Graphics Tablet Questions (x-post)

amokk_gw

Hello, I've already posted that in an existing thread, but haven't got any answers unfortunately, so I'll try it with a new thread. There must be somebody in this forum that can answer at least some of these questions. Very much appreciated.

I'm thinking of buying a graphics tablet for texturing and sculpting and probably even 3D modeling. I think I'm deciding between an Intuos or a Cintiq, but I have some questions regarding those and hope somebody can answer them.

1.) Which one is more userfriendly? Is it really easier to work directly on the tablet or better to have a high quality monitor to see the work?
2.) Is the screen ratio/size scaling between the Intuos and a widescreen 23" monitor disturbing or is the positioning accurate enough to calculate?
3.) How about water resistance of the Cintiq? I guess it needs daily cleaning so I would assume it needs some kind of water resistance.
4.) Regarding the bigger sized Cintiq like the 22HD/22HD touch. If you work in the middle of the screen the arm will touch the surface. Does that disturb the pointer positioning? If yes, that would lead to a very unnatural arm-positioning.
5.) Another question regarding the bigger Cintiq's. I guess even with the tablet you still want to use some keyboard shortcuts, so does a big tablet work with having a keyboard beside?
6.) Does the Cintiq's work together with 2 other Monitors on a newer Geforce card? (2 in DVI and 1 in HDMI)
7.) And what about the heat of the Cintiq's? Is that still a problem, that the hands get sweating?

Thanks

BagelHero

I don't use one daily, so take these with a grain of salt. Pretty sure you can find the answers to all of these by googling creatively, anyway (especially 5 and 6).

1.) Which one is more userfriendly? Is it really easier to work directly on the tablet or better to have a high quality monitor to see the work?

It depends on the person. They both take some getting used to. I'm quite happy with my Intuos, but if you can afford to have a Cintiq and intend to be in the digital art business for the long stretch, it's hard to say "don't buy one".

2.) Is the screen ratio/size scaling between the Intuos and a widescreen 23" monitor disturbing or is the positioning accurate enough to calculate?

You can adjust the active area of the tablet to match the ratio of your monitor if your monitor isn't 16:10 (I think that's the active area of Intuos Pros now).

3.) How about water resistance of the Cintiq? I guess it needs daily cleaning so I would assume it needs some kind of water resistance.

I don't know the answer to this one. I assume you're not going around spilling bottles of water all over your monitors, though, so I'd think you'd be fine.

4.) Regarding the bigger sized Cintiq like the 22HD/22HD touch. If you work in the middle of the screen the arm will touch the surface. Does that disturb the pointer positioning? If yes, that would lead to a very unnatural arm-positioning.

I'd suggest watching some other people working on their Cintiqs, if you haven't already. I don't use one, so I can't answer for sure, but I'm pretty sure that's something they'd fix.

5.) Another question regarding the bigger Cintiq's. I guess even with the tablet you still want to use some keyboard shortcuts, so does a big tablet work with having a keyboard beside?

Yes, you can have a keyboard with it. There are also many little shortcut apps you can get, which are suited to Cintiqs or regular Touch Screen tablets, and I know many people who prefer them to using a keyboard with their tablet.

6.) Does the Cintiq's work together with 2 other Monitors on a newer Geforce card? (2 in DVI and 1 in HDMI)

I don't see why it wouldn't.

7.) And what about the heat of the Cintiq's? Is that still a problem, that the hands get sweating?

And another I can't answer for ya. I don't have sweaty hands, so it's never been a problem when I've used a screen tablet.

amokk_gw

Thanks BagelHero

Also I have to mention that I only will use the tablet for Texturing, Sculpting and maybe some modeling. I'm not doing any illustrations.

That already helped a lot. Anyone here who has a Cintiq 22HD or 24HD who can tell a bit how they experienced those things?

Aabel

I had a Cintiq and it was great, however it contributed to bad posture in my case and I had to stop using it. Now that I am back on a regular tablet I don't really miss the Cintiq, I definitely won't be getting one again unless they drop the price drastically and I can set it up in way that it won't turn me into a hunchback.

amokk_gw

Aabel wrote: »

I had a Cintiq and it was great, however it contributed to bad posture in my case and I had to stop using it. Now that I am back on a regular tablet I don't really miss the Cintiq, I definitely won't be getting one again unless they drop the price drastically and I can set it up in way that it won't turn me into a hunchback.

Which one have you used? I can imagine that it really hurts the back and the neck if you align it completly horizontically.

Aabel

22 inch, it' wasn't completely horizontal, something like 30-45 degrees. It took several months to notice the issue, but the pain stopped the day I stopped using the Cintiq. Going back to a regular tablet I have to say I don't really buy Wacom's claims of productivity increase with a Cintiq. I've also used the much cheaper, but nearly as effective Yiyunova display tablets, the only real drawback is they don't have tilt functionality in the pen, but so few packages use that feature that is isn't that big of a deal. In fact I would buy a Yiyunova over a Cintiq. Cheaper, better display, lighter, easier to setup(less cords and power requirements), and driver is more stable.

aeonbluestar

I have both an Intuos 4 Medium and a Cintiq 13HD so I'll try to answer from my experience. I hope these help!

amokk_gw wrote: »

1.) Which one is more userfriendly? Is it really easier to work directly on the tablet or better to have a high quality monitor to see the work?

I used the Intuos for a few years before I got my Cintiq last year. The Intuos made a HUGE difference over the mouse alone. The Cintiq has been better since it's closer to drawing on paper... but it is NOT exactly like drawing on paper. There is a clear difference between your sketchbook and the Cintiq. Regardless if you have a Cintiq or Intuos though, you want a high quality monitor to see the work. The Cintiq isn't the best at judging you color callibration or even shading sometimes. You will want to check those on your actual monitor. I personally duplicate my main monitor and the Cintiq and spend a lot of time shifting my eyes between them as I work. I also have enough experience with a non-Cintiq tablet to be comfortable drawing on the Cintiq while looking at my main monitor as if I were working on an Intuos instead.

amokk_gw wrote: »

2.) Is the screen ratio/size scaling between the Intuos and a widescreen 23" monitor disturbing or is the positioning accurate enough to calculate?

My main monitor is 24" 1920x1080. The Cintiq 13HD's is perfect for it in my experience.

amokk_gw wrote: »

3.) How about water resistance of the Cintiq? I guess it needs daily cleaning so I would assume it needs some kind of water resistance.

I wipe mine down with an LCD cleaning pad maybe once every two weeks. No problems yet. I wouldn't recommend water. Get some LCD cleaning pads from WalMart for $1.98. 25 in a box, works perfect. Never needed daily cleaning on my end.

amokk_gw wrote: »

4.) Regarding the bigger sized Cintiq like the 22HD/22HD touch. If you work in the middle of the screen the arm will touch the surface. Does that disturb the pointer positioning? If yes, that would lead to a very unnatural arm-positioning.

I have the 13 inch, so I can't say much about the bigger ones. However, my hand/wrist/half of my forearm is often resting directly on the screen and this has never been a problem for me.

amokk_gw wrote: »

5.) Another question regarding the bigger Cintiq's. I guess even with the tablet you still want to use some keyboard shortcuts, so does a big tablet work with having a keyboard beside?

Once again, I have the smaller one, but I have my keyboard in a tray under it and this works for me. You can see my setup here.

amokk_gw wrote: »

6.) Does the Cintiq's work together with 2 other Monitors on a newer Geforce card? (2 in DVI and 1 in HDMI)

I have 2 monitors and the Cintiq running on a GTX 680. If you're running nVidia, you need a 600 series or higher for the tripple monitor support (I had a 580 before I got the Cintiq and had to upgrade for it.)

amokk_gw wrote: »

7.) And what about the heat of the Cintiq's? Is that still a problem, that the hands get sweating?

Can't say for the larger ones, but the 13HD runs pretty cool even during my 8 hour straight marathons. Never gotten sweaty hands from it, even in the dead of high-humidty 100 degree summer.

amokk_gw

Wow, thanks for those responses. That helped a lot!

Aabel
I first considered a Yiyunova tablet, but it's not available in my country and I don't like importing it because in case something is wrong it's difficult to get support so I prefer a local shop.

aeonbluestar
First of all, let me say you have a pretty awesome setup.

I have a GeForce 770 with currently 2 (23" and 24") Monitors attached to it. (1 HDMI, 1 DVI)
So the Cintiq would fit in the second DVI slot. I already thought that this setup is possible, but better be safe than sorry.

I just checked my old pc which has a GeForce 570, and that guy just has 2 DVI slots, so what you're saying makes totally sense.

So I guess it's gonna be a Cintiq one, just have to figure out which one suits the best.