Hi guys,
Soo, I am thinking of buying a graphics tablet, because I think it might be something I would enjoy using. But because I've never used one before (and have no way to try one, don't know anyone who has one I can try, and stores here never let you try so much as an ipod speaker lol), so it has to be something fairly cheap and basic, so that if it ends up sitting in a drawer, I won't have wasted obscene amounts of dough in a failed venture. At the same time, it needs to work well enough to give me an accurate feel for what it's like to work with one of these, and nt put me off it just out of the nastiness of the particular model, rather than because the entire way to work is simply not for me.
There are two possible things I would use it for. The first one is as a way to digitize drawings; I make a lot of useful small items like card cases, portfolios, and notebook holders out of cardboard, and they seem to often attract attention and people look impressed when they find out I made them (I've even been asked to make them for others a few times) so I am thinking of writing up instructions and patterns for these and selling them for a couple bucks on Etsy or putting them up on Instructables (if I can figure out how to take pictures of my hands working without anyone else working the camera, lol). It would be handy to have a way to digitize the illustrative drawings without involving a scanner which is a pain in the neck, and at the same time making the drawings neater and make it possible to edit them, including do the lettering with regular computer fonts, rather than handwriting. My hand lettering is neat - thank you archaeological drawing classes, not to mention penmanship-obsessed french public school, lol - but the computer-generated stuff gives an extra bit of polish, I think.
the second thing I *might* be using this for is my photography. I recently added a DSLR to my camera lineup, and I can't exclude the possibility I will be wanting to use it to edit pictures. However, with my film photography, even though I've taken classes on manual, darkroom-based photo dev & printing, and also basic editing (correcting exposure, including dodging and burning, use of papers and washes), I haven't kept up with it beyond a few months after the classes finished, until the novelty wore off; I guess I'm an all-in-the-camera sort of photographer by temperament, and not inclined to mess with my photos after the release of the shutter button. So it wouldn't appear super-likely I will use that, but it would be good to have the possibility.
Other than above, the only criterion is that it's available on ebay by a serious seller who ships to Europe and who can be used for warranty
That's because unfortunately, just like stores here won't let you try anything out, they also have other obnoxious habits, like overcharging to the nth degree, and selling crappy product which they then refuse to refund when it's DOA. So months ago I decided to stop shopping locally altogether, much to my chagrin since I'm all for the whole support the local economy thing, but obviously, you can only support local businesses so long as they stay above a minimum standard of customer service
I'm taking any recommendations, including if someone is upgrading from a suitable tablet to something with a bit more features, if they want to get rid of their old one with me, I'm willing
Thanks!!
rois
PS: I saw the other thread about a tablet in the same sort of level, posted by LERsince1991, but I thought that was different because it looks like he already knows what it's like to work with one, so he has a close idea of what he needs than I do, which I believed warranted a new thread. I hope it's ok
Soo, I am thinking of buying a graphics tablet, because I think it might be something I would enjoy using. But because I've never used one before (and have no way to try one, don't know anyone who has one I can try, and stores here never let you try so much as an ipod speaker lol), so it has to be something fairly cheap and basic, so that if it ends up sitting in a drawer, I won't have wasted obscene amounts of dough in a failed venture. At the same time, it needs to work well enough to give me an accurate feel for what it's like to work with one of these, and nt put me off it just out of the nastiness of the particular model, rather than because the entire way to work is simply not for me.
There are two possible things I would use it for. The first one is as a way to digitize drawings; I make a lot of useful small items like card cases, portfolios, and notebook holders out of cardboard, and they seem to often attract attention and people look impressed when they find out I made them (I've even been asked to make them for others a few times) so I am thinking of writing up instructions and patterns for these and selling them for a couple bucks on Etsy or putting them up on Instructables (if I can figure out how to take pictures of my hands working without anyone else working the camera, lol). It would be handy to have a way to digitize the illustrative drawings without involving a scanner which is a pain in the neck, and at the same time making the drawings neater and make it possible to edit them, including do the lettering with regular computer fonts, rather than handwriting. My hand lettering is neat - thank you archaeological drawing classes, not to mention penmanship-obsessed french public school, lol - but the computer-generated stuff gives an extra bit of polish, I think.
the second thing I *might* be using this for is my photography. I recently added a DSLR to my camera lineup, and I can't exclude the possibility I will be wanting to use it to edit pictures. However, with my film photography, even though I've taken classes on manual, darkroom-based photo dev & printing, and also basic editing (correcting exposure, including dodging and burning, use of papers and washes), I haven't kept up with it beyond a few months after the classes finished, until the novelty wore off; I guess I'm an all-in-the-camera sort of photographer by temperament, and not inclined to mess with my photos after the release of the shutter button. So it wouldn't appear super-likely I will use that, but it would be good to have the possibility.
Other than above, the only criterion is that it's available on ebay by a serious seller who ships to Europe and who can be used for warranty
That's because unfortunately, just like stores here won't let you try anything out, they also have other obnoxious habits, like overcharging to the nth degree, and selling crappy product which they then refuse to refund when it's DOA. So months ago I decided to stop shopping locally altogether, much to my chagrin since I'm all for the whole support the local economy thing, but obviously, you can only support local businesses so long as they stay above a minimum standard of customer service I'm taking any recommendations, including if someone is upgrading from a suitable tablet to something with a bit more features, if they want to get rid of their old one with me, I'm willing
Thanks!!
rois
PS: I saw the other thread about a tablet in the same sort of level, posted by LERsince1991, but I thought that was different because it looks like he already knows what it's like to work with one, so he has a close idea of what he needs than I do, which I believed warranted a new thread. I hope it's ok
