After the agony that was Clockwork I've decided I'm going to shell out some dosh for a tablet.
However I've no clue what to go for. I've had a peek round and after some time with a ruler figured I'd need at least around 6" x 8".
The 4x5's just look way too small for my tastes.
I want a comfortable work area that won't leave me frustrated while working. Likewise I kinda consider the 9x12's too large but that's more due to price. Heck I wouldn't mind going larger if it's worth it. Your opinions on size would help there too but nothing smaller than 5x8, that is set in stone.
Now, Grandpa, a man who has drawn all his life swears by his massive Wacom and pretty much treated it as if no other tablet can hold a candle to them.
Any truth in there?

Oh and in regards to just how much I can play with price wise.
I have 239 C-pounds in my pleasure envelope which is over $478. Double and then some is the conversion. I just double for safeties sake.
If there is a be all and end all tablet you think would be worth saving up for I can go over that but I would prefer to stay under (by 200 preferably) as this will be a hobby tablet rather than a form of income. Of course I know "you get what you pay for" applies here and I'd like a good, reliable tablet.
My sis' first one was a $78 tablet. Good size too but it had a cruddy pen that split straight down the middle rendering the entire tablet useless (they don't sell spare pens) and I'd like to avoid that.
Hopefully y'all can help me out.

I'd recommend the Wacom Inutos 3 6x8... but that will run around $350 IIRC...
Everyone I've talked to seems to love them.

Wacom is certainly the way to go- it's pretty much the be-all, end-all of the industry. My only recommendation is that you give yourself more room- 6x8 is not nearly as large as you think it is. A standard piece of paper is 8.5x11, and in my opinion it's better to give yourself just a little extra room rather than to subtract from what you may be accustomed to- not to mention that if you want to trace over something, it's easier to get it on a 9x12 surface than it is 6x8. Mind you, this is my own opinion speaking. If I had my way, I'd have one that was as big as I could get, because I like to draw large and loose.

Alli has a 4x6, but she's jones'd for 9x12 for years. The problem is expense. If you can find a Wacom Intuos 9x12 for under $400 USD shipped, then you have a good deal.

There are a few other brands out there, but I don't know of any artists who use them--which is why the damn Wacoms never go on sale.

There are three "grades" of Wacom:
+ Graphire -- smaller, hobbyist tablets. Largest is 6x8 I believe.
+ Intuos -- "Artist" quality, available in larger sizes including 9x12.
+ Cintiq -- "Pro" grade for draftsmen, docters and the like. VERY expensive.

If any deals pop up, I'll send them your way.

No need. As of this week I've enough cash to get the one I want. a 9x12.
'Course I had no idea about those Cintiq's. Very sweet looking but I've no intention of putting about $3000 into a hobby. At least not all at once.
I'd re-thought after what Fury said and decided I would've regretted a 6x8 in the long run hobby or not. The only reason I held off a bit on it is I recently ordered Soul Calibur III and I wanted to have money for both the tablet and the game. (I've never been a fan of debt when it can be avoided)
I'll keep y'all posted on the status of things and might have a doodle or something similar to post when it gets here.
Edit: and on a side note. I've put aside $1000+ in "Purpose"! I'm quite proud of myself.

Heh! Leeran you will love that tablet. I bought my one last year in march and I kept screwing over the price and thought about getting the 6x8 but then thought im going to need at least A4 size for drawing.

At first you will find the thing too big but soon you will welcome the extra real estate the tablet brings. As everyone else has said Wacom are the be-all for graphic tablets. Put it this way the thing is wireless and doesn't require any batteries, other brands are RF wireless and in some cases have annoying problems with interference etc but the Wacoms don't have any of those problems, the express keys on the tablet are great I set up Alias Sketchbook so I can get all the functions I want and dont need to reach for the keyboard.

I can actually sit on my bed and sketch away (small room) as the cable is relatively long. I ended up buying mine from the states as in the UK it costs £400 but I managed to get mine for £260 including the shipping. Took bloody 6-7 weeks to come but was definately worth the wait, the things you can do with it is amazing it is literally drawing on paper and it appears on the screen no lies every slight twitch and feather touch you do will be captured.

Its funny though after buying my tablet they went and released 3 more larger versions. Have any of you seen the A3 wide version thats overkill !!

EDIT: Also another thing to add Leeran these things don't depreciate in value too much so make sure u polish it and take care of it In fact it costs more now over here then it did when I bought mine and I even got mine at a discount rate at that lol

EDIT 2: Ok just checked my amazon log to see how much I paid at the time. I paid $379.99 US at a exchange rate of $1.823 to a £. I think amazon are selling em at $410 atm. But seeing as the Cyprit £ is stronger then the UK £ you could make a killing provided you don't mind waiting however long I did lol. Atm $ to UK £ is 1.84.

Food for thought!

Amazon won't ship that here. Anything that qualifies as Hardware won't be sent. Pretty much we can only get CD's and DVD's from em.
And yeah I've seen all of the Wacom models now. Think the 12x19 is what my Grandpa nabbed for himself. That or the Cinteq. In his case though it's his career so I can understand him wanting the best of the best. (hence why I only looked at Wacom's when he said they were the one to go for)

I know they don't ship overseas which is why I suggested probably getting one of our state side friends or even your family members to send it for you? Im sure many here will be willing to help Leeran. I personally dealt with WildCard when I ordered mine I got it shipped to his home address and then got him to get a quote for cheapest shipping rates and then he sent it over. I dunno but I think it makes more sense to wait a little longer if you going to be saving over 40% of the price no? up to you though!

...

But that's just too much like common sense!

You've got a point there I wasn't thinking about. 'Course now I need to figure who to send it too. My mom'll be reliable but she can't really leave the house on the off chance Betty burn's it down and I could send it to my brother and sister but only if it got to him first. She'd probably keep it.

Yeah, don't send it to me. You won't ever receive a package. I knew about the deal with DBH and 'Card, and I did everything in my power to convince 'Card that DBH didn't really need that wacom. Unfortunately, it didn't work.

I think you might have shocked him there Fury.

I can't for the life of me imagine why- there was a paid for wacom within my proximity. Little things like "shame" or "compassion" or "honesty" just kinda fly right out the window under those circumstances.

You know whats even worse Fury...

there were TWO.

[obscenity deleted]

*Looks away and whistles innocently*

Yeah, you better not say anything, oh ye of the cintiq ownership

Which, I'll have you know, was obtained through perfectly legal means.

...

*Gloat*

Sandman got a Cintiq wth

He got it through Ninja looting?
Curse you Sandy!
It does explain why your Eldar stuff looks so darn cool though.

Legality is only a matter of perception where the Cintiq is concerned.

...an interesting conversation.

Now I want one too, which is bad since my budget has flown out the window over the past month and I'm kinda eyeing a car purchase... Shame on you all! My wallet curses your collective existence!

They have a 12 x 19!

Sweet!

I used a old KURTA IS/ONE for years that was like 12 x 12....

My little 6x8 I went to was tiny in comparison


curse you Leeran! CURSES... now my new computer fund is in danger of becoming a new tablet fund.....

Hehe. Well I -really- lucked out. Turned out that my folks had already bought the Wacom tablet I wanted, they'd got it for my birthday and that's why everyone in my family kept discouraging me to buy it!
Some light use of the tablet can be seen on my DA account. I've yet to try some really ballsy stuff with it as I'm still getting a feel for it.

As you once said to me comments like that should have a LINK!

Hey, -you- linked me to the general page. I had to dig around that site for your story, which by the way is very good.
My DA page.
The two of em are:
Impersonating -real- art.
150 Hit gift

Both are trace jobs but the hit gift was drawn in pencil by me to start with, the self portrait picture was the lineart.

Sorry for the long bump.

I'm looking into drawing tablets, found this thread and now have a question. I draw with Paint - yes, now quit laughing. Do Wacom tablets work with Paint? Do I have to use Photoshop and all that other junk that comes with it? I mean the software, not the tips and things.

Technically, you can use paint. It's just like having a mouse. Sorta.

It will work. To the extent that Paint works...

I wuv my 17" Cintiq. A lot. But my students won't let me have any time on it anymore.

I think it means its time to get a 21" for myself!

Don't hate me, but my 21UX is now on order and hopefully will arrive soon.

Well, I had to buy now, there was a $500 rebate if I bought by Wednesday!