Noob question

[pachita69]

I'm ashamed of making this question....I love drawing and I want to become a tattoo artist but also want to study graphic design. I want to buy my first tablet but I am confused over the huge variety there are. I thought it would be best if I'd ask the people more experienced in this an those are you guys.. Please forgive me for my ignorance.

Ps. I will leave some of my work within this forum, maybe you can tell me what you think..

[Kinsei]

At 11/8/12 11:17 PM, pachita69 wrote: I'm ashamed of making this question....I love drawing and I want to become a tattoo artist but also want to study graphic design. I want to buy my first tablet but I am confused over the huge variety there are. I thought it would be best if I'd ask the people more experienced in this an those are you guys.. Please forgive me for my ignorance.

Ps. I will leave some of my work within this forum, maybe you can tell me what you think..

Asking questions is nothing to be ashamed of. Its how we learn.

To start Graphic design and being a tattoo artist will go hand and hand for pretty much all of it. Most different art skills and techniques tend to bridge, blend and cross over one another quite a bit. so learning a little of both will help both of your desired career paths flourish.

A pretty general conciseness of tablets is to go for the Wacoms. A Wacom Bamboo is pretty cheap and a good start. it'll give you the feel for how they work for a good price. As you grow as an artist by using your tablet, you'll find out if you like your tablet or not. If you like the tablet, you can upgrade in a few years to a bigger one, and if you don't, then at least you didn't lose a lot of money.

odds are you'll like it to some extent though.

Although don't expect to be very good with the tablet right away. This discourages a lot of people. They get a tablet and find that they are better on paper than on the tablet. It takes time to get used to. I'd say at least a months solid practice to really get acquainted to it.

Ok, I've rambled enough.
Nice start pic too.

[Shayl]

Hey really nice pic

I got a degree in graphic design back in 2005 and I enjoyed it. Beware though if you go into print design only, it's a slowly dying industry and web/digital skills are almost required now (not quite, but I bet in 10 years it will be).

Anyway, it's a good degree to go along with tattooing, especially if you go full art w/ design because you'll get all the drawing and painting fundamentals too which'll help with the tattooing. Design should teach you a bunch more stuff that will be useful.

I really like your drawing by the way!

Wacom tablets are the way to go. The bamboo is around $100 and very good, the Intuos is more and even better, and then there are the Cintiq tablets which cost over a grand but MY GOD are they worth it. You probably don't want to go dropping that much on a Cintiq right away, but I highly encourage you to save up for one later, as they allow you to draw directly onto the screen, unlike a regular tablet which has a weird disconnect that can be hard to learn.

The other poster mentioned this, tablets take practice and can be frustrating, so you'll have to practice. It's going to feel a bit like you're drawing with a remote control or something.

I had a little party the day I saved enough for my Cintiq though. It's fucking fabulous and I will never draw with a regular tablet again.

[ReNaeNae]

I agree with everything Kinsei and Shayl said. Odds are your tablet will come with some kind of software, but there are other free apps out there that you can ger right now if you're interest... got a nice long list here: Art101.

Not sure if you're familiar with it, but there's a show on Spike called 'Ink Master' ...I've seen a few episodes and it's crazy how good some of these people are... yet the judges are all 'omg, that sucks!' They pick up on stuff the average noob (me) would never pick up on in a million years!! I think it's a must-watch for any aspiring tattoo artist because you have seasoned professional handing out a lot of really useful info, tips, and insight right through your tv screen/monitor... for free! Check it out if you haven't already!

[maemaemae]

I had the same issue when I was planning on getting my first tablet & like the others have stated, you should go for Wacom. They have the most well-balanced tablets for a decent price, but make sure you do your research first before you purchase anything. The questions you should ask yourself before you commit to anything is:
-What programs am I going to use it in? A tablet can be used in all programs, but that doesn't mean it's features will, like pressure.
-Speaking of pressure, how sensitive should your tablet be? This is all up to you & how you function.
-How big would you like your tablet to be? Again, this is up to you & how you work. Many people draw with their elbows on the table, so they may need a bigger tablet compared to others.
-Do you want a wireless tablet? If you do, you have to see if your computer accepts blue tooth & if it doesn't, you may need to invest in a blue tooth adapter. I had a wireless & it was more trouble to use than I thought because the adapter I had was terrible.
That's all the points I can think of at the moment, but my additional advice to a new tablet user would be to be very, very, VERY patient, because it's difficult at first to master or even get used to. Also, keep an eye on your pen. They're about $40-$100 a pop if you lose it or damage it. Good luck!

[Shayl]

I think the thing I had most trouble with on a regular tablet (and still do) was fine detail and control. I felt like I couldn't get my lines right and everything felt really imprecise compared to real paper.

It does take a lot of practice, but if you put up with it you can make really cool stuff really fast. Sometimes when I paint in Photoshop I feel like I'm cheating.

[pachita69]

Thank you for helping me Kinsei01, Shayl, ReNaeNae and maemaemae. I decided I will get a Wacom Bamboo and then maybe safe for a cintique, I know working on a tablet may sometimes be frustrating but putting hard work on it will give it's fruits. I'll be using SketchBookExpress as I know how to work in it well. Thanks again for your advice and it's great to know Newgrounds community supports new artists.

[pachita69]

Bought it!

[Kinsei]

At 11/11/12 06:42 PM, pachita69 wrote: Bought it!

Awesome!
it must have been expensive to get one with backwards print on the box :3

Good luck practicing and getting used to it. Be sure to comeback and show us your progress.

[pachita69]

At 11/11/12 06:46 PM, Kinsei01 wrote:

At 11/11/12 06:42 PM, pachita69 wrote: Bought it!

Awesome!
it must have been expensive to get one with backwards print on the box :3

Good luck practicing and getting used to it. Be sure to comeback and show us your progress.

Thanks man, i will make sure to post my future work!

[sweet21]

At 11/11/12 06:42 PM, pachita69 wrote: Bought it!

You got a decent program? Ms paint wont detect pressure. I recommend 'paint tool sai,' its a wonderful program.

No I didnt read those text walls earlier, sorry if you mentioned you had a program or something.

[Shayl]

Hooray! Good choice, bamboo is a great starter tablet.

Paint.net
GIMP

if you need free drawing programs!

Or Photoshop if you can get it, industry standard.

[pachita69]

I have done my first work with the bamboo and already submitted it to the portal :D
take a look and tell me what you think, any critics are helpfull.

[pachita69]

At 11/12/12 12:40 AM, Shayl wrote: Hooray! Good choice, bamboo is a great starter tablet.

Paint.net
GIMP

if you need free drawing programs!

Or Photoshop if you can get it, industry standard.

I used the sketch book express because its what i'm most used to using.