{"id":947,"date":"2018-12-23T21:07:14","date_gmt":"2018-12-23T21:07:14","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.jameswritinganddesign.com\/wordpress\/?p=947"},"modified":"2019-02-24T19:36:13","modified_gmt":"2019-02-24T19:36:13","slug":"the-best-gift-ever","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.jameswritinganddesign.com\/content\/the-best-gift-ever\/","title":{"rendered":"The Best Gift Ever"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

I\u2019ve been using a Wacom Intuos Pro 5 Medium since the beginning of my trip into the digital realm of art.


It\u2019s been a great tablet, and I highly recommend them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n


This year my husband bought me a Wacom Cintiq Pro 24. <\/p>\n\n\n\n


I\u2019ve wanted a Cintiq for a long time, but I couldn\u2019t ever bite the bullet to buy one.


It’s crazy expensive, but I gotta tell you, it is so worth the price.

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A lot of information for the Cintiq is confusing especially when you come to the table with no prior knowledge,

so let me fill in the blanks for you.


I found it hard finding this information.

I\u2019m not sure why that is, but I\u2019d like it to be simpler for you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n


Wacom has basically three lines of products.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Wacom MobileStudio<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

First,<\/strong> the MobileStudio Pro is their system that allows you to draw on the screen, and it has Windows 10 and a graphics card.

This means it\u2019s basically a standalone computer. You can take it wherever you want to go.<\/p>\n\n\n\n


You can find out more about them here:<\/p>\n\n\n\n


https:\/\/www.wacom.com\/en-us\/products\/pen-computers\/wacom-mobilestudio-pro<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Wacom Cintiq Pro 24<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n


Second,<\/strong> the Pen Displays, which come in the following sizes: 13, 16, 24, 32, are monitors that allow

you to draw on the screen, and you see your picture right on that screen.

These cannot function without a computer running the programs.

These are plugged into your graphics card, or through a display port, or through a HDMI<\/g> cable.

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As I said, the pen displays cannot function on their own; however, the 24 and 32 have the ability to convert


into a type of MobileStudio when you purchase the engine that clips into the back of them.


This engine costs a few thousand dollars.<\/p>\n\n\n\n


You can find out more information about them here:<\/p>\n\n\n\n


https:\/\/www.wacom.com\/en-us\/products\/pen-displays<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Wacom Pro Tablet<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n


Third,<\/strong> the tablets are the starting point and staying point for most people.

They come in what I consider a basic mode as well as a pro level.

Tablets are not a monitor.

You do not look at them and see anything but a black type of screen.

You draw on your tablet, and the marks go onto your computer screen,

so you look at your computer screen to see what you drew.

Some people find it frustrating because you are looking at a monitor, and you never see what your hand is doing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n


The difference between the entry tablets and the pro tablets is the features you get.

The pro tablets give you more buttons to program (which is nice because you keep your hands on the tablet) as well as the radial <\/g>

menu<\/g>, which allows you to quickly change brush size, zoom in and out, and rotate your image.

The pro versions also have the ability to work with the Art Pen, which is an extra accessory you can purchase.<\/p>\n\n\n\n


The small version is about \u00bd the size of a piece of paper.

It\u2019s fine for starting out, but you don\u2019t have much room to draw on.

If you are an expressive mark maker, you are going to feel frustrated with the size.<\/p>\n\n\n\n


I\u2019ve never felt restricted with the medium, and I would say your active working space is probably close to a

standard piece of paper.<\/p>\n\n\n\n


<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You can find out more information about them here:

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

https:\/\/www.wacom.com\/en-us\/products\/pen-tablets\/wacom-intuos-pro<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n


I\u2019ve been asked a lot of questions over time, so here are the most common questions with some answers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n


How do you know what one to get?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n


This is where you must sit down and figure out what you want and need, but I\u2019ll offer some tips.<\/p>\n\n\n\n


If you only paint periodically, or you typically clone paint, get yourself a tablet. <\/p>\n\n\n\n


If you want to mimic traditional painting, you like to sketch your own artwork, and you don\u2019t clone paint, get a pen display.<\/p>\n\n\n\n


Personally, I\u2019m at the point where I needed to move into the Cintiq line. I\u2019ve been frustrated with creating more imaginative

pieces,<\/g> and I found myself wanting to work with pencils and paper more than my tablet for certain steps.

I work on my artwork daily, and on the weekend, I paint for most of the day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n


I liken it to handing you a piece of paper, asking you to draw a portrait, but never letting you look down at your paper.

You would have a hard time making anything of value with this setup.<\/p>\n\n\n\n


What size should I get?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n


I decided on the 24 because of the size.

If you get too small of a pen display you are going to be crunched for space, and I don\u2019t think you are going to enjoy it as much.

The 32 was huge, and I didn\u2019t think I had enough room for it on my desk.

The price difference between the 16 and 24 was only a couple of hundred dollars, so it made sense to get a bigger size.

The price difference between the 24 and the 32 was over a thousand, so I didn\u2019t want to spend that much.

Plus, the 32 didn\u2019t offer me any other features I wanted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n


I did not get the touch because I knew it could be buggy.

I also have the touch turned off on my tablet because it would irritate me

when I moved in some mysterious way that caused something to happen with my artwork.

The touch feature costs a couple hundred more, and I knew I would turn it off. The 32 is only sold with the touch feature.<\/p>\n\n\n\n


I went back and forth with the idea of getting an older Cintiq because of some issues I\u2019ve heard with Corel Painter.


The only available older Cintiq is the 22 HD. It was first<\/g> release in 2012, yet it still costs around 1700 bucks.

That\u2019s pretty old technology, yet isn\u2019t far off in price from the new 24.\u00a0

The differences from this one to the new 24 is pretty substantial in my mind.

The 24 has a 99% Adobe color space, and I think the 22 is only a 75<\/g>%.

I\u2019m not sure if our eyes notice that or not, but it is a difference.

The biggest difference I\u2019m aware of is the fact that the older technology does not have the same parallax,

which means where the point of your pen presses on the display is exactly where your mark will be.

I\u2019ve also read about the differences in the screens, and people complain about a glare on the 22 HD.<\/p>\n\n\n\n


In my mind it was a better idea to get the newer technology, and the price difference wasn\u2019t that much.<\/p>\n\n\n\n


You can read more about the specs of the 24 here:

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

https:\/\/wacom.com\/en-us\/products\/pen-displays\/wacom-cintiq-pro-24#Specifications<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n


You might be wondering why I didn\u2019t pick the MobileStudio option.

I have read a lot of reviews where people were having issues.

I figured the longevity of the product wouldn\u2019t be as good as the pen display because of the Windows updates as well as

the Nvidia driver updates.

After investing so much money, I wanted to have a good few years out of the product.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I didn\u2019t see that happening with the MobileStudio.

Yet, people were still using the older pen displays and Wacom was still selling the older 22 HD, which came out in 2012.

This knowledge reinforces the longevity to me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Let me address three main questions that I\u2019ve encountered, which hindered me from running out and buying a\u00a0 Cintiq for longer than it should have.

That way you know the facts and are not mired by poor information.

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

  1. The\nicons and buttons on Painter and Photoshop (PS) are tiny.<\/strong><\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n


    This is true.

    They are tiny.

    I have a work around<\/g> where they won\u2019t be tiny, but your 4 K resolution will go to the standard 1920×1080 screen.

    You can increase your icon size, and it works fine in PS, but it doesn\u2019t work in Painter.

    Hopefully, in the 2020 build, they resolve this issue.

    If you are an advanced user of Painter and PS this won\u2019t bother you.

    You can also set up your Express keys to work around this issue, which I have done.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \"\"
    Corel Painter on a Dell 27 monitor<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
    \"\"
    Corel Painter on the Wacom Cintiq Pro 24 – Icons much smaller<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
    \"\"
    Photoshop on the Dell 27 Inch <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
    \"\"
    Photoshop on the Wacom Cintiq Pro 24-Much smaller bottoms, but the brush panel isn’t too bad. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n


    2. You must press really hard on your Cintiq to get any type of mark within Painter and PS.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n


    This isn\u2019t true.

    The people that say this do not know how to calibrate their Cintiq properly.

    <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    3. Painting on the Cintiq is hard. You can\u2019t see well.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n


    If you use the build in legs for the Cintiq, I can see why people would say this.

    It did hurt my back in a short period of time.

    You want to naturally bend up and forward to see.

    The angle of the 24 wasn\u2019t strong enough to keep you sitting straight up to draw.

    However, I bought the Flexarm, which kept me from having an issue.

    I highly recommend the Flexarm. <\/p>\n\n\n\n



    To see a comparison of the 24, 32 and older 27, as well as to see what\u2019s in the box and how to hook it up, watch Aaron Rutten\u2019s video here:


    <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \n