Reddit reviews Wacom Intuos3 6 x 8-Inch Pen Tablet

Uhm, Wacom is the only brand to consider. Period.

You have two good options, the $200 "medium" Bamboo, which is a great tablet with a relatively inexpensive pen (30$) at a good size. And the $99 "small" Bamboo. There is actually also a $70 one that works just fine too. Those are like (4x6) and (5x8) roughly.

The next step up from the Bamboo is the Intuos, which is kind of the 'professional' standard for Tablets. The Bamboo is for newbies. For tourists into digital art. (I'm kidding, but that's how digital artists act. Pretentious jerks...)

Anyway the Intuos is currently at version 4. They are pricey. A small runs $229 and a Medium $349. More pressure, better pens, little tips for the pens to emulate real work.

Okay, let's get serious.

As a digital artist, you're going to kick yourself if you don't get an Intuos. I have the entry level (Graphire, which is now called the Bamboo) and I'm kicking myself. It's just too small.

The Intuos4 Medium is a great platform, if you want to blow all $350 right there.

Alternatively, step backwards to the Intuos3, which you can still buy on Amazon. You could get a medium for probably 240$, since it's the last generation. That'll work just fine.

Intuos3 Medium 249.99

Intuos3 Large 319.99

Those are my two recommendations. Grab the last generation at massive discounts instead of shelling out for the 4th series. The new ones are shinier and probably have better integration for hotkey buttons or something, but lets face it.

You want a pen, with tips, and 1024 levels of pressure, and a good size pad. That's what a tablet is about. The two links above are my recommendation.

I made it! :) I have a Wacom Tablet (Intuos 3)... I did check to see if I could just find the font first, but after ~3 minutes of googling I decided to just draw it...

Tablet Name: Intuos3 (8" x 6")

Manufacturer: Wacom

Price: $200+ used (you may find it cheaper; that was just a quick search), $450+ new (don't buy this new), prices in USD.

Size: 13.6 x 0.5 x 10.3 inches (8" x 6" active area); 4 pounds

Features: 8 express keys (4 on each side), 2 touch strips (1 on each side), 1,024 levels of pressure sensitivity, 5080 lines per inch.

Accessories: Pen, pen holder, mouse, felt nib, spring nib, replacement plastic nibs.

Comments: I've had this tablet for several years and it's served me well when drawing or photo editing. The surface is smooth and easy to draw on, although the active area is ever so slightly reduced for widescreen monitors (and this has to be adjusted in the driver settings). The different pen tips provide a more traditional feel for mediums other than the pencil, but I've always preferred the basic plastic nib. Works great in Photoshop and Corel Painter without any extra setup. Plug it in, install the drivers, and draw away. This is a fairly old model and I would recommend against buying it for more than $150-$200. If you're going higher than that, you might as well pick up an Intuos4 instead.

Website: Intuos Site, Amazon Page

User: /u/KrazyTheFox

Most of what I know I have learned through trial and error. The class I am currently taking is my first and it focuses on basics (which has nothing to do with digital art unfortunately - I was hoping it would /sadface )

I do use a tablet. The program is PS CS6 (student edition is cheaper - or buying it from a friend who never openned theirs). I don't know if there are any classes that teach digital art (though there are a ton of books) but I know there are a lot of ambitious youtube artists that put in time teaching tips and tricks. Kienan Lafferty is one I watch a lot. I also tune into Dave Rapoza and Anthony Jones's livestreams.

Thank you so much :D

Others have given advice, but I might as well chime in.

The Bamboo is a great little starter pad to play with. I wouldn't reccommend it as a real graphic design tool, but it really is a functional little pad that can get the job done and has some fun extra functionality with gestures and what not. The Bamboo is NOT specifically a graphics tablet though. It can function as one, but it is also touch sensitive and most graphics tablets are not reactive to anything but a pen or a conductive mouse created for the tablet surface. But it does have the same technology as an Intuos tablet, which is amazing tech, so it's very capable.

You can get a Wacom Graphire for around the same price as a bamboo, (I owned one of these for a couple year) and it is made for this kind of thing. It is a decent little tablet, and would be alright for a hobbyist or a beginner, but i'd skip it. But it isn't as advanced as the next type of tablet...

which is an Intuos3 and Intuos4. Here is where I would start. I would actually skip the intuos3 simply because the intuos4 is basically an industry standard now. It's tech is updated often and it is simply a fantastic tablet. The intuos 4 is what most people end up with. There are small, medium, and large versions. The size you get is a personal preferance. It also comes down to desk real estate. Not a lot of desks have a huge chuck of space for a large intuos. The medium is a great compromise of space vs. functionality. And actually, a lot of people prefer the slightly smaller ones to reduce having to move your arm/hand around as much reducing fatigue. Also the price is obviously better for a medium sized one than a large one. There is also the wireless version, which is awesome since you can simply stow it away somewhere quick and easy. I would recommend a carrying case for it though to keep it safe. Even just a small laptop bag would be fine. But it's an investment you will want to keep safe.

Finally you have the amazing Cintiq line. The Cintiq 12WX and Cintiq 21UX and I just learned about the silly Cintiq 24HD.

I have a Cintiq 21UX and it has changed the way I work. It has sped up my workflow and made things so much easier and faster and accurate and simply amazing. (Note I didn't quite pay what they are asking for on Amazon but that's the same model). the cintiq's are expensive as hell, but it's an amazing investment if you are really going to take advantage of it.

Note however, that you can do everything on an intuos4 that you can do on a cintiq. The thing with the lesser tablets under the cintiq is you will have a real learning curve dealing with drawing on your desk/lap while looking at the screen. It's weird and takes time to get used to it. But there is AMAZING art done on them. As I said, they are industry standard and amazing pieces of tech.

So I recommend the Intuos4 Medium or the Intuos4 Wireless in the end.

Hope this helps a little. There are alternatives to Wacom, and some can get the job done, but I won't recommend them as in the end, you want a Wacom.

Intuos2 6*8"-$44.97

Intuos2 9*12"-$100 and zero bids

Intuos3 6*8"-$135


It all depends what you want, but I'd reccomend the Intuos2 9*12 if you can get it for $100. I have an Intuos3 and the buttons aren't very helpful. The buttons didn't really become useful until the changed them up and added the scroll wheel on Intuos4.

Software: Photoshop. Hardware: One of these babies. Still can't draw with it (gotta do the lines with good old pencil and pens), but hoping I'll be more comfortable using it once I get through more of those tutorials. And thank you very much! :)

Honestly, size matters greatly depending on your style of drawing. For photo retouch, size matters much less. If you do more detailed, short strokes, then you won't need a big tablet. Some people like to do larger gestures when they draw/paint, so for them a larget work area is important.

It is a slightly different texture than drawing on paper, but I didn't have a tough transition. As I mentioned, you can always put a sheet of paper over the tablet if you want (this will not affect the operation of the tablet, just gives it a different texture).

The tablet I have is the Intuos 3 6x8. An iPad wouldn't be a suitable drawing/retouch tablet as it is not pressure sensitive and fingers aren't very precise compared to a stylus. (I am sure there are apps for it, but in reality I just can't imagine it working as well as a 'real' tablet) One of the main benefits of a (Wacom-style) tablet are the speed and accuracy you get with the pressure-sensitive stylus. It is also very natural once you get used to it. At times it is even easier than drawing as your hand does not 'get in the way' of what you are working on.

If you want to see a BIG tablet, check out this guy. That's Andrew (Android) Jones, who's pretty impressive.

I have a Wacom Intuos3 6x8 Tablet. Interested in the SNES/GBA/PS1 games.

Sorry, yes. You can't run Photoshop on a tablet, (i.e. an iPad), but if you get a Wacom tablet, then she can draw & paint directly into Photoshop on top of her photo. Hope that makes sense!

I gpt this one way back when I thought I would draw with it which never happened, glad I got use out of it though.