Computer Drawing Tablets

[Megan]

My younger sister (12 y/o) has succeed my talents (almost) at drawing and has started to taking up drawing on the computer, currently she only uses a mouse and I'm not sure what sort of software she is using to draw in.

But we are looking into getting her a tablet for drawing, and I have looked into Wacom a longtime ago for myself so I am familiar with them. But I am trying to put out feelers out there for people's recommendations on a good starter tablet for her!

Hope anyone can give any help or ideas!
Love,
Megan

[Morrigan]

If it is her first time using a graphics tablet, I would recommend the Wacom Bamboo. It's on older model now so you can probably find it fairly cheap on places like Ebay. The surface is quite small but with the price of them, I think they are perfect for a beginner. I had mine for well over 2 years and didn't need to purchase new pen nibs or anything either so as long as it is taken care of properly, it will last for quite a while.

I would say pick a fairly small/cheap tablet to play about on first of all but if she gets along with it, I would then suggest anything from the Intuos line. I've had my Intuos 5 Large for yeeeears and whilst there were a few bad reviews, I have never regretted purchasing it myself. It was quite pricey though at the time so its probably a good choice after something like the Bamboo.

Otherwise, I would also say check dA discussions. There are some lesser known brands which are equally as good as Wacom and sometimes cheaper.

And just incase, art software wise, for me Paint Tool Sai and Clip Studio Paint/Manga Studio 5 are reliable. There is a stabilizer in Sai which just makes life so much easier and Clip has it too but it's a bit more complex.