used to working with that size. I'm sure that I would love a larger tablet, but I think (especially for photo editing) you can get away with a smaller one. Depending on your style, a larger tablet is more important for sketching / painting.
   
   Edit: One final consideration - Intuos comes with a mouse - If you are considering using the tablet as a complete mouse replacement (I use mine in addition to my mouse), I would stay away from the 'small' tablets.
   

Bit late on the reply here,

but I found out how to optimize my onenote set up after months of tinkering around

To answer the original question, there isn't actually a need for me to run Microsoft Surface Tablets (I looked up their cost, goes around $600 to $1000 as well) for Pro3

There's actually a 4th and a 5th option to all of this (I mentioned the other 3 in the post)

Option 4:

One desktop, 2 monitors, and a more effective mouse, with macro and fine tuning controls. You would be suprised what you can accomplish with a great gaming mouse (I just bought a logitech g502 for like $60). You can bind a specialized key that can change your DPI settings temporarily to get incredibly high tuned pen strokes on your mouse. There's also the option to change weights giving an even more closer pensmanship with a mouse. Plus I can modify massive numbers of macros (with this mouse, if I use all 3 profiles, I think I can map about 20 key combinations and G-shift [its like holding ALT to get more commands], although I wouldn't need that many)
I normally use the macros for ALT+1, ALT+2, ALT+3, ALT+4 for my quickaccess toolbar commands

Mouse i use:

http://www.amazon.com/Logitech-Proteus-Tunable-Customizable-910-004074/dp/B00IRHE892/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1419051767&sr=1-1&keywords=g502

---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Option 5:
One Desktop, 2 Monitors. Run a mouse, and a wacom tablet (essentially a 2nd mouse) see

http://www.amazon.com/Wacom-Intuos4-Medium-Pen-Tablet/dp/B001TUYTZW

for reference
While I haven't done this yet, in theory it works. The wacom tablet is more or less a mouse in the form of a pen with comfortable tablet that just acts as a mouse pad. The wacom tablet enables you to have high precision pen strokes in a specific area if you want handwritten notes. The normal mouse you use just helps you navigate around onenote.

^I currently use option 4. Option 4 and 5 are all better than option 1,2,3 since it just runs on one desktop so there's no syncing errors. Option 4 satisfies all my needs. Plus surface pro runs a full copy of onenote and I only get 2 liscenses on my subscription (I have a home computer and work computer, so having a tablet - aka a 3rd liscense, would not work).

Given both like art, would a low-end drawing tablet be in the cards?

For Rylee, maybe an art kit composed of the following: Tachikawa nibs and holders and ink, or a finetipped pen set Deleter manga paper, and a grown up sketchbook a la trendy Moleskine or Pentalic or classic art student hardcovers like so. As she develops as an artist she'll learn more whether she likes different sizes, thicker or thinner paper, or toned paper. Maybe throw in a few making of books from her favorite series (like IDK this one for Avatar the Last Airbender or this one for Spirited Away.) Getting a good making of book for a movie or animated film can be life changing. For me, even though I read it years after Brother Bear came out, this was an enlightening read about the movie making process and has some seriously gorgeous art. I haven't read the one for Moana yet so I have no idea whether it leans more toward text (like the making of Hunchback of Notre Dame did...so very little art in that book) or pictures, but it's more recent than Brother Bear. And yes, most of us artists have these books on our shelves, albeit with different movies/series depending on taste. Some of the Marvel movies have excellent making of books too. ;)

I'd recommend some drawing books, but the ones I know all have nudity in them and I don't know how you'd feel about that. I'd caution against 'how to draw manga' books as a general rule, but I owned a few and some art very, very good at teaching how to direct the eye for storytelling.

For your younger, I'd suggest many of the same things, except maybe not the nibs and ink because sharp and messy. If you get either of them colored art supplies, I'd either make sure they get the exact same set of markers or colored pencils, or get one markers, the other colored pencils. It can be rough sharing an interest with a sibling. And maybe some Sideways Math from Wayside School (I'd also suggest all three Wayside School books, they're brain bendy in a good way). Another brain tickling book (for me it was, anyway) was the Phantom Tollbooth. Maybe a how to draw horses book. A making of book or two about movies she liked - Frozen, maybe? IDK. Maybe a Goldiblox set to get her engineer brain in gear. Oh! I forgot about Spirit, the animated horse movie no one remembers.

I suggest starting with what you have already. Download Krita, it's free. Give it a try. Lower the pixel density, set the canvas size to something your computer can handle. (smaller requires less resources)


If you cannot run Krita at all. Try paint.NET, GIMP, or any other light weight, free art program. Get a feel for digital art first, because you will need to spend money if you really want to get in to it.


I don't know what you mean by drawing tablet with a screen. Usually when someone says "drawing tablet" in the digital art world, they are referring to something like this. But these drawing tablets are never cheap, and a good one with a screen is going to cost a pretty penny.


I think you're trying to ask about something like an iPad??? I don't know what specs are like on iPads. With digital art programs, you generally need to have a powerful processor. I do all my work (even working with blender), with an integrated graphics card(crappy GPU), but I have a powerful processor. What kind of technology you need completely depends on what you want to do exactly. If you're only interested in making images to display online, then you probably don't need anything too fancy, an iPad might be okay to start with, but as an artist grows, so do their needs. If you're interested in printing, you'll need something that can handle 300dpi at whatever sizes you'd like to work with.


If you decide YES, you really are into digital art! Then think about building your own computer. If this is something you're comfortable with, it would be the best route to take in my opinion.

I used Photoshop CS3 Extended several years ago on an okay $500 laptop from either walmart or sams. It was some type of Acer Aspire from around 2011. As I continued messing around with Photoshop, I ended up buying a Wacom graphics tablet (one of these). Elements is okay for use (I still use it because I was borrowing a copy of CS3 back on my laptop and can no longer get that copy back).

Not sure about the newest ones that wacom puts out, but that one I linked (probably not made anymore) comes with a version of Photoshop that can run on almost anything.

If you want to get a desktop just for photoshop, the used PC parts route is a pretty good way to go. I built a decent PC back in the beginning of 2013. Back then, it cost me around $700, though you have to realize that it was for gaming and that I had wanted it for several years, so I was fine with spending a bit more than what I originally planned (the old budget would have given me a terrible PC (for gaming)). Right now, you could probably buy the same parts for half the price. While many people don't really recommend older parts like I used (my processor was getting "old" (outdated) back then), I still use all but the cooling fan and graphics card. Also, to make the price seem a bit more reasonable, I had to buy a monitor, keyboard, and mouse in that price, too, which is something that can be bought for very cheap or old ones reused for free.

If you want to go a cheaper route that just works, get a ThinkPad off eBay. They're used, but getting something like a T410 works just fine.
I've heard people have even ran somewhat modern 3D games on that. They're tough, though have a "meh" monitor in them. The great thing about them, though, is that they're around $150 and from my experience, only require a $20 replacement battery to work well on the go (they come with their old batteries). I'd also recommend a new hard drive, which is an easy thing to install as long as you've set up a computer before (and if you aren't comfortable with doing so, a local computer store can probably do so cheaply (you should buy a hard drive on your own, though as they'll charge you for a higher price otherwise)). I'd also recommend buying a 1080p monitor from somewhere else after buying the laptop. Here's a list. You can sort by price. I'd say don't worry about IPS, just worry about it looking good. Mine is a 21.5" Acer-not sure what model.

The importance of fundamentals cannot be understated. You wouldn't start construction on a building without understanding the underlying architecture, would you? I know it's difficult, but you really can't afford to skip the essentials when studying any field. You've already seen that taking shortcuts lowers the quality of your finished works, and if you don't change your approach, you have no expectation of changing that outcome. Discipline yourself and build good habits now, and your hard work will pay off in dividends later.

I don't mean to imply that you should banish yourself to the realm of figure drawing and line work forever; nobody should. But it's important to familiarize yourself with proportion and anatomy if only so that your particular artstyle is consistent. Even if you only learn how to make the same mistakes consistently, all your art will improve at once when you learn to correct those mistakes later. Critique is a huge part in identifying weaknesses in your technique and improving your work, but if your work is all over the place, your critique will be, too.

Consider this: what about practicing your fundamentals bores you? What can you do to make it more engaging for yourself? Have you attempted more interesting subject matter or working from more challenging references? Are there any particular perspectives or poses that you like more than others, and if so, why? Have you tried shifting the focus of your work to suit your particular tastes? There are different figure drawing approaches and techniques out there-- how many of them have you tried? Is there anything stopping you from collecting your finished sketches in order to refine them later on?

---

As to where to start, you already know about the fundamentals so I'll link another comment of mine to reiterate their importance and move on.

If you're not going to be working digitally at first, I'm a huge fan of these dot notebooks. They're inexpensive, lovely quality, nondescript, and portable, and the dot pattern is convenient for measuring lengths and widths without the visual clutter that actual graph paper can sometimes give you. I carry one with me for doodling, taking down random thoughts, and drawing maps. The covers aren't super rigid, mind, so press lightly or have a firm, flat surface like a hardcover book handy.

If you want to work digitally, you'll need an entry-level tablet of some kind. The Huion Inspiroy H950P is decent for its price point; it's got a fair-sized workspace, eight programmable express buttons, workable pressure sensitivity, and its pens aren't battery-powered so if you lose them, replacements are comparatively inexpensive. My one complaint is that, because I have large hands, I find I hit the tool-swapping button on my pen by accident unless I hold it just so. I work from a laptop, so the fact that it's not wireless doesn't trouble me but is something you may want to consider. Its little brother, the H640P, is about half the price with a smaller workspace and two fewer express buttons.

Digital artists also need software to work in. I highly recommend Adobe Photoshop CC if you can afford it (or are willing to sail the high seas, so to speak) for its feature set. Photoshop is not strictly for digital illustration so making it work just so for you will take more effort than you'd experience with a more specialized tool, but having its powerful features in my back pocket has never been a disappointment. Paint Tool SAI and Krita are the only other software options I can recommend; I don't have enough experience with other tools to give them a shout-out. If you're on a budget, by the way, Krita is completely free and has a fantastic feature set. Whatever you choose, learn it and learn it well.

In all seriousness, if you get something like this tablet and a free drawing program that is specifically not ms paint you'd be good to go.

I'm not a pro or anything but I've been drawing digitally as a hobby for years now with a huge range of tablets from super compact to really large and even screen tablets, and a medium sized drawing tablet is literally all you need.

And though I personally use Photoshop, there are plenty of really really good free drawing programs out there as well. I'd probably recommend Krita.

It's a very cool and rewarding hobby.

By the look of her art and the use of Scratch, I assume your niece is fairly young ("teenage" is a wide margin to guess). This is great that she's starting so early. I started far too late compared to most and regret it every day.

I would not advise a tablet unless she's at least 14, and that's pushing it. If she is and you're ready for the gamble, that's all your choice. They're delicate pieces of hardware and the lower end brands ([Huion] (https://www.amazon.com/Huion-Graphic-Drawing-Tablet-Pressure/dp/B00DKW816K/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1466736352&sr=8-4&keywords=huion+tablet), [Monoprice] (https://www.amazon.com/Monoprice-6-25-inch-Graphic-Drawing-Tablet/dp/B00H4LAF9O/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1466736418&sr=8-1&keywords=monoprice+tablet), [Ugee] (https://www.amazon.com/Ugee-M708-Digital-Graphics-Rechargeable/dp/B00VUHQECU/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1466736442&sr=8-2&keywords=ugee+tablet) ) are built a bit weaker than something like a Wacom (suggesting the [Bamboo] (https://www.amazon.com/Wacom-Bamboo-CTL471-Tablet-Black/dp/B00EVOXM3S/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1466736313&sr=8-1&keywords=wacom+bamboo) model to start off, it's a good spot, cheaper and sturdy). but again, I wouldn't risk it at 13 unless you can trust her wholly with an ~$70 piece of hardware.

Software-wise, there are free programs out there to get her started that have better interfaces than Scratch but similar functionality. [Pencil2D] (http://www.pencil2d.org/) is a pretty good starter. Crazy Talk is pretty drag-n-drop, so she wouldn't really get to express her own art as much if at all. It's better to get her something that allows her own art.

I'll always advocate my favorite timeless animation method: post-it notes. get her a bunch of different ones and ask her to use them to animate a little thing. A ball bouncing, a person walking, anything she wants. It's cheap and allows her to really expand on the concept of animation without boundaries.

Good luck :D

I’m ok with some overkill... she’s my baby sister, the youngest of us, and is graduating. She’s pretty serious about she wants to do, far more so than I was about anything at that age lol. I don’t mind spending a little extra on her on this one occasion. I see it as an investment in her future. Plus she may be able to use it to make a little money while in school with some freelance art commissions or graphic design I dunno, but I’d like her to have options to do that sorta thing and more. She’s slightly undecided about which specific direction she wants to go and is gonna start college with general education courses before declaring a major. This is one of the reasons everything I said is a bit scattered in terms of its usefulness for any specific thing. Also I’m a gamer not an artist/animator so I don’t know much about what is useful for animation.

If the Ryzen 7 is more than enough I will definitely stick with that. The next lowest cpu isn’t that much savings so there isn’t much reason not to get the 7. I will avoid skylake x and TR tho and spend the money elsewhere.

One of the reasons I wanted to go 4K is because I know at least with gaming anything over 24” in 1080p you start to see the individual pixels in the screen and I figured for art she would need more clarity. I was look at this LG monitor as it’s color accuracy is said to be great in the reviews, but perhaps that’s only for general purpose use and not art? What specifically should I look for in a monitor, both in 4K and 1080p? How necessary is two monitors? Like how specifically do you use it to your advantage? What would be your ideal monitor setup? Desk space might be minimal so dual monitors or a single monitor over 27” could be tricky, I’m not sure.

I probably can’t afford a cintiq without sacrificing heavily in other things as I don’t see any under $1k, but what about a cheaper alternative brand like this? or perhaps you can point towards a more affordable cintiq that I missed?

Lastly, I forgot to ask about ram. Was planning on 32gb 3200mhz ram, is that adequate? Or if 16gb is good enough I can put that $ towards other stuff, but 32 seems to be the magic number.

You don't sound ignorant! There's no magical way to know this stuff.

I use the program Clip Studio Paint. It's a kind of photshop-lite aimed at digital painters and comic artists. It's pretty cheap ($50 I think?) but not free.

If you don't want to spend money, I would recommend Krita! I used it for years, it's a great free option. A lot of people also like Paint Tool SAI.

Art tools (tablets, pens, ect) often come with their own software, but it's pretty shitty (usually pared-down versions of more expensive software). The programs i mentioned are IMO much better options than the stuff that usually comes with wacom products.

If you're interested in starting with digital art, I can recommend this tablet: https://www.amazon.com/Huion-H610-Pro-Graphic-Carrying/dp/B00ZWRSQ4I/ref=sr_1_6?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1511399191&sr=1-6&keywords=drawing+tablet

If you're thinking about getting a new laptop, I would recommend lenovo's 2-in-1s! They work surprisingly well for digital art.

I bought a tablet really early on (2-3~ months in), and I found it to be an excellent purchase. Then again, I play osu! everyday for at least 2 hours, so I get plenty of time with it. If you don't believe you will be playing for at least one or two more years, I wouldn't recommend it. Again, as other people say, you don't need a tablet to play well. Many top players use a mouse, and some even use a touchscreen to play high level maps. But if you are set on buying a tablet, I would recommend the CTL480. This is the tablet that most players use at high level. If you need a cheaper option, there always is the osu!tablet or the Huion 420. These three are the most used tablets in osu!, but there are many other options available to you. The only thing you should look out for if you are trying to choose another tablet is latency, as tablets like the CTL490 are known to have latency unplayable with to people used to the above tablets.

As for PP, PP, or Performance Points is gained through passing or "fcing" (full comboing) a map. The higher level/star rating of map you play, the more PP you will get for a play. The easiest ways to get PP are through farm maps such as no title - Reol, MIIRO - AKINO from bless4, MIIRO vs. Ai no Scenario - AKINO from bless4 & CHiCO with HoneyWorks, and many others. The higher accuracy and combo you get, the more PP you will earn. However, as a new player, it isn't recommended to start farming PP. People usually don't start caring about pp until rank 50k to rank 100k (the five digit realm). What you should do as a new player is player harder and harder maps to help you learn how to play the game and then start trying for a higher ranking.

Hope this helps!

EDIT: I forgot about this tablet, the XP-Pen G430. It is similar to the osu!tablet and Huion 420 in size, and is a very recently introduced tablet. You can see high level play with it here.

Not trying to hijack the post, but I could use some advice as well.

I current have a Wacom Bamboo Pen Tablet (a couple of years ago).

I about the Bamboo Pen Tablet because it was really cheap and I wasn't sure if I would actually use it. I actually use it a bit and was quite happy with it. However as I've worked with it more, I feel that it might be time to upgrade.

Currently the main issue with the tablet is that it's pretty small. As the table mimics the screen, it makes it harder to do more precise drawings. Other than that it's perfectly functional.

In any case, I want to upgrade to a better and definitely bigger tablet without spending too much money (I am a poor college student after all). I don't want to spend over $200. What are some tablets I should be looking out for?

Right now I'm thinking about Bamboo Create Pen. However, I'm not sure if it's a significant enough upgrade or if I should just be looking to spend even more money for a better value.

What do you guys think? Should I just stick with my Bamboo Pen until I actually can spend money?

Sorry if this was inappropriate. I just didn't want to spam this subreddit with another self post of a similar subject..

Page Text is reproduced below:



…And we’re off! Thank you again to all of our beta testers and supporters for making this game a reality. We are forever grateful.

To all newcomers experiencing The Painter’s Playground for the first time – WELCOME! We hope you enjoy your stay here in Painter’s Port. The community so far has been wonderful in every way possible. Bob and I will be quite active in addressing any issues, questions, comments, or concerns through the Steam forum.

Alright, now onto our two launch contests!

DLC KEY CONTEST

Create a LetsPlay video of The Painter’s Playground, and post it here on the Steam video tab in the community hub. It can be anything you want, as long as it’s at least 5 minutes long. Ideas for videos could include a tutorial, tips and tricks, or just you doodling. Once you’ve posted the video, either friend me on here (you can unfriend after I give you the key, if you would like, no worries), or email the evidence to Dorkoski at ohio.edu.

HUION DRAWING TABLET CONTEST
I will buy and send this Huion Tablet to the first player who reaches Artist Level 50. This contest will require some serious work – you’ve been warned haha :D

https://www.amazon.com/Huion-Inches-Tablet-Graphics-Drawing/dp/B00DTPYWBG/ref=sr_1_14?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1516049982&sr=1-14&keywords=wacom+tablet

The only caveat is that I have to be able to ship it to you through Amazon. If by some reason I cannot (or the shipping is insane), I'll send you $20.00 USD through a Steam Gift Card instead.

Now we said we weren't going to do save wipes - and we aren't. BUT if you plan on going for level 50, we ask that you in-good-faith delete your current artist and start over to be fair to newcomers. Thank you!

Post your level 50 screen shot here on Steam and also email the link to Dorkoski at ohio.edu. We get an email when someone reaches level 50, but this will nudge me.

Thank you all for reading. Happy Painting!

Ryan and Bob
Next Zen Mechanics Limited



Bot created to announce Steam News automatically, powered by SteamKiwi.com. If you are a moderator and wish to request this bot to post news to your subreddit, or stop posting to your subreddit please PM /u/etaew.

If you have experience maybe use Unity. If you’re inexperienced game maker studio or Godot work well. If you need easier block based coding scratch and/ or game salad work well for that.

Google drawings is great for creating basic vector based graphics, but if you need hand drawn assets you can get a drawing tablet for cheap at: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00TB0TTAC/ref=s9_acsd_top_hd_bw_b15HJT_c_x_1_w?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=merchandised-search-3&pf_rd_r=XPCSCD2GXQH90D349H92&pf_rd_r=XPCSCD2GXQH90D349H92&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=e9b44aed-c758-5ff1-8be7-1149daa0dbbe&pf_rd_p=e9b44aed-c758-5ff1-8be7-1149daa0dbbe&pf_rd_i=16034531

Remember to prototype to test core gameplay and keep motivated, don’t stray away from using premade assets, but always get permission. Feel free to message me to request assets (I can only do mice & keyboard stuff btw)

The game sounds really fun btw.😃

I bought a Turcom 6610 a couple years ago. I got that over the wacom because it had a larger surface and was cheaper than the wacom bamboo. I ended up never using it though because it just wasn't that good.

Recently though I've been getting wrist/shoulder pains so I decided to give tablets another shot. This time I decided to go with a wacom tablet because I've heard that they're superior to other brands. I picked up the Intuos Art two weeks ago and so far I'm pretty happy with it.

As far as I know, the only difference between the Intuos Draw, Art, and Comic tablets is the software packages they come with. I was a little disappointed with the Corel Painter 5 Essentials that mine came with but maybe I just haven't used it enough yet. Either way, the point is, is that if you already have something like photoshop then I suggest just getting the cheapest of the three which is the Draw.

I think I should probably emphasize that I probably only know a little more than you do. This is a pretty good video on the subject that might help you with your decision. Good luck :)

Hello everyone! First I want to say thanks for having such a great community. I hope one day I can become good enough to contribute valuable advice here!

Reference image: Here, but I made it more purple and pinkish to match some blood oranges I have in real life.

Software: Krita

Tool: Tablet

Recently, I decided to stop by Gamestop to see what used games they had available. I saw something called "Art Academy" for $4.99 for the original DS.

I've always wanted to become an artist but at school, I was never taught in a way that was effective to me. They just put some objects in front of me and said "Draw this." When I didn't draw them well, they just gave me an A for effort and moved on. So before this game, I really didn't actually know much about art, though I had been exposed to it a bit.

ANYWAY, I am finding this game to be a shockingly effective tool. I'm only on lesson 5 and decided to apply what I've learned to my own painting and share it.

I know there are probably millions of glaring mistakes in this painting and ultimately, I just need to study and practice a lot more. But I thought I'd share and I'm certainly interested in any tweaks you can think of.

The biggest thing I struggled with was making it look juicy like a real orange. I've been trying for over 6 hours to add the bright highlights and sections but it always looks extremely wrong. I've tried tinting them so they're not pure white, I've tried making them thick and thin, and nothing works. I decided it's better to give up for now and work on studying more.

Thanks so much!

iPads can work. Teoh on YouTube has a couple reviews on different ones that helped me a lot, but I'll link the one I think will help you most since it's from an artist's perspective.

I'm on mobile, so sorry for the formatting:

https://youtu.be/iVHlP0fEGso


(Note: I originally wanted the mini 5, but fell in love with the iPad pro 11.)

Otherwise, I also recommend the Gaomon pd1560. It's on sale right now for 285 and you can get another 19 bucks discount on it right now. I'm actually almost tempted to get one; it's just as good as a cintiq.


https://www.amazon.com/dp/B075WSRLC6/ref=cm_sw_r_other_apa_i_U.wWDbC51GN90


Edit: I forgot to add that I recommend going to a store and trying out the tablets. That's how I found out the 11 fit me best (did a number on my wallet though....)

Gaomon s620 is so good actually, I would recommend watching some reviews on it. In fact, there's a fork of hawku drivers for it too, super nice.

edit: for reference Ive used the shit huion garbage with the giant pen, and also the xp pen star g430s which is actually pretty good except for the slippery cheap pen, but the s620 is better than both of these.

​

However, if you want to splurge and never have to buy a tablet again, https://www.amazon.com/Wacom-Drawing-Software-Included-CTL4100/dp/B079HL9YSF/ref=sxin_2_ac_d_rm?ac_md=0-0-d2Fjb20%3D-ac_d_rm&keywords=wacom&pd_rd_i=B079HL9YSF&pd_rd_r=e1834c53-8ecf-4883-a7d4-31d9d3a5d34e&pd_rd_w=2oCEh&pd_rd_wg=ZmOs9&pf_rd_p=2938a786-9bec-4d37-8c06-456e3edce5d1&pf_rd_r=MHRG77RX13S6N7RCYZFA&psc=1&qid=1569736321 This wacom tablet is incredible. Pen is super light, rubber covers the majority of it so it wont slip at all, and you can get better drivers for it. But again, more expensive

​

hope this helps

I am an ID student. Most colleges seem to have labs that support students in college. However, if you want to start early then I would recommend this is it's a good starter tablet. It's very cheap and works pretty well. I haven't used this model though as it's been awhile. Today I use a Surface Pro 4 for all my digital work but that's a big investment and I wouldn't recommend that for your sake. Technology evolves very fast.

Like a user here said before, sketching on paper translates pretty easily to computer assisted sketching. But if I could recommend programs I'd practice on SketchBook Pro. It's $30 a year and won't expire like an Adobe trial.

I can also recommend a few books for you and critique your work if you want. I tried to get a community like that going on this sub but it never came through. PM me if you want though like I said I'm only a student.

Photoshop is DEFINITELY more in depth than Lightroom. Youtube is your best friend in this case. You can get a lot of valuable advice and skills from there. This post will be incredibly helpful for you in that regard.

Photoshop can be used with a touchscreen, but you should know that your laptop touchscreen and something like a drawing pad are not the same thing. You won't have pressure sensitive ability. You would want something like this to get that done.

Photoshop does not have a standalone product available as far as I can tell, but $10 a month for the most recent version of both Lightroom and Photoshop (it's the photography pack) is an incredible deal. That is available here.

If you have any other questions feel free to reply to me or PM me. Cheers!

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=mniqsTJ4-l4

I found a review for that tablet.... it does say that it needs the Bluetooth connector, but IMO, if you have to save up that much just for the connector for a tablet that might not work, it might be better just to save up for a better tablet either new or actually refurbished rather than hoping the one from Goodwill does work, as there are issues brought up in the video that would make me not want the Bluetooth version in the first place.

The Wacom One for example, would actually be cheaper than buying the connector for a tablet you might not be able to work still?

https://www.amazon.com/Wacom-Graphic-Drawing-Tablet-Beginners/dp/B07S1RR3FR/ref=mp_s_a_1_3?keywords=Wacom+Bamboo&qid=1570061074&s=gateway&sr=8-3

If you go up a bit more, the Wacom Intuos Graphics comes with good set of programs as well as the tablet, too.

https://www.amazon.com/Wacom-Drawing-Software-Included-CTL4100/dp/B079HL9YSF/ref=mp_s_a_1_4?keywords=Wacom+Bamboo&qid=1570061074&s=gateway&sr=8-4

I'm not getting any presents this year, but if you want to give something. Then i'd like something like this. But thats just selfish thinking of me expecting that 1. You'd wanna pay so much. and 2. That you're going to choose me over that Clean water well idea. But if you don't want to buy me a wacom, i'd also be happy with just a good book or something. I heard House of leaves is good.

Even if you dont pick me or something, I just want to say you are a great guy and props to you for this kind of christmas spirit. This song is for you.

Uhm, Wacom is the only brand to consider. Period.

You have two good options, the $200 "medium" Bamboo, which is a great tablet with a relatively inexpensive pen (30$) at a good size. And the $99 "small" Bamboo. There is actually also a $70 one that works just fine too. Those are like (4x6) and (5x8) roughly.

The next step up from the Bamboo is the Intuos, which is kind of the 'professional' standard for Tablets. The Bamboo is for newbies. For tourists into digital art. (I'm kidding, but that's how digital artists act. Pretentious jerks...)

Anyway the Intuos is currently at version 4. They are pricey. A small runs $229 and a Medium $349. More pressure, better pens, little tips for the pens to emulate real work.

Okay, let's get serious.

As a digital artist, you're going to kick yourself if you don't get an Intuos. I have the entry level (Graphire, which is now called the Bamboo) and I'm kicking myself. It's just too small.

The Intuos4 Medium is a great platform, if you want to blow all $350 right there.

Alternatively, step backwards to the Intuos3, which you can still buy on Amazon. You could get a medium for probably 240$, since it's the last generation. That'll work just fine.

Intuos3 Medium 249.99

Intuos3 Large 319.99

Those are my two recommendations. Grab the last generation at massive discounts instead of shelling out for the 4th series. The new ones are shinier and probably have better integration for hotkey buttons or something, but lets face it.

You want a pen, with tips, and 1024 levels of pressure, and a good size pad. That's what a tablet is about. The two links above are my recommendation.

I'm not really sure why you want to work digitally if youre opposed to computers/internet being part of the process, that's kind of a big part of 'digital'. The cheaper tablets are not going to have a screen, they're going to function basically like a mouse connected to your PC and move the cursor around with the pen. Even the best of the best Cintiq level tablets basically act like an extra monitor you can draw on. There are cheaper tablets similar to cintiqs but they still need a PC running Photoshop or some other art program.

Something like an iPad or other tablet doesn't have to connect to a PC but it basically is a self-contained computer itself. I use a Samsung galaxy note, it's an Android tablet that works without being connected to a PC. You would need WiFi to install art programs from the app store but other than that you don't have to use internet on it. It lets you draw directly on the screen which was my main priority. Investing $200+ might be a big ask if you're just starting out though. If youre interested in this make sure you do your research. Samsung has tablets with the 'S Pen', which have more levels of pressure sensitivity than a normal touch screen and works much better for digital art. You want to find the most sensitivity within your price range.

I used an Intuos 3 for...a decade or so? It's a solid tablet but requires a PC to use and doesn't let you draw directly on the screen. I guess the modern day version of that would be something like this, which seems like a pretty affordable pick for getting your foot in the door with digital art.

I've been watching a ton of Moderndayjames on Youtube. He's super good at teaching a lot of fundamentals, like constructive anatomy, texture shading, and perspective drawing. Highly recommend. He also does daily sketch streams.

I also recommend Sinixdesign. He uses Corelpainter instead of Photoshop, which emulates more traditional painting feels. (David Harrington, HotS artist, also uses this). And he uses a lot of interesting colours and techniques. He also teaches anatomy really well. He's probably a lot more freeform than Moderndayjames.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00EVOXM3S/ref=mp_s_a_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1509843362&sr=8-4&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_QL65&keywords=wacom+bamboo&dpPl=1&dpID=31uMU5O4wAL&ref=plSrch

Here's a link to a fairly priced, nice drawing tablet. It's one I had for a while before I lost it. It's affordable, decent sized, the pen doesn't need charge, comes with spare pen nibs, has great pressure sensitivity, and is very responsive. Everything you want.

Go with the medium bamboo. It's an excellent starting platform to get acquainted with digital drawing. it'll def take some getting used to not seeing exactly what your drawing with your hands, but rather at a screen above. One thing I'm a 'fan' of is actually what it lacks. With "only" 512 levels of pressure sensitivity and no detection of the angle of the pen, you'll break yourself in and really learn how to manipulate photoshop etc for your artistic means. Then, as your progress and want to drop some real dough on a nice intuous tablet, you'll be amazed at home smooth it is.

tldr: It's a great option, and will pave the way for more expensive replacements later if you find you do truly enjoy it.

Oh, and drop an extra 15 dollars for both the updated model, as well as a larger drawing area, it's def worth it...
http://www.amazon.com/Wacom-CTL460-Bamboo-Pen-Tablet/dp/B002OOWC3I/ref=pd_ts_e_1?ie=UTF8&s=electronics

So heres the thing. The pen acts like a mouse in all respects to blender with the exception of pressure sensitivity and absolute positioning, as I'm sure you already know.

I am an avid pen tablet user, I've dabbled with blender, and I've been especially a linux user. Now that you know that, let me tell you my thoughts.

Pen input is okay with blender. You can use it as you expect, it takes some figuring out how to get it to work. (Or it did when I was trying to use it.) Getting into sculpting mode, and working with an object was not easy, nor did I find it particularly intuitive to do anything. In short, I gave up... So take my opinion with a grain of salt.

But I will note, that I found something else that works great in tandem with a pen tablet, a 3D Mouse. Personally I got the 3DConnexion Space Navigator http://www.3dconnexion.com/products/spacenavigator.html as something to play with. (You can find them on ebay for half of the retail price.) So throw away your USB Mouse, plug in the tablet, and get a 3D Mouse for moving your 3D objects.

Sadly, the wacom you chose doesn't have a mouse option. That makes me disappointed. I would've recommended looking for a Intuos4 http://www.amazon.com/Wacom-Intuos4-Medium-Pen-Tablet/dp/B001TUYTZW/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1413163434&sr=1-1&keywords=intuos4

Either way, wacom works great on linux, it's normally built into the kernel so no additional software needed.

The biggest issue that may arise is what to do with the keyboard. For blender it is the most used tool, right next to the mouse. (Duh)... but it's an important part of blender. There is no answer to how to make space, find something comfortable for you, maybe invest in a good keyboard tray. Take into consideration your handedness when placing the tablet.

Just remember, the tablet for all intents and purposes replaces your mouse. Don't think it's a two handed use em both at the same time thing, which is why I recommended the 3D mouse. The biggest issue is switching from the pen to the keyboard, depending on your handedness.

Good luck.

I figured at this point it might help to just send a picture for scale. http://imgur.com/a/cfTea

You can see my current laptop, a 17" Sager. Next to it is my chromebook. Below that are my backpack which almost fits the Sager and the laptop bag that I adjusted to hold it (fits holds laptop, mouse, power brick, external drive, mouse, and tablet).
The two mice are a Zowie EC2-A and a Logitech M510. If you aren't an fps nut the cheap logitech is great and the wireless dongle fits in the mouse for transport, or can be left in the usb slot with a low profile. To the right of those are one of my external hard drives, wallet, and glasses case. The TV is 22 inches and not pictured is my wacom intuos pro medium tablet which fits perfectly on top of the Sager when I travel.

So here's what I've learned. 17 inch bags are pretty much limited to satchel style bags. Even my 15.4in bag is freaking huge on my back and I could fit all of the books I needed each day + 13 inch macbook pro in there comfortably. The 17in pc's were too much trouble to carry to/from classes, but the mbp was easy and the chromebook is so small/light I keep thinking I've lost it.

Despite being a pain, I would typically switch homes every few days and having a 17in laptop was pretty nice. I'd usually throw clothes + headset in my backpack and carry two bags wherever I was going. While cumbersome, I didn't mind carry the big laptops for lan parties or visiting friends for a night. It was mostly the school environment (switch classes, waiting around, lack of outlets, crowded table) where it got in the way.

I personally use a Huion 420: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00DTPYWBG/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I've been using one since draw my thing back in the day.
It isn't a "good" tablet in any way, but its cheap and works well enough and fun to play with :P
If you are just looking for fun, this works.
If you are looking to become a good artist, look at Wacom :)

The laptop being slow will dictate on what programs he can use for art, not the tablet itself if that is what you are asking. Can you get the make and model of the computer? I will be able to tell you which ones that would work. What version of Windows is he running?

But for now, I can list off some free ones.

Mediabang: It's completely free. It is designed for comic artists, but honestly it work for any type of art project you are doing.

Fire Alpaca: Free. it's a very light art program, so I doubt there will be lag at all.

Krita: Free. It has more of a professional look. I say it looks like one of the newest Photoshop layouts.


I suggest getting this one: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B079HL9YSF/ref=cm_sw_r_em_apa_xTh-BbQZQ2C6G

It's cheap, good for beginners, and the Intuos line of Wacom tablets are very good. It comes with three different art programs, but I do believe they are trial only.

I'm not a computer artist. I like traditional mediums but am slowly being swayed to join in tablet drawing. I say this because you should take my opinions with a grain of salt. However, I've been hearing good things about Wacom's Bamboo Capture Pen and Touch Tablet. It carries the Wacom name that people love (and a year warranty), customizable shortcut buttons, its stylus has an eraser on the top, and multitouch gestures that will let you flip, turn, or whatever while working. It's supposed to be a little to sensitive with the pen sometimes, but that's really the only drawback I hear.

It's $69 from Amazon.

Maybe someone else can pop in and give their views on this, but as a know-nothing about CG art, this is the one I have my eye on. Good luck!

I recently bought the Huion Inspiroy H640P for my sister's kids, partly because I wanted them to experience drawing/painting digitally (I set them up with Krita), but also because I wanted to test the tablet. I currently use a Wacom Intuos Art Medium, which serves me well enough (I've been using Wacom products for years). The Huion responded well and I found it to be a quality product. The fact that it was less than half the cost of my Wacom ($50 vs $150) made it all the more impressive. I haven't made the switch myself at this point (although I'll pick one up as a backup soon enough), but for anyone looking to go digital without making a huge investment, I highly recommend that Huion tablet. It's plenty big enough to work on and the drivers seem just as stable as Wacom's drivers.

Edit: if you want to see what I'm making with the Intuos (so, when I say the H640P is great quality, this is where I'm coming from): https://www.instagram.com/johningallsart/

Well when it comes to tablet's my opinion may be a little bit skewed since I bought this tablet first and foremost to play osu! with, and to draw with second.

That being said This is what I am using. It's even on sale right now so that's pretty neat. Now this tablet comes with a free drawing software, but the software you choose also effects the price of the table (ex the one I got was the cheapest so it came with practically the worst free program). I would highly highly HIGHLY recommend finding out what style your wife wants to draw in and how serious she is about it. I can not recommend clip paint studio pro enough. I've used the software that came with my tablet, and I've used 2 other lite free softwares and nothing compares. It's VERY deep and I'm still learning new things about it, but for 60 dollars I think you get more than what you pay for.

The first tablet I ever bought was this boyo here. This is for people who are like, only passively interested in tablet art AT MOST. the problem with this is that there is definitely a ceiling to it where eventually you will just get tired of putting up with it and switch to the one I linked above. So yeah if she only wants to like doodle once a week or something go for this one, but if she wants to take up the hobby, I've used a lot of stuff and the Wacom Tablet + Clip Paint has been my absolute favorite

i sorta kinda went to art school in a roundabout way. i started off in neuroscience, then i did a year of fine art and a year of community art college. i've done a lot of workshops and things though and i read a lot of art books and blogs and the like.

and yay for games! i actually work at a game company, Naughty Dog. it's a really fun industry. digital art is definitely a must for doing game art. Wacom is the tablet that I swear by however there are so many good cheap alternatives now. Here are some that I'd recommend for you to start out by trying:

http://www.amazon.com/Huion-H610PRO-Painting-Drawing-Graphics/dp/B00GIGGS6A/ref=sr_1_7?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1449009760&sr=1-7&keywords=wacom+bamboo

http://www.amazon.com/Wacom-Bamboo-CTL471-Tablet-Black/dp/B00EVOXM3S/ref=sr_1_1?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1449009760&sr=1-1&keywords=wacom+bamboo

oh and check it out manga studio is on sale, that's a good program too, great alternative to photoshop which is really pricey: http://www.amazon.com/Smith-Micro-Software-Inc-ALA31002327/dp/B00ANH074Y/ref=pd_sim_147_3?ie=UTF8&dpID=513uN0rVQlL&dpSrc=sims&preST=_AC_UL160_SR111%2C160_&refRID=0VT0HQ9EMB6J118RBJWD

Hi! My daughter is 5 and wants to make simple animations. I don't know where to start in helping her find a way to do this.
We have a windows laptop and a digital camera and I ordered this for her https://www.amazon.com/Ultrathin-Graphic-Digital-Drawing-Pressure/dp/B01BA6XQI0/ref=sxin_3_ac_d_pm?keywords=drawing+tablet&pd_rd_i=B01BA6XQI0&pd_rd_r=d06674a6-6f5f-4652-a8e5-72a92ab99e5b&pd_rd_w=RfVpj&pd_rd_wg=tWU6E&pf_rd_p=5cc8abfe-8f78-4f34-b19f-d09d6ea0dca4&pf_rd_r=3CS964DHHH1JGPZEDXTW&qid=1557762329&s=gateway


I have no idea what kind of software to install that a 5 year old would be able to use (she can read very well and picks things up super fast so it needs to be simple, but she can figure tech things out fairly quickly).


She wants to make cartoons where you draw them like a flipbook I suppose (which is why I purchased the drawing tablet), or claymation type videos where she takes a series of photos.. she understands how animation works much better than I do, haha.


Anyway, where do I begin?? Please help :D

Hey man, frankly I only know of Wacom and Genius tablets. So I researched Huion just now. Interesting. This one's from Amazon:

Q: What are the differences between the Huion h610 and the Huion h610 pro? Thanks.

A: Regarding your inquiry, the differences between the H610 and H610 Pro are as follows: 1. Different stylus. H610 Pro uses a battery free stylus, which is a recharge one with latest Huion design while the H610 uses a stylus that needs one AAA battery. The recharge stylus has a better sense and responses better to the tablet. 2. Different surface texture. The H610 Pro has a slippery-proof texture of the tablet surface so you will feel more comfortable like drawing on a real paper when you use it. The old H610 doesn't have that. 3. Different resolution. The resolution of the H610 Pro is 5080 lines per inch, and the H610 is 4000 LPI. 4. Different reporting rate. The report rate of the H610 Pro is 233 resolutions per second while the H610's is 220 RPS. 5. Different box. The whole original packaging box of H610 Pro is different from the H610, which looks more modern. 6. Different driver. The new driver for the H610 Pro is confirmed to be compatible with windows 8.1 and mac osx 10.9. Thank you for your kind attention!

http://www.amazon.com/Huion-H610-Graphics-Drawing-Tablet/dp/B00GIGGS6A

This is the Wacom tablet I use. It's fairly cheap but still does the job for someone like me who is just getting into this whole digital art business. Art wise it really depends on what you want to do, if you're into pixel art at all there's a great application out there called pyxel edit you can get for $10 and there's youtube tutorials that tell you both how to use it and how to think about character creation in a 32x32 tile form. Other than that, Adobe is the standard for pretty much everything AFAIK https://www.amazon.com/Huion-H610-Pro-Graphic-Carrying/dp/B00ZWRSQ4I/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1498843868&sr=8-1-spons&keywords=huion+h610+pro&psc=1

ur like an awesome friend lol I personally use these 4 for all my stuff:

Huion Pro

Huion 640p

Wacom

my favorite (which happens to be the cheapest!!!) Huion H420 Kit

​

Software I use: Krita, Photoshop (main), Corel Painter, Clip Art -- Corel seems to be really popular

This crops up pretty frequently.

Your options boil down to free, cheap, and expensive.

Your free option is Gimp, which I can't stand but other people like. The interface isn't made for normal humans with normal human brains but it works just fine, and it does everything photoshop does.

Your cheap option is paintshop pro, which is what I use. It's easy, and does most of the things photoshop does.

Your expensive option is photoshop. Photoshop does everything, and isn't too bad to use, but costs roughly four million dollars and a pint of your blood. monthly.

If you're going to commit to drawing your maps on the computer machine, you should think about getting a reasonably priced drawing tablet. I use a wacom bamboo tablet, and it works very well. I used a mouse for a long time, and I didn't think a tablet would make that much of a difference, but it does.

I've got a Bamboo Capture drawing tablet. I stream through my page at http://www.livestream.com/NeonGreenTiger (I think. I'll check when I get home from work). You'll need to create an account to watch, but it's free and fairly painless :). I think I'll give it a go tonight as I work on adding the lineart to a rough sketch that I have. If you like, i can message you when I start :). I'm working on learning the program and how to use it, my tablet and just working at getting better at drawing :)

There really isn't much of a difference with a tablet with more pen pressure, larger screen or more buttons, it's purely what you are comfortable with, and assuming that this would be your first tablet, I suggest getting a small tablet without a screen.

yes, it takes some time to adjust to, but it's much cheaper and better to practice with and get to know what you're comfortable with before buying something expensive. if you REALLY want a screen, then I suggest HUION tablets as they are a cheaper counterpart of WACOM, and with little difference in quality, just make sure it is compatible with your drawing software.

Some small screenless tablets:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00TB0TTAC/ref=psdc_16034531_t3_B002OOWC3S [very small but very cheap]

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B079J7DCXN/ref=psdc_16034531_t2_B002OOWC3S [pricey for size]

https://www.amazon.com/Wacom-Bamboo-Capture-Tablet-CTH470/dp/B005HGBEZ2/ref=sr_1_3?keywords=wacom+tablet+CTH470&qid=1574198997&s=electronics&sr=1-3 [what i used as a kid but currently out of stock]

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07DPC98DT/ref=sspa_dk_detail_5?psc=1&pd_rd_i=B07DPC98DT&pd_rd_w=6UIy5&pf_rd_p=45a72588-80f7-4414-9851-786f6c16d42b&pd_rd_wg=GWJgM&pf_rd_r=TS1RD6K2JSVF4CBCNA33&pd_rd_r=22c6007a-6a19-4dac-90a9-d43c03a473a1&spLa=ZW5jcnlwdGVkUXVhbGlmaWVyPUFOMksxMlgwV1JWMzgmZW5jcnlwdGVkSWQ9QTA2MDg5NjYxQk42SUxMNE82TDNaJmVuY3J5cHRlZEFkSWQ9QTA1NDMxODQxSDBUNlhOQ0FPUVBQJndpZGdldE5hbWU9c3BfZGV0YWlsJmFjdGlvbj1jbGlja1JlZGlyZWN0JmRvTm90TG9nQ2xpY2s9dHJ1ZQ== [what I use and suggest]

Average screen tablets:

https://www.xp-pen.com/product/56.html

https://www.amazon.com/Simbans-PicassoTab-Drawing-Beginner-Bluetooth/dp/B071GY6994/ref=sr_1_2?keywords=drawing+tablet&qid=1574199156&sr=8-2

https://www.amazon.com/XP-PEN-Artist12-Battery-Free-Multi-Function-Sensitivity/dp/B07GNK18VJ/ref=sr_1_8?keywords=drawing+tablet&qid=1574199156&sr=8-8

https://www.amazon.com/GT-191-KAMVAS-Drawing-Pressure-Sensitivity/dp/B072N2C2PB/ref=sr_1_9?keywords=drawing+tablet&qid=1574199156&sr=8-9

honestly just chose tablets that popped up first + fits ur budget, the difference is really minimalistic and it shouldn't matter as a beginner since you're not adjusted to a certain way of drawing digitally yet.

The problem with recommending a tablet is that I can only in good conscience recommend the stuff that isn't very affordable. Buying a tablet is like buying a car; buy cheap and you'll regret it later, because it'll either not be what you need or break down completely. If you're okay with spending around $200, this one is the model I've used for years now, and it's great: http://www.amazon.com/Wacom-Intuos4-Medium-Pen-Tablet/dp/B001TUYTZW/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1450471682&sr=8-1&keywords=wacom+intuos+4 Still going strong even after all the wear and tear.

Above all, make sure you're really ready to commit if you buy something in this price range. Well, unless you've got a lot of spending money, I guess.

No need to apologize! I didn't know lingo or anything when I first started looking into this stuff either, and there's a lot of interchangeable terms.

So a 'drawing tablet' is usually going to refer to a separate drawing pad that you plug into a USB port on your computer like an Intuos.

If you're drawing directly on the screen, that's usually called a 'tablet monitor' or 'pen display' like a Cintiq. Those are much more expensive (I'm still saving up for mine), but they're frankly awesome. If you ever get a chance to try one out at a Microsoft or Apple store, go for it!

Hopefully that clears things up a bit. That said, for a starter drawing tablet I would say take a look at the Wacom Bamboo for an affordable, no no-bells-and-whistles experience so you can get used to using one. The first two weeks or so are pretty awkward, as you have to get used to associating what you see on your monitor with how your hand is moving on the tablet. Don't worry if things look super crappy at first, you will get better with practice.

I’ve been eyeing the $20 (or less) Huion 4x2 fablet. It’s tiny but might be fun. I usually draw on an iPad Pro though so there’s no real need for me to get a tablet

But still, it might be fun. Anyways check it out here: Huion 4 x 2.23 Inches OSU Tablet Graphics Drawing Pen Tablet - 420 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00DTPYWBG/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_QDhQDbDQSXXH2

It’s all you “need” to get started in tablet drawing and if you think it’s something that you enjoy and want to continue with, then you can get a better tablet

Software: Photoshop. Hardware: One of these babies. Still can't draw with it (gotta do the lines with good old pencil and pens), but hoping I'll be more comfortable using it once I get through more of those tutorials. And thank you very much! :)

Wacom Bamboo. They're like 50$, great quality, and super easy to use. My mother and sister both have one, and I use an Intous4.

This is the model I am recommending. It looks like its been discontinued, so if you are looking for a new tablet, you might have to spend closer to $125. Either way, its a good product, and I have never had problems with Wacom hardware.

http://www.amazon.com/Wacom-Bamboo-Capture-Tablet-CTH470/dp/B005HGBEZ2/ref=sr_1_2?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1457716217&sr=1-2&keywords=wacom+bamboo+create

I throw in a second vote for the Huion. I have the
[Huion h610 pro $75](Huion H610 Pro Graphic Drawing Tablet with Carrying Bag and Glove https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00ZWRSQ4I/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_5ktXzbN8XWCN2) (this is Amazon's price but I got it for $55 brand new on eBay 1 year ago) and honestly I think it's better than Wacom and only a fraction of the price. I've never owned a Wacom myself, but when I was comparing the capabilities of Wacoms within the same price range to Huion, it was clear which company had the better value.

The only thing wrong is the drivers for Windows. Don't use the driver that comes in the CD, download the latest one from their website and you're good.

> With being said a dedicated drawing tablet that hooks up to a computer would be probably the more "professional" route if that is what you are looking for. However that is generally more expensive that buying a tablet like the S4 or iPad Pro.

If you are talking about the Wacom Cintiq, I recommend you check out some reviews for other brands. For example, here is a competitor with a price tag of $499 and with generally positive reviews: https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B072N2C2PB/

Personally I used to have a graphic tablet without built-in screen, the Wacom Intuos 3 in size A5. A built-in screen is cool but a graphic tablet is still absolutely wonderful even without it. Here is an alternative to Wacom with generally positive reviews, price tag $111.20: https://www.amazon.com/Wireless-Graphic-Drawing-Tablet-MicroSD/dp/B01CYCOYSU/

Morthy's demands:

• Unfortunately, I have nothing that would make me seem like an old posh Englishman. Sad day.
  
  
• Item I wouldn't want to be caught in public with- this taxidermy deer head.. it might freak some people out. I think it's beautiful though.
  
  
  
• most phallic looking item: this microphone off my photography list. See also, the item I chose for "best item to bring to a deserted island."
  
  
  Akeleie's demands:
  
  
• most geeky item- R2D2 necklace <3 on my "want" list --OR-- this shirt off of chocowafer's wish list
  
  
• item that would help me achieve my goal of expanding into digital drawing- bamboo tablet on my "need" list
  
  
• Best item to take on a deserted island- well I don't have any flares on my wish list so I'm gonna have to go with.. the lightsaber sucker. I'm hoping it lights up pretty bright. If not, at least it'll be a nice last treat before i probably die alone. on my "under $15" list

Well it's certainly worth while if you spend countless hours on it over a few years. The thing is thought you're not very experienced in digital art yet so it's hard to say if a purchase that large will pay itself off. You could use it for a few months and decide either the cintiq or digital isn't for you. I would recommend the Huion H610 Pro since it's so cheap. This tablet has the exact same specs as the intuos pro. Then if you really like digital buying a cintiq might be an easier decision since you'll have some experience in digital. You could even check out a cintiq alternative, just know that installing drivers can be difficult with them. I believe all the brands that make much cheaper cintiq alternatives are Bosto, Yiynova, Monoprice and Huion. Many complain that the cintiq's screen is dark and super thick creating a feeling of parallax. If you do go with a cintiq alternative make sure the screen resolution supports 1920x1080. The Yiynova I have has a res of 1440x900 and since you're so close to the screen it's insanely easy to see pixelation. Other then that I have 0 complaints with it after I got the drivers installed.

Im with /u/n_reineke what good are dreams if you cant obtain them every now and then! and there is nothing better than Art! its relaxing, its something you can teach the kids how to do. and shit if you need the extra 5$ I will send you a Gift card lol It will be worth it trust me

Don't know about you but I've been using this product from Wacom for the past couple of months now on my artwork and stuff. Costed me close to $80. For a program rec. try Autodesk Sketchbook, recently they made it free for users like myself to work on fun projects :) https://www.amazon.com/Wacom-Drawing-Software-Included-CTL4100/dp/B079HL9YSF/ref=pd_sbs_147_1?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=B079HL9YSF&pd_rd_r=15f9b071-e7d7-11e8-b0b1-33fa73d4a09a&pd_rd_w=IY36s&pd_rd_wg=EwvbN&pf_rd_i=desktop-dp-sims&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_p=7d5d9c3c-5e01-44ac-97fd-261afd40b865&pf_rd_r=6AF5R3C71G3EXVGY2ZYY&pf_rd_s=desktop-dp-sims&pf_rd_t=40701&psc=1&refRID=6AF5R3C71G3EXVGY2ZYY

>Wacom Bamboo Touch tablet

Thank you, I appreciate that. It's been rough for him as he used to have a lot of hobbies like woodworking, model airplanes, etc. and not he can't do them.

That looks interesting, appears it's gone up in price as Amazon has it for $174. A good starting point, thank you!

Edit: Scratch that, I guess I was looking at an older model. Looks like it's still about $80 https://www.amazon.com/Wacom-Bamboo-Capture-Tablet-CTH470/dp/B005HGBEZ2

Edit 2: There's also a newer model, if anyone else it looking for this sort of thign: https://www.amazon.com/Wacom-Wireless-Software-Included-CTL4100WLK0/dp/B079J2FSQ7/ref=dp_ob_title_ce

I use either Flash or Photoshop to make all of my comics. I know that Flash isn't made for drawing comics, but I used to do crummy little animations, and got used to the way the tools on there work.

I have a little Wacom table that I do all of my drawings on. I wish it had a bigger area to draw on, but it works for me.

Once I draw my frames in Flash or Photoshop, I put them into icomic. It's a cheap little program for macs that comes with the ilife package. That's where I make my panels and add text.

Everything I do is very low budget and probably not that professional. That's why my comics don't look as polished as a lot of the well-known webcomics.

My biggest piece of advice is this: If you want to do something, do it. If your kid wants to get into comics, any way they can make them is good. I've been making comics for six years and still get a lot of criticism for using too much text or various other things. They'll never be perfect, but they'll be theirs.

Best of luck, and if you ever want to email me with more questions, feel free to use the contact form on my site.

I'd recommend this Monoprice tablet: LINK
I've used Monoprice, Huion, Wacom Intuos and WacomCintiq tablets, and honestly the Monoprice is plenty fine. The price to performance jump for a nice Intuos is not going to be apparent for someone just starting.


As for animating software, they can be very expensive if you decide to get dedicated animating software. There are free alternatives, such as Plastic Animation Paper or EasyToon.

If you're willing to spend money, Toon Boom and Adobe Animate/Flash are both popular.

Nobody likes sweaty palms, especially when creating master pieces XD. I would suggest picking up a glove to draw with, something like this. They are simple, breathable and easy to clean. Goodlucks!

It should say the capabilities on the items. I am not too familiar with them but their bamboo tablets are a good starting point

https://smile.amazon.com/Wacom-Bamboo-CTL471-Tablet-Black/dp/B00EVOXM3S/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1487001518&sr=8-1&keywords=wacom+bamboo

There may be others to help. It depends on what she wants to do with it I'm sure. The linked above was what I was going to get years ago, and it was the best bang for buck.

I have the Bamboo $59.99 and it works great. I would recommend that you get the cheapest one. That way if you lose interest you aren't regretting the purchase. If you love it and use it a lot you can easily upgrade to a medium intous that has a larger effective area and has programmable buttons to speed up your work.

I'm still planning on going straight to digital though. My hands aren't very steady (though I figure it may improve over time), so I'd like to take advantage of the smoothing in digital, and I just prefer the look of digital most of the time. Also, fixing mistakes is easier in digital, and I already have a bit of experience with photoshop.

I'll be honest, the only real reason I want to draw is to have some kind of artistic talent, and also to draw my sona and other furry shit. Like, I want to be able to make my own branding amd PFPs (I appreciate good art and would be willing to shell out money to artists, but if I can achieve a decent result myself, I'll try because I'm stingy as fuck)

Thanks a ton for the advice though. If you don't mind me asking, which of these looks like a better deal to you?

This: https://www.amazon.ca/StarG640-Ultrathin-Graphics-Battery-Free-Pressure/dp/B078YR2MTF/ref=pd_sbs_0_1/137-1111389-1670244?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=B078YR2MTF&pd_rd_r=edcd46df-50b0-11e9-948b-a94c591038df&pd_rd_w=CfZXE&pd_rd_wg=H7EwO&pf_rd_p=5dcda75b-8643-4da3-9bb1-5c0233790500&pf_rd_r=7N20KAC4R67FE96RF9TA&psc=1&refRID=7N20KAC4R67FE96RF9TA

Or this:
https://www.amazon.ca/Huion-Graphics-Drawing-Tablet-Board/dp/B00TB0TTAC/ref=pd_sbs_0_1/137-1111389-1670244?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=B00TB0TTAC&pd_rd_r=e54a4ca5-50c2-11e9-a24f-1f23c692de06&pd_rd_w=Ev9FP&pd_rd_wg=IU9gR&pf_rd_p=5dcda75b-8643-4da3-9bb1-5c0233790500&pf_rd_r=NC6N1KBFJCMRG0AQ5X4J&psc=1&refRID=NC6N1KBFJCMRG0AQ5X4J

On a side note, I find it hilarious that they market low end tablets as "Osu Tablets"

Alright boys, like our OP here, I'm thinking of getting a tablet too, but I've been struggling with what to get. I've heard that the Huion 420 is pretty good for it's price, but I really like the sound of something like the Wacom CTL-480 , I'm totally fine to spend the extra money for it, thoughts??

Thank you!

I have a Wacom Bamboo Create, except with a different pen than in that picture. It took a while to find the best place to put it on my desk, and it took even longer getting used to the movement between the pen and the screen, but now it's pretty comfortable to use for almost anything except games. Sometimes I feel like the wire is a nuisance but I don't want to spend the money on batteries to make it wireless.

How are you learning digital sketches now without a wacom?

Tablet Name: Intuos3 (8" x 6")

Manufacturer: Wacom

Price: $200+ used (you may find it cheaper; that was just a quick search), $450+ new (don't buy this new), prices in USD.

Size: 13.6 x 0.5 x 10.3 inches (8" x 6" active area); 4 pounds

Features: 8 express keys (4 on each side), 2 touch strips (1 on each side), 1,024 levels of pressure sensitivity, 5080 lines per inch.

Accessories: Pen, pen holder, mouse, felt nib, spring nib, replacement plastic nibs.

Comments: I've had this tablet for several years and it's served me well when drawing or photo editing. The surface is smooth and easy to draw on, although the active area is ever so slightly reduced for widescreen monitors (and this has to be adjusted in the driver settings). The different pen tips provide a more traditional feel for mediums other than the pencil, but I've always preferred the basic plastic nib. Works great in Photoshop and Corel Painter without any extra setup. Plug it in, install the drivers, and draw away. This is a fairly old model and I would recommend against buying it for more than $150-$200. If you're going higher than that, you might as well pick up an Intuos4 instead.

Website: Intuos Site, Amazon Page

User: /u/KrazyTheFox

Use this Bamboo, and I love it. It's pretty cheap, but does most everything I want it to.

Check with your school's IT office or such, most schools will have drawing tablets for you to check out. My school has ~10 Wacoms for rent.

Photoshop and Illustrator will be your main two. I've found learning InDesign to be a great help though on some projects. Learn SketchUp too!

Real life! AWESOME.

Tablet's are actually pretty affordable if you don't get a Cintiq or a Wacom. I've got this one. I've only used it a few times so far but it's pretty nice. Can't beat that price for that size either.

Have you considered picking up a second hand monitor? The extra real estate might be handy to have.

Get the largest Wacom model you can find for the price and don't be afraid to look for used ones, because in your price range you will be likely forced to resign to small models and people tend to upgrade from them after a while, so such investment isn't particularly wise. Avoid anything with touch interface, it's widely regarded as useless, go for non-touch versions and save some money. Intuos Pro Medium is currently considered #1 choice for professional digital artists, but it falls outside your budget.

The closest competitors to Wacom are Monoprice tablets, but they have all sorts of driver and build quality issues. Huion is another leading competitor, offering a particularly attractive Huion H610PRO tablet for a very affordable price. That would definitely be a good alternative to Wacom products, but make damn well sure to test it before paying or at least make sure you have a very good return policy. I had to return mine, because it couldn't draw straight diagonal lines and it's not exactly an uncommon issue. But if you get a working model, for the price it can't be beat.

All non-Wacom products seem to have severe compatibility issues with Windows 10 at times, so keep that in mind if you're running that.

Well, you'll likely find the graphics tablet route far more sensitive for doing what you've in mind. If you're truly planning on Game development, there's little reason to skimp unless you're just broke. Here's an option if you're looking to save cash. That said, it's totally possible to do this with a mouse, given enough patience and time.

Now, all things considered, what you'll find most helpful is practice. The problem with making maps is that you're never 'done.' You will always have room for improvement, so keep practicing. Setting realistic goals is the best way to get started, and then later you can expand so that you don't get overwhelmed too early on.

Honestly, I think tracing is a good way to get lost because you'll just copy the topical information and miss the purpose. Study climate guides and stare at real maps until your eyes bleed, because that's how you learn what shapes pass for real. You will never make a map with procedural generation that will top a map made by hand with experience and realism in mind.

What you're doing is fucking hard, man, but it can be done. I fully respect you because I don't think I could hack it.

I'm no expert, but I just got my first drawing tablet, so I'll recommend the one I have. I've got a Huion h610 Pro. Personally, I like it. Works well with Photoshop Elements 10. The pressure sensitivity works pretty well. It works better with my desktop than laptop, though I think that's just me installing the driver wrong. It's normally a $150 tablet, but it's on sale on amazon right now. I'd check compatible programs before committing, though, to see if it'll be good enough for you.

Wacom products are good, but I find they're overpriced for what you get. I'm currently rocking a Huion H610 ($76.99 on Amazon). My first tablet was a Wacom Bamboo that served me just fine (aside from the USB cable shorting out a couple times; customer service always replaced it for a small fee), but honestly I like the Huion better.

This link is a pretty good run down on tablets, however the Bamboo is now the Intuos and the Intuos series is Intuos Pro.

tl;dr: If you're doing this as a hobby, think of getting a Bamboo/Intuos or if you're willing to splash money an Intuos 4/5/Intuos Pro.

You can get good deals on second-hand/refurbished Wacom tablets on eBay once you have a look around. I personally wouldn't get anything smaller than a Wacom medium-sized tablet simply because you don't have room to do nice, long strokes.

There are other brands such as Genius and Huion if you're looking to save a bit of money.

This is the cheapest Wacom tablet

and don't ever let yourself feel limited because you have the "lowest end" Wacom. This person has a Bamboo Connect and it doesn't look like it's holding them back any!
For reference, the Bamboo Connect was the lowest end Wacom tablet four years ago

These lower end tablets do have a smaller surface area. It's about on par with the size of your standard postcard. If you want something bigger but cant afford Wacoms larger offerings Huion is another company I would recommend.

Specifically these two models
Huion H610 Pro

Huion Giano

The reason I favor Wacom is just overall customer and driver support. Huion is just a chinese company and their customer and driver support isn't the greatest. But if you are patient their tablets are just as good.

I only know all this info off hand because I've spent the last two weeks shopping for a tablet myself. I ended up ordering one of these it arrives tomorrow and I can't wait to try it out. If it's disappointing I might return it and order the Huion Giano I linked above.

If there are only two choices here, I would chose Wacom tablet for its good fame and good quality. But the price is relatively high. There are also many other famous brands like Huion and monoprice. I strongly recommend Huion tablets which are affordable and durable.
http://www.amazon.com/Huion-H610-Graphics-Drawing-Tablet/dp/B00GIGGS6A/ref=sr_sp-atf_title_1_2?m=A30BRCK3LE6SB5&s=merchant-items&ie=UTF8&qid=1410862891&sr=1-2

I have a Huion H610 graphics tablet, it is a very responsive piece of kit, gorgeous for drawing on. I'd definitely recommend going for a graphics tablet for drawing rather than a normal tablet that you can do other stuff on.

The Huion is only about £70 and definitely gives the comparable Wacom a run for it's money.

I've been reading that but I've also stumbled upon this: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00GIGGS6A/ref=pd_luc_rh_sbs_01_03_t_ttl_lh?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1

It has significantly better specs I've seen from most wacoms that arent over 200 dollars, good surface area and from what I understand very much desired LPI and pressure sensitivity. And also a lot of amazon reviews that used wacoms recommend this, what do you think?

A good place to start is with a tablet. You can get a small beginners version for roughly $30 on Amazon. Here’s the one I used for about a year, till it broke:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00TB0TTAC/ref=mp_s_a_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1522771217&sr=8-3&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_QL65&keywords=wacom+tablet&dpPl=1&dpID=51NLs66kOjL&ref=plSrch

Next, you’ll need an art program for your computer. Clip studio paint is a great program at around $60, but it’s a bit overwhelming for beginners. There is a free alternative, fire alpaca that’s a bit easier to understand. I never used it starting out though, so I’m not sure how well it works. But it is free, so you’ve really got nothing to lose. Also, be wary that you do need a decent computer for higher end programs, such as photoshop. Any laptop could handle something like firealpaca, and can generally run clip studio paint, but it does have trouble in bigger, or more complex pieces. I have a relatively cheap office computer and rarely have any problems. You should be fine, but it is an important factor when deciding what program you want to use.

The biggest tip I can give you with digital art: it doesn’t matter how well you can draw traditionally, you WILL be terrible at first. You’ll have to reteach yourself how to draw. It’s a process that took me a bit under a year, but I’ve heard of people who could do it in a couple months. It’s a long and frustrating process, but very worth it. Focus on getting the motions of moving the pen across the tablet memorized. It seems dumb, but it is very different holding a stylus than holding a pencil or pen.

Hope this helps!

I own the Huion 420, which is just the tablet you linked minus the buttons on the side. I love it for osu, and it's actually what the official osu! tablet from the store used to be before they released the updated (and never in stock) new model. I can't compare it to any other tablet, but I've been nothing but happy with it in the past year and it's still going strong.

I would highly recommend the 420 or the H420 if you have a use for the side buttons (might be nice if you're into photoshop/art) if you're looking for a smaller-sized tablet.

Like, I've had the tablet for a long time,I got it a long time ago when I was into photoshop, and when I started playing osu I forget I had it and started using it, and then I forgot to install the drivers.

After playing for a very long time without them, I remembered about the drivers and installed them and hated it, the tablet was far too big for them and I had already gotten comfortable not having to have my hand in a certain location to move around, I like being able to pick up my pen and place it somewhere else and the cursor be in the same place.

Like, look at that shit, the one I have is the first picture, it's like double the size of the osu!tablet. That pen is the length of my forearm, and I'm 6 foot 1. Also I took off all the grips on the pen because they felt like that rubber that's under carpets, and I took off the middle button because I kept accidentally clicking it.

The tech item on my wishlist that I want the most is this Pro Graphic Drawing Tablet. I've been working on a comic book for the past 1-2 years. I have all of the characters, backgrounds, events, settings, and nearly everything in between written down and categorized. Now recently I have been sketching character designs, however I don't have the drawing tablet I need to actually draw the online comic. I can't afford it at the moment, since I'm your traditional "starving student".

I would really appreciate this so much. When I do draw my comic, I plan to post it on taptastic, a comic website that allows you to get paid based on views and subscribers. Hopefully the comic will help pay for school and living, but regardless I just really love creating this world. Thank you very much for this contest!

Tablet wise there's Monoprice if you're willing to put up with driver struggles and questionable quality (but when it works, it works like a dream). But for just slightly more money you can get a Wacom Bamboo Pen & Touch, which I would recommend over Monoprice. If you can find a Bamboo Fun that someone is willing to part with, that one is pretty good and hardy. Mine has been through a lot and the assembly on the eraser end was frankensteined onto the pen end, but it still works!

Software-wise, there's firealpaca, gimp, and krita. All of these are free.

I just got the Huion H160PRO yesterday, and I absolutely love it! I've been a Wacom user for years, and had the privilege of using Intuos 5 tablets in high school, but this tablet really met my expectations. It's about the same size as the Intous line, and it was delivered in 3 days with free shipping through amazon.

Huion H610PRO Painting Drawing Pen Graphics Tablet https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00GIGGS6A/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_DM1gybWXWNM8E

I mean it's just freaking awesome.

Hi! I'm somewhat in the same boat. My issue is that I have a tendency to quit things, so I don't want to buy anything too expensive and I'm looking at cheap alternatives. Currently I'm eyeing a Huion H420 because of how cheap it is, and figured I'd get something better as time goes on if I use it often enough. I'd say start with pad and paper, because I've had a drawing tablet before and your drawing skills from paper will definitely not be useless, so maybe start with that, then move on to a tablet once you're relearned your skills well enough? Or get a super cheap tablet and start from there!

Here's a whole list of free art programs out there.
Try them out and see which one works best for you.

As for 'track pad' (IDK what that is) but if you meant 'tablet' go for Wacom Intuos (formerly Wacom Bamboo), great starter tablets. There's also Huion if you want something much cheaper than that, and they work just as fine.

These are great! I do a lot of character drawing (especially rpg themed) myself. I really like the variety of characters you've presented. I hope you post more soon!

P.S. If you're interested this is my portfolio:
https://www.behance.net/MikhailHolland

P.S.S. This is the tablet I use (super cheap equivalent to Wacom), Huion:
http://www.amazon.com/Huion-H610PRO-Painting-Drawing-Graphics/dp/B00GIGGS6A

I suggest getting a starter tablet like one of the 2 I linked. Many people don't have issues with offbrand tablets but Wacom is seen as industry standard and is a bit expensive. So that is why the Huion seems to have more for the same price. So yeah, get a cheaper tablet and maybe pay for some software. Good luck!


https://www.amazon.com/Huion-H610-Pro-Graphic-Carrying/dp/B00ZWRSQ4I/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1491776838&sr=8-1-spons&keywords=wacom+drawing+tablet&psc=1


https://www.amazon.com/Wacom-CTL490DW-Digital-Drawing-Graphics/dp/B010LHRFM2/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1491776838&sr=8-3&keywords=wacom+drawing+tablet

If I may, I would recommend this tablet. It was my first tablet and it is not only relatively cheap, but pretty good quality as well.

My most recent comic was done on an iPad in procreate, but the one for the rest of the comics was thisTurcom from amazon that was like $50. I know like nothing about drawing tablets so idk if it’s a good one but it works.

This is what I got.

Again, I got it with money from graduation gifts, and It still cost me a pretty penny.

But if you're just trying to branch out? I had an older version of this.

There are better options than that, I would explore them. If you're in the market for a new laptop or something, the MicroSoft Surface works pretty well as a travel computer and can be used as drawing tablet.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00GIGGS6A/ref=mp_s_a_1_7?qid=1466001954&sr=8-7&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_QL65&keywords=intous+pro+medium&dpPl=1&dpID=41NxyYbKIZL&ref=plSrch


Something like that might be better for your budget. Personally, the Huion I used worked great on photoshop, toonboom and a few other programs I use, but I disliked the pen nib travel. Otherwise great products. I had their cintiq type of product.


Otherwise intuos pro are like $300 vs $100-$200 for the comic/art versions.
I really would say save up to get the pro version or I don't think you will get much more out of it than what you have.

My decades old bamboo fun tablet has more functionality than the new intuos line. Without built in controls/buttons I just can't recommend them.
It would be $100+ spent just to need replaced.

Hell, I'm buying a cintiq this month, I'd send my bamboo tablet to you if you pay $25+shipping.
https://www.amazon.com/Bamboo-Small-Tablet-Graphics-Software/dp/B000V9NU2A

Beginner tablet for $30: https://www.amazon.com/Huion-Graphics-Drawing-Tablet-Board/dp/B00TB0TTAC/

Photoshop CC in the cloud for $10/mo: http://www.adobe.com/products/photoshop.html

If you have a higher price range, consider checking your options with Wacom tablets, which have a great reputation for being durable, accurate, and perfect for beginners/intermediate designers: https://www.amazon.com/Wacom-Bamboo-CTL471-Tablet-Black/dp/B00EVOXM3S/ ($56)

Feel free to make a post anytime you need assistance involving any form of digital design.

I've had this in my Amazon cart for a while now but haven't bought it yet so take this with a grain of salt. I've read a ton of reviews and watched some on YouTube, it seems like a solid tablet for beginners. I don't hand draw a lot of stuff but the rare occasion I'd want to it seems like a good enough tablet.

You're walking into a Chinese restuarant asking if they serve Italian food.

I think you're looking for /r/DigitalPainting as they're more apt in drawing with tools like Photoshop. /r/LearningPhotoShop is all about cropping/feathring/filters and just more of learning how to use photoshop for basic photo manipulation.

You'll want to start by learning how to draw with a tablet that reads pressure sensitivity. I'd recommend a (relatively) cheap one such as the Wacom-Bamboo which is what I use for 3D Sculpting in Blender and have tried dabbling in digital art within photoshop sometimes but prefer 3D Modeling more than drawing. I'd recommend the website https://www.ctrlpaint.com/ to learn more.

There's no one way to do something like this: there's a multitude of ways in a multitude of different programs. Though it seems this one is Digitally Painted based on the neatness of the lines and the brush strokes apparent in the walkway tiles the person is standing on. As an For another piece of art, Steve Argyle, created Monastery Swiftspear using both 3D Modeling and 2D Painting by creating the base of the art in a 3D modeling program, adn then painting directly over it in a drawing program.

If you wan't to try tablet, this is pretty much the same as the osu tablet.

For the mouse, i like heavy palm grip mice, so i went for a roccat kone+.
A friend of mine who use claw grip has this mouse that he really likes. It's quite fancy though.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B005HGBEZ2/ref=pe_385040_121528360_TE_dp_1
Actually this is my first tablet but I feel like it works fairly well with photoshop and the pen feels smooth too. I'm a casual drawer so I just want a cheap tablet, turns out this is pretty good.

Software: Adobe Photoshop CC 2015.5

Hardware: This thing

Draw daily!! Drawing is all about mileage and pushing the boundaries of your comfort zone; it's just like learning any other skill. Also, have fun with it :)

> I am fine with a low active space

4x2 1/4 isn't small; it's a sick joke. That's pretty much a guarantee that you'll end up hating digital art.

Save up a while longer and get something like a Huion H610 Pro; that one's only $62.

If you're only willing to spend $30, buy some paper and pencils and start with that, and try out digital later.

I've heard Paint Tool SAI is a really good one. I personally use photoshop although it takes a lot of researching to be able to use it to its max potential but overall amazing


https://www.amazon.com/Inspiroy-H640P-Graphics-Battery-Free-Sensitivity/dp/B075T6MTJX
is the tablet i use! its nothing crazy but shes done me well hehe

Cool, if you're using Photoshop, you can pretty much find drivers that will work with it for any tablet. So you're better off looking at brands like Huion, Ugee and Monoprice. I've owned Monoprice tablets myself, they're cheap so I like to keep them around as backups. All tablets eventually fail. Even the $2k cintiqs.
This would be a great option for you at $30.
https://www.amazon.com/Huion-Graphics-Drawing-Tablet-Board/dp/B00TB0TTAC/ref=sr_1_11?ie=UTF8&qid=1503863029&sr=8-11&keywords=wacom

Like the guy above said, I like to lean more towards Mac but I work on both.

With that budget, I'd look at something along the lines of the ZenBook:
http://store.asus.com/us/item/201608AM250000471

and use the extra cash on a Wacom tablet:
https://www.amazon.com/Wacom-Intuos-Tablet-Medium-PTH651/dp/B00EN27SHY/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1478266146&sr=8-4&keywords=wacom

That should be more than enough to allow you freedom of both design and concept art.

This is the version of a drawing tablet that I use

https://www.amazon.com/Turcom-TS-6610-Computer-Sensitive-Resolution/dp/B00A40GPM8

It's a bit cheaper than the lower models of Wacom tablets and a bit bigger I think. So far it works really well for me. The pen also uses a battery but I havent had to change it in over a year and I think it adds a nice weight to the stylus.

I'd suggest this tablet as a first tablet to someone if they don't want to completely go all out for a wacom tablet because it does work pretty well and has a larger drawing area than some of the smaller stuff.

People have said that the Bamboo is a good tablet and priced well at $59.99.

I personally use the Intuos 4 and I love it. I find the size of the tablet to be fine to work with and the size allows me to throw it in my bag along with my laptop.

Here are some links for the product in the above comment for different countries:

Amazon Smile Link: http://smile.amazon.com/Wacom-Bamboo-Capture-Tablet-CTH470/dp/B005HGBEZ2


|Country|Link|Charity Links|
|:-----------|:------------|:------------|
|USA|smile.amazon.com|EFF|
|UK|www.amazon.co.uk|Macmillan|
|Japan|www.amazon.co.jp||
|Canada|www.amazon.ca||




To help add charity links, please have a look at this thread.

This bot is currently in testing so let me know what you think by voting (or commenting). The thread for feature requests can be found here.

It depends on what she in to drawing wise if she likes drawing straight on the screen I was suggest this tablet: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B075WSRLC6/?coliid=I1THWBRM0CNWYX&colid=1BPUBRX7S1QYQ&psc=0&ref_=lv_ov_lig_dp_it it's really nice for its size and it get's the job done for the price of $400.

You've definitely wandered beyond the 'beginner' stages of digital art, and are clearly pretty damn serious about it. That said, a thousand dollar investment is a lot, for something whose purpose is strictly for art. It'd make perfect sense if you were using it to generate an income in some way. Of course, that's all my personal opinion.

This is the one I was mentioning as an alternative: Intuos Pro Medium. I was working in a small game studio until just under a year ago, and all of the artists (texture artists and concept artists) were using a comparable model (I think at the time it was intuos 4 or 5). It's solid, and I use it myself. At $300 it might be a somewhat less significant investment.

Of course, it is still just another tablet.

I have an Intuos 4 at work and just bought a Huion H610 Pro at home. Can't tell a huge difference but I don't use it every day. I'm very happy with my purchase and saved a bundle.

https://www.amazon.com/Huion-H610PRO-Painting-Drawing-Graphics/dp/B00GIGGS6A/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1467923417&sr=8-2&keywords=huion+h610+pro

I have the Gaomon PD1560 pen display, seems pretty good and considerable savings over Cintiq. Only gotcha is it doesn't have a resident driver like Wacom; you have to make sure their pen utility is running.

A few years back I got the Bamboo which is about 6 in tall and 8 in wide.

I feel it's a too small for dual 1920x1200 monitors. That may be because Bamboos are less accurate than Intous, but I'd still recommend the Pro. Below the Pro line and there is no bezel to rest your hand on so the far right (if right handed) edges of your screen can be a pain.

The Bamboo was inaccurate enough that I gave up on the tablet experience but if I were to attempt again I'd go much futher into the deep end with a Intous Pro Medium

FYI if you really want I'm happy to sell you my old Bamboo for cheap. It's just collecting dust... I know you want it especially after I just shit talked it.

Also, while I haven't used one personally I've heard Monoprice has good tablets. And they're a lot cheaper.

Are drawing tablets allowed?

If so I'd really love this one. I'd probably cry if I have some way to get into actually drawing on a computer, haha.

If not I perfectly understand. Could I have this 3.0 USB? I've heard it's to die for.

Thanks fro the contest! You're an amazing person:)

Hello, Goodbye~

Wacoms works great in linux, I have 2 of em at home, the only thing with wacom is that they are quite expensive compared to the huion tablets which offers great value and pressure sensitivty, larger for less money, and also have battery less stylus.

However if you get a huion you will have to install a driver but should be easy.

https://github.com/DIGImend/digimend-kernel-drivers

The wacom equivalent is much more expensive than this huion. http://www.amazon.com/H610-Pro-Graphics-Drawing-Tablet/dp/B00GIGGS6A/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1426639551&sr=8-1&keywords=huion

programs:

Gimp(image manipulation) of course! Krita(Scetch & paint), mypaint(Scetch & paint), Inkscape(vector), blender if you want to do 3D sculpting, synfig studio for 2d animation, pinta.

I recently got this Monoprice tablet via Amazon ($40: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00H4LAF9O) to make lecture videos. It works really well on Mint 17.3 with at least Krita and Pinta. I would expect it to work with Gimp as well. I didn't have to install any special drivers - it just worked out of the box.

If you plug it in before starting Krita, it will do a nice job with the pressure-sensitivity.

Keep in mind it will have older specs and that may be an issue. Intuos Art Medium is great at 150 refurb / 200 new, or https://www.amazon.com/Huion-KAMVAS-Drawing-Pressure-Sensitivity/dp/B072N2C2PB/ref=pd_lpo_vtph_147_tr_t_3?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=16BYSYPDT97DQWE91XGD

https://www.amazon.com/Artisul-D13-Graphics-Display-Freestyle/dp/B01E4R1T68/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1500607199&sr=8-1&keywords=artisul+d13 are two of the best cintiq alternatives for cheap.

Spend the extra $4 and get yourself that Turcom. Is this even a question? You are a hardworking mommy, a hardworking mommy that deserves to treat herself every once in awhile. You need to rejoice on your day of birth and celebrate YOU and YOUR being on this planet for another round of 365 days. The kids get you 364 days, let this one day be about you only <3

I'm still learning. I hope to someday be able to afford a drawing tablet like this. I'm sure I could improve the quality when I get it. I started with a pencil sketch and then went over it with a marker and crayons.

i got this one right here. It’s cheaper but really good and easy to use

Would this one be fine? 30 seems like a pretty good price https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00TB0TTAC/ref=psdc_16034531_t1_B00DM24HNE

Huion 610 pro been using it for almost 2 years now never had a problem. Has charging pen and a pretty good hover distance. If you do end up getting it use the CD drivers not the newest ones online since with the CD drivers you are able to set area portions easier. https://www.amazon.co.uk/Huion-H610-Pro-Graphics-Compatible/dp/B00GIGGS6A/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1485897338&sr=8-1&keywords=Huion+tablet

Wacom is always the way to go.
This is the tablet I use at work and home. So far the best small tablet Wacom has made. Very affordable. Small but great.

https://www.amazon.com/Wacom-Drawing-Software-Included-CTL4100/dp/B079HL9YSF/ref=sr_1_1_sspa?crid=2VI2I6FI23ME4

These tablets are great and so much cheaper than the wacoms, which I personally think are mostly overpriced... I would highly recommend. I've had several wacoms and these are just as good if not better.

https://www.huiontablet.com/

http://www.amazon.com/Huion-H610PRO-Painting-Drawing-Graphics/dp/B00GIGGS6A

does he have a drawing tablet? fun and nifty, and could be really useful for design work.

i play with a Huion H420 (1) with an extra pen (2). i playd with wacom by a friend (3).
i think wacomstylus is thinner and u can hover higher above the tablet. huion is a simpler tablet. if u buy the tablet just for osu, i think a wacom is wasted potential.
(sry for my english, hope u can understand my point) =)

(1) http://www.amazon.de/Huion-Inches-Portable-Digital-Signature-schwarz/dp/B00DTPYWBG/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1427369271&sr=8-3&keywords=huion+h420

(2) http://www.amazon.de/gp/product/B00DOW6TUQ?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00

(3) http://www.amazon.de/Wacom-CTL-480S-S-Stift-Tablett-Software-Sketchbook/dp/B00ME7HE5Q/ref=pd_sim_ce_3?ie=UTF8&refRID=0C1EBJR4PAKYH6Y5GFZG

Huh? If you've been active in osu! for a while there is a tablet out there designed for it. Sucks that the site store is out of stock so they don't have the nice one with the osu! logo.

But this one from Amazon is perfect for it. Can't give oppionions as I'm a m +KB player haha.

It's 25$ give it a try

Check out the Huion H610. Bamboo tablets are great, but you are paying a bit of a premium just for the brand. I got the Huion for my wife and she's been very happy with it.

You need this and yes I know it is over the 50 dollar limit but since I am not entering because no one is allowed to gift me right now - So I want you to splurge that extra 5 dollars just for yourself - Don't argue with me.

Anyways you are a new mom - you need this so you can doodle when you have a moment to yourself. DO IT!

I think for her actual needs she would be better with a tablet, do you think Huion is the best option?
If it is, which one of these 3 would you take?
Tablet 2
Tablet 4
Tablet 6


Seriously, you don't know how much I owe you, guys!! ^^

I like this thread because I've been wanting to talk about this for a while. It's 2014, you no longer need a bedroom sized studio to do digital photography editing. Of course, if you love equipment, you still can.

I edit 90% of my photos on my Lenovo Yoga i7 8 gigs....if I'm not printing things, it starts and ends there.

If I'm printing I use my Dell U2711, and an Intel Nuc rocking an i3 and 8 gigs of ram. yes i3 and 8 gigs.

I work with 24mp files, and suffer no lag in lightroom and/or potoshop on either machine.

I also use a tablet, made in China, because honestly Wacoms are WAY over priced. Huion H610, works perfectly

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Huion-H610-Graphics-Drawing-Tablet/dp/B00GIGGS6A

All my stuff is saved on a Western Digital 1 TB "my cloud".

I have the big monitor on a rollaway end table, and have no desk per'se.

And that's about it, in 2014 you can do this stuff from your couch.

snap55.com is my website, and every photo on there has been made with this exact setup, because well, I hate spending money on computers :-P I'm still finding my way, and looking for my style for what I like to shoot.

I have little drawing ability and do okay if I do say so myself. By using 3Ds Max and registering as a student, home schooled, I get top end software legally and free. I also use a Wacom table thing"

Absolutely! I always recommend Wacom as a very reliable brand. Their tablets last a loooong time and it's a fan favorite. I've been using them for years and I always point people towards their starter tablets.
https://www.amazon.com/Wacom-Drawing-Software-Included-CTL4100/dp/B079HL9YSF/ref=sr_1_3?keywords=wacom+tablet&qid=1556224212&s=gateway&sr=8-3
This is the newest model of their "beginner" tablet in size small. It's their cheapest option for someone looking to break into digital art. It's also the same type I used when I first started freelancing (2017 model Intuos Draw Small) before changing to a Wacom Intuos Pro Medium.

No one really has "talent". It's a matter of working hard and putting in the time and effort to developing a skill.

That Huion would be perfectly acceptable though! You also have the option of a Wacom Intuos, which is a similar price.

https://www.amazon.com/Wacom-Drawing-Software-Included-CTL4100/dp/B079HL9YSF/ref=sr_1_3?keywords=wacom+intuos&qid=1555854274&s=gateway&sr=8-3

The difference between these two brands is ultimately a preference, so you can go with either and get fairly similar results. I'd honestly go with whichever one of these is cheaper for you.

Never seriously drawn before, but I sculpted in high school! :P Oh, I also do photoshop moderately well with a mouse. Drawing on paper is irritating since when I make a mistake my reflex is to hit ctrl z. That's what I like about the tablet concept.

Also there's money burning in my pockets. Don't wanna hear your sensible advice of getting the $70 version. What I wanna know is should I get [this thing, the old model, the tried and true model;] (https://www.amazon.com/Wacom-Intuos-Tablet-Medium-PTH651/dp/B00EN27SHY) or should I do the the new kid on the block? I've heard there are some bugs but I like to be on the cutting edge. I also like to use functional things too.

You can't beat the Turcom for the price. It's only about $60, good size, decent amount of side buttons, pen sensitivity is actually pretty good, and it is fairly responsive. If you want an Wacom Cintiq type of experience for a much lower price, try the Yiynova. Don't take my word for either of these alone, read all the reviews.

What I meant by dissonance is that moving your hand a small amount can have a much larger effect. Your body is doing one thing -- drawing a small line. Your eyes see something else -- a long line is being drawn. You won't have that issue when you are using something like a Cintique. Or a tablet that closely matches the monitor you are working with. Whether or not this matters to you is preference based.

I'm going to echo /u/GanjaYogi and say to take a look at Huion tablets they are good quality and cheaper than Wacom. For example https://www.amazon.com/Huion-H610PRO-Painting-Drawing-Graphics/dp/B00GIGGS6A/ will get you a much larger tablet for about the same price as the Wacom you were looking at.

This is the one I have, and it's served me well for three years, though it's beginning to fritz out now, which is to be expected from a technology you use nearly every day for those three years. I've loved it while I've had it though, and am seriously considering getting another.

The model I have is the large one because I tend to use sweeping strokes, but I have friends who use smaller sizes who don't have any trouble.

Something like this. I'm guessing he uses it to slide his hand easier on his mousepad.

Wacom Intuos Graphics Drawing Tablet with 3 Bonus Software included, 7.9"x 6.3", Black (CTL4100) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B079HL9YSF/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_hqMrDb3ZBS7BA this is a commonly agreed upon "good starter drawing pad" and includes some software

Usually digitally using a tablet but...there are a lot of amazing hand-drawn fan art as well!

<3

If you're looking to get into digital art yourself...there is a cheap beginner tablet I'd suggest

I know you can get one of those drawing tablet things on amazon for osu with a pen for $20something dollars i was looking into buying one, i also linked a keyboard i have had before and for the price tag its pretty damn good haha

Osu tablet https://www.amazon.com/Huion-Inches-Tablet-Graphics-Drawing/dp/B00DTPYWBG/ref=sr_1_4?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1538279427&sr=1-4&keywords=osu+tablet

Mech keyboard https://www.amazon.com/AUKEY-Mechanical-Customizable-Aluminium-Compatible/dp/B01IRASQA0/ref=sr_1_3?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1538279450&sr=1-3&keywords=aukey+keyboard

Also this is another good thing to get. I call it my gay glove cause all my friends make fun of me for wearing it outside of the house on accident, but it eliminates friction between your hand and the tablet for those smooth brushstrokes.

For tablets any of the cheaper wacom are a decent choice like Wacom Intous Draw.(You might want to aim for a medium size tablet, I've heard a lot people find the small restrictive on arm movement)

A lot of people recommend the Huion H610 Pro as well.

For software I would personally recommend Clip Studio Paint.
It's a solid digital painting software, and right now is(and frequently is) on sale for 60% off($25USD), and even at it's full price is still more than worth it.

Otherwise there is Krita which is 100% free, and open source.

and of course Adobe Photoshop, which will cost you a monthly fee of $9.99USD.

There are plenty of other software, but I find these 3 fill the niche decently. They each behave a little differently, but essential all lead to the same result, which is dependent how you personally use them.

My wife is a self-taught artist and I can say she's good at it. She's been using her reliable wacom bamboo for more than 3 yrs now and it finally gave up. I want to gift her a new graphics tablet but we're also taking care of her father's medical bills (he has diabetes) and she wouldn't let me buy it.
https://www.amazon.com/Inspiroy-H640P-Graphics-Battery-Free-Sensitivity/dp/B075T6MTJX/ref=mp_s_a_1_4?keywords=huion&qid=1555816569&s=gateway&sr=8-4

You might be out of luck then. I've tried using apps like Duet which will allow you to connect an iPad as a display but I've had poor luck with getting Photoshop to display correctly on the iPad and you have to buy into their premium plan in order to use force/angle input.

Most of the time I either do the work I need to in a different app and then export to pull into PS, or I just use my trusty old Wacom Bamboo, which you can get for less than $60 these days.

I keep going back to the Wacom Tablet Pen.

sketching on a Tablet takes a lot of time to get use too, I mainly use it to outline.

You can take a photo or scan in your physical drawing / doodle and start to outline it really nice. The difference is that you need to make single sweeps to get the best type of lines.

In my experience, the tablets are only applicable for 2 classes, ENGE 1215 and 1216 (at least for a CS major like me). The engineering teachers I had didn't care if you didn't have one and allowed you to draw with your mouse/touchpad/touchscreen or submit on paper if you didn't have a tablet. If you do get a teacher that cares about the requirement, a USB tablet like this should do fine: https://www.amazon.com/Wacom-Bamboo-CTL471-Tablet-Black/dp/B00EVOXM3S/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1496189928&sr=8-3&keywords=bamboo+tablet

Most of what I know I have learned through trial and error. The class I am currently taking is my first and it focuses on basics (which has nothing to do with digital art unfortunately - I was hoping it would /sadface )

I do use a tablet. The program is PS CS6 (student edition is cheaper - or buying it from a friend who never openned theirs). I don't know if there are any classes that teach digital art (though there are a ton of books) but I know there are a lot of ambitious youtube artists that put in time teaching tips and tricks. Kienan Lafferty is one I watch a lot. I also tune into Dave Rapoza and Anthony Jones's livestreams.

Thank you so much :D

I second this, first drawing tablet I ever got was a Wacom Bamboo Capture I have it in a box right next to me since I have upgraded to an Intuos pad but the Capture was fantastic. It is only a smudge over your top dollar but since you won't need to upgrade it for a very long time, and with Prime shipping I would say go for it.

You could buy the CTL471 for 78$ on amazon
http://www.amazon.com/Wacom-Bamboo-CTL471-Tablet-Black/dp/B00EVOXM3S/ref=pd_sim_147_3?ie=UTF8&dpID=31mKcQE-LOL&dpSrc=sims&preST=_AC_UL160_SR160%2C160_&refRID=0KWK20K40WR5NT3D1PK9

I've heard it's a pretty good tablet. I've actually ordered on yesterday, if you want to wait for mine to get here I'll tell you how it is.

I got one of those half gloves which does wonders for keeping my sweaty hands from smudging and warping the paper. Works great. Something like this: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00VTHAS00/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_0EwNAbFSM0F8H

Also a decent clipboard that I can tape the paper to and some cheap stencils because I can’t make a decent circle freehand.

It's a Wacom Capture that I got on sale for about 65 bucks. It's not nearly as fancy as some other ones out there, but I really like it so far. I'm not exactly sure what all it's optimized to be used with, but I don't see why not.

Not sure your budget but I own this one and can speak highly of it:

Huion KAMVAS GT-191 Drawing Tablet with HD Screen 8192 Pressure Sensitivity - 19.5 Inch https://www.amazon.com/dp/B072N2C2PB/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_6-97BbJCZGNZ7

Looks like you've already done a fair bit of research for what to look for. Check out the art section on Twitch and see what some of the top streamers use as well, might give you some more ideas

I bought this bundle! It's been really fun. It seems to work good for me!

Sorry, yes. You can't run Photoshop on a tablet, (i.e. an iPad), but if you get a Wacom tablet, then she can draw & paint directly into Photoshop on top of her photo. Hope that makes sense!

You should, though it does take a little bit to get used to, the end result is awesome. I use the Huion Inspiroy: https://www.amazon.com/Inspiroy-H640P-Graphics-Battery-Free-Sensitivity/dp/B075T6MTJX It's fairly cheap with good quality.