Digital Pen + Tablets?

[Moniker]

I figure we must have a few artists/graphic designers in the house. I'm looking for a decent digital pen + tablet for amateur artistic use. I want to make a stab at making comics (or rough outlines of them), and have very little experience. I'm thinking a =< $200 budget in case I'm just not cut out for it, but I want decent functionality and features so that it feels right and can give it a real try.

I've currently got my eye on the Wacom Bamboo Create, but there are some refurb'd versions of the more expensive Wacom models, and some knockoffs that have good reviews on amazon. Any advice would be appreciated.

[ZacharyB]

I've only ever used Wacom. The pressure sensitivity in the pens tends to wear out over the years, but the tablets themselves are indestructible. I have an original Intuos that still works after 12 years.

If the pen wears out, you can get a new one.

[dan76]

I'd been thinking about getting a digital pen so thought I'd try out the cheapest one I could find first before taking the plunge with a big buy. I got a Bamboo, the basic model for £25 from PCWorld. There is some slight lag but I think that's probably my computer. It takes a while to get used to but works pretty well (the more zoomed in the less lag there is).

For me I don't think anything will replace actually drawing on paper, but scanning artwork in and then correcting and cleaning it up is a breeze with the pen. It's a much quicker way of working. It's also been great for pixel artwork and I'm now getting into the habit of doing quick thumbnails digitally.

For my simple black line work the Bamboo does what I need it to (they all basically do the same thing, don't they?) so I doubt I'll upgrade for a while. I guess any Wacom is a safe bet - even the cheapest.

[t0yrobo]

Imo the bamboo create probably is your best bet. I don't think the greater pressure sensitivity of the intous4 is really a big deal, especially for a beginner, all you should really have is a decent size, and the smaller bamboos are just to small to do much. A Bamboo create looks like a much better deal than the small intous4.
It might be worth checking around craigslist and ebay for a intous3, I've been using one for about 4 years and having tried the newer ones I don't feel like I'm missing out on much.

[Herr Schatten]

I guess any Wacom is a safe bet - even the cheapest.

This is true. The Wacoms are great and, as has been pointed out before, very reliable. I've been using one for years and never ran into any trouble.

Interestingly, unlike most people, I like working with the smaller ones better than with the large ones. While they do need some getting used to if you want to achieve the same level of precision, I just feel they give me quicker access and better control. It's hard to explain. You should definitely try out different tablet sizes before you take the plunge and buy one of the more expensive ones. Bigger is not always better.

[manatworks]

I'd say go for intuos 3/4 (if you can find one in intuos 3's case, i've got mine since i start to doing paintings in photoshop and it still running strong until now!) just because once you get better or get hooked to this kind of stuffs you probably want to upgrade anyway, But if budget is your big concern i think Bamboo is good enough work on ,just make sure don't get the smallest size because the working area is way to small imho.

To be honest, i think it depends on user if he gonna make a good work out of it or not, my roommate who is a professional concept artist working in video games industries right now gets his first job by painting his portfolio by just using wacom Graphite3 (smallest size) and i know another guy that has wacom Cintiq 21UX(the fancy screen one) and he can't paint for sh*t at all.

For another brand,i think Acecad is fine , the rest is pretty bad (shaky cursor,leaking some electrical shock,delayed movement etc.) , this thing gonna be your working tools for a long time so i think investing for "decent" tools will help you much better in a long term.

[Moniker]

Thanks for the advice, folks. Decided to go with the Bamboo Create, happily on sale.