Best Deals on Wacom Drawing Tablets and Accessories

Wacom On Photography

As we all know, Wacom tablets and Adobe Photoshop are a match made in heaven. Digital artists love the pairing. But what about the other type of visual artists who are not traditionally trained in and have few use of the additional features in the Photoshop world, like photographers? Here comes the Adobe Photoshop Lightroom, a graphic software specifically geared toward photographers. This software allows them to develop images as if in a traditional dark room, made more practical with the help of a drawing tablet.

Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 5, released on June 10, 2013

For photographers who are not used to the sketching and the sweeping motions of traditional art, a small drawing tablet might work better and is convenient for those mobile snappers.

Wacom Intuos5 Touch Small Pen Tablet (PTH450)

So, do Wacom tablets and Adobe Lightroom get along with each other? Well, yes. The advantage of using Wacom tablet is the pressure sensitivity. It is a vital feature that makes it easier to control the use of the adjustment brush. And it is much faster to use a tablet than a mouse when working with retouching images

Wacom Bamboo Create VS Wacom Intuos4

Two most prominent of Wacom drawing tablets in the market are from the Bamboo line and the Intuos line. When choosing between these two types of tablets, keep in mind what features are important to you and keep your priorities straight. Here are a few points of comparison between Wacom Bamboo Create and Wacom Intuos4.

First, the Bamboo Create. Bamboo has been the go-to tablet for beginners and hobbyist. The relatively cheap price is an interesting factor, especially with the quality and functionality it offers. It is a compact gadget and very portable. With a measurement of a little over 13 inches, you can work on about 8 inches of work space. Great size for beginners. It has four ExpressKeys to be filled with users' customized shortcuts. With the pressure levels of 1024, it is great with many art and photo projects. The Bamboo Create also has multi-touch input besides pen input. A multitude of software included in the package are Corel Painter Essentials, Adobe Photoshop Elements, Nik Color Efex Pro WE3, Autodesk Sketchbook Express, and Evernote. 

Wacom Bamboo Create Pen and Touch Tablet (CTH670)

Enter Intuos4. Now this is the tablet for professionals. It has most of the features in Bamboo, with a number of upgrades. The most prominent would be Intuos4's pressure levels at 2048. Twice the sensitivity complete with pen tilt sensitivity at about 60 degrees. Intuos4 has various sizes from small, medium, large, to extra large. One with the price range closest to the Bamboo Create is the Small one. At a little over 12 inches, it is as compact as the Bamboo Create. Intuos4 pen can work as accurately as traditional pencil, pen and brushes, and also feels almost as natural. That is why the Intuos4 is the essential tool for professional artists and designers as well as photographers to speed up production time. 

Wacom Intuos4 Small Pen Tablet

All in all, whichever of these two types of graphic tablets you choose, each one is the perfect gadget for their targeted audience, whether they are professionals or hobbyists.

Choosing Wacom Tablets For Beginners

For a starting graphic artist, you have already known that a graphic tablet will be beneficial in the long run. Nowadays, we have no shortage of tablets of any kind. The wide range of features and prices might confuse you in the beginning. But, always choose the one that fits your needs the best and is still in your budget limit. 

A few points that should be considered when choosing a drawing tablet, including the size of the tablet, the interface, the stylus pen and other accessories, pressure sensitivity, driver software, and last but not least, the price. For size, bigger isn't always better. Beginners might even benefit from a more compact size, for example around 6 by 8. Most tablets in this era have USB interface, which is ideal because it will be able to connect with most computers. When picking a stylus pen, it is better to pick the one that don't need batteries because the pen with battery will be heavier and batteries will need replacement. Pressure sensitivity refers to the tablet's responsiveness to pressure, with levels of 256, 512, 1024. For beginners, pressure level of 512 is enough. Driver software should be compatible with most computers and a lot of graphic software, for example Adobe Photoshop. Average drawing tablets price range from around USD 50 to over USD 200. So, your budget will need to be set between those numbers. 

Here are several recommendations of Wacom drawing tablets for beginners according to the considerations above. 

Wacom Bamboo Pen and Touch


Wacom Bamboo Fun Tablet


Wacom Intuos4 Small Pen Tablet


Wacom Bamboo Splash Pen Tablet (CTL471) is an entry level drawing tablet designed for early beginners to experiment with many elements of digital art without having to spend a lot to do it. Simple setup, flawless execution, and high quality performance. And bonus, it comes with Autodesk's Sketchbook and ArtRage Studio.

A Few Points Before Buying a Drawing Tablet

So you are a beginner graphic designer. And you have heard that a drawing tablet can be beneficial for your career in the long run. But how to choose one from dozens of drawing tablet brands out there? Here are some points to help with the decision to pick a tablet that is just right for you and in your budget range. 

First of all, consider what size fits your need. The larger the screen, the higher the cost. For beginners, size A5 is sufficient. For convenience, pick a tablet with USB interface or Bluetooth interface (for example, the Wacom Intuos4 Wireless Pen Tablet). Stylus pen and accessories also need to be taken into consideration, as well as OS compatibility (Macintosh or Windows operating system). 

Another important point in choosing graphic tablet is pressure sensitivity. Graphic illustrators might need more control of line thickness so higher sensitivity or responsiveness is preferable. The pros of using graphic tablet is that the tablet can be used without the need of a mouse, or can also be used interchangeably with a mouse. The cons? Cursor Confusion. Pay attention to where you put the stylus when you need to use the mouse.