Drawing Tablet

Working with a mouse can be tedious because your wrist is flat, and you can only work using crude dragging motions that involve your entire hand. Your hand will start to cramp. A mouse is fine for surfing the web, scrolling, or doing simple work, but a drawing tablet allows you to complete more detail-​​intensive much more comfortably.

A drawing tablet usually comes with a stylus, which is closely related to a pen in shape. They are generally much easier and more comfortable to hold in your hand than a mouse, and they allow for an incredible degree of precision in your work. Wacom tablets have up to 2400 different levels of pressure sensitivity. Mice only have two levels of pressure sensitivity; clicked or not clicked. This gives tablets a huge advantage over mice, especially for detail-​​oriented image editing. When using Photoshop, the pressure sensitivity applies to your brushes as well. This makes it so much easier to blend colors, add effects, and apply retouching techniques.

There are many different models available, you just have to decide which one is right for you. It really depends on the features that you want, and whether you are using it for work or recreation. The following models are available

Bamboo

This is an entry-​​level drawing tablet. You can use it for sketching, painting, doodling, notes, and more. You can retouch photos with it as well. The Bamboo line is a great starter model if you want an inexpensive way to try out a drawing tablet. The Bamboo line features 1024 levels of pressure sensitivity, which is nice for realistic drawing, sketching, painting, and retouching. There are actually 3 different models of the Bamboo. You have the Bamboo Connect, the Bamboo Capture, and the Bamboo Create. There are significant differences between these models

Inkling

This is an interesting product, because it allows you to work traditionally, with a real pen, but it is converted and saved digitally. The concept is simple, because all you have to do is clip the receptor at the top of your artwork, and the Inkling records your work digitally, saving you the extra step of having to scan your work. Where the Inkling stands out is that you can save plenty of sketches, and you can export the file with layers as Photoshop, Illustrator SketchBook Pro, and SVG formats.

Intuos5

The Intuos5 line is a great line of tablets for professional use. They have 2048 levels of pressure sensitivity, so you have ultimate control over your sketches, paintings, and retouching work. The Intuos models come in 3 sizes — small, medium, and large. Besides their varying sizes, the only difference among these three different models is that the small model only has 6 express keys, and the two larger models have 8. Express keys allow you to customize your settings and create hotkeys for different actions that you perform frequently. 

Cintiq

The Cintiq line of tablets is incredible. Instead of drawing on a tablet, you can draw directly on the screen itself. This is extremely precise, and it’s the ultimate way to work traditionally on a digital canvas. The real difference here is portability. Obviously, these models are more fragile and hard to move between offices or studios. There are three models, the Cintiq 12WX, the Cintiq 21UX, and the Cintiq 24HD. The differences here are mainly just the size of the workspace.

Apps

Bamboo Paper is a unique iOS app that works very well with the special stylus that Wacom makes for the Apple iPad. It’s not just for intensive image editing; you can use this combo for many different purposes, like presentations, sketching wireframes, doodling design ideas, mind mapping, and any other task where you might use a legal pad or a leftover napkin.

  

SketchbookPro 

SketchbookPro is another great program that lets you create sketches quickly and efficiently. It supports layers, and you can bring your work into Photoshop. It is a great way to store digital sketches, because it’s a natural way to sketch, and it’s very fluid. It comes with a lot of tools that are similar to Photoshop. You can make straight lines, rectangles, circles, and you can blend colors. SketchbookPro is fast as well

The choice that you make between all of these different tablet products just depends on your preference. If you have an iPad, then obviously you will want the stylus and the Bamboo Paper app. If you are looking for an affordable way to create digital artwork with decent capabilities, then one of the bamboo tablets would be a good choice for you.