Which graphic / drawing tablet?

[boo2060]

I had the fixed idea to invest some little money in a graphic tablet as I enjoy working with Inkscape a lot (I don't use GIMP much though, only for basic photo adjustments).

At the moment I feel limited because
- I am not able to produce nice free hand stuff with a mouse
- transferring objects from real paper into Inkscape (via scanning and redrawing or tracing bitmaps) is cumbersome
- of my poor drawing skills in general

The last issue is my big project for 2013. I feel the other two can be tackled by a graphic tablet somehow.

My needs
- I draw mainly shapes to create simple objects (stick figures, animals) for presentations
- I need the tablet to work well with Ubuntu 12.04 and Inkscape 0.48 without too much effort

On Amazon I found the Wacom Bamboo Pen / or Pen & Touch (III) for 50 / 80€ which fits my budget. However, the working area is stated to be 147 x 92 mm which I consider quite small. Is it sufficient? Also, I absolutely cannot handle touchpads, I always use a mouse. Is anyone of you in the same situation but suddenly was glad to have purchased the Wacom Pen & Touch instead of the only Pen version?

I'm glad about every comment. Happy New Year!

old thread with same topic: http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.p...6#post12431156

[ofnuts]

I had the fixed idea to invest some little money in a graphic tablet as I enjoy working with Inkscape a lot (I don't use GIMP much though, only for basic photo adjustments).

At the moment I feel limited because
- I am not able to produce nice free hand stuff with a mouse
- transferring objects from real paper into Inkscape (via scanning and redrawing or tracing bitmaps) is cumbersome
- of my poor drawing skills in general

The last issue is my big project for 2013. I feel the other two can be tackled by a graphic tablet somehow.

My needs
- I draw mainly shapes to create simple objects (stick figures, animals) for presentations
- I need the tablet to work well with Ubuntu 12.04 and Inkscape 0.48 without too much effort

On Amazon I found the Wacom Bamboo Pen / or Pen & Touch (III) for 50 / 80€ which fits my budget. However, the working area is stated to be 147 x 92 mm which I consider quite small. Is it sufficient? Also, I absolutely cannot handle touchpads, I always use a mouse. Is anyone of you in the same situation but suddenly was glad to have purchased the Wacom Pen & Touch instead of the only Pen version?

I'm glad about every comment. Happy New Year!

old thread with same topic: http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.p...6#post12431156

You don't need a big area... if the tablet is accurate enough (and the Wacom ones are) a small area can be better because that means less wrist moves.

I am the very satisfied owner of a Bamboo One...

[joshp1]

I have a digipro digital tablet. I'm happy with it but the pen needs a battery so in the spring I'm getting a bamboo

[Newfoundlander]

You can't go wrong with a Wacom, they are well-supported under Linux and very good build quality. My wife has upgraded three times over the last 7 years with a bigger tablet each time. She uses hers daily while I use mine (the hand-me-down about the same size as the current Bamboo) on occasion with Inkscape and GIMP.

[desktorp]

My CTL-460 finally works okay, but I feel it is worth pointing out that the Bamboo series only recently became (easily) usable. Stay above 12.04 or else you're in for some serious annoyances. If you get a Bamboo and experience any lag or other bad behavior, disable Compiz, VSync and Gimp's tooltips. Otherwise, the bugs appear to be mostly cleared up + the new configuration tool in Ubuntu is great.

Just as a comparison to illustrate how pathetic things can be, my old, standard ratio workstation continues to run circles around my modern, widescreen workstation. I realize this may sound ridiculous, but in my opinion, regarding overall quality and ease of use, Graphire4 & Trinitron CRT > Bamboo Pen & Multisync LCD..

If you ever splurge for an Intuos however, I guarantee you will be pleased, regardless of your display type. Also, I agree with what was stated above; small work areas are just fine for most of us.

[Lightning Dragon]

Hello,

I realize this is a week old thread, but I thought I could offer my assistance.

If you just need simple, then the Bamboo Create tablet would be perfect for you. I would not worry about size, either. People rarely ever wanted to upgrade to bigger sizes. But it depends. Are you en elbow drawer or a wrist drawer? If you tend to twist your elbow more, then you should probably get a big size past medium. If you find yourself twisting your wrist more, then most people tend to do comfortably with a small/medium size. I can say the same for myself. I have various tablets, all in a small or medium size and hate having a too large tablet as the mouse goes off screen, messes things up and slows the mouse pointer down a lot.

However, I would not get a Intuos series if you only intend on using it in Ubuntu. Even though Ubuntu has a native setting for Wacom, it does not allow sensitivity settings. You would be stuck with thick lines no matter what--though that could only be for Ubuntu 12.04 LTS. That being said, the Wacom tablets are amazing. Just be sure you read the descriptions carefully. Some brands require replacements for the pen tips and more.

If budget is important, I would seriously consider looking into the Huion tablets. They are cheaper and although they don't have all the fancy buttons (they do have them though) on the sides, they offer the same sensitivity (2000 range! Same as Intuos3 and above!) and controls as the Wacom series. Their prices are insane, too, ranging from 50 to 80 dollars.

http://www.huion-tablet.com/

[Bandit]

Wacom is good. I have a Kworld Kanvus Life tablet which also works under linux/GIMP that is also very very good.

[psilentrain1]

I have a Wacom Pen and I have not had any issue with the size of it. It is very accurate. I use it with GIMP, Inkscape, and Blender on the Ubuntu side, and in Windows, I use it with Photoshop, Lightroom, and Blender (as well as anything else I happen to want to doodle in)

[HalfNote5]

Just my two cents: I have a Wacom Bamboo, and I love it. Be sure you get one that can use the pen. Either exclusively, or coupled with touch function.

All tablets take a little getting used to, and they work differently under different distros (my tablet acts differently under Ubuntu vs. Mint vs. OpenSuSE vs. Debian) but seems to work really well on most every distro I've tried it on.

Cheers!

-DPW

P.S. Wacom Bamboo + Inscape = win. Every time I've ever tried it.

But budget some time for getting used to it. For the first 5 to 50 minutes, you'll wanna chuck it out the door without opening it (the door) first.