ZBrushCentral

Need tips about wacom bamboo..!

Community
#1

Hello everybody, i have been using zbrush WITHOUt any tablet now for a while and i have realized that if i want to continue my hobby i need to buy a tablet i looked on wacoms Bamboo but ii dont know is that a to small tablett? i have heard both good comments and bad comments about it, so i thought i could asked you guys who use it to zbrush=)

hope someone can help me out to decide=)

take care=)

#2

The Wacom Bamboo is intended to be used for freehand writing, annotating and navigating. However, the Bamboo is not as appropriate for digital sculpting or painting applications as the Intuos 3 products. The Intuos tablets have many more features (more levels of pressure sensitivity, tilt, rotation, support for different types of pens, so on). The Bamboo is a much simpler model designed for more casual users.

Furthermore, the active area is quite tiny (147.6 x 92.3 mm or 5.8 x 3.6 inches). This would make digital sculpting tedious in my opinion. My hand cramps up just thinking about it. I prefer larger tablets. I currently use an Intous3 9x12, but I’ve also owned smaller tablets and would never go back to anything smaller for graphics work.

Of course, the difference in cost is considerable. If you can’t reasonably swing the cost of an Intous, I’d recommend searching for a good deal on a Graphire3 6x8. While still not as robust as the Intuos line, nor as cheap as the Bamboo, it’s more suitable for graphics work by virtue of the larger active area.

I’ll be interested to hear others’ opinions on the matter as well.

Best of luck to you.
Djembe–

#3

I can’t tell you anything about the tablet itself (looks slick though). But I can say a few things about tablet size.

I was an illustrator for over a decade. Worked with airbrush, bristle brushes and various media and tools. The majority of fine (detail) work is done with finger movements, not hand movement. The fingers have far more control when detailing than large hand motions could ever hope to have. A small tablet caters to this type of approach as well as keeping your arm from tiring (chasing the cursor all over a large tablet sucks).
I’ve always been much more comfortable with a smaller tablet, so don’t let that be a consideration.

#4

Hello Djembe=)

when i wont buy an bamboo=)…but i dont find the one you are using because you mean 9x12 inches? the ones i can find to buy is intuos 3 A5 och a4 what do you think about those two=)?

kind regards Isak Christenson

#5

hey stormsinger, didnt see your comment before i replyed:P…

well i have never used a tablet but really wants to start to use one=)…but i sure dont wanna buy one that sucks:P

do you know anything about intous 3 a5 and a4 is that a size that is good:)?

Kind regards Isak

#6

You’re welcome Isak.

In the North American market the Wacom tablets are sold in inches (4x6, 6x8, 6x11, 9x12, 12x12, 12x19). Take a look at their website [here](http://www.wacom.com/intuos/index.cfm) to see what I mean. In the European market the tablets are sold in paper sizes (A3 Wide, A4 Oversize, A4, A5 Wide, A5, A6 Wide) (see [here](http://www.wacom-europe.com/int/products/intuos/tablets.asp?lang=en&pdx=30)) The Intuos3 A6 Wide has an active area of 15.8 x 9.8 cm, so it compares to the 4x6 model. The Intuos3 A5 has an active area of 20.3 x 15.2 cm, so it compares to the 6x8 model. The Intuos3 A4 has an active area of 30.5 x 23.1 cm, so it compares to the 9x12 model. Of these, I'd recommend the A5, if price is a concern and the A4, if you can go for the higher cost. Regarding size, I respectfully disagree with StormSinger's position that you shouldn't let tablet size be a consideration. I'm an illustrator and painter, and I agree that most detail work and control comes from one's fingers. However, when there's a huge difference in the ratio between an 'on tablet' movement and the corresponding 'on screen' reaction, one loses some control and natural gesture. (I generally switch over to my mouse when I'm navigating my desktop, web browser, etc.) Regards, Djembe--
#7

well i am a hobbyist or how it is spelled:P and i looken on the a4 model and that almost dont fit in my desk:P so maybe it is best to take an a5 then i think=)

one thing is for sure i really need a tablet i have noticed how hard it is to make nice curves and such things with a mouse=)

kind regards Isak

#8

Yeah, drawing with a mouse is sort of like drawing with a brick when compared to a stylus and tablet. And where a mouse is simply on or off when you press and hold the buttons, a stylus has a range of pressure sensitivity. (1024 levels of sensitivity in the case of the Intuos tablets.) This is especially relevant in programs such as Photoshop, Painter, ZBrush, Mudbox, et al.

You’ll enjoy the upgrade.

Regards,
Djembe–

#9

I have a A5 at home and love it

but now at work where I am constantly moving around I have a 4X5 because I can set it down anywhere and it just fits;)

never get a 9X12 They are way to big and your arm hurts after awhile with using it because of the length and height movements.

#10

hey cannedmushrooms i was trying to reach you actually i was sitting and trying to understand how to make the imageplanes in your skull tutorial i know that you had an finnish ztool but i wanted to learn how to do it could you help me out:)?

and jow to the wacom, more and more people say that i dont should get a a4 so i think it will be an a5 (cheaper too:P) When i have you on the thread i was wondering could you take a look at a head i made from just using a mouse and tell me what you think, i am pretty new on 3D overall but have learned a great deal anyway=)

thanks for your comments and have a nice day=)

/Isak

#11

eww that would be a great little tutorial
It is sorta a trick in order to do a new one.
If you open up that skull file from the wiki it will sorta click.

But to apply it to the image planes I divided the plane first then loaded the texture
then texture pallet use the txt>col button to burn it to the image planes

but I will probally do a lesson on that

hopefully that will get you started;)

#12

Hi all,
I just bought a Wacom Bamboo Fun Pen and Touch ,after installing the drivers and other software I cant seem to get any pressure sensitivity when using Sculptris,can anyone shed some light on this?

Thanks

#13

Hi all, i was thinking of getting myself a Intuos4 Small Pen Tablet (SKU PTK440), but i don’t know if it’s big enough to use? I can’t afford the expensive one for myself anyway. Can anyone give me some of their opinion please? Thanks.
Active Area: 6.2" x 3.9" (157.5mm x 98.4mm). Physical size: 12.2" x 8.2" x 0.5" (309mm x 208mm x 12mm).

#14

That’s the tablet I have and I really like it. I’ve found I have plenty of contorl with it. I like holding it in my lap and I travel with it too, so small is good from my perspective.

#15

Thanks for the info. :slight_smile:

#16

I have the Intuos 4 Medium and I like it, especially for it’s programmable hot keys. My only regret is that I didn’t wait for the wireless version. One thing to note is that the 4 has a much rougher surface than version 3, and as such it tends to grind down your nibs pretty quick. After using an Intuos 3 and my Intuos 4 I’d have to say I like the 4 much better, it feels like your drawing on paper instead of plasticy rubber.

#17

I’m not really sure what it’s doing… Are you talking about the shakiness or that it’s drawing without you touching the pen to it? I think the last one could be a “Settings” thing… When I first got my tablet it would make the cursor shake for some reason and the only way I could fix it was to restart my computer…