Graphics Tablet and PS question

[-Silver-]

Having read through Mike's topic just below, some of the questions I wanted to ask have already been answered  :smile:

The reason I want to start a new thread is because my question is now more related to PhotoShop. Having looked around Wacom's site, I've realized I will have to pay upwards of $300 for a decent graphics tablet, probably more for a widescreen one (6x11) since I have a widescreen monitor (or wouldn't that make any difference?). Thing is, I then noticed that Wacom has an offer when you make a 'huge saving' if you purchase one of their tablets and Photo Shop at the same time - 'Photoshop is only $299! That's $400 off the normal price!' - WHAT!? $699 for the software!? Even $299 is an insane price to pay! If I wanted to buy them both that's a huge investment of at LEAST $600 i'm making! So the questions:

1) Is that really worth it? I am obsessed with art, and have been looking to get a wacom for digital art for some time now. It will be a passion.

2) Is PhotoShop the only software out there? And by that I mean, the only software worth using. If not, what are the alternatives, the price differences compared to PS, and can you really vouch for them?

For anyone who contributes to this thread, you have my thanks! This isn't a purchase I want to run into without first asking around and broadening my knowledge in the area.

 

[Venetia]

Yes, tablets are very worth it. My art in particular has improved significantly since getting one.

Do you need one that costs $300? No, probably not. They have a number of other tablets (from the entry-level Bamboo to mid-priced Graphire) that are MUCH cheaper than their Intuos line.
If you look on eBay or Amazon, it's even cheaper than that. If you've never used a tablet before, I highly recommend that you buy a "beginner's tablet" first, a cheap one. Because some people can't get used to using a tablet, and then they're stuck with a $300 paperweight.

Photoshop, yes, it's an incredible program, it's the media standard. Is it the only prog out there? No, there's Paint Shop Pro, there's Painter, there's a bunch of programs, even FREE ones, like Paint.NET or Gimp. If you are new to Image Editing software, then take baby steps. Start small, get used to it, move up to the more advanced stuff.

Lastly, I have a widescreen monitor and a 4:3 tablet. It works just fine. For fine details, you can adjust the tablet to detect an area directly comparable to your resolution, too. I don't see a whole lot of point in spending the extra money for a widescreen tablet, it's too large of a price hike for not enough result.

If you're trying to do PROFESSIONAL level comics, or PROFESSIONAL graphic design, or extremely high-end CG rendering, then worry about getting high-end equipment. If not, then do whatever's in your budget

 

[-Silver-]

Thanks for the reply Venetia.

That's a relief knowing I won't need to spend any extra on a widescreen tablet. The thing is, I am looking to move into digital art on a professional level, so I would assume that starting with decent equipment would actually make more sense.
1) Financially, though not intensely: Starting with a beginner's tablet and a basic program is fair enough, but i'll still be looking to buy the next stage up in both departments before long, so that's adding to the overall costs, if only by another £50 or so.
2) Educationally: If Photoshop really is the industry standard, then that's what i'll need to learn. I'm aware it's simpler to pick up the skills from scratch by going straight into PS, than learning them all in another program and then having to re-learn and adapt certain aspects when I switch over to PS.
But like you so eloquently put - I don't want to end up with a $300 paperweight!
:lol:

Perhaps I should take your advice on purchasing a cheap tablet first in this case, and find a friend who owns Photoshop or a similar program already, and try it out there. Hmmm, better check I know someone who matches the criteria!

Thanks again for the feedback  :blush:

 

[DeM0nFiRe]

Paint.Net is not comparable to photoshop, however GIMP is. Gimp is a very powerful program and it's free.

 

[___]

Pretty much everything that Venetia said, also see my comments in the other thread. Photoshop CS4 just came out, so you can pick up a great deal on CS3 now if you want to get PS but don't want to pay the huge sticker price. The new features in 4 are really awesome, but they are oriented toward photo editing, not graphic art, and probably not worth the extra cash at this point if what you want is a program to paint in.

However, if you're looking to do art rather than photo editing/photomanip, I suggest checking out Corel Painter, not Photoshop. It's far superior to Photoshop in mimicking traditional media, from oil & acrylic paint to chalk and pastel to watercolor, right down to mixing colors on a palette with a palette knife. It also supports surface and lighting control. Photoshop will do fine if you're going for that digital look, but if you want to mimic the process and result of traditional art it's going to come up short.

Oh, Painter is also significantly cheaper than Photoshop The GIMP is a great alternative to Photoshop having most of the same tools as Photoshop, a few that Photoshop doesn't have, and the advantage of being 100% free. It's also considered an industry standard, though it's not anywhere near as popular as Photoshop it is often used by indie artists and developers. It's a very, very long lived open source project and its code is mature.

Last but not least if you're looking to do pixel art, Graphics Gale is the way to go, the big software packages do not have anything rivaling gale's tools for pixel art and animation. Gale costs a whopping $15 and it's free if you don't want to make animated gifs, so there's that.

 

[-Silver-]

Thanks for all the feedback, especially concerning the other options to Photoshop. However, since Photoshop is considered the industry standard, and since i've just discovered one of friends has a copy of CS3 he will happily install on my computer for me, I can safely say i'll be heading down that route!
:lol:
One final question regarding a tablet though: 6x8 or 9x12? I've been looking at the images in comparison to pen size over and over again, and can't shake the feeling that a 9x12 would offer a lot more freedom and level of detail. I know you can zoom in on your work, but then your scope would be a lot larger for a 9x12 would it not? I'm not a fan of small things, and I get the impression that a 6x8 (and certainly a 4x6) would make me feel.... cramped? But here I have no experience, and being human I always want bigger and better! So for anyone with a 6x8, how do you feel about this? Would you go bigger if the cost wasn't an issue, or do you stick to 6x8 because the tablet is large enough for drawing and painting, and small enough to be comfortable in your lap or something? I'll stop talking now! Damn mind is overclocking again...
:shock:

 

[___]

all the bigger ones do, imo, is take up more space on your desk. it's not a 1:1 ratio with your screen unless you set it up that way intentionally, and even if it was, like you said you can zoom in and the size of your image and the level of zoom is determined by your choice in the software so it's not anything to do with the tablet. the little tiny ones are probably too small but my 6x8 graphire very seldom annoyed me due to running out of space.

What I would recommend is figuring out what the longest strokes you make when working on natural media are. If you're unlikely to ever make one continuous stroke more than 6-8 inches long, you don't need a screen bigger than that, think of it that way. If you're more of a painter than a sketcher and you like to take big, broad strokes a larger one may feel more natural to you, but for me i rarely travel more than an inch or two in a stroke.