5 Reasons every designer should own a Wacom Cintiq Tablet

Recently I purchased at Wacom Cintiq LCD Pen Table (12WX). I have broken my review down into 5 points, but basically I think the Cintiq is the best thing since sliced bread. I must tell you that I am in no way affiliated with Wacom, nor have I been paid to write this review. I think this is such a great product I think other designers can benefit from it.

1. Setup was easy
First impressions are part of a product experience. The box the tablet came in reminded me a lot of how Apple packages its laptop computers. I truly felt a piece of top-grade equipment had arrived at my door. The setup of the unit was fairly easy, but first it looks complicated because there are many wires. Software setup and pen calibration where done in under 2 minutes.

2. Excellent Application Support
I started using the tablet straight away. I fired up Photoshop CS3 and it was like magic, it just worked. I didn’t need to read any manual. The pressure sensitive tablet worked its wonders as I started to draw lines and shade test layers in Photoshop. Next I launched ZBrush (a 3D organic modeler) I was even more impressed with how it worked with the tablet. Sculpting in ZBrush was truly like working with clay in the digital world. I have yet to experience anything else like it. Anyone using ZBrush should check out the Wacom Cintiq. It’s truly amazing.

3. Productivity Booster
I paid $1200.00 Canadian for the product. Some may say this is bit high, but I can imagine all the hours this tablet is going to save me from having to scan in my illustrations for Flash animation. I’ve talked with full time illustrators who have switched completely to the Cintiq and it saves them hours. Often I do hand drawn Flash animations, this product will speed up my production 5 fold.

4. Creativity Booster
Over the years I have taught many computer labs for both clients and students at the university level. One thing I always stress is technology should come second after your creative ideas. (i.e. using Photoshop plug-ins is the first sin of most Photoshop-newbies) The Cintiq is the first product that I think actually breaks my theory. After using this product for just a few hours I have come to realize a new dimension of creative freedom. To actually make contact with the lines and animation that I’m drawing gives me more creative freedom than ever before. (even more than my traditional Wacom tablet) In fact actually touching a Photoshop menu to make it drop down gave me a feeling of being connected to the software like I have never felt in all the 12+ years I’ve been using it.

5. Adds your personal touch (literally)
One of the biggest problems I can see with the current state of digital art online is the lack of personality in the design work. There is nothing like the touch of the human brush stroke to invoke emotion and feeling into design. As more products like the Cintiq become available to artists I think we will see this change. Adding your own personal organic gestures to a project can enhance its value beyond measure.

Summary
I would highly recommend anyone looking to improve their creative abilities to invest in a Cintiq. I truly think unlike other computer hardware purchases it would be an investment. I think the Cintiq is going to help me grow as an artist. From my illustration work to the animation I create in Flash it will help keep pushing me foreword into undiscovered country.