- Hello there, and thanks for joining me.
I'm digital artist Aaron Rutten,
and in this video I'm going to be reviewing
the new Wacom Intuos Creative Tablet.
For those of you who don't know,
the Wacom Intuos is a tablet that you
can plug into your computer and then
you can draw on it with a pen.
You can use it to create drawings, paintings,
3D sculpting, you can do note taking,
you can design graphics, you can do all kinds
of things with this tablet.
This model was released in March 2018,
and there are a few different options available.
The one that I'm holding here is the medium-size
black version with Bluetooth.
It's also available in a smaller version,
with and without Bluetooth.
So total there are three options available.
This is definitely a lot less confusing
than the previous model, where they had the
Intuos Comic, and the Draw, and the Art, and the Photo,
and the 3D, they had too many versions.
The new Intuos is compatible with Mac, and PC or Windows.
The minimum operating system
is Windows 7, and Mac OSX 10.11.
This tablet connects via USB to your computer.
It does not have a built in screen
that shows you what you're drawing,
you'll have to draw on the tablet
and then look up at a separate monitor.
It sounds difficult, but it's really not that hard.
Just in case you're wondering,
the connection here is your standard USB type A.
It's not USB-C.
The new Intuos is very easy to install,
all you have to do is just plug it into your computer,
go to Wacom's website and download the driver,
install it, and then your tablet should be working.
And then in order to be able to draw or paint or whatever
then you'll just need some software.
If your tablet is not working and you need help,
check out my FAQ video that I'll
link to in the video description,
or contact Wacom for tech support.
Now let's dive a little bit deeper
and let's talk about what's new with this tablet
compared to previous generations.
The first thing you might notice are the color options.
I have the black version here, and that's not new,
because the previous generation Intuos Art
also had a black version.
But there are also a pistachio green version,
and a berry colored version.
The pen has been improved on the new Intuos.
There's now over 4,000 levels of pen pressure,
which means that you can get really nice,
smooth transitions between opacity and your line width,
and it feels a lot more natural to draw.
In previous models, you only had 2,000 pressure levels,
and if you go back to the generation before that,
it was only around 1,000 levels.
And just to put things in context,
the more professional models only go
up to around 8,000 pressure levels.
Let's move on to the next major feature,
which is Bluetooth, and Bluetooth is available
on select models only.
I'm using the medium here, which has Bluetooth.
There's a small version with and without Bluetooth.
Bluetooth is a wireless technology,
so I can simply unplug this tablet here,
and I don't even have to use USB,
I can use this wirelessly now,
and I can be sitting somewhere across the room,
and making my artwork.
You'll notice that there's a button here
which you can use to pair the Bluetooth.
So when you press this button,
it's going to attempt to connect the
Bluetooth to your computer.
According to Wacom's website,
this will work wirelessly for a minimum of 15 hours,
and it takes about 3 1/2 hours to charge.
When you have it plugged in through USB,
you don't have to worry about charging it,
the USB connection powers the tablet.
Another difference is the bundled software,
and you have a few different options
depending on the model that you get.
Since I have the medium size,
I can download three different pieces of software.
I can get ClipStudio Paint Pro,
I can get Corel Aftershot 3,
and I can get Corel Painter Essentials 6.
The medium version will allow you to download all three.
If you get the small version with Bluetooth,
you can choose two out of the three.
And if you choose the small without Bluetooth,
then you can only download one of the three.
The software is available for Mac or Windows,
but you can only choose one operating system.
Another difference is that there's a pen holder
integrated with the Express Keys.
So for example, I can rest my pen here.
(beep)
So for example, I can rest my pen here like this,
and it won't roll away, unless of course
the tablet is tilted, or maybe you blow on it or something.
So it can fall out of there but for the most part,
it will hold your pen.
You can also of course just put the pen
in this little sleeve here, and that holds it as well.
Another difference is the thickness of the tablet.
It's now much thinner, it's around 8.8 millimeters,
which is about a similar thickness to a standard smart phone
as you can see here.
The new Intuos is also much lighter than previous versions,
but it's still very very durable.
I can kind of try to bend it here, and it's not like
it's going to snap or break or anything,
it's pretty durable, although you do
want to definitely take care of your device,
and don't step on it, or drop it, or anything like that.
The weight of the small Intuos is 230 grams,
the small tablet with Bluetooth is 250 grams.
The weight of the medium tablet is 410 grams.
Another key difference is the location of the nibs.
On previous models, there was a little panel on the back
that you could slide off and the nibs
were hiding in a tray.
However, on the new model of the Intuos,
you just unscrew the pen, and then the nibs
are hiding inside of there.
It comes with three standard replacement nibs,
and of course there's one included
in the pen when you get it so you have a total of four nibs.
You also have the option of getting Felt and Flex nibs.
So Flex nibs are a little bit flexible,
and then Felt nibs feel like a felt pen.
So those other types of nibs can be useful
for changing the amount of friction
that you get on the tablet if you
wanted to have more tooth or grain to it
so it feels more like paper.
There's also a nib remover on the backside of the pen
where the eraser would be.
And you can just use that to remove the nib like so.
(Boing)
(Beep)
And you can just use it to remove the nib like so.
(falling sound effect)
(beep) Where did it go?
And the last key difference is the tether slot.
You can attach a security tether here
so no one can steal your tablet.
So now let's move on to what's the same
compared to previous generations.
You'll notice that there are four Express Keys
just like on previous models,
and you can program these Express Keys
to do just about anything.
Let's say that you want to undo and redo, you could do that.
Or you could zoom in or zoom out,
or you could select a specific brush,
or you could use a specific command in your application.
And you can program these per application.
So you could have them work across
all the applications on your computer,
or just for specifically Corel Painter,
or ClipStudio Paint, or Aftershot.
Each of these applications can have their own
different Express Key settings.
There are also two buttons on the pen that you can program.
And there are also on-screen radial menus
that you can have pop up which can hold a lot more commands.
The active drawing area, or the area that you can
actually draw on on the surface of the tablet
is the same as the previous generation model.
More than 75% of the tablet's
surface is active drawing area.
The active drawing area on the Small is 6 by 3.7 inches,
and on the Medium it is 8.5 by 5.3 inches,
which is pretty close to the size of a small sketchbook.
The resolution of the tablet is the same
as the previous generation as well.
It's 2540 LPI, or around 100 lines per millimeter.
The report rate of the pen, or the speed, is 133 PPS.
The length of the USB cable is great,
it's 4.9 feet long so it'll reach pretty far.
But if you have the Bluetooth version
and you prefer to use Bluetooth,
then the cable length isn't really much of a concern.
The end of the cable that connects to the tablet
is just your standard micro USB,
so you can connect a longer cable if you want.
Now let's talk about what's missing
compared to previous generation models.
You may notice that there is no eraser on the end of the pen,
but if you go back one more generation,
to the Wacom Intuos Pen & Touch,
that one did have an eraser.
Another feature that's missing
from the newer generation of the Intuos is a multi-touch.
In the previous generation, and the generation before that,
you could use multi-touch to navigate,
which means you could zoom in or zoom out
or rotate your canvas, and use your finger just
like it's a track pad on a mouse.
Unfortunately, they've removed that from the newer model,
but they've replaced it with Bluetooth,
so it's kind of a bit of a trade off.
So those are the features and specifications
of the new Wacom Intuous.
If you're interested in picking one of these up,
you can get it at Kit.com/AaronRutten.
I'll put a link down in the video description.
But now I want to move on to addressing
some of your concerns that you sent to me in the comments.
First we'll talk about the Express Key placement.
It's right up here, centered on the top.
And you might be thinking, well,
if I'm right handed, wouldn't it make sense
to have them over on the left side?
And if I'm left handed, wouldn't it make sense
to have them on the right side?
Well that's just the problem.
Not everybody draws with the same hand.
So if you put them on the side, then they're going to
be getting blocked by somebody's arm.
They're still going to get blocked a little bit here,
and it's not the absolute most convenient place,
but for this tablet to be ambidextrous,
and to be accessible to artists
who draw with both left and right hands,
this is the best placement that they could achieve.
Plus it also integrates really well with the pen tray.
So while it's not the best Express Key placement,
it's still pretty good I think.
I do definitely like it a lot better
than having the two Express Keys kind of
at a diagonal in the corners
like they did on the previous generation.
Next we'll go back a bit to the features that are missing.
Obviously there is no eraser on the pen,
and the touch feature is missing.
If that's a concern to you, you can always get one
of the previous generation models
that has those features.
Or you can upgrade to a more professional version,
such as the Intuos Pro, which has those features.
But otherwise, if you're not going to use touch,
and you're not going to use the eraser,
then it's not really a big deal.
So for some people that's a deal breaker,
and for other that isn't.
But you have to weigh out the differences.
The pen has more pressure levels,
there's Bluetooth, and there's things
that kind of even it out.
In regards to the pen pressure levels,
you might be wondering how many pressure levels
do you need to be able to make art?
Well the short answer is, probably 1,000 or more,
because once you start to get under that,
the transitions between line size and line opacity
tend to get a little bit choppy or a little bit jagged.
So the more pressure levels you have,
the smoother those transitions are going to be,
and the more natural it's going to feel.
So if you do a lot of line art, let's say for comic books,
and a lot of hatching and shading,
very very fine lines where you vary your pen pressure a lot
or maybe if you're doing a lot of shading with gradients
where you're controlling your pen opacity,
and you want those transitions between size and opacity
to be much smoother, and feel more natural,
then of course you're going to want more pen pressure levels.
Some people can tell the difference between 1,000 levels,
2,000 levels, and 4,000 levels, and some people cannot.
It really depends on the kind of artwork that you create,
and how much experience you have drawing on a tablet.
Next we'll talk a bit about the
surface texture and the nib wear.
The surface is kind of smooth
compared to some of the other tablets.
If I draw on it, there is a little bit of tooth,
and I can hear a little bit of a scratchy sound.
But I don't feel like it's going to wear down the nibs
excessively fast or anything like that.
Now I do want to talk a little bit
about why the nibs wear down.
Nibs wear down because of friction,
just like when you use a pencil
and you draw on a piece of paper,
the pencil lead wears down and
you have to sharpen the pencil.
Obviously you can't sharpen your Wacom pen,
otherwise you'd probably destroy it.
So the only thing that you can do is replace the nibs.
Some tablets have surfaces that wear
down nibs faster than others.
It's because surface grain or the tooth or the texture,
is a feature that some people like,
and some people do not.
Most professionals would agree
that drawing on something that has
a little bit of tooth or grain feels more natural
because it provides some stability to your marks,
and adds a little bit of friction,
which just feels more natural,
it feels like how it would feel to draw on paper,
or to paint on canvas.
So there's a reason why the Intuos Pro
has a much more coarse surface,
and there's a reason why the Intuos Pro nibs
wear down a little bit faster.
You can prevent nib wear very very easily
by drawing with a much lighter touch.
And you can actually calibrate this pen
in the Wacom Tablet properties
for a lighter touch so you don't
have to press down so hard.
You also don't want to be going like this
and just scribbling back and forth
in one place over and over and over again
when you're shading because you don't
really need to necessarily shade that way.
You could use an airbrush or a blender or something
to get a nice transition.
If you're scrubbing back and forth
in the same place over and over and over again,
that's going to start to build up heat,
and the more heat that you build up,
the faster your nib is going to wear down.
I have quite a few videos you can watch
with some other tips that you can use
to help prevent nib wear that you can check out.
It doesn't matter what tablet you buy
from what manufacturer or what brand,
the nibs are still going to wear down.
You're still going to have to replace them,
and so that's just something that
you're going to have to get used to
if you're going to be a digital artist.
The surface on the Intuos is not interchangeable
like it is on the newer Intuos Pro.
On the newer Intuos Pro, you can get a different,
smoother surface if you prefer that.
You can, however, replace the nibs
and you could get the flex nib or the felt nib,
and those will give you more friction.
The next concern is something that I hear about a lot.
People draw on their tablet,
and then they look at it later and they go,
"Oh, there's scratches all over it!...
No, my tablet is ruined!"
Those are not scratches.
When your nib wears down, it leaves a little bit
of the nib residue on the surface of your tablet,
just like a pencil would leave pencil lead on paper.
So before you freak out, all you need to do
is take a dry, clean microfiber cloth,
like the kind you'd use to clean a lens, or your glasses,
and just wipe down your tablet surface,
and all of those things that look like scratches
will magically go away.
But it's very important, this needs to be clean
and it needs to be dry.
Another question that I get about the Intuos tablets is,
"Is this tablet good for animation,
is it good for 3D modeling, is it good for drawing,
is it good for painting, is it good for note taking?"
Yes, it's good for everything.
A Medium size is obviously going to be
the best for drawing and painting
because you have the most surface area to draw on.
The Small size is probably, in my opinion,
only going to be good for photo retouching,
or for people who just want to try out digital art.
But if you're really really serious
about drawing and painting,
you're going to want the biggest tablet possible.
So if you're a professional and you're
going to be doing a lot of professional work
and you're looking for a tablet to invest in,
you might want something that's a bit bigger than this,
and get the Intuos Pro Large,
or maybe one of the Cintiq Pros,
such as the 13 or the 16.
Those will give you a lot more area to draw on.
Another question that I get a lot
is does the Intuos work with this app or that app,
does it work with Photoshop,
does it work with Medibang,
does it work with Adobe Illustrator?
This is going to work with any application that
supports pen pressure, if you want to be able
to use pen pressure to control
your opacity or your line width and so on.
So most art applications will work.
However, this will still work with applications
that use only a mouse.
If you wanted to use this for PowerPoint, or Excel,
you could certainly do that.
You could browse the web with it.
This pen is basically your mouse.
However, if you're using it in an application
that does not support pen pressure,
then you're of course not going
to get pen pressure in that application.
Moving on to the next question,
is the bundled software that comes
with the new Intuos any good?
Yes, ClipStudio paint is considered to be
one of the best digital art applications
to use for making comic books and manga,
and animations.
Corel Painter Essentials 6 is the light version
of Corel Painter 2018,
and that is an excellent digital
painting and drawing application.
You can draw fine art, you can do
all kinds of illustration.
And if you're into cloning or photo painting,
you can also do that.
Personally, Corel Painter is my
favorite art application overall,
so you can't go wrong with that.
And then Aftershot 3 is Corel's
version of Photoshop Lightroom,
kind of a hybrid, so you can use that
to do a lot of stuff that you'd
be able to do in Photoshop, such as edit photos
and process them in different ways.
Some of you are wondering if it's possible
to upgrade the bundled software.
Yes, you can upgrade all of the bundled software
to a more professional version
that will unlock more features.
And best of all, you'll get a special upgrade price
that is cheaper than if you had bought that software
without getting the bundle.
Another commonly asked question is,
"What is the best size to get for a laptop,
or a desktop, or a big monitor or a small monitor?"
Really any size tablet is going to work on any screen.
The difference is going to be if your tablet
is very small, then it's going to feel
a little bit weird to try to draw on a really big screen.
So you want to try to have your tablet match
your screen size as best you can.
Now obviously, this is much smaller than most screens,
so it's probably going to feel fine
to draw on a laptop screen or a monitor.
But if you were drawing on a TV or something really big
it might start to feel a little weird.
You can customize the active drawing area
to some degree to help it better match your screen
in the Wacom Tablet properties.
Next, we'll talk about the pen quality
compared to previous generations.
The newer pen is not that much different from the older pen.
They're about the same thickness
and about the same length.
The newer pen feels a bit lighter
than this older pen that I have here,
but they have more or less the same
grip and everything else to them.
So not really a whole lot different.
The difference is a little bit more noticeable
if we were to compare the new Intuos pen
to one of the professional pens
such as the Pro Pen here.
You can see the Pro Pen is much thicker,
the grip is a little bit softer and more rubbery.
And it just feels a little bit better
the way it's weighted.
This Pro Pen is definitely a bit heavier,
this Intuos pen is a bit lighter.
And it really comes down to your preference,
but both pens are going to work great for drawing.
I've heard some people say that the pen feels cheap.
I don't agree with that, it feels very well built,
it doesn't feel like it's going to break.
It's a simple pen, it doesn't look
as fancy as some of the Pro Pens out there.
But it's definitely a good quality pen.
It doesn't need to be fancy.
If we compare that to this pen that I have
from a UC Logic tablet.
Given that this is an older tablet,
but this thing just fell apart in so many different ways.
The little screws fell out of it,
and the grippy cover fell off of it,
and this thing just fell apart.
It's a cheap generic pen.
I don't know that I would call this a cheap pen.
I would call this a cheap pen,
but this is a well-built pen.
Now, given, I'm going to have to use this for a while
to see what kind of wear it gets,
but Wacom pens hold up very well
and I've never had any issues with my Wacom
pens falling apart like I have
with these Wacom alternatives.
Another concern that was expressed in the comments
related to the USB connection here.
This is USB mini, and somebody said that
there's a worry that the pins could break off
because it's not as strong as USB-C.
That's probably a fair complaint,
but for the most part if you're going to
keep this plugged in it's probably going to stay on your desk
and you're probably not going to move it around a whole lot.
And you want to be careful with it.
It's not like you want to be yanking on the cord,
or you know, throwing it around the room,
swinging it like a tether ball and stuff like that.
If you do that, then there's a chance that this could break.
It's set up in a way to where it shouldn't break
because the cable's at a right angle,
so it's not going to get bent or anything.
It has this little rounded thing on it
which I'm going to assume probably
keeps you from accidentally pulling it out.
But if you were to really really really yank on it,
it would probably break, and it would either
damage the USB cable, which is replaceable,
or it might damage the port,
meaning you wouldn't be able to plug it in anymore.
However, if you have the Bluetooth model like I do,
then you don't even need to use the cable to begin with,
you can just draw with it in Bluetooth mode
and then the cable's not a big deal.
One of the comments that I've seen the most
deals with cost, some people think
that this is expensive or overpriced.
And for some people, maybe it is.
Maybe it exceeds your budget.
However, I do have to point out
that compared to some of the Wacom alternatives,
this is a quality tablet.
It's built very well, it's custom built,
it's not generic parts that are slapped together.
Unlike the Wacom alternatives,
this tablet also comes with valuable bundled software,
so that's something to keep in mind too.
You're not just getting a tablet,
you're getting bundled software,
you're getting reliable tech support,
and you're getting resources
that'll help you use this tablet,
such as tutorials and guides and things like that.
If you're looking for a more affordable option,
there are a few that I would recommend.
You could go back to the previous generation Intuos Art,
that'll work well.
Or you could go back one more generation
to the Intuos Pen & Touch, that's also a great tablet.
If you're looking for something that's better than this,
then of course you could get the Intuos Pro,
or the Cintiq Pro 13 or 16.
So there you go, that's my review
of the new Wacom Intuos Creative Tablet.
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