Tablet PC's for game artist's

mawilbolou

Hi all

I'm thinking about purchasing a tablet pc for working on 3d and 2d packages like Max, Maya, blender, Zbrush, Photoshop etc. I currently have a sick gaming laptop, which is awesome but it's heavy as hell and has 2 hours battery life. I'm on the road quite a bit and could really use a machine that has great battery life (7 hours +) and the capability to run 3d game creation software.

I've looked at the Surface pro and Lenovo yoga. They look pretty awesome, but has anyone had experience using these? Or maybe another tablet for under $1500.

pior

Here's a summary of what will likely happen : 

- You will spend a lot of time and effort researching the best one ;
- You will likely settle on something expensive and quite powerful - a very cool toy indeed ;
- After a while you will probably realize that similarly to laptops, portable tablets really aren't that great to work on after all ;
- It will collect dust for months/years, and by then it will be outdated  

After trying a few different solutions (MotionComputing with Wacom tech, Surface Pro2 with Wacom tech, Intuos plugged to a laptop, Cintiq Companion plugged to a laptop, and so on) I personally settled on the following (which of course is tailored to my specific needs and may not directly apply to your case) :

- A reliable desktop workstation for home/office, with a relatively recent video card and all the screen real estate required to work comfortably + screen tablet if needed (Cintiq or equivalent). Doesn't have to be top of the line.
- For travels of a week or more, a suitcase with an old 12WX and a tiny NUC. The 12WX is of course outdated (it's from ... 2009) but at least it is independent from the NUC that powers it - meaning that I don't get buyers remorse about it. The 12WX could probably be replaced by something more recent and lean, but cheap and old is fine.
- For commute/weekend trips : no need for digital, a good old sketchbook works fine.

But of course everyone has different needs. Just my 2 cents.

SnowInChina

while i agree with pior
an viable option would be the new wacom mobile studio ? i haven't tested them, so i don't really know how good they are, but i heard you can plug them in to your workstation and use them as a cintiq (so they run on the workstation hardware and function only as a touchscreen)
at least that's what i read, correct me when i am wrong
so if you don't own a cintiq yet, this could be a viable option ?

mawilbolou

SnowInChina said:

while i agree with pior
an viable option would be the new wacom mobile studio ? i haven't tested them, so i don't really know how good they are, but i heard you can plug them in to your workstation and use them as a cintiq (so they run on the workstation hardware and function only as a touchscreen)
at least that's what i read, correct me when i am wrong
so if you don't own a cintiq yet, this could be a viable option ?

Thanks. Yeah that might be one to try.

mawilbolou

pior said:

Here's a summary of what will likely happen : 

- You will spend a lot of time and effort researching the best one ;
- You will likely settle on something expensive and quite powerful - a very cool toy indeed ;
- After a while you will probably realize that similarly to laptops, portable tablets really aren't that great to work on after all ;
- It will collect dust for months/years, and by then it will be outdated  

Thanks for that very nice overview I am mostly travelling and working with no base.
My Asus Rog laptop does it all. But battery life is not good. I often find myself without power.
So whatever I choose won't gather dust. 
I really would like to know if anyone has experience in tablets while using game art software. 

oglu

i use my wacom mobile studio in the train two times a week for about 6 hours... i do sculpting in mudbox and zbrush most of the time...
i love it...
but its by far not a workstation for every day work.. its an expensive toy...

pior

"I am mostly travelling and working with no base"

But what does that actually mean ? Are you saying that you spend most of your time in airplanes and trains, or, does that mean that you are often away from the home and office, staying in hotel rooms ? These are two completely different scenarios.

mawilbolou

oglu said:

i use my wacom mobile studio in the train two times a week for about 6 hours... i do sculpting in mudbox and zbrush most of the time... i love it...
but its by far not a workstation for every day work.. its an expensive toy...

Thanks much appreciated.
It seems that no one is using the surface or yoga books.
Wacom studio is clearly leading the way.