My B-day is coming up, and I think I want a tablet.
I use photoshop to make my comic, if that helps.
I want a solid tablet, that will work smoothly.

As far as money goes, I don't know how much I want to spend, or how much is normal. I don't even know if my art will improve with a tablet, I've used a mouse all my life.


So, tablet. Yes, no, which.
(Thanks for the help!)



Edit:
I've been looking at wacom tablets a bit, and I don't want to spend a thousand...
I know, I'm cheap.
I found this but I am not sure if it is good or not.
I also found this and I am more skeptical about this.

I am also a bit confused because it seems like nether of those products let you view what you are drawing on the surface you are drawing it. I don't know what to think about this.

Does size matter?
lolk

Also buying pen tips, how much money does that cost you?

Bocaj
I also found this and I am more skeptical about this.

I am also a bit confused because it seems like nether of those products let you view what you are drawing on the surface you are drawing it. I don't know what to think about this.

I use that one. To see what you're drawing you'd need a tablet pc, and those are way to expensive just to draw better. Maybe if you needed a new computer in the first place then you could get one, but other wise I suggest Bamboo.

The Wacom Bamboo is small but priced somewhere around $75.00 U.S.A. The active drawing area is 6 in x 4 inches. Movement Resolution is 2540 dpi and Pressure Levels are 512.

Here is an URL that compares and contrasts the specifications and prices of the top Wacom tablets on the market http://graphicssoft.about.com/od/aboutgraphics/tp/graphicstablets.htm

Wacom is generally considered the best artist's tablet maker on the market, but the prices tend to jump dramatically for every slight increase in active drawing area or sensitivity. You'll have to weigh what you can afford against what you want. But the Bamboo seems to be a sweet deal.

Thanks for the input!
I'm thinking the Bamboo right now, too.
Seems cheap, and great.

Honestly? The active area that you seem to be favoring (4x6) is a little bit too small to be very useful. Just one size bigger (6x8) is pretty much ideal, and still relatively inexpensive for the intuos.

Also, tablets, while intimidating, are easy to get used to even without seeing what youre drawing on the surface that youre drawing it.

I used a 6x8 intuous before I got my cintiq, and it worked wonderfully. While there IS a bit of disconnect in that you look at your monitor while drawing on your tablet, you get used to it rather quickly if you work consistently on it. :)

Jesus, I wish I could afford a Cintiq. I am envious of you, friend.

ENVY.

acadia
Honestly? The active area that you seem to be favoring (4x6) is a little bit too small to be very useful. Just one size bigger (6x8) is pretty much ideal, and still relatively inexpensive for the intuos.

Also, tablets, while intimidating, are easy to get used to even without seeing what youre drawing on the surface that youre drawing it.

It seems a little small, but I think I would get used to it. It is enough space considering I make my comic panel by panel, and that is pretty much the size of an average panel. Also the price change is from $80 to $200.



And, yes.
ENVY.

Also I am looking at the Bamboo instead of the Bamboo Fun.
It is here:
http://www.wacom.com/bambootablet/bamboo.cfm

I use the Bamboo Fun one, and it's working great. Since the Fun and the regular one share the same stats with a couple of exceptions, I'd have to say it's a good choice. :D

Bocaj
I also found this and I am more skeptical about this.

I am also a bit confused because it seems like nether of those products let you view what you are drawing on the surface you are drawing it. I don't know what to think about this.

Does size matter?

1. Don't let the "fun" part of the name fool you. The Bamboo Fun is a really great little tablet. It's pretty tough and works smoothly.

2. If you want to see what you're drawing on the surface you're drawing it on, you'll need something like a Cintiq. However, those are really, really expensive. If you can't afford or don't want to pay the 1000 bucks or so for a Cintiq, then that option is pretty much out. You said in your first post that you've used a mouse all your life, and I'm assuming you've used it to draw and do artwork as well? In that case, I would think that it would be a fairly easy switch to a tablet. It really depends on the individual person though.

3. Which size is best for you can't be decided by anyone but you. If you don't have a lot of desk space and/or you just tend to work smaller, then a 4x5 or the next size up, 4x6, would probably be fine. The smaller a tablet is, the less expensive it is, too.

Thanks all you people!
I measured out the size of the tablets on a piece of paper, and none of the screens are too small.


Also, my mother works at a school, and it turns out they have a bunch of tablets (made by wacom!) that are pretty old (maybe five) that none of the teachers could use.
I'm going to borrow one for an undisclosed period of time and see how that one works for me.

Ha! Now I envy you Bocaj! Best of good fortune to you.

acadia
Jesus, I wish I could afford a Cintiq. I am envious of you, friend.

ENVY.

Let's just say that I am extremely poor right now. I've got maybe five bucks in my wallet. Thank god for still living at home, eh? (And I managed to get mine at a slight discount price, not that it helped much.)

CharleyHorse
Ha! Now I envy you Bocaj! Best of good fortune to you.

This is the one that I got through there, in PERFECT condition.
http://www.wacom-europe.com/uk/products/graphire2/index.asp

I'll see how long I can hold onto it.
It works amazingly.


(Also, I envy myself.)

I use a Wacom Intuos 4x6 tablet and I like it. I don't use it to draw the strip as I prefer pencils and ink on bristol board but it works great for shading and coloring.

I have drawn some panels with it and it does take some getting used to. For the price though, you can't beat it.

I got a Bamboo tablet about two weeks ago. I got it directly thru the site of Wacom for 80.00 bucks. It's really a nice pieace of tech. Not that hard to get use to. I got use to it in about two hours. If you can use a mouse you can use this pen. It's much faster than a using a mouse. I went back over alot of my pages and redone em. Cheap, but awesome!