Graphics tablet usage

Anyone ever used a graphics/drawing tablet (i.e. wacom bamboo, intuos, cintiq)?

I'm thinking about purchasing a cheap one to satisfy my doodling habits. But as a person totally accustomed to drawing with pen and paper, I'd like to know how it's like using a tablet.

I find them very strange as you cannot actually see what you're drawing relative to the position of your hand. In other words, how do you make accurate drawings (draw the next line) when you can't see where you've drawn your previous line(s)? I'm sure there's a learning curve, but I'm curious as to whether I will eventually be able to draw as proficiently as I do with conventional means.

How do graphics tablets work? Do I simply draw as I would normally, or are there buttons I have to hold down?

How have your experiences with graphics tablets been?

I am considering purchasing the Wacom Bamboo as it is their cheapest model and reviews seem to be favorable. Since I don't have enough money to get a tablet that actually displays what I'm drawing, I'll have to settle for less.

I own a Wacom Intuos drawing tablet. Im very happy with the purchase. I've used the cheaper white ones, and while they do work, the Intuos (the grey ones) are much much better. If you can afford it i would recommend you purchasing it, but i can understand you choosing to buy the cheaper ones to try them out first. Once you've tried the better ones, you wont wann go back to the cheapo ones :p

There is a bit of a learning curve and it takes some time to get adjusted to it, but its probably not as difficult as you might think. One of the things you can do is map the drawing area to the screen. If you touch the bottom left of the tablet, your cursor will jump instantly to the bottom left of the screen. I find working with it like this much easier as you can sort of mentally visualize what you are drawing on the screen but on the drawing tablet surface.... Its a bit hard to explain. I also use a dual monitor setup and this prevents my cursor running over to the next screen while i am drawing.

In any case even if you do make mistakes you can typically undo any problems. You also have the ability to flip the pen around and use the back end of it just like an eraser.

The graphics tablets will not replace pencil and paper. Some things will be much easier to do in the graphic tablet than by hand. Some things will still be easier on paper. Think of it as another drawing tool. It just happens to be extremely flexible. Really rough sketches will probably end up better on paper, but coloring artworks will be much, much better with a graphic tablet.

You will get maximum use if you are also very familiar with an art program, like Photoshop or Paintshop Pro. Combining custom brushes with the pressure sensitivity of a tablet will really allow you to pull off some cool effects that are simply impossible to replicate with a binary device like a mouse. I was able to do a watercolor like effect for a childrens book rather easily thanks to a tablet.

The monitor/tablets like the Cintiqs are some of the best monitors in the world. They are incredibly awesome, but way too expensive. $2,000+ for the their cheaper models is just too much :(

If you do decide to get one i can probably tell you a few tips, trick, and warnings relating to the tablets.

Wow, thanks for the response. First real response I've had across all the forums and such I've been through! XD

And yes, I would most definitely appreciate any tips and the like regarding tablets. Though now I am a bit wary considering most of my drawings are essentially sketches. Though, I am learning as much as I can about Photoshop and using layers (still no clue lol).

Considering my budget, the only thing I can go for is the Bamboo, which from reviews seem very promising. I would very much like to get my hands on a higher model (especially the cintiq), but fat chance that's gonna happen lol.

Once again, thanks for your response and I look forward to reading more of your tips and insights!

You'll get good use out of a drawing tablet, but you really get so much more out of it once you learn really well an art program, and particularly its brushes. So long as you continue to learn more Photoshop, you should definitely get it. Its not that the tablet is useless without it. Far from that really. But it turns into a wonderful tool.

Since you are going for the cheapest model as a test, i still think its a worthwhile investment een if most of your work is sketches. I would not recommend an Intuos just sketches since they cost a good bit more.

As for tips and trick: theres a button on the drawing pens. In photoshop i find the best thing to do is make the bottom button act as a left click, and the top button as a right click. This allows you to pretty much replace a mouse entirely. You cna easily scroll and click your ways through menus, and right clicking on the canvas give you quick access to all the different brushes. You probably want to set your own custom brushes over time so that they appear at the top for even quicker switching.

As for warnings: I've never used a Bamboo, but i've used the older version (the non wireless graphire) and i own the Intuos. For some reason they don't like 64-bit systems too much. It has a slightly annoying habit of suddenly dieing out. It requires you to reinstall the drivers and restart your PC. It doesn't happen often - maybe once every 3 or 4 days. It still got annoying because when it liked to happen was when i used it for about 5 or 6 hours every day for a few months (i was commissioned to do children's book).

Also, if you have Windows Vista, the tablet will work fine. In fact it will probably work too well. When Vista detects a tablet it enables a ton of other features because it now thinks its a tablet PC. It enables handwriting-to-text and gesture recognition and a bunch of other things that are very useful on an actual tablet PC, but seriously get in the way when drawing. It was actually kind of difficult to disable all of these features. I dont fully remember how i did it either since it was a while ago.

Finally, don't be afraid to press really, really hard on the tablet with the pen. The actual pen point is made from a very, very soft plastic. If you press down hard enough you'll leave streaks on the tablet. This is fine! The marks can be cleaned very easily with a cloth. The streak marks are from the soft plastic and it will not damage the tablet at all. You can really put some pressure on the pen without worrying about any damage. The plastic tips also last a really long time. After owning my tablet for a few years i still havent replace the original tip. It takes someone using it for 5 or 6 hours a day for atleast a year before they need to be replaced.