Stylus, draw tablet, what to get?

[handrawn]

you are welcome

wacom is the way to go I would say - both my tablets are wacom and though they are not the cheapest they are well built and reliable - make sure you keep the drivers up to date; when you install the software that comes with the tablet it should install the wacom desktop centre, which you can set to check and update automatically, and the wacom tablet properties which let you tweak the way the pen responds and what the touch controls [if you have chosen a touch tablet] do

as far as the pen goes, in xara it does the same job as the mouse re vector; but you can only use pressure sensitivity with xara's default freehand brush stroke, there is a button on the infobar to activate this ['pressure recording'] and also a button for 'sketch mode' which prevents lines from joining when you draw if you cross nodes, it's not 100% though especially if you draw fast; drawing fast in xara takes patience

there is also an option to supress the automatic selection of a line after it is drawn, but you cannot access this from within the program, it is a windows registry tweak

xara does not support tilt or rotation features

EDIT - intuos are the kind of tablet that do not have a screen - I say this just in case there is any confusion about drawing directly onto the xara workspace - both tablets let you draw in the xara workspace of course

[hseiken]

I use a bamboo from 2011 with Xara, it was 80 bucks and works. I also used to use Xara with a Fujitsu Lifebook with a wacom screen (bascially think Cintique but there's a computer inside and a fujitsu label). Both take adjustments to get used to if you're used to actual physical drawing. I think the real issue is finding the 'position' that works with your your brain wants things to work. For instance, my wife uses a tablet to her side. This doesn't work for me, I need it to be in my lap!

So for the most part, any wacom will do, a cintique is nice (I've used several) but even those have lag that you'll notice as you draw depending on the computer you're using. So for me, finding a comfort is most important along with price. Cintiques are too expensive for what they are, imo, and something with 4 assignable buttons, a pen with 2 buttons (and maybe eraser function) and figuring out what feels 'right' is probably good enough.

Just my two cents as a grumpy old fart.

[handrawn]

for fine detail the cintiq wins... but there are times when your hand gets in the way visually, or you want to 'draw/sletch at a distance like you would at arms length on paper', and then the intuos can be better

my cintiq is also a very high quality 4K 24 inch monitor and a 4 port USB3 hub... you pay for build quality... and these things are relative - if you pay 1500 GBP plus for animation software, you are not going to want to skimp on the accessories

[lex]

Hello,

It has been a long time I have used a tablet, so I do not have current experience of them. Still, it seems that some inexpensive brands have much improved quality these days like Huion and XP-Pen. The price difference is not small. Has anyone of you guys tried/used one of these instead of Wacom?

[pauland]

..or you could buy an iPad and an Apple Pencil/Procreate or Affinity Designer?

That might open up another world altogether (depending on your budget) ..

[handrawn]

what often lets cheaper tablets down, apart from the things mentioned, build quality, durability, paralax, latency, is the colour fidelity and angle of view - not everyone needs these things of course....

[lex]

what often lets cheaper tablets down, apart from the things mentioned, build quality, durability, paralax, latency, is the colour fidelity and angle of view - not everyone needs these things of course....

Maybe you are right, but what got me interested is, e.g., videos like this about the latest generation of Huion tablets: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CoWmZ2pQ05Q

Wacom's reputation is great, and there may be caveats, but things evolve, and I would like to make a sound buying decision without prejudice.