Top buy: Wacom Bamboo pen tablet

So after a few months of pondering, I finally purchased the Wacom bamboo tablet in February

I always liked the idea of owning a graphic tablet just for the purpose of drawing but I wasn't too sure if it was worth getting just for that alone. So since doing a creative module at university I had an excuse. Obviously for someone who has never owned a graphic tablet or knows anyone who does, I was self responsible for doing some research.

Wacom seemed like the best option in terms of brand as I read some positive reviews. Also it's worth checking forums to view feedback from professional artists and tech-geeks. I also turned to YouTube for some help for better judgement on size, contents and general movements of the tablet.

So yes, after reading such reviews it seemed that I had two options: Wacom pen tablet and Wacom pen and touch tablet.

What's the difference you may ask?

Well firstly the price. Pen tablet is under £50 whereas the Pen and Touch is around £70 so for a beginner I think anything below 50 had to be the better option. Also the pen and touch is multi-touch meaning that you can use your fingers to navigate too but I didn't really see the appeal in that. It also has an eraser on the end of the pen which the pen tablet version does not however that's not a huge issue for me either.

ANYWAYS...

So I bought the ordinary pen tablet and I have to say, I LOVE IT
Honestly the best purchase I've made yet. It was around £40-43 on Amazon with free shipping, and on top of that I had a £5 voucher to sweeten the deal.

The box comes with the tablet (of course), the pen, spare nibs/leads (because they naturally wear down over time), installation disk and an art software (although I prefer to use Sketchbook Pro!!)

The tablet itself is super sleek and classy looking with a lovely neon/lime green coloured back which I think gives the product a bit of aesthetic personality. Then pen feels good in the hands and has two handy buttons on the side in which the function of those buttons can be customised. (Mine is left click and scrolling)

As well as being a tool for drawing, the tablet can also be an alternative to using a mouse or touchpad as you can use the pen to essentially navigate around your PC screen, and so some designers actually prefer this option.

In terms of drawing I find that it is just as important to find the right art software to use. I was not so fond of the one that came along with the tablet (Art Rage) as I didn't like the interface. My friend recommended Sketchbook Pro as you can save files to be compatible with Photoshop since we needed to do Photoshop work for our creative module.

Here are a few examples of some of the work that I've created in Sketchbook:

 


So in conclusion, if anyone is looking to buy their first graphics tablet then I would highly recommend the Wacom Bamboo pen tablet even if you just want it to make random drawings then GO FOR IT!