I noticed an Aipek 12x9 inch drawing pad/tablet for $149.99 at CompUSA. Also a Graphire 2 4x5 pad for $99.99. Are these reasonable pads to purchase and are the prices good? Any sage advice would be welcome!! I bought a Hyperpen 6000u 4.5x6 inch pad some time ago and it was only problems. My computer froze, etc. I never did get it to work. Also because I have never gotten one of these tablets to work, I don't understand what difference size makes. The small pad looks handy, but there must be some reason that people buy big pads. Why? Tracing? Does the "picture stay stable" on the pad itself? so that the size of the pad matters in the sense that it represents the actual art production? Or is it like a mouse pad where the cursor on the screen just takes off from wherever you make contact between the mouse and the pad? If it is like a mousepad then the small tablet would do me okay, I THINK. But if the size of the tablet is what you get on the screen, then I am not sure how I would proceed drawing. So I am willing to try again to use a tablet. But I want to avoid the problems of the past. Any suggestions from 2D artists and retouchers out there?

I have been looking at the Intuos 2 by wacom myself..and posted questions regarding this in another forum. The responce I got was that a) it is a great investment b) to not get a larger pad unless you plan on doing wide arm movements across the face of the pad while you are working...so I changed my idea from a larger pad to a 4x5 one instead. Because I know when I am at the computer, I will only need wrist movements for what i do. (Unlike my oil painting...where I use my whole body..but thats another story) Though if you plan to trace over sketches you have done, then you may want a larger pad to work with. I doubt I would do much of that. Rawnrr Rawnrr

I had an Intuous for five years and loved everything about it. It died about four months ago and I bought an Aiptek, which I think has a working area of 8" wide by 6" high. I'll put it simply: I don't like it nearly as much and the moment my tax return comes back I'm forking up the bucks to get another Wacom. The Aiptek works well enough, except it seems very finiicky as to the pressure settings with the stylus. Oddly enough, the mouse works great and I find my self using it more than the stylus, which is the reason I have a tablet in the first place. A very annoying feature to me is the function keys across the top of the tablet. Most tablets have these and they come in handy enough and I do use them, except any - ANY! - use of the tablet near the top of the drawing area pops one of these function keys up. I have them set for repetitive tasks, i.e., opening certain programs, jumping to certain directories, etc. Their tech support SAYS you can turn them off but, even after detailed instructions, they still pop up. Not very desirable when drawing something or changing directories inside Poser. Another REALLY REALLY ANNOYING thing about the stylus is the contact point at the tip of the stylus seems to move or rotate around the stylus, e.g., you click on something and it works. Then, without moving my hand, clicking again, the stylus doesn't work. It took me a couple of weeks to realize I had to rotate the point of the pen to get it to work. Other than this, it works fine. I do think it will be the newest looking object in my own personal graveyard of discarded peripherals. LOL. Just my experience. HTH. Larry F

I have used a Wacon ArtPad 4x5 for some years now. Just as Rawnrr it's the size i would recommend as you don't have to move the arm. Also important is that it don't take much place on the desk witch is important as you should absolutely expect to keep your mouse as well. I would not recommend using the pen for everything. Actually I only use the pen in 2D paint programs in witch the pen is excelent. In 3D applications at best the pen is as god as the mouse and in wors cases it will freek out the application. Niether is handling Windows(or any os) with the pen a god idea. Mainly because of two reasons. One is that the pen pressure witch will work as the left mouse button no longer is digital and the point where it starts to act is not distinct so you will find yourself selecting stuff by misstake and you will drag folders into other folders by misstake. Also double clicking is a lot harder as in order for a operation to be recognized as a double click there has to be two clicks in the same spot. It's not very easy to double click with the pen whithout moving it and it's the same for the functions placed on the button at the pen. Hard to use without moving the pen a little. So.. For 2D painting where the ability to draw flowing lines is needed it's excelent. For 3D (where precision is important) it's better to use the mouse as with that you can reach precision even with your arm relaxed. If you want to do the same with the pen you will have to strain your arm and hand. For Windows handling the mouse is better as less misstakes will be made because when using the mouse you knows when you click and there is no risk the pointer moves when clicking. When I work I use the pen when painting and when doing something else i grab the mouse while still holding the pen. No problems at all working that way. Just my 5 cent

I use a Graphire 2. (4x5) With Win2k Pro and XP home.Installation is a breeze. Stability 100%. No problems. It has USB-attachment. Tools (included) are a wireless mouse (it doesn't have batteries either, it is a passive device - very convenient) and a graphic pen with an eraser cap. I use it with PS-Elements. The pen transmits pressure and can be used as any one of the PS-tools (pencil, brush, airbrush) in a very natural way. The eraser at the upper end of the pen is just that - draw something, turn the pen upside down and just erase your faults. After a while you handle the pen like its RW brethren. Positioning is handled in the following way: 1. the mouse shifts the cursor from the point you touch down on the pad and moves it into any direction ("relative positioning"). 2. the pen uses "absolute positioning", i.e. if you touch down on a certain point you can always return to that point as exact as you want. Both tools disengage the cursor when lifted more than, say 3-5 millimeters (sorry, 1/6 to 1/4 of an inch). Cursor movement resumes when the tools come within that distance to the tablet. The tablet has a transparent pad which can be lifted and a photo or a drawing can be inserted under it. So, to a degree, you can also do some tracing work. I sometimes use a small ruler and a rectangle for simple constructions (tangents etc.) That is, the Wacom tablet is a very good bargain for around $100. Willy

I have a Wacom Intuos 2 9x12, costs a lot, but the freedom and space I love. I can put a full peice of paper down and trace my scetches into the computer. I had a 4x5 and I always found it to small, my hands are large, and trying to hold it or set it right was always a bother. The 9x12 I lay infront on my lap and infront of the computer and just draw anyway, gotta work with the room you have and how your style is. "If you can afford one I highly recommend it"-Farris Bueller

I use the Graphire 2 tablet and have had no problems with it. I first bought an off brand tablet, but I had serious problems with the stylus pressure in Photoshop. I think that the Graphire is a great tablet for the money.

I have a Graphire 2 with pen and cordless optical mouse and I love it. No problems here. It does just what I intend for it to do :o). And it only cost me 99 bucks (and that was 2 years ago, so you may find it much cheaper). Laurie

I love my Wacon ArtPad II 4x5... a nice size in my mind.

Never used the Aipek,but know two people who did..they switched to Wacom,and are much happier. As far as the size, that's a matter of personal taste...... If you are drawing/painting original from start work,you may find a larger size feels more like a sketch pad,and prefer that. However if you are working on or adding to existing work(like painting hair/clothes)the smaller tablet may feel more comfortable to you...less hand movement.I used a friends 9x12 Wacom to try out....loved it.But when it came time to buy,I could only afford the 4x5...but I found out I like that size better. When I want to trace something larger..not a problem..just scan it,reduce it,and print out a size to fit the tablet. SWAMP

for the price Graphire 2 is nice, I like it, no problems.

Hmmm... As I said before I have a 4x5. When I need to trace, I scan the image and do the tracing in Photoshop. I don't se any benefits doing it on the tablet. If done on the tablet you have to look down on the tablet, trace, check the result, maybe delete or edit, look down on the tablet, trace, etc..... When done in Photoshop (or whatever you use that has layers or something similar) you could trace an a layer on top of the layer in witch you put the scanned image. That way it's easy and fast to work on a line until it looks like you want. You will probably get two or tree tries at a line on the same time as you get one try tracing at the tablet. You can also observe and correct for wrong mouse pressure (maybe to wide or maybe to opaque line) as it happens.

HellBorn: You shouldn't be touching the stylus to the tablet if you aren't "clicking", then you won't have problems with inadvertent dragging. The buttons on the side of the pen are for right-click/double-click. The latest drivers (which work with my old UltraPad and I think the ArtPad) allow you to set them so that holding down the button changes the tip from the usual left-click to right/double - a big improvement for me as my hand often shook when hovering and pressing the right-click button.

RHaseltine: I know thats the teory but I often find myself touching the pad by misstake as one do not want to lift the pen more than what's absolutely needed. So I find myself doing misstakes now and then with the pen and as I never do the same misstakes with the mouse and as it's so easy to use both at the same time there is no reason to use the pen for windows operations. I also find find the pen putting more strain on my arm and hand than the mouse do.

I am really finding all these comments valuable. I sense that others are learning too, and I am not alone in needing information and tips about these pads. Thank you all very much.