Backstage Pass #32 (Patreon)

On this edition of Backstage Pass, I'll be talking about…

An overview of my drawing tablets! Also known as how I went from 0 to 100 real quick with my tablets.

Long, long ago, I decided I wanted to get into digital art for the first time. Being a highschooler with a not-so-well-off family, my first tablet was a used, 3 year old Wacom we found on eBay for a relatively decent price. This was my Wacom Bamboo Create CTH-470, which looked something like this:

For about 5 years I ran this tablet into the ground. Nowadays it’s banged up, scratched, and the micro USB port barely connects anymore. But honestly? If it weren’t for the intervention of a family member, I may still be using that tablet to this day. I’m a bit stubborn when it comes to using tools, because I dread doing research into things that would improve quality of life. After all, if it works it works, right?

That all changed when I received a very generous gift from a family member- my first screen drawing tablet! This is the XP-Pen Artist 22E Pro:

The Wacom could take a beating, and for a 10 year old tablet, it still can get the job done. But drawing directly on a tablet’s screen was a real game changer, and improved my quality of life when it came to drawing. With a much bigger screen to work with (and I mean this thing is MASSIVE), I rarely if ever tire my wrist out the way I used to. It also has much more functionality with its ten million buttons. I’m a bit of a minimalist myself though, and I only use two (2) buttons to undo and redo strokes. Somewhere on here is also a button for saving that’s gathering up dust.

The difference between both of these tablets is substantial, as are their price points. The Wacom tablet was a fantastic beginner’s tablet, and very travel friendly. I actually still use it when I’m away from home, despite it gasping for breath every time I plug it in. The XP-Pen comparatively is so massive I can’t really take it anywhere- but for a tablet that stays in one spot, it does its job very well. If I ever end up needing to get a new tablet, I may be willing to shill out for a tablet/computer hybrid. In the meantime though, I quite like my prince and the pauper tablet duo.