New Toy.

[TonyG]

I thought I would post this here since it was recommended and my wife got it for me for Christmas. lol



I played with it for a few minutes last night.. it is definately going to take some getting used to. Maybe eventually I can crank out some decent artwork.

[SRD Art]

Excellent! I've got one of those and it serevs me well. It's not as sensative and high zoot as a Wacom, but it's a great starter tablet. I find that in Illustrator I still use a mouse, but in photoshop when I'm "painting" I use mostly the tablet. Congrats!

[city_ofthe_south]

Let me just say, I'd love to read a full review when you get to bang away on it. Maybe get thoughts from both you guys. Merry Christmas!

[SRD Art]

I used a nice Wacom in school, that was back in '98-2003. That thing was awesome and did some great things with the airbrush tool. It's sensitivity was awesome and if you flipped the pen it had an eraser tool at the other end. I'll bet the Wacoms out now are even better, but they come with a price, maybe a bit too much when you're starting out. I've heard new Wacoms allow you to draw right on the tablet as though it were your paper. I don't think the Aiptek is that correct, you have to look at the screen as you draw to get your bearings.

I got this Aiptek one for home and I'm satisfied with it's control. It's pressure sensitivity isn't as good as the Wacom, but sometimes just adjusting brushes manually in Photoshop can achieve the same results. You can use the pen like a mouse to press buttons and use the pen tool in Illustrator and surf the internet, but I have arthritis in my hands and the "ball" shape of a mouse is a little more comfortable for me. The Aiptek pens use a AAA battery and when the battery goes low it gets a little whacky and the cursor starts to jump around. I keep a fresh pack of Duracells handy. I'd say a battery lasts about a couple months or so, but I don't use the tablet probably more than a couple times a week at best. Cheap batteries run down pretty fast. The mouse feature for the pad is nice, I have a nice wireless with my computer though so I don't use the tablet mouse much at all. It is really nice to kick back in my chair with my feet up and the tablet on my lap and draw instead of sitting right up to the desk sometimes. I usually keep one hand ready to fire control Z when I draw freehand and the pen in the other. I like a tablet because it gives more control of long highlight strokes like on the sides of cars and it does great with backgrounds. Photoshop has the ability to look like air brushing or design markers and the pen really shines there. It also allows you to be a little more precise in tight and small spots than a mouse.

Although the Aiptek is a little clunky compared to a Wacom, I think for the fantastic price it's all worth it.