cintiq for comics?

[50%grey]

Lots of artists like the lap tablets because there hand doesn't get in the way, and the ease of moving it around.

I got to disagree tho on the price thing, if Wacom were to branch out, and allowed there technology to adopt to more platforms they could drive those prices down.

The tech they use really isn't that extraordinary, and in Hong Kong you can get Cintiq knock offs.

Think the biggest problem is selling to artists is not that lucrative as an audience, so thats why we haven't seen another company come in and try to challenge them.

[weirdozhead]

They don't pull the prices out of the air, nor are they some type of community service for artists.. they're simply selling a product that is kinda expensive to produce, and not produced in a massive quantity compared to an xbox that typically brings prices down.

They do have a lot of big tablets with tons of features and sketchy names for cheap on amazon, I haven't had the balls to try any of them

[50%grey]

We really don't know if there expensive to produce tho, there's no documentation on that.

Just looking at the tech, its a cheap LCD with a non capactive touch screen driven by a Cintiq electronic board.

All these things are really cheap to produce, and there seems like there is quite a demand for Cintiqs across the world since they are selling out all the time.

The Cintiq is always been a mystery to me, its like Wacom only wants to supply the Business sector with them so they jack up the price abit just like software does with business licenses.

They've always been a strange company tho, like right now they could have that technology on lots of different platforms yet they still keep everything very secluded.

The biggest eye opener was when I met them at a tradeshow. They pronounce Wacom like
Wack-Em versus what I thought was Way-Com.

[weirdozhead]

Hadn't seen your post when I posted.. yeah I have no idea what a cintiq costs to produce, just speculating on what I've seen in other businesses.

ps nobody has to know it's a wack-em

[sirandal]

Wack-em is wrong according to this (which apparently is according to official Wacom support materials.)

http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=wacom

Wah-kum...although I would submit that if that is supposed to be English, they should have spelled it differently. It is disingenuous to criticize people for pronouncing it "way-com", but it is perfectly reasonable to make fun of people who say "wack-em" since that is clearly inappropriate.

Of course the Roman alphabet is used for more than English and so it may be a different language entirely and so all bets are off in that case.

[50%grey]

I guess if you say wah-kum fast it becomes wack-em, and now I'm disgusted lol.

I still say way-com because most people are trained when they see a com anywhere, especially in a computer product, to sound it out that way.

And is sounds cooler, hah.

[Walril]

Off topic, but most electronics like this are relatively cheap to produce because manufacturers buy components in bulk. So when you see the numbers youre disgusted at them trying to make a profit. Little known fact, VHS tapes are expensive if you tried to buy 1 from the studio. I mean like $140. You only pay like $10 because the store you bought them from buys millions. Hell the iphone components cost less than $100. Generally speaking though, if Wacom is selling it for 3600, it probably costs them about 500-700 to make. Maybe less.

[Smitty]

Using the most expensive paper, brush and ink I can find, a page of X-art costs me maybe $5 to produce. If I charged Marvel $5 a page, I'd be homeless. Using cheap ass paper, brush and ink would greatly increase my costs because they don't work as well, increasing time, effort, corrections, etc. in order to produce less work of lesser quality. We haven't even talked about rent, utilities, public relations....

Is $3600 a pretty penny? Hell yes! But purchase price is not the only factor. Everyone laughed at me when I spent $600 on a drafting chair in 1982. 30 years later it's still the most comfortable chair in the house.

[Doomsmith]

Here's the thing: it's not going to help THAT much. It's a tool, not an answer.

I KNOW THAT. And I think that it's a tool that could help me transition into doing more digital art easier than a traditional lap tablet because I can see what I'm putting on the screen directly instead of sitting awkwardly like I have.

Upgrade to an bigger lap-tablet. You don't need the Cintiq in order to do work that's comparable to what other artists with a Cintiq do. The Cintiq itself is not the advantage, experience and practice are. Technique trumps tools, and as I've said here and elsewhere, there's plenty of high-end professional digital painters who prefer working with the lap-tablets, they don't want to go to the Cintiq.

No one's arguing that point at all and technique isn't my problem. All I'm saying is that the price point is so high it kinda shuts the door on most artists that have to make do with whatever else. Nowadays, in order to get work you have to be able to work this way (which is digital mostly). I'm more of a traditionalist. Pencil, paper, markers and ink mostly. But it's become harder and harder to get anything only working this way. I tried working with my Graphire tablet and it just doesn't cut it for me and I don't think graduating to a larger size would change my frustration. It might work for some people and that's good for them.
But I have to do what's best for me and this method I think would work better for me instead. Maybe other people might feel the same way, maybe not. But for those that do and see the Cintiq and it's price tag, it sucks.





D2k12!

[Smitty]

Nowadays, in order to get work you have to be able to work this way (which is digital mostly).

For Comics? You'll have to explain that one.

I generally ink myself but occasionally work with inkers that can neither print out digital files nor scan them. They can only work on my originals and can only deliver same to the publishers who then scan them on their end. While most publishers need art digitized for print they need not receive the work in digital fashion. Those that require digital delivery make no requirement of digital production.