Is it possible to use a graphics tablet without a computer? Budget electronic whiteboard from Wacom. The only adjustment needed for your pen

Basic operating principles and characteristics

There are many interesting things to do in life. For example, when your humble servant went to school, he really liked collecting model airplanes. You know: the plastic ones, made from many small and large pieces. They also require special glue with paints that are quite smelly. So I painted them first with a brush. It didn't turn out very nice. And then my parents gave me an airbrush. And less paint was wasted, and the process became much more exciting, and, most importantly, the satisfaction from the work done increased.

From a very young age I liked to draw. I remember I learned how to draw people thanks to a magazine with stickers about Mortal Kombat. I drew with a simple pencil on plain paper. Sometimes I took markers. I didn’t touch the brushes and paints at all: then wash the brushes, wash the clothes, dry my hands and face. But I always wanted to try to draw something with smoothly changing tones, with a play of light and shadow. Then, when I had a computer and Internet access, I learned about computer painting. For a long time I did not understand how they, computer artists, do this. I thought, as often happens, that everything is simple: you only need the right tool.

I have always dreamed of buying myself something that masters use to paint electronic paintings. Graphics tablet. It is also quite rarely called “digitizer” or “digitizer”. In English, its names are written like this: “graphic tablet”, “digitizing tablet”, “graphic pad”, “drawing tablet”. I started looking for some useful information about this device. And I didn't find anything concrete. Neither about how it works, nor about its purpose. I ended up buying a tablet for myself. But I had to do this with my eyes half closed. The thing turned out to be very useful and exciting, but still not a word about it. Let's try to correct this circumstance. Let's first understand what a graphics tablet is and why you might need it at all.

Subject and its purpose

In short, this is a sensitive surface and a pen. The cursor on the computer follows the movement of the pen on this surface. Why is this necessary? The first thing that comes to mind is for drawing. At this point, a red light probably comes on in many people’s heads: “Not for me.” And indeed: not everyone is interested in just drawing. And even if someone is interested, they don’t have enough time for it.

Recently I wanted to do a little cleanup of old photos of my parents. I digitized them, but never got around to retouching them. Cover up scratches, remove particularly large dust, something else: I usually had to do all this with the mouse. And then I tried it after working with a tablet... and couldn’t stand it for ten minutes. A mouse and a pen are completely different things. What do you write more often: with a telephone handset or a fountain pen? If you need to perform a rare and rough movement with the cursor highlight text, aim then the mouse has no competition here. But for precise and, at first glance, routine work, the pen is much more comfortable. You can enter some data by hand and do basic photo retouching. In addition, this is a wonderful toy for children who have grown up to use a computer. Let them not play shooting games, but learn to draw. :-)

Among devices for home use, one should also note relatively inexpensive devices for entering information by hand (manufacturers sometimes call them digital notepads). Typically, such devices are equipped with memory and can work without connecting to a computer. Let's remember about professional graphics tablets that can display information on a sensitive plane. In fact, these are monitors (some of these tablets have a diagonal of 21 inches), but are sensitive to the influence of a special pen. These two types of devices are beyond the scope of this article, and their characteristics will not be discussed in detail.

We figured out what a tablet is and what it can be useful for. Let's assume that we have made the decision: “Buy!” We open the product catalog and find there a huge number of different devices in the “graphics tablets” section, the cost of which differs by one and a half orders of magnitude. What's the matter? Here you should understand a little about the characteristics of tablets and carefully study the model range.

Characteristics

Let’s take, for example, the line about a graphics tablet from the price list of one store.

• Graph. tablet A5, 5080 dpi, 1024gradation + mouse (USB)

I remember that previously assembled system units were also sold. They write a bunch of letters with numbers and think that the average buyer will figure out what’s what. So, the first part of the encryption is “A5”. It’s quite easy to guess; here we are talking about the geometric dimensions of the sensitive area of ​​the tablet. Dimensions are usually made approximately corresponding to one of the ISO standard paper formats. A4 sheet size 210 x 297 mm. A5 is half of A4. A3 will be obtained if you connect two A4 sheets with the long sides. All other things being equal, the larger the size of the sensitive field, the more expensive the tablet. Professional designers and artists often use A4 tablets. However, this does not mean that smaller devices will greatly limit the ability to realize creative potential. For example, the painting “Always in my heart” was drawn on an A6 tablet.

When choosing a device, the first thing you need to pay attention to is not the size, but the aspect ratio. It is important that the aspect ratio of the monitor and tablet are the same. Simply put, if the monitor is wide (16:10), then the tablet should be marked wide. To be fair, it is worth noting that there are other opinions (for example, in the article “Before you buy a graphic tablet” by Sue Chastain). In principle, the tablet driver makes it possible to configure the device in such a way that some part of the tablet completely “covers” the monitor. But, you see, buy a tablet knowing that O Most of it will not be used, which is not entirely reasonable. Someone might object, saying that the tablet area can be “stretched” onto the surface of the monitor in the settings, thereby distorting the proportions of the device. This will greatly interfere with the creative process. Imagine the situation: you are trying to draw a circle on a blackboard with chalk. The board can move in a vertical plane. As soon as you begin to move the chalk not only to the left, but also up, the board moves with your hand. At best, you will end up with an ellipse.

Further in the encrypted position of the price list it says “5080 dpi”. This is resolution, sensitivity to influences in the plane of the tablet along the “x” and “y” axes. Simply put, how many tiny movements of a pen will be detected if the tip of the pen is moved an inch (2.54 cm). It is important here to dispel one common misconception that the size of the monitor and the size of the sensitive area of ​​the tablet must match. It is because of sensitivity that it follows that this is not so. Monitor resolution 72 or 96 dpi. You can do some simple arithmetic to show that even an A5 tablet will be comfortable for working with a 19" monitor. We also note that sometimes instead of “dots per inch” (or DPI dots per inch) in stores you can find another unit of measurement “lines per inch” (or LPI lines per inch) In fact, sellers mean exactly the number of dots per inch LPI is not applicable to the tablet: this is a typographic term. The essence of the various resolution measurements is described in some detail in the article “LPI halftone resolution.” "Jackie Howard Behr. Of course, the higher the sensitivity, the more expensive the device should be. However, this characteristic is usually “tied” to others, which influence the price to a much greater extent. From my own experience, I can note that for home use it is 2000. The dots per inch are more than enough.

The next number is the number of pressure sensitivity levels (1024). We are talking about sensitivity to influences in a plane perpendicular to the plane of the tablet itself along the “z” axis. That is, how many different pressures the device can recognize. Practice shows that for solving household non-professional problems, the number 512 is quite sufficient. The situation with the influence of this characteristic on the cost is the same as in the case of a permit. The product line of the main companies presented on the Russian market is characterized by the “linking” of this parameter to others that have a greater impact on the price. However, this is a completely reasonable approach, both from the point of view of the manufacturer and the consumer.

It is also worth noting that there are devices that are sensitive to the angle of inclination of the pen relative to the plane of the tablet to the position of the pen in XYZ space. This feature is inherent in models for professionals. It is intended, for example, to work with different tools. For example, you can purchase an airbrush pen for such a device, the trace of which will differ depending on the angle of inclination relative to the sensitive plane. To be fair, we note that the absence of this function will not hinder amateurs, and in some tasks, even professionals.

The penultimate part of the line that we are parsing reads as follows: “mouse.” This means that the tablet comes with a wireless mouse. From the point of view of the device, this is also a pen, only it is deprived of the ability to transmit information about the pressure applied and has the usual form of a “mouse” type manipulator. In principle, the presence of such an accessory should allow the user to abandon a conventional mouse altogether, however, the rather heavy “mat” (the tablet itself) and the inability to use the mouse outside the device leaves a place for the classic manipulator on the desktop.

At the very end, the interface through which the tablet is connected to the computer is indicated in brackets. As a rule, this is USB or Bluetooth (there are also wireless tablets).

History and operating principle

This part of the article is mainly for amateurs. We will indicate the information important for the purchase at the very beginning. Next, let's go a little deeper into the technical details.

Tablet pens come with batteries and some without batteries. Typically these are AAA batteries. This is more than 12 grams. Plastic ballpoint pens are lighter than a single battery, and adding additional weight leads to a shift in the center of mass. You need to keep this in mind when choosing a tablet. It is best to ask the seller to test the device in action (especially since the Consumer Protection Code allows this).

Unfortunately, it was not possible to find reliable data on the history of tablets. But, analyzing the general information, it can be argued that the first device, the operating principle of which was similar to today’s, was “Grafacon” (an abbreviation for the English Graphic Converter). The device was a coordinate grid of conductors under the surface of the tablet. Upon contact with the surface, the pen received a magnetic signal with encoded information about its position. Further processing of the signal made it possible to determine the location of the pen above the surface of the coordinate grid.

Today's tablets can be divided into two types based on their operating principle: passive and active. It is worth noting here that information about tablet technology was obtained only from one company present on the Russian market - Wacom. Unfortunately, there was no response from the Genius company to the request to provide materials. Therefore, when describing the operating principles, only data from one company was used.

In the first case, the tablet sends signals to the pen. Signals are received and returned to determine the position of the pen. This method avoids the use of batteries in the pen. It is based on the principle of electromagnetic resonance. The pen is a rather complex device with a resonant circuit (acts as an energy source for transmitting a response signal) and a microcircuit that encodes information from pressure sensors and pen buttons into a response signal. During operation, the tablet grid changes signal transmission mode and signal reception mode approximately every 20 microseconds.

Active tablet pens use a battery to create a signal. In this case, the pen becomes heavier and its balance is disrupted, but the tablet does not have to switch between signal receiving and transmitting modes. However, the user should not be concerned about the need to switch modes. The change every 20 microseconds is so fast that it does not affect the operation of the device in any way. After performing a couple of arithmetic operations, it is easy to find out that the tablet changes mode 50,000 times per second. It turns out that for the passive pen feature to interfere with work, you need to change the state of the tablet-pen system 50,000 times per second. The margin of stability is quite substantial, especially if we remember that we change the state of such a system continuously and quite smoothly

Conclusion

I hope this article will somewhat expand the circle of users of graphics tablets, especially since today manufacturers are trying to lower the price bar for these devices. I also want to believe that the material will help you avoid making mistakes when choosing a suitable model, expand the reader’s horizons and arouse interest in computer painting.

Used materials

1. Graphic tablet, (), article in English Wikipedia;
2. How cordless pen and tablet works, (

We looked at how to use a tablet to significantly increase the efficiency of retouching.

Today we will talk about the first steps after purchasing a tablet, about what you need to do for comfortable work.

I will illustrate the material using the example of setting up my old Wacom Bamboo tablet.

So, let's move on to the first step.

Step 1. Install the tablet driver.

Do not rush to immediately connect the tablet to your computer after purchase! First you need to install the driver so that the tablet works correctly and all its settings become available.

The driver for any tablet can be downloaded from the manufacturer’s website in the Support section.

Download the driver specifically for your tablet model.

Step 2: Set up orientation and keys.

Find the installed driver in the list of recent programs and run it.

A settings window will open. Its appearance may differ depending on the tablet manufacturer and driver version.

First you need to adjust the orientation of the tablet, depending on whether you are right-handed or left-handed. By default, the tablet is configured for right-handed users.

Next you need to configure, if necessary, function keys Express Keys. These keys are programmable. That is, each one can be assigned a specific action from the drop-down list.

This is very convenient and helps speed up your work.

Step 3: Set up the tablet pen.

The most important thing here is to check that the tablet is working in pen mode and not mouse mode. Otherwise, you will not be able to use the main advantage - sensitivity to pen pressure on the working surface.

Go to the tab Feather and check the tablet's operating mode.

You also need to adjust the pen sensitivity. For example, to work with wider brush strokes in Photoshop, you need to move the Pen sensitivity in closer to the position Soft. Conversely, to work with fine strokes and lines, move the control closer to the position Hard.

Click on the button Display to the right of settings Pen mode. Here you need to enable proportional scaling and uncheck the option Use Windows Handwriting

Step 4: Disable touch input.

Go to the tab Touch options and uncheck the option Enable touch input.

This must be done, otherwise during the retouching process in Photoshop, the tablet will react not only to the pen, but also to hand movements on the surface of the tablet, and in an unpredictable way. By disabling touch input, you will get rid of this problem.

Now you can get to work. Launch Photoshop, open the photo for retouching, take the tablet pen and try using it instead of the mouse during the retouching process. If you don’t have your own sources for retouching, you can try your hand at this photo.

You can attach the retouching results in the comments, after first reducing the size to 2000 pixels. on the long side, or post it on the forum.

As an example, I suggest looking at the result of retouching a photo with creative makeup. Here, the models applied special makeup that gave their skin a golden hue and emphasized the highlights on their skin. Click on the picture to enlarge it.

I wish everyone creative inspiration and pleasant work with a graphics tablet!

Wacom, founded back in 1983 in Japan, occupies a leading position in the graphics tablet market. All thanks to patented technology for transmitting energy using electromagnetic induction.

The company's goal is to realize harmonious interaction between a person and a personal computer. Therefore, a graphics tablet from Wacom has become one of the important tools for every artist.

Wacom company logo

Description of Wacom tablets

After many years in the graphics tablet industry, Wacom has achieved excellence. They produce easy to use tablets that suit every user depending on their requirements.

All company products are divided into three groups:

• designer tablets
• office and home tablets
• business tablets

Designer tablets are the most popular group in the graphics technology market. Therefore, Wacom has released a special professional line - the IntuosPro graphics tablet for drawing and the Cintiq interactive pen display screen.

IntuosPro graphics tablets

The Wacom Grip Pen, included with the tablet, has a sensitive tip - 2048 levels of pressure sensitivity, recognizes a minimum pressure of 1 gram. The built-in sensor of the position of the pen in space allows you to determine the angle of inclination up to 60 degrees.

The tablet itself has a convenient Touch Ring button and a set of custom keys that can be assigned, for example:

• brush selection
• color selection
• switch between instruments

Standard Wacom pen for IntuosPro

For user convenience, the tablet software includes a special display function - Heads-Up-Display, which allows you to quickly reconfigure the tablet without interrupting your work. The tablet has a built-in Wi-Fi interface that allows you to use the tablet at a distance of 10 meters from the workplace.

The Cintiq combines the technology of the IntuosPro tablet, but lets you do your work right on the tablet's interactive display. Depending on the size, the graphics tablet weighs from 1.2 kg to 29 kg. The smallest tablet in this family is 13 inches, but even it does not have a battery; the tablets are powered via the network.

Cintiq range

Depending on the modifications, different operating systems may be installed on these devices, for example:

• Microsoft Windows XP, 7, 8
• Mac OS X 10.4, 10.5, 10.6

The monitor is based on H-IPS Active Matrix, from 13.3 to 24.1 inches. Regardless of the size of the device, the screen has a FullHD 1920×1080 WUXGA resolution and supports 24-bit color (16.7 million colors).

Wacom also has a universal stylus, the Bamboo Stylus. The Bamboo stylus fits most tablets and mobile devices with a capacitive touch display, and also functions as a regular ink pen. And importantly, the genius graphics tablet also supports this stylus, although Genius is a direct competitor to Wacom in the market for devices of this type.

Bamboo Stylus Duo with ink

Sign&save tablet from Wacom is a device that makes it possible to receive signatures directly into an electronic document. This unique product made it possible to push the competitive genius tablet into the background and strengthen the position of Wacom.

Sign&save tablet from Wacom

Wacom STU-500 is the most popular sign&save tablet model. The monochrome TFT display has 5 inches and a resolution of 640x480 pixels. The screen simulates a paper surface and displays the result in real time. Electromagnetic resonance technology allows you to determine the force of pressing in 512 levels. Powered by USB port.

Using graphics tablets (for beginners)

Drawing or other operations that can be done using a tablet are based on the correct use of the pen (stylus). So, before using a graphics tablet: take a pen, like a regular pencil, brush or pen. Function keys should be located comfortably under your fingers.

Before you start using a graphics tablet, you need to do some exercises for eye-hand coordination:

1. Launch any graphic editor. Select the most standard Line tool and draw a grid with square cells - cell size 20-25 mm. Initially, we use the mouse to draw.
2. Select the “Pencil” tool in the graphics editor and use a pen on a graphics tablet to draw a bold dot at each intersection of the grid lines.
3. We repeat step 2, but only draw a cross (X) at each intersection.
4. When we can complete the previous two steps, clear the screen and start drawing something.

It is important to know! On almost all graphics tablets, as well as on all tablets from Wacom, the pen stops working at a distance of more than 10 mm. To move the cursor without drawing, the end of the stylus should not touch the surface of the tablet, but also not exceed the maximum possible distance.

Setting up Wacom tablets

Before setting up a graphics tablet, you need to check the drivers for the device. So, bring the tablet pen to the upper right corner of the tablet and press there with the pen - the cursor on the PC screen should move there. Then move the pen to the lower left corner of the tablet and press there. If the cursor moves, the drivers are installed, otherwise reinstall or reinstall them from the disk or from the manufacturer’s official website according to the tablet model.

If the drivers are installed correctly, proceed to disabling TabletPC services. To do this, go to the “Start” menu and write “services.msc” in the search bar.

Opening system services

In the services that open, look for the “Tablet PC Input Service” service.

Selecting a service

Double-click on it with the mouse and first stop the service - click “Stop”, and then disable it - select the startup type “Disable”. Reboot the PC.

Stopping and disabling a service

All basic preparations have been completed, but before using the graphics tablet, you need to customize it for yourself.

So, to get to the settings of the Wacom graphics tablet, you need to:

1. go to the Start menu
2. open the "All Programs" menu
3. select the “Wacom Tablet” folder
4. start setting up tablet properties (Wacom Tablet Properties)

It is important to know! The settings program will not start without a graphics tablet connected to the PC.

The graphics tablet automatically adds settings to the settings for any pen you use - just bring it to the tablet. Each pen has its own personal settings.

Graphics tablet settings panel

In the settings window there is an “Application” item. It is used to determine tablet settings for each individual program. To add a program to the list, press the (+) key.

It is important to know! You need to add a program to the settings only after it has been launched.

Android graphics tablet

It is possible to connect a graphics tablet on Android (at least version 3) as a graphics tablet. But since the Android tablet is specific to the Windows operating system, its use is only possible on Linux OS.

To do this you need:

• GIMP graphics editor
• XorgTablet app for tablet
• Drivers for tablet (only on Linux)

The graphic editor is installed as standard in the Ubuntu build on Linux. The XorgTablet application can be downloaded from http://sourceforge.net/projects/xorgtablet/files/XorgTablet/.

To use an Android tablet, you just need to install the application on it (2), install drivers on your PC (3) and work as on a regular graphics tablet.

But there is one peculiarity: not all tablets are able to determine the level of pressure on the screen. To be completely similar to a graphics tablet, you must choose a tablet with an active digitizer and a digital pen. For example, a Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 tablet with a Wacom digitizer.

Sometimes users of tablets running Android OS have a problem: how to unlock the pattern key of the tablet if they have forgotten it.

So there are a couple of ways:

1. After five attempts to enter the key unsuccessfully, the tablet is blocked and asks you to enter your Google account information. Those. You must enter your email and password, but only if the tablet itself is connected to the Internet.
2. If the first method does not work, then you need to do a hard reset of the tablet. As a result, all data from the tablet will be deleted, and the settings will return to the standard state. To perform a full reset, you need to hold down the power button and the volume down button on the tablet. Hold until vibration appears. After which small text will appear on the screen, and behind it two icons will appear. Using the volume keys, select “Wipe Data” and press the volume up key twice.

It is important to know! When cleaning the tablet, do not turn it on yourself; after the cleaning process is completed, the tablet will turn on itself.

Graphics tablets from Wacom

The modern technology market is rich in a variety of devices that differ in functionality, purpose, and price. One of them is a graphics tablet. The device allows you to enter a design with your hands and a pen onto a special surface with further display on the computer. The main thing is to know how to use a graphics tablet. Instructions are presented in this article.

How does the device work?

The tablet is presented in the form of a workspace that transfers the result of touching it to the computer. Using a stylus, you can perform actions similar to those of a regular computer mouse, but there are many more possibilities when you consider drawing and writing.

You won't be able to accurately work out the thickness of the drawing lines with a mouse. It turns out that the pen will be used as a full-fledged control tool. A person draws as on ordinary paper. But the result is immediately visible on the monitor. There is another useful benefit. For example, to accurately draw a certain area, a sheet of paper cannot be scaled, but this can be easily done with the image on the monitor.

The difficulty may not be simply getting used to the fact that pen movements are performed on a tablet, and the result is visible on the computer. To do this, you need to constantly raise your head to look at the screen. High-quality electronic pens or pens respond well to pen pressure. Some devices are combined with a display; the result of the work is immediately displayed on them. Each technique comes with instructions on how to use a graphics tablet.

Preparation

How to use a graphics tablet? This procedure is simple:

1. You need to connect the device to the PC.
2. Then you need to make sure that the OS has detected the tablet.
3. Then you need to install the drivers that are included with the device. If the equipment is used, then it is unlikely to have documentation, that is, drivers must be downloaded from the Internet.
4. It is necessary to adjust the operation and sensitivity of the pen.

Drawing

After completing the above settings, you can start drawing. Many people think it is difficult. But, in fact, it is as easy as with a piece of paper and a pencil. The difference is that you have to work with an electronic device.

The user may need special programs. Then you need to install them yourself. For example, the Photoshop application is considered a drawing program.

Choice

When purchasing a tablet, you need to consider the following nuances:

1. Size. It is measured in the same format as sheets - A4, A5. The comfort of drawing depends on the size of the sensitive area. But, as the size of the device increases, the cost increases. If a professional needs A4 format, then an ordinary user can purchase a compact model.
2. Proportions. It is best that the aspect ratio of the equipment matches that of the monitor. Now there are drivers that automatically adjust the dimensions to the width of the computer screen. But, if it is wide and the tablet is not, then one of the parts of the graphics device may be inactive. And when the image is stretched, it becomes distorted.
3. Permission. The dots per inch determines how precisely the pen's touch will be perceived. Therefore, the higher this parameter, the better. For home use, 2 thousand dots per inch will be enough. For professional use, higher values ​​are required - 5080 dpi.
4. Sensitivity to pressure. This parameter indicates how much pressure the device recognizes based on the pressing force. For normal use, 512 pressures are required, and for professionals - 1024.
5. Tilt angle sensitivity. This feature may only be required by some users.
6. Method of connecting to a computer. The tablet connects using USB, Bluetooth or wireless interfaces.

Who needs it?

How to use a graphics tablet may be of interest to people of different professions:

1. Artists and designers. The work of these people is related to drawing. Web designers also carry out creative activities on the computer. Graphic drawing with a pen on a digitized sheet makes the procedure easier, more enjoyable and precise. The process will be much more natural. If you are interested in how to use a graphics tablet for drawing, the above procedure will help.
2. For photographers. They need such a device. The device is used for photo processing - the pen allows you to remove various errors and correct the frame for each pixel.
3. Businessmen and office workers. They also need to know how to use a graphics tablet. Although they will not need photo retouching, it is still advisable to master the basic nuances of the work. A tablet of this type is required to create an electronic signature, which can be done with a stylus. Although it is not profitable to buy a device for one purpose, it can also work with other tasks. For example, a tablet makes it convenient to edit documents, make edits, create presentations and other work.
4. Children and youth. The child will be interested in mastering drawing with the help of new technologies. It is enough to familiarize him with the principles of operation.
5. Individuals who want to develop and spend a lot of time at the computer. They would do well to know how to use a Bamboo graphics tablet or another brand of device. Even if a person is not a designer, technology will help if you constantly have to work with a computer. The device will allow you to take a break from the mouse and keyboard. In addition, it can be used by those who simply love to draw.

Conclusion

People of all professions who have to deal with such devices need to know how to use a Wacom Intuos graphics tablet and other brands of equipment. And non-specialists can have a good time with them.

A graphics tablet (or digitizer) is a plane on which you can draw with an electronic pen. The movements of the pen are repeated on the computer screen in the form of lines and the result is a drawing. This is how most tablets work. But there are particularly expensive models for professional work that combine the functions of a digitizer and display at the same time. Such devices create the feeling as if you are drawing on paper.

Any graphics tablet duplicates the functions of a mouse. Touching the tablet with the pen is equivalent to clicking the left mouse button. The button on the pen handle can open a context menu, similar to the right mouse button. It should be noted that many models allow you to set various functions for the above button at the user's discretion. You can also reset the assignment for the buttons on the tablet itself. For example, zoom in and out, scroll up and down, etc.

Now a few words about work. The main advantage of graphics tablets is that they simulate drawing on paper. The artist, holding an electronic pen instead of a mouse, can freely draw without experiencing any inconvenience. For example, drawing a straight line, an oval or the outline of an object with a regular mouse is very difficult or even impossible. But when working with a pen, you can masterfully draw lines of any complexity. But don't be fooled. If a person does not have drawing skills, then a graphics tablet will not be able to provide them. Experience with regular pencil is required. The tablet simply makes the work much more convenient, because the artist holds in his hands a tool similar to a brush or pencil.

Simulating a pencil, the pen of a graphics tablet is capable of responding to pressure. The harder you press it, the wider the line. But not all tablets have this feature. In addition, the pen's capabilities largely depend on the graphics editor. For example, if you work in Photoshop, then this is one thing, but if you work in simple Paint from Windows XP, then this is completely different. Therefore, if you buy a tablet and discover that it did not meet your expectations, do not rush to be disappointed. First, select a suitable graphics editor, configure the tablet driver, and only then can you draw objective conclusions about the quality of the graphics tablet. The ability to feel the pressure on the pen is an important property. The beauty of the line depends on this. After all, it can be “wire” or drawing, or it can be alive, picturesque, changing its character, etc. Sometimes you need to make graphics that imitate pen and ink. And this is where pressure sensitivity comes in handy. It is also very important if you are doing computer painting. In this case, the graphic editor provides an abundance of different brushes that can imitate paint strokes, calligraphic lines, blurred lines, rough, textured lines, etc. And the electronic pen of a graphics tablet, capable of changing the nature of the spot, will add even more dynamism to paint strokes or lines from brushes The work will be more picturesque.

The pen of the graphics tablet is comfortable to hold in your hand, it resembles working with a pencil. But no matter how hard digitizer manufacturers try to make their product as similar as possible to paper and pencil, plastic remains plastic. Therefore, the tip of the electronic pen is made different. For example, made of felt, elastic plastic, hard plastic... Or the plastic tip is attached to a spring. All this contributes to comfortable work, as close as possible to ordinary drawing with a pencil, felt-tip pen or even a brush.

But in order to better imitate the described artist's tools, the graphics tablet must have good characteristics. What should you pay attention to when choosing or purchasing this device? For the following parameters:

• permission
• size
• pen working height
• accuracy
• sensitivity
• speed

The resolution of the graphics tablet affects the accuracy of movements, so the higher it is, the better. The size of the tablet affects how you will work - with your whole arm from the elbow, or just your hand. Sometimes a small tablet can be even more convenient than a large one - it all depends on the tasks. The working height of the pen is the distance from the surface of the tablet to the tip of the pen at which the tablet “feels” the pen. That is, when you move the pen over the surface at a distance of, say, 3 mm, the cursor on the screen also moves; if you hold it higher, the pen stops working. If you touch the tablet and move your hand without lifting it, the cursor begins to draw. And if you point at the virtual buttons on the screen and touch the tablet, you “click” on them. As you can see, such characteristics are important in work. Therefore, they need to be taken into account when choosing a suitable tablet.

Below I give examples of graphics tablets from Wacom. This manufacturer makes high-quality devices suitable for professional work. The list contains both inexpensive models and models at a very high price for professional designers and artists.

Graphic tablet WACOM Cintiq 13HD (DTK-1300-4)

The approximate cost for October 2016 is 70,000 rubles.

Resolution: 5080 dpi
Dimensions of the active area: 299X171 mm.
Working height of the pen: 5 mm.
Accuracy: 0.5 mm.
Tilt angle: 60°
Pen nibs: flexible, standard, felt, spring.

In addition to touch input via a pen, this model is distinguished by the presence of an LCD display on which the drawing is directly displayed. Here are the characteristics of this display:

Resolution: 1920x1080 pixels
Diagonal: 13 inches
Grain size: 0.15mm
Color depth: 24 bit
Brightness: 250 cd/m²
Contrast: 700:01:00
Response: 25ms
Vertical viewing angle: 89°
Horizontal viewing angle: 89°

WACOM Intous Pro L graphics tablet

The approximate cost for October 2016 is 39,000 rubles.

Resolution: 5080 dpi
Dimensions of the active area: 299X190 mm.
Working height of the pen: 10 mm.
Accuracy: 0.5 mm.
Pressure sensitivity: 2048 levels
Speed: 200 dps
Tilt angle: 60°
Pen nibs: brush nib, felt-tip nib, flexible and hard nibs.

WACOM BAMBOO PEN graphics tablet

Dimensions of the active area: 152x95 mm.
Working height of the pen: 16 mm.

Graphic tablet WACOM One Small Size CTL-471

The approximate cost for October 2016 is 4000 rubles.

Resolution: 2540 dpi

Working height of the pen: 7 mm.
Accuracy: 0.25 mm.
Pressure sensitivity: 1024 levels

Graphic tablet WACOM Intuos Draw Pen S (CTL-490DW-N)

The approximate cost for October 2016 is 5,300 rubles.

Resolution: 2540 dpi
Dimensions of the active area: 152X95 mm.
Working height of the pen: 3 mm.
Accuracy: 0.25 mm.
Pressure sensitivity: 1024 levels
Speed: 133 dps

I hope that this description of the features of working with graphics tablets will help those who are planning to acquire these devices and engage in computer graphics. For those who are drawing with a computer pen for the first time, this method may seem unusual. But after practice, you will find that this device provides a lot of advantages in work, freedom of movement, and a truly creative process of drawing on the computer.