Low-cost tablet input for amateur computer graphics

Dave Merrill

Dave Merrill

Axe-Master
I had occasion to do a tiny bit of computer "painting" with Krita on Windows recently, and would like to do more, just for fun. However, a mouse isn't a great input device for that.

Are there any low cost, pressure-sensitive drawing input devices that would work? I have part-time access to an iPad, but I have no idea if it can be used as input on Windows. The really cheap Wacom is cheap, but it's hard to tell if I'll hate it.

Thoughts?
 
Wacom intuos tablets work quite well. They take practice since you are watching your monitor as you move the pen instead of seeing the results there at your hand as you would with an actual pencil or paintbrush. Once you get the hang of moving the active area around your canvas or image and zooming the display as needed for more detailed work, they are quite intuitive and WAY better than trying to use a mouse. I always liked the fact that the pens for wacom tablets don't need batteries or recharging. They are powered by the tablet itself and are always ready to go.

The medium and large size models make for less scrolling around the image/canvas while drawing, and the pro models also have tilt tracking for the pen as well if your software supports it.
 
I have the Wacom Intuos medium tablet and have been very pleased with the performance. It does take some practice getting the coordination down- looking at the screen while drawing -but it's very responsive/sensitive. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend any of their less expensive options, Wacom seems to be near the top of most budget tablet reviews/recommendations. I actually bought the Intuos small just to see how it performed; returned it and paid the difference for the medium.
 
Wacom here as well. Been using for years with multiple creative apps (including DAW)...cant imagine any other way now.

On the rare occasions I get caught without mine, my workflow slows considerably...and what's more valuable than time?
 
If you just want to dabble for now, there are plenty of new brands (Chinese mostly) on Amazon. Some of them are better known and have plenty of reviews.

I bought one (Huion Kamvas) earlier this year for my kid - school is virtual and they need to write on the computer whiteboard, and he was having trouble with the mouse.
it works well for what it is. We’ve tried drawing on it - it has its own screen which I think is much better than the tablets where you are looking at your computer and drawing on the tablet. Im no artist but my wife owned a Wacom at some point of time - I’m not sure if I would’ve able to tell the difference.
 
I would highly recommend a tablet. You can draw with a mouse, but a tablet is much easier and more natural feeling. Also, you can use pen pressure, which means you can draw with varying line size and opacity.

It can be a XP-PEN , not necessarily Wacom . I got my tablet for less than 100 dollars (xp-pen deco 01 - xp-pen.com/product/461.html ) and it has served me well. It's pretty cheap and you get a drawing area of about the size of an A4.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom