I am in the process of ordering a Wacom Tablet- Intuos 2. I am unsure which size I should get. I am looking at either the 6x8 or the 9x12. I have a 19" monitor. Would the 6x8 meet my needs or is the scaling too small for my monitor? Any insights would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!
I use a 6 X 8 WACOM, and since you can scale it to the screen, I personally don’t think you gain anything but additional expense by having a larger tablet. I use mine a lot instead of my trackball for routine uses… 
Oh, and I have a 22 inch Trinitron monitor…
The only thing I saw when researching this Mike was that with my 19" moitor (a flatscreen trinitron too! 
) is that it states the ratio between the 9x12 tablet and the 19" monitor would be 1:1. Do you have any issues with that on your smaller tablet?
Nope…The option contained in the driver enables you to have a one-to-one ratio with any monitor as far as I know…I’ve never had a problem, and in fact within Z, haven’t had to even change my tablet settings…It works fine with the default settings. (Having just seen the Docs’ comments, I would add that the 6 X 8 fits comfortably on my lap, whereas I think I personally would find the larger one awkward. I also occasionally tape drawings down on it to trace them in as a starting point for projects, and it works great for that too!)
i would suggest the 6x8 its cute and small… and you should beable to define your screen through walcoms software…figure it this way the larger the tablet the more you have to move your hand… and the smaller the tablet you dont have to move that much and your wife wont bitch that it takes up to much space.lol…i would take the small one…
LEt me ask this question then…I do large format sketches from time to time (on cold pressed water color paper) and would like to transfer them to my computer with the tablet. Would the larger or smaller tablet be more conducive to this process? Also outside of ZBrush would I benefit from the larger tablet in say Photoshop where I often work in 1500 x 1500 300dpi images or larger?
First of all, I have a scanner, so I transfer any size drawing by scanning it in, and printing it out to a more convenient size, so the issue never arises. And since you have the one-to-one anyway, regarding your screen, I don’t think it makes any difference. I have used the little tiny tablets, since a friend has one, and they work fine too. I’ve seen professional tablets, and played with them up to 6 feet X 4.5 feet, and I don’t need that size to get the same results…It comes down to my original point…
Your tablet is scaled to your entire screen anyway…A bigger tablet costs considerably more, and I don’t really see what you gain for the extra cash…As a gemcutter, my best days’ pay was $2800.00, or 10% of appraissed value of the finished stone I cut…It took me 6 hours, and appraissed at $28,000.00. I tell you this so you will realize economics was not my main reason for choosing a larger tablet.
I just don’t see the point of spending the extra cash, unless I get something significant for it! :rolleyes: 
I just want to make sure I pick the right one for me. I don’t want to get the smaller one and then wish I had gotten the large tablet. And I don’t want to get the larger one and find that it is cumbersome and wind up putting it on a shelf. I have a tabloid size scanner and can scan images too but I like the feel of transfering one by hand. Just a personal quirk
Well, Lonnie, that’s my opinion…I sure as hell wouldn’t want any bigger tablet, and it works great for me…Any bigger and it would be awkward for me to hold in my lap. The one I use is about 13 x 9.5 inches already!
Your call, Dude!
(An Edit: I thought I would point out that scaling it down doesn’t mean you can’t still be entering it by hand…Just that you’re sizing it for your tablet…And what Dr.JJ says is true as well…You do have to move less distance with the 6 x 8, and the result would be the same! )
I found that the best way to choose which tablet you want is to observe your drawing skills. You said that you do large format sketches, is that your preffered drawing style, I know that I produce better drawings when I use a larger sheet of paper, that felling of comfort has transfered over to my digital work, i find using the small tablets hindersome, Have you got any friends with tablets so that you can see how comfortable you feel with one?, it’s all about which feels more natural, the less you have to worry about your drawing device to more you can focus your work
I find this dialog quite interesting and informative as I am in the process of selecting a tablet myself. Sorry Doc. I missed the CompUSA sale when they were available for $99.00. :eek: :eek:
I use a 4x5 Wacom Intuos tablet with everything from 800x600 on a 15" monitor to the 19" monitor at 1152x864 resolution (or whatever that odd size is) and it feels just right to me on all my systems. The physical tablet size is about the same as a mousepad, the drawing area is considerably smaller. I have had surgery on both hands and one arm for nerve problems so repetitive sweeping motions with my hands are not doable anymore, the small tablet makes this easy to avoid.
My first tablet was a Wacom Artpad II, which I still have, also a 4x5 model. Never felt the need to go larger but if you do art with large sweeping motions and feel comfortable sitting in front of a computer doing so as well, go as large as you think you can afford and can comfortably use. I just wanted to let you know that even the littlest tablet can work just fine with a big screen.
actually deevee other stores in the neighborhood over here sell the 6x8 walcom for that much… works just fine for me…
one thing that i would like to point out is if your a professional artist making money at what you do than i think the stanard size would be big,… but if your making what i call homie art at home then a smaller tablet is all you need… walcom does have a great feature on their tablets that let you track a image but ive never used it because of the hassle of trying to set it perfectly… scanning your drawings has always been the easiest way to place your images onto your computer…
Take in mind that its your money and your choice…
Mentat,
I first got into computers at work where they only used A3 and A4 tablets, on 21 inch screens.
I was going to buy an A4 tablet with a 17 inch screen. This will give a one to one correspondence to the monitor. This means that you can sweep a stroke across the screen in real time.
I ended up getting a 21" monitor and an A3 tablet. Although not many people use A3 tablets except professionals you will never, ever, regret it. Keep in mind that computers and other peripherals have a short life these days but your tablet will be perfectly functional in ten years, tablets don’t date.
I know retouching labs who use SGI workstations which they have to throw out every couple of years but they are still using very ancient wacoms.
Get the A3 if you can afford it. You will never regret it. Especially if you like to do water colour work or other type of realistic painting.
Under no circumstance get anything smaller than A4. Since you are considering it, it means that you can afford it, you will definately regret getting smaller than A4.
Reading between the lines it is obvious that you want an A4, it doesn’t matter how many talented people tell you that they are happy
with a smaller tablet, YOU are the one using it, when you see someones big tablet you will be really pissed off that for a small extra sum of money you listened to others instead of your own common sense. Who do you think buys big tablets? why do you think they do this? Don’t be a mug get an A4 at least, but if you think you might get a 21in monitor later you’d be happier with an A3 tablet.
An A4 tablet is really for a 17" monitor.
hi,
sorry, just read a few sentences for lack of time, but my 2 cents:
I have a graphire 1 (the smaller one I think), that’s a wacom, but not even intuos. That thingie and me we have made hundreds of icons, texturing, and other stuff for a comercial videogame.
Speed and precission was really required. I had with that. I could have one hand in keyboard for shortcuts, another between my ps2 mouse (never liked those wacom mouse, not even the Intuos ones) and the tiny board+pen.
I achieved very realistic things and noticed a faster workflowthan with the intuos 12x12 I have at home. I noticed that the 12x12 is great, of course, mostly for achieven a bit of more softness, but the need of so much space, providing your using a computer and needing many other things at the same time…at the end slowed down the proccess with no significant improve. besides, the features removed from graphire were irrelevant for my use (drawing)
I have found may wacom users didn’t studied hard the best way to setup his wacom, however,(sensibility, response, etc) and never worked out tha thing of adding different key shortcuts to pen buttons to each software.
For just illustrration…perhaps a big Intuos is good.
This is a very personal option. IMHO with Graphire, you wont get wrong. It is so cheap you can always put in other computer or make some exchange with a friend if really need a big wacom.
If I could I would like to have not wasted the money for 12x12 (here the error is bigger) and go for pro features but smaller size.
But mostly depends on software you use and how u use it. If use adobe, I do in companies, I prefer to have a small graphire, with ctrl alt z in second pen button, and ctrl shift z in third, for history undo redo. Or alt for picker in third. I even change depending on the use, if I am gonna make a big use of burn tool, or airbrush…and always have space (while keeping comfortable) for putting the keyboard besides and a hand over most used shortcuts.
In terms of stroke response, the softeest and coolest I got was with the graphire, but because of the computer. I had only used in celerons and K6 -2. I used in a K7 Thunderbird, with win 2000, 512 megs of ram, and an ati or geforce, and barracuda seagate ide HD. It was so sweet…I could only test that, but had the best stroke performance.
So there you have it: it depends.
You will not get wrong with a wacom, however.
edit- didn’t read before the thelonious post…well, I see it is opposed totally to what I say…mine is not better opinion, just another experience. You’ll buy the model which gives you the best feeling, at the end, so, doesn’t matter. The important thing is stick with wacom models. I have other 3 different previous tablets (1 12x12 inches, another 2 smaller) in the drawers at home highly unused. I did not have wacom’s sensivity with them. I stopped using them much previously to buying wacom’s.
I just discovered the use of a tablet at the same time I started using ZBrush. I have a 4x5 Wacom (an old one). At first I thought that was going to be too small but I quickly realized that a bigger tablet isn’t always better. It’s more precise to draw on a small tablet as a large tablet will require to move your hand and arm. On a small one you just need to move your fingers in the same way you move them when writing.
Since the tablet I’m using is a loan and I’ll have to give it back. I’m going to buy another one, I’m not sure if I’ll choose 4x5 or 6x8 but I won’t take anything larger.
Thank you all for your eye opening comments. My decision on which size to buy isn’t really about economics (I have the money for either size thanks to my Profit Sharing check from my company ) I want the most bang and utility for my buck. I work A LOT in ZBrush (go figure ) and in Photoshop. I find that when I am drawing detailed work my habits tend to be- small dense strokes and minimal hand movement. When I am painting in watercolor or oils I tend to use very large strokes. Airbrushing falls somewhere in the middle. Now I haven’t tried to actually do an oil or watercolor type picture on the computer but I would like to try it just for effect. So I pose another question- how do you have your tablet set up when you are using it? i.e. does it sit in the place where your mouse was…do you hold it in your lap…what? And how heavy cumbersome is it when trying to work with it and the software? Do you find it gets in the way say when using photoshop…what software does it have greater/lesser synergy with? I know I probably sound like a worry wort but I find people’s opinions much more valuable than the rhetoric you find in written reviews (which are often biased). Thanks again!
I have my A3 directly in front of me with the monitor as close as I can get it, I have the keyboard at the top. The wacom has many options to set it up and designate areas but I use it with the full area. there is a button on the right where you can instantly turn it into mouse mode where the pen operates in like a very quick mouse. But I never use this.
I have the buttons on the pen set up for different applications. For Zbrush the back rocker button is set for >control, so I can paint a mask with this button down. The front rocker is set to >option so I can subtract, while in add draw mode.
In Photoshop the front button is set for >option and the back is set for >command. This means that when I am drawing bezier paths I can use the buttons to give me an arrow tool or a corner tool when using the pen. So it is easy to adjust paths while drawing them. Also when using the rubber stamp tool which I use a lot I can set the clone point with the front rocker.
However the King of all applications, as far as the wacom goes, has to be Painter. It uses all the Wacom inputs. Bearing, tilt, direction, pressure, velocity. You name it. If you want to work with traditional art media it is amazing. Painter has crap masks and crap beziers but it excels in natural media. This is the application where a big tablet is useful for a realistic feel.
I do a lot of retouching in Photoshop and a big tablet is indispensible for precise control. When retouching I usually have my image filling the whole screen by pressing the F key a couple of times. All palletes gone, with the tab key. And I just use keyboard commands and the rocker switch to do what I want. It enables a lot of concentration for a complex job.
An A3 tablet is just such a pleasure to use. I suppose a bit tablet is not as necessary for a program like ZBrush but it doesn’t get in the way either. Also you can designate a differenct area for every application so you can set it up as an A4 or less for Zbrush if you wanted to. Before getting an A4 tablet think about if you might get a larger monitor in the future.
Sure you can get away with smaller tablets. You can also climb mount everest without any special kit, but why would you want to?
Thank you all. I value your inputs greatly. I continued with more research into the technical aspects of the tablets in question and I have made my decision. I have found that the larger tablet will fill my needs the best. It has a few more features than the smaller tablet. I also envision myself sitting at my drawing table with my tablet cradled in my lap working away (my monitor sits just above my drawing table and my CPU is underneath it) I think overall the larger tablet will be more comfortable to hold. I also did a few tests with paper cut to the dimensions of the tablet. I like the smaller one but the larger area felt more comfortable for me. So with any luck I will be getting my new Intuos2 9x12 tablet within a couple of weeks (just ordered it today). Thank you all again for your input!
man I just don’t have this BB down yet… grey matter is very very dull this day…