wacom intuos

want to get into digital art? dont buy one of those $200 fancy display tablets. get a $70 wacom intuos. ive had the same one for 10 years and it still works like its brand new.

i swear this thing is indestructible. ive spilled countless drinks on it, use it as a plate, covered it in stickers, peeled all the stickers off… ive used it so much over the years its matte surface has been worn down to be smooth and glossy.

ive only ever had to replace the cord, which is a generic micro usb cord and easily replaceable. ive also had to replace the pens nibs, but the tablet comes with a pack of pen nibs. in the 10 years ive had this tablet i dont think ive gone through all the nibs the tablet came with, but i also havent had to change it for like 5 years because the surface has been worn down so much it doesn’t ware down the nib itself very much anymore. the tablet is also small, slim, and super easy to store.

the only downside is that because youre not drawing directly on the screen theres a bit of a learning curve, but i think i had mostly gotten used to it after about a week. the tablet has a couple buttons on it — and a couple on the pen too — but i don’t think ive ever really used them. ive always just used the shortcuts on my keyboard. im right handed so i can draw with my right hand and hover over the left side of my keyboard with my other hand. most of the shortcuts i use are on the left side of my keyboard anyway, but its also not very hard to type while holding the pen

i wouldnt be surprised if this tablet lasted me another 10 years. i dont plan on upgrading any time soon. if this one finally dies on me you know im repurchasing the exact same model.