Got a Graphire III USB (one of the smaller ones). I'd say it's good for starting out, since I managed for around $50 U.S. when I got it. Pick the size from what you would feel comfortable with on paper, both Intuos and Graphire have a good selection. I'd say the Graphires (Wacom's budget/entry level) are good for beginners. You risk less money on it, and if you get a feel for it - odds are really good for being able to move to an Intuos later on. If you spend a bit on an Intuos and find you don't like using a tablet, well then you're kinda stuck now - aren't you?

BTW, I find that any tablet sucks if you trust the default OS (Mac or PC) based drivers. Installing whatever comes on the disk included with whatever tablet you get is necessary. Otherwise the aspect ratio is off, you might not get any pressure sensitivity, and the "eraser" and function buttons won't work. This is also the kind of thing that can make judging any tablet demonstrated at a store iffy.

If I had the budget to move to Intuos right now, I'd probably give a good offer on the Graphire. Then again, I might not have a problem with keeping it either. (Not bad for travel with the laptop or such.)

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Barbequed Pixels?

Your friendly neighborhood Wings3D nut.
Also feel free to browse my freebies at ShareCG.
There might be something worth downloading.