Digital artists - Should I buy a Wacom Cintiq or an iPad Pro?

[Deleted member 48205]

Hey so, I've recently graduated art school and I'm starting my career as an illustrator, and I've been thinking that now's the time to get rid of my 5 year old Wacom Bamboo. The thing was super cheap (bought it for a 100$), but I never truly got used to drawing on a separate screen, even though I've used this thing for hundreds of hours.

So yeah, it comes to down whether I should be getting a Cintiq (the newer model, thinking about 22 inch) or do what many people advised and get an iPad Pro instead.
My main concerns with the iPad are the glossy screen compared to the more matte surface of Wacom's stuff, and the limitations of Procreate compared to Photoshop, which I've been using for like 15 years now. I know that Adobe is releasing Photoshop for iPads soon, but I kind of doubt it will work as well as on a computer. I also know that Astropad is a thing, and honestly if it works as well as advertised, that would probably seal the deal for me.
Basically I don't really want to get a Cintiq because it's way too expensive, has too many cables and Wacom's products are kinda shit from my experience, and yet I don't really want to move away from my PC and Photoshop to a drawing app.

That's the gist of it. Would love to get your opinion on this
Thanks!

 

[Servbot24]

Intuos Pro > iPad Pro > Cintiq

Cintiqs are wildly overpriced. If you want to stick to Photoshop on desktop (which is the most professional option), then I would just get used to Intuos. In the end you may find it superior since your hand doesn't cover the screen, plus it's by far the cheapest option.

iPad Pro is very good, and will be even better when Photoshop comes out for it (in the meantime Procreate works great). You can possibly make it work for your career, just keep in mind that at this point it will limit your capabilities to do anything other than simply draw (if that's enough for you then it may do the trick). There are other apps for it of course, just very limited compared to desktop counterparts. Another thing to keep in mind is that there are applications such as Astropad that will allow you to connect an iPad to your desktop and effectively use it as a Cintiq.

 

[KillLaCam]

I haven't tried it but many of my friends who don't like drawing on the glossy texture, use this screen protector for the iPad which gives it a texture that feels like paper.

https://paperlike.com/products/paperlike-for-ipad-12-9-inch

 

[Wackamole]

Intuos Pro is amazing imo.
But if you want to draw on a screen, the others will answer. I'd sure like to try a Cintiq 24 pro.

 

[Xun]

I don't have an iPad, but why not go for a matte screen protector? That's probably the first thing I'd do if I were to get one.

The Cintiq 24 Pro is a truly fantastic piece of kit, but if you want something cheaper and don't mind the smaller size how about the new Cintiq 16?

Intuos Pro > iPad Pro > Cintiq

Cintiqs are wildly overpriced. If you want to stick to Photoshop on desktop (which is the most professional option), then I would just get used to Intuos. In the end you may find it superior since your hand doesn't cover the screen, plus it's by far the cheapest option.

iPad Pro is very good, and will be even better when Photoshop comes out for it (in the meantime Procreate works great). You can possibly make it work for your career, just keep in mind that at this point it will limit your capabilities to do anything other than simply draw (if that's enough for you then it may do the trick). There are other apps for it of course, just very limited compared to desktop counterparts. Another thing to keep in mind is that there are applications such as Astropad that will allow you to connect an iPad to your desktop and effectively use it as a Cintiq.

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It's funny, but I never personally got the hang of normal drawing tablets.

Switching to a Cintiq was such a relief.

Spoiler

Expensive as fuck though...

 

[Dr Doom]

I got this Yoga 920. I still prefer a full power of PC and the portability of an iPAD so
this is my compromise.
If the next Photoshop for iPAD is like Lightroom for iPAD; it will have missing features. Which is why I still use Desktop Lightroom

 

[moquedami]

None. Go with a Surface pro 4 with i5 and 8gb ram + Leonardo app
The definitive combo i found after 20 years of testing tablets

 

[Helot_Azure]

I love my cintiq (pro 16). However, it has some serious bugs that cause issues whenever apple updates my OS. In my case, the touch button will sometimes not respond, so I'm spending several minutes cutting my device off and on in order to turn the touch setting off. Beyond that, it's been a great tool.

Cant say much about the Ipad, but the people I know who use it love it. I'm just wary about Apple constantly bringing out better ones (and better pens) seemingly each year.

 

[moquedami]

I haven't tried it but many of my friends who don't like drawing on the glossy texture, use this screen protector for the iPad which gives it a texture that feels like paper.

https://paperlike.com/products/paperlike-for-ipad-12-9-inch

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This is really tempting but i read it wears out your leads much faster

 

[Evolution of Metal]

Huion is the answer.

Any Device + Tablet combo will be underpowered from Day 1, and redundant in 3 years. If you want to make complex illustrations, you will need the serious machine. You will no doubt get motion graphics projects too, so all the power will come in handy when you edit videos/effects.

 

[SquirrelSaysNuts]

You don't write about what you are going to use it for and how. Illustration is too vague.
There is a digital art hardware thread with recommendations if you search.

 

[Tokyo_Funk]

I've been super happy with my Huion GT-220 v2. Can't speak for the others.

 

[Arex]

If you wanna use it with your pc and can't get used to drawing on separate screen, and wanna use pc version of photoshop, then yea cintiq (or other cheaper brands, Huion etc) is your choice really. There are cheaper cintiqs if you don't wanna spend too much.

 

[VaporSnake]

I got a cintiq 4 years ago and I haven't regretted it at all. I draw/paint in pretty high resolutions so for me the tablet side of things is completely impractical , I need to be tethered to a more powerful machine versus throwing money on something that will very quickly become obsolete, if I take care of it my cintiq will outlive my desktop, can't say that for an Ipad or a surface.

 

[artsi]

I recently got an iPad Pro 12.9" and have been very satisfied with it.
It feels way better to draw on compared to my old Surface Pro 4, the 120hz screen is beautiful, bright, silky smooth and there's basically zero latency.

The pen is also very nice to hold and recharges when you attach it via magnet to the iPad.

I use Clip Studio Paint for software myself, which is the full desktop app I've been using with SP4 before.

 

[ghostandgoblin]

I like the ease of use of the ipad : you take it and you can almost immediately draw in the position and place you want.
The feel of the Ipen is amazing, I much prefer it to the cintiq.
It's light.

the cons are the frequent charging of the pen or the Ipad, the fear of letting it fall or the cat destroying the tip of the Ipen, the limits of procreate and my usual pc habits.

The cintiq is great but I should have upgraded my pc and I can't bring it with me on vacations or meetings. So the choice was clear in my situation.

Try each one if you can, it's the best solution to make the right choice for you.

 

[BLEEN]

I got this Yoga 920. I still prefer a full power of PC and the portability of an iPAD so
this is my compromise.
If the next Photoshop for iPAD is like Lightroom for iPAD; it will have missing features. Which is why I still use Desktop Lightroom

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Great choice

 

[Deleted member 48205]

You don't write about what you are going to use it for and how. Illustration is too vague.
There is a digital art hardware thread with recommendations if you search.

Click to shrink...

Probably editorial illustration, magazine covers, posters, comics, stuff like that. I don't "paint", my stuff is mostly cartoony and flat, if that helps.
Interesting replies so far. Buying a surface or the Yoga are not really an option, I already have a laptop and a regular PC and I don't plan on having a third computer.

I also wonder how people that do work on projects more complex than a standalone drawing/illustration make it work on a iPad. for example if you need to work on a short comic, is jumping between pages as easy as it is on PS or is it a hassle?

If I do get a Cintiq, what are my options? Should I consider getting the older model with the shitty pixelated screen for way cheaper or is it not worth it?

 

[Dark Ninja]

I would get the Cintiq 16 the others are almost too large. Also don't cheap out unless you are on a budget especially if it's something you are gonna use everyday it's a great tablet and drawing on it feels great. If you want to continue drawing on a tablet without a screen get an intuos. There are cheaper alternative Cintiqs but I would do heavy research on them.

If you do get a Cintiq be aware of the cables it brings and that you may need to get an adapter for one of the cables if your pc doesn't have the input. If I remember right it's the mini display cable that's the issue for many. Also some cintiqs don't have the buttons on the side anymore so they sell these express key remotes if you want to use button shortcuts without a keyboard.

 

[FSP]

XP-Pen Artist 12.

You and your wallet will thank me in a few months.

Cheap enough to get an idea of what it'd be like to draw on an iPad or a Cintiq, great as a portable device with a laptop, usable as a small secondary monitor if you choose to upgrade to a Cintiq, hands down the best pen I've ever used on a non-Wacom device.

 

[SquirrelSaysNuts]

Probably editorial illustration, magazine covers, posters, comics, stuff like that. I don't "paint", my stuff is mostly cartoony and flat, if that helps.
Interesting replies so far. Buying a surface or the Yoga are not really an option, I already have a laptop and a regular PC and I don't plan on having a third computer.

I also wonder how people that do work on projects more complex than a standalone drawing/illustration make it work on a iPad. for example if you need to work on a short comic, is jumping between pages as easy as it is on PS or is it a hassle?

If I do get a Cintiq, what are my options? Should I consider getting the older model with the shitty pixelated screen for way cheaper or is it not worth it?

Click to shrink...

If you don't want a third computer then the only option available to you is a cintiq or cintiq-clone.

Well, do you use photoshop's features? Cartoony and flat sounds like something you can do in most programs and certainly in procreate.
Size of screen would probably matter as well, are you going to be hunched over the thing for many hours each day?

 

[Yerffej]

You can possibly make it work for your career, just keep in mind that at this point it will limit your capabilities to do anything other than simply draw (if that's enough for you then it may do the trick).

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? Procreate is a great painting program as well.

iPad is my go to now. Photoshop is still king and Intuos tablets are fine, but I don't feel they have the same snappiness as Apple Pencils.

 

[Servbot24]

? Procreate is a grerat painting program as well.

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Yes it is, I tend to call them both drawing.

 

[Barry Sandwich]

XP-Pen Artist 12.

You and your wallet will thank me in a few months.

Cheap enough to get an idea of what it'd be like to draw on an iPad or a Cintiq, great as a portable device with a laptop, usable as a small secondary monitor if you choose to upgrade to a Cintiq, hands down the best pen I've ever used on a non-Wacom device.

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How does it compare to an iPad Pro?

I was looking at those but they're very expensive and I have an old 2013 Macbook running CS6 and an intuos 3.

For £200, I could hook the HP-Pen 12 Instead... but how good is it?

 

[vhyn]

Huion is the answer.

Click to shrink...

I've been super happy with my Huion GT-220 v2. Can't speak for the others.

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This.
Went from a Intuos to a Kamvas 22 and damn, it has a great pen, is big and feels nice.
I tried a friend's iPad Pro and drawing there feels the closest to analogue drawing, it however lacks all the software needed in production.

The Cintiq Pros are great too with almost no parallax and fantastic colors (something that Huion sadly isnt great at). I read many people had connectivity issues with its USB C interface though - which is a shame considering the price.

 

[so1337]

If I do get a Cintiq, what are my options? Should I consider getting the older model with the shitty pixelated screen for way cheaper or is it not worth it?

Click to shrink...

If you're looking for something cheaper, I would recommend giving the new Cintiq 16 a look. It doesn't have some of the conveniences that the Pro line offers (multi touch, USB-C, reduced parallax) but it's got a nice form factor and the 1920x1080 resolution is more than adequate for most people.

 

[Barry Sandwich]

Do we reckon a 2013 macbook air would have enough juice to power one of these cheaper tablets? Given the air screen isn't HD.

 

[FSP]

Do we reckon a 2013 macbook air would have enough juice to power one of these cheaper tablets? Given the air screen isn't HD.

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As long as it can handle a 1080p monitor output, yes.

As others have said btw colour reproduction is weaker on XP-Pen and Huion devices. If you are digital painting and want to print you should go with the basic Cintiq 16.

 

[Deleted member 48205]

As long as it can handle a 1080p monitor output, yes.

As others have said btw colour reproduction is weaker on XP-Pen and Huion devices. If you are digital painting and want to print you should go with the basic Cintiq 16.

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The price of the basic one is very tempting. It's a 1000$ difference between that and the 16 pro. I saw a review comparing both and I wonder if that extra bump really is worth it.

Actually, if I get the basic Cintiq 16 I could also get an iPad Pro 12.9 with 64GB for the price of the Cintiq Pro 16...

 

[FSP]

You've never used a Cintiq before: you'll find they are fun but won't make your art dramatically better. :-)

Iirc the IPad Pro has CSP on it now, so at least there is a real art program for it?

 

[Barry Sandwich]

As long as it can handle a 1080p monitor output, yes.

As others have said btw colour reproduction is weaker on XP-Pen and Huion devices. If you are digital painting and want to print you should go with the basic Cintiq 16.

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Cool.
Or I guess transfer the file to desktop and adjust the colours.

The holy grail is full Photoshop on a portable graphics tablet, but I'm sceptical the mobile versions of Photoshop will ever deliver this.

 

[Deleted member 48205]

Cool.
Or I guess transfer the file to desktop and adjust the colours.

The holy grail is portable Photoshop on a graphics tablet, but I'm sceptical the mobile versions of Photoshop will ever deliver this.

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Yeah, I'm with you on that. I hope we're wrong.

You've never used a Cintiq before: you'll find they are fun but won't make your art dramatically better. :-)

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It's not about my art being better, it's about removing the obstacle of drawing on a separate screen which I'm just terrible at and it slows me down significantly

 

[PeterVenkman]

the ipad doesn't have a full OS - I went with a Surface Book to try and have it all. For sitting down and working I feel like I'm pretty efficient, but when i just want to draw, the ipad fucking kills it hands down. I'm jealous any time my studio partner uses it for drawing.

that pencil and high refresh rate is magic. plus, at the end of the day, Adobe products are mac optimized.

 

[Deleted member 11069]

I got a windows tablet after some recommendations here (I have an 22 Cintiq as the real workhorse) and its nice and I can actually use the software I need (Storyboard Pro has no Ipad version)
BUT
like above poster, every time I actually see a colleague use an Ipad I'm full of envy. There is something about the feel and directness that my windows machine does not have.
Could been "gras is always greener..." but I'm tempted to also get an Ipad.

 

[LiK]

Cintiq just feels better to draw on. Just make sure to get a big one if you can afford it. I have the 13HD and it feels too small for me. Might get a bigger one in the future.

iPad Pro is wonderful for the mobility.

 

[Gibson]

Which device mimics the feeling of pencil and paper the best?

I tried using a tablet a fair time ago but it didn't feel tactile at all. For me this is the most important aspect, regardless of price.

 

[Deleted member 48205]

I have a PC so Mac compatibility isn't really an issue, plus the mobility is not something I care about that much tbh, I'm mostly going to use it at home anyway
It comes down to the software and habit mostly. If the iPad Photoshop delivers, I'm probably going to go with that

 

[Tennis]

I'm working with Macbook Pro and Intuos currently but I'm tempted to buy iPad pro 11" and Apple Pen. The ease of use is a major factor for me.

 

[Barry Sandwich]

Yeah, I'm with you on that. I hope we're wrong.

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The other issue with a fully portable Photoshop on any tablet is that I have keyboard shortcuts in my muscle memory. How do you replicate that on a single screen device?

 

[Hiraeth]

I've got a Cintiq, Intuos and an iPad Pro and truth be told the Cintiq is the most redundant of the 3 for me.

I've had the Intuos for years and keep it at home for when I work from there, I've never had any real complaints with it. The Cintiq I have is in my office which I use for my day to day work, again there's no real issues but I find that I just end up looking at the monitor screen rather than the tablet - making the Cintiq screen a bit pointless and I may as well be using an Intuos.

My iPad Pro I mostly use for working on the go and when I'm away from my Wacom setups, it's very intuitive and responsive. I quite often start work on the iPad and then transfer to my computer and finish it with one of my other setups, but as I say - the Cintiq and Intuos are interchangeable in their usefulness, it doesn't really matter which one I work on.

Procreate is very intuitive and quick to pick up - you do miss some of the features of Photoshop but a lot of the time there's a workaround. The slick screen is a bit strange at first but I found I got used to it pretty quickly, I tried some textured screen protectors but they killed the sensitivity.

Given the stuff you've said in your OP i'd go for the iPad.

 

[LiK]

Which device mimics the feeling of pencil and paper the best?

I tried using a tablet a fair time ago but it didn't feel tactile at all. For me this is the most important aspect, regardless of price.

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Cintiq by default. But you can buy a matte screen protector for the iPad Pro and it'll mimic the paper surface pretty well. Drawing on the glass directly feels pretty awful.

 

[Puggles]

iPad Pro

There is supposedly a full version of Photoshop coming. And if there is something you need to do on a desktop it syncs via creative cloud.

 

[8byte]

If portability matters to you, iPad Pro is unbeatable. You can use it for hours on end, and it's light weight. My personal favorite.

Also, if illustration is all you're looking for, iPad for sure + paperlike cover. Procreate is fantastic, and Project Gemini (Adobe's new Illustration app) releases later this year along with Photoshop for iPad. Project Gemini uses the exact brush engine as Photoshop (as well as some new brush stuff that isn't in Photoshop yet). You can do your illustration in Gemini, compose it in Photoshop, and then export the PSD to your computer for any final touches...all without leaving your iPad.

 

[Gibson]

Cintiq by default. But you can buy a matte screen protector for the iPad Pro and it'll mimic the paper surface pretty well. Drawing on the glass directly feels pretty awful.

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Thank you! And how about the pen? Which has the slimmest? I remember the pen I used a few years back was too thick and unwieldy

 

[LiK]

Thank you! And how about the pen? Which has the slimmest? I remember the pen I used a few years back was too thick and unwieldy

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I'm still using the first gen Pencil and it's okay. I think the later revisions are better altho I haven't purchased one yet since I'm still using the older iPad Pro. Second gen Apple Pencil is def better with the slimmer design.

 

[PeterVenkman]

The other issue with a fully portable Photoshop on any tablet is that I have keyboard shortcuts in my muscle memory. How do you replicate that on a single screen device?

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i use a surface book with this guy: Delux. It's ... not bad? Lord does the book get hot though.

 

[Futureman]

If you had a Mac, iPad Pro would be perfect as there's a rumor the new iOS/macOS will have screen mirroring. You could use Photoshop iPad for your drawing and then open it in the desktop PS and finish up if there are any features only on desktop you need. Using the screen mirroring you could still draw on the screen.

You could still essentially do this with a PC though... Just but one of those $100 Wacoms for any finishing work you need to do.

I also do very cartoony/non-complex illustrations and love Procreate for this. I don't do it professionally though.

 

[Kanann]

Cintiq is superior but iPad has convenient.

 

[FSP]

i use a surface book with this guy: Delux. It's ... not bad? Lord does the book get hot though.

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Every time I see those I weep for us left-handed artists left out in the cold :(

 

[hombremalo]

My GF works with an iPad pro and procreate and seems like a good option.