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Hello all. I am a filmmaker who wants to start learning the art of animation.

I am now learning on the demo version of TVPaint to see if I can eventually be any good at it, in order to purchase a license, as this is the software I am interested in using. Many years ago I did a short (very very basic animation in flash) using a Wacom Graphire tablet. It was the only thing I could afford at the moment and I was not very happy with it. Years passed, technology evolved and I am now trying to make TVPaint work with Astropad and my iPad 3 (with creative stylus 2) . The input works but it is very very far from ideal. Very laggy and pixelated. So here is my question to more experienced users:

Which of the following tablets would you recommend me to purchase as the best solution for using for animation purposes? I am mostly divided between the iPad Pro and the Wacom Cintiq 13HD. It seems that in terms of size iPad is bigger and I can definitely not afford a larger version of a Cintiq tablet. Besides the size, were iPad seems to be the most budget option, I cannot find a honest review regarding the comparison between the two in terms of quality of input (feeling of drawing) and lagging (taking into account that the iPad will be using also an additional app -Astropad). I am not interested so much in the fact that iPad can do more things, my main interest is to use it as an input device for TVPaint.



1. Ipad Pro (the large one) €820
2. Wacom Cintiq 13HD (the small one) €800
or
3. Wacom Intuos Pro Medium €300 / Large €430


Looking forward to your thoughts. Thanks.

I don't know anything about the Ipad Pro- but where you are, is it possible to go to a store and test how it feels between a Cintiq and an Intuos Pro?

I've worked with Intuos for 14 years now- for the longest time the Cintiq was always a kind of dream tablet. I had the chance some time ago to test the Cintiq and what I realized was that it was an advantage to be able to see "through your hand" while working- meaning your hand isn't blocking the view of your screen.

But I also know there's a lot of enthusiastic Cintiq users so it's nice to hear their input. For me personally the whole hand-eye coordination thing isn't an issue since I've worked with the Intuos for so long- so I'm not sure what the other plus-es are.

Also, I think in the long run it is important to have a large work/screen space, so I wouldn't make a long term investment with buying a small Cintiq.

I've used Intuos M and L, and I have to say I prefer M. With L your hand needs to travel further distances to cover the same distance on the screen. But S would be too small.

trenino wrote:Hello all. I am a filmmaker who wants to start learning the art of animation.

I am now learning on the demo version of TVPaint to see if I can eventually be any good at it, in order to purchase a license, as this is the software I am interested in using. Many years ago I did a short (very very basic animation in flash) using a Wacom Graphire tablet. It was the only thing I could afford at the moment and I was not very happy with it. Years passed, technology evolved and I am now trying to make TVPaint work with Astropad and my iPad 3 (with creative stylus 2) . The input works but it is very very far from ideal. Very laggy and pixelated. So here is my question to more experienced users:

Which of the following tablets would you recommend me to purchase as the best solution for using for animation purposes? I am mostly divided between the iPad Pro and the Wacom Cintiq 13HD. It seems that in terms of size iPad is bigger and I can definitely not afford a larger version of a Cintiq tablet. Besides the size, were iPad seems to be the most budget option, I cannot find a honest review regarding the comparison between the two in terms of quality of input (feeling of drawing) and lagging (taking into account that the iPad will be using also an additional app -Astropad). I am not interested so much in the fact that iPad can do more things, my main interest is to use it as an input device for TVPaint.

1. Ipad Pro (the large one) €820
2. Wacom Cintiq 13HD (the small one) €800
or
3. Wacom Intuos Pro Medium €300 / Large €430

Looking forward to your thoughts. Thanks.

If I had to choose ONE of these tools to work with in TVPaint it would be the Wacom Intuos Pro .

For me the 13" Cintiq is too small (that would also apply to iPad Pro 12.3" screen , too , and most tablet PC's which tend to have a 12" - 13" screen) I think if you're going to invest in a Cintiq you should get one of the larger ones, 22" , 24" , or 27".

As was mentioned by Kiyaa , if you are already proficient working with a tablet like the Wacom Graphire , then you have the advantage of being able to see "through your hand" while working- meaning your hand isn't blocking the view of your screen , so working with the Intuos Pro will feel very natural to you , but you'll also appreciate the better pressure sensitivity of the Intuos Pro.

Thank you both.

Kiyaa, do you stil use the Intuos Pro Medium for your Professional work?

D.T. Nether, regarding the size differences, the IPad Pro size is aprox. 305mm x 220mm , whereas the Intuos Pro Medium usable area is 224 x140mm. So if I understand correctly , do you suggest getting the larger Intros that is 325mm x 203mm? Still this is almost the same as the IPad's size.

I understand and tend to agree with what both of you said regarding the small size of the Cintiq 13hd. I wish I could afford the larger one. So then this would leave the Intuos Medium or Large, or the iPad Pro. Intuos is a much cheaper option, even the large one is half the price of an iPad, so perhaps this could be a safer investment in a way.

trenino wrote:Thank you both.

Kiyaa, do you stil use the Intuos Pro Medium for your Professional work?

D.T. Nethery, regarding the size differences, the IPad Pro size is aprox. 305mm x 220mm , whereas the Intuos Pro Medium usable area is 224 x140mm. So if I understand correctly , do you suggest getting the larger Intros that is 325mm x 203mm? Still this is almost the same as the IPad's size.

Not necessarily. Because the working area of the Intuos Pro can be mapped to the entire area of your monitor ... so let's say you have a 19" - 24" monitor , you'll be able to draw on that entire area , but with iPad Pro you're limited to the screen size which is about 12.3" inches diagonally (unless you use Astropad ) .

http://101.wacom.com/UserHelp/en/Mapping.htm" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

.

D.T. Nethery wrote: Not necessarily. Because the working area of the Intuos Pro can be mapped to the entire area of your monitor ... so let's say you have a 19" - 24" monitor , you'll be able to draw on that entire entire area , but with iPad Pro you're limited to the screen size which is about 12.3" inches diagonally (unless you use Astropad ) .

If I take the iPad solution, it will be only with astropad. Unfortunately I cannot check that in any store but I will try to have a feel for the device first. I doubt that I can find any place were I can test the Intuos tablets, but I am pretty sure that they are great.

Yes I still use the Intuos Pro for professional, and also personal work.

And yes, what D.T. Nethery said is true about mapping the usage area to the whole monitor. In theory you could even map it to two monitors if you're working on dual, but it would significantly limit your movement on the tablet.

I've used several intuos, a bamboo one, a 12" Cintiq, a 22" Cintiq and a 13" Companion.

The bamboo and the 12" Cintiq were pretty unusable for me. The resolution of the 12" is so small, that you spend half of the time opening and closing windows. The 13" Companion (which is pretty similar to the 13" Cintiq) works great, since the resolution is much hight. But both 13" models are pretty expensive, if you aren't lucky at ebay.
I would join the others by recommending the intuos. While it's a huge improvement to draw on screen, you get the most out of your money with an intuos. If you use it a lot, you can consider buying a bigger Cintiq.

The ipad seems to me like a very expensive toy. Maybe this will change the next years or it will be abandoned by Apple. Nobody knows.

While it's a huge improvement to draw on screen,

Some people still prefer not to have their hand on the screen hidding most of the interface/drawing, so they keep using the Intuos.
It's worth trying both Intuos and Cintiqs to take the right decision.