Drawing/Graphics Pad?

petridish · 29 Mar 2021 at 09:05

Hello photo and video people!

While not strictly photo or video I'm hoping some of you might be able to help me out here. I'm looking for a reasonable digital drawing pad for my fiancee and don't really know anything about them, other than maybe having heard of one or two brands 10-15 years ago.

She wants to get into creating some digital art and prints so I'd like to set her up with something cheap but good initially (probably second hand) until she gets into it and then maybe upgrade to something more professional if the desire is still there a few months down the line.

Does anyone have and use one that they could point me in the right direction? What to look out for and what sort of prices to expect, things like that. Thanks in advance!

Donnie Fisher · 29 Mar 2021 at 21:53

Wacom are popular for a reason, they work well.

Huion are a good alternative, but I preferred the Wacom.

The other aspect is the software you use. A lot of looks come from the brush packs and textures to add look and feel to drawings etc.

petridish · 29 Mar 2021 at 22:18

So Wacom was one of the brands I'd heard of, good to know they're still with looking into.

Doing a bit of research it looks like you can now get pads with a screen built into then, are these worth considering? I imagine looking at what you're drawing is more natural but there'd also be some distortion/refraction through the glass that would make it more difficult for fine detail?

Donnie Fisher · 30 Mar 2021 at 16:11

The easier solution if your looking at a screen to draw on would be an iPad plus pen i would have said.

It’s not something I’ve looked much into. I have had drawing tablets over the years, the current one being a small wacom one. Reality is I don’t use it much as the coordination between tablet and screen was a learning curve each time I came back to it cause if it’s rare use.

AyeAyeAhoy! · 30 Mar 2021 at 23:03

If you're after a graphics tablet to use with a computer (as in, a mouse replacement), then really Wacom are the only brand you should be looking at.

If you want a screen and a pen, then an iPad with an Apple Pencil is basically the one to go for. iOS also has loads of apps to compliment it, including Autodesk software and the Adobe suite.

AyeAyeAhoy! · 31 Mar 2021 at 20:59

doug_1986 said:
iOS also has loads of apps to compliment it...

Some news on this today

https://9to5mac.com/2021/03/30/adobe-launches-ipad-app-bundle/

lsg1r · 31 Mar 2021 at 23:15

doug_1986 said:
If you're after a graphics tablet to use with a computer (as in, a mouse replacement), then really Wacom are the only brand you should be looking at.

Honestly, I disagree on this.

It might have been the case a few years back but the likes of huion and xp-pen have come a LONG way and you can get a device (especially if you want one with a screen) which is in many ways better than the equal costing wacom one (laminated screen for example). Now I'm not going to say wacom aren't the best but you do pay a big premium for the name along with the 'best spec' however I would say that 99% of people wouldn't be able to notice the difference these days.

@petridish look up brad colbow on youtube, he's got plenty of reviews of tablets etc and due to his illustration background gives an honest and imo pretty solid review of the things he tests. Based on what you've said I'd be taking a look at a huion kamvas 13 or 16 (2021).

If you want a screen and a pen, then an iPad with an Apple Pencil is basically the one to go for. iOS also has loads of apps to compliment it, including Autodesk software and the Adobe suite.

That really depends on what you want to do with the device... while it might have adobe and autodesk branded software available they're considerably less feature packed than the desktop versions in most cases.

Now not saying there aren't pro's to going this route, it is obviously battery powered so no cables and it doesn't require another device, but imo you really need to look into the software side of this approach and see if it does everything you want to do....

Having said that, pretty sure there are some apps (built in on latest os-x) available or coming soon which allow you to use it as a 'second screen' with touch/stylus etc.

petridish · 1 Apr 2021 at 07:01

Thank you all for the replies. Sounds like I've got a bit of review watching to do over the long weekend. I think as good as the iPad route might be I don't want to drop that kind of money on it just yet. Better to check she sticks with it before investing heavily.

I think the approach I might take is to try and get a cheaper, non screen one initially and if she really doesn't get on with looking away from where she's drawing then we can look at the fancier stuff as a second option. Those huion's certainly look nice from the marketing images.

AyeAyeAhoy! · 1 Apr 2021 at 09:19

That's great if there are more options than just Wacom these days. I work in media and I've never seen anyone using anything other than Wacom, ever! But competition is good and Wacoms are expensive.

The main thing is that the experience between sitting at a computer using a pen and tablet is very different from sitting on the couch with an iPad and Apple Pencil. The first thing I'd be nailing is which of those sounds best.

ethan · 1 Apr 2021 at 23:37

I'm quite happily using a Kamvas GT-221 Pro:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=djsuZPYT4h0

And · 4 Apr 2021 at 16:04

I use a Wacom tablet. It's the smallest one they do and not necessarily the right size for use with a 4K monitor but for my needs (mainly PS paintbrush) it works fine.

Tysonator · 3 Sep 2021 at 19:28

Which Wacom pad is good for photo editing software, i.e LightRoom for a Windows pc ?