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StarshineBeast In reply to devenesh [2012-08-03 20:31:25 +0000 UTC]

I have never personally had any glitches that weren't really minor. I mean, once it was doing this weird thing where the light kept blinking but once I unplugged it and plugged it back in it was fine... and that was just once. The pen broke on me but that's because I kept falling asleep on it or accidentally leaning an elbow into it. I was pretty abusive to my poor pen. However, the only thing that I've managed to need to replace was the pen and I've had this tablet for about a year and a half now with only that as a problem.

My husband, however, had a few problems with the same type of tablet. We think it might have had something to do with his USB drive, though, rather than the tablet itself because it was always fine on my computer. He replaced his tablet once in the course of eight months with a Wacom, which I feel has given him more headaches than the Monoprice, because the cord connection to the tablet is loose so he always loses the pen connection and has to fiddle with it and you can't touch the cord without it losing the connection. He keeps insisting that it's better, but I don't agree.

On the Wacom, the pen tips wear down easier than Monoprice and tend to fray, so they have to be replaced constantly. Replacement packs can cost $20. With Monoprice, I've never had to replace my pen tips and we have like 25 spares laying around because of his original tablet, the replacement tablet, my tablet, and my replacement pen. They always came with 5 spare pen tips so you had plenty around. With the particular model that my husband uses, it has a connection cable which connects to the computer and also connects to the tablet. The thing is such a pain in the butt because the connection isn't tight enough and the cable always comes loose. If you so much as touch the connection cable, it wiggles free from the tablet and you have to fix it. With Monoprice, the connector cable is attached to the table so there is no worries of having a loose cable connection. Not to mention that Wacom tablets are usually priced at three times the cost of a Monoprice.

Monoprice tablets also usually (we had them in our cases anyway) covered under a 10 month (I think) warranty so if anything goes wrong, you can get a free one. Even if you have to replace your Monoprice at full cost, you're still paying less than the smallest model of Wacom, which is a bargain in my opinion. I'd say go for it. The prices range from $13 (travel model), $25 (smallest model), $31, $40, to $50 (one of their larger ones and the model that I use). Pen replacements for Monoprice are $10, rather than the $50-$100 pen replacements for Wacom.

In fact, now that I think about it, I've never even had to replace the batteries for the pen yet. o_O

If you're looking to break into using a tablet, Monoprice is definitely the way to go.

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devenesh In reply to StarshineBeast [2012-08-04 01:05:44 +0000 UTC]

Would you have any reason to switch tablets in the future from the monoprice? By the way, do you freehand in sai or use the vector tool to draw lines, because I want a tablet that is good at doing freehand non-vector art like the brush tool in photoshop, for example. It would be awesome if you could do a review between the wacom tablet and monoprice...I think there is much confusion about these tablets and very few demonstrations of art being created with these tablets, let alone wacom tablets. Thanks again.

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StarshineBeast In reply to devenesh [2012-08-04 16:17:50 +0000 UTC]

I think if I wanted to play with lots of different features, I might. Wacom has touch sensitive tablets and pens that, if you switch them over, work like an eraser. Personally, I hate touch screens and I can switch to the eraser tool easily, so those features don't appeal to me, especially for the price tag that comes with them. Monoprice is good, sturdy, affordable, never let me down, has excellent pressure sensitivity, etc. At this point, I don't think there would be any reason for me to switch brands.

I do both vector lines and freehand, depending on what I want out of a picture and whether I'm experiencing wrist pain at the time or not. This picture ("Misbehave") was drawn freehand. At this point, I hadn't even discovered SAI and was using Photoshop. These days, I use both. I use SAI for freehand drawing (the lines are steadier and cleaner, the tools are very adjustable to one's personal tastes, canvas rotation, and a multitude of things that I use in SAI) and I use Photoshop for special effects, text, borders, etc.

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devenesh In reply to StarshineBeast [2012-08-07 15:03:04 +0000 UTC]

What tablet size do you use? Also what are the actual dimensions of the entire tablet (not the drawing area)?

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devenesh In reply to StarshineBeast [2012-08-04 00:26:03 +0000 UTC]

What model is your husband's wacom tablet, exactly? Also have you tried out his wacom compared to your monoprice, comparing each of their functionalites in drawing? because my main goal is to produce quality artwork and nothing else. Also, I've seen a video on youtube in which someone insserts 0.065 inch trimmer line into the wacom pen to replace the tip! 250 ft of trimmer line for 8 dollars, apparently. Also, where did you buy your tablet? Do you do all your digital art with a monoprice? WHY does your husband insist the wacom is better? THANKS!

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StarshineBeast In reply to devenesh [2012-08-04 16:35:19 +0000 UTC]

He uses the Wacom Bamboo Connect. I haven't tried out his Wacom but we work side-by-side in our office a lot of the time and he also draws while we watch movies or spend time together. He has shared what he likes about his Wacom as well as his complaints.

What he likes: The smaller size (so it easily fits on his lap so he can use it with his laptop) even though Monoprice is available in the same size, the textured work area (apparently the work area has a paper-like texture to simulate working with paper), improvement with issues he was having (he says it's because of the new tablet and I say that it's because of a new laptop since they were bought at the same time), and that it came in green.

What he dislikes: The loose cable that keeps disconnecting, needing to unplug it and plug it back in, being required to reboot Photoshop if it disconnects because it loses the pressure sensitivity settings when it loses the tablet connection, the software that comes with the tablet automatically booting up whenever you connect the tablet, constant driver issues, and the tips wearing out easily and becoming frayed.

I think he sticks with Wacom because he insists that a bigger price tag and more widely known brand name means better. It's something that we've discussed from time to time. He said that the Wacom was the magical cure-all for his ails and I say that a new laptop, which hadn't been dropped half a dozen times yet, was the cure-all for his ails. With exception to what he dislikes about it, as listed above, he's happy with it. I have NEVER experienced the problems he had, even when I used HIS Monoprice tablet, so I remain a satisfied Monoprice customer. If this one should kick the bucket, I would buy another one.

A lot of the technical specifications of the Monoprice match Wacom's current tablets, at least the ones that matter in creating quality work.

I do all of my digital art with Monoprice, yes. And I can't recall exactly where I got my tablet but I'm pretty sure that I just bought it from the official website. It's where I bought my replacement pen, at the very least.

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devenesh In reply to StarshineBeast [2012-08-07 15:19:47 +0000 UTC]

Oh, and are the htokey buttons included or excluded in the active area dimensions?

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StarshineBeast In reply to ithypno [2012-02-08 00:28:35 +0000 UTC]

I'm a little confused at this comment. o_O

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ithypno In reply to StarshineBeast [2012-02-08 08:17:07 +0000 UTC]

HAHA... sorry I was vague. I see what looks like a audio cassette player in this pic. Since you do Anime Art; in Japan they use SONY MINI DISK (SONY MD or just MD). TOO MUCH TO GET INTO... but here is what MD is all about, while the product line, was ended in 2005 Officially, SONY MD, was only crushed because of Ipod/MP3, MD players, still used disks.

ALL ABOUT SONY MD... [link]

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