Wacom Cintiq

When I was asked to write a product review for the Cintiq, I was a little apprehensive at first because I had never really written a product review before, but how can you be a colorist and not get excited about such a wonderful tool?

MY CINTIQ STORY
I started out coloring with a mouse, like I’m sure most of us did. The process was painful, and not just because I didn’t have the first clue about coloring either. Difficulty controlling the shapes I was trying to create and absolutely no input in determining brush pressure and fading lines led me to explore other options. By this time the Cintiq was being offered by Wacom, but the $1999 cost was out of my price range. I ended up buying an Intuos 3 tablet from Wacom. The $369 price tag was a much easier pill to swallow at the time. I instantly felt the difference. But like with all good things I, of course, wanted more. So I eventually saved enough to be able to buy the Cintiq.

I ended up ordering the new (and now defunct) 20” Cintiq. At the time, the only major differences between the 20” and the 21” Cintiqs were the touch strips on the 20” were located on the back rather than the front and it was $500 cheaper than its 21” counterpart. I thought the trade-off was more than adequate. Since purchasing my Cintiq, Wacom has discontinued making the 20” version (something having to do with one of their parts manufacturers, if memory serves) and they’ve lowered the price point on the 21” to $1999. Still pricy, but well worth it. Wacom also offers a 12” Cintiq for $999. Much more portable than the 21”, and perfect for taking to cons or working vacations.

You know how movies will often show a man and a woman spot each other for the first time across a crowded room and the music starts playing to let you know that they are instantly in love? That’s pretty much what happened to me the day my Cintiq arrived. Only there was no real music, just my dogs trying their best to knock me around as I came into the house with my new favorite toy. But the love was certainly there.

Set-up for the Cintiq was a cinch. The tablet slides securely down into the base while still allowing a fluid, easy 360 degree rotation. The base itself is easily adjustable and even has wheels on the back to allow it to be moved around on your desk easily. Rubber stoppers on the front end ensure that it won’t move on its own, or from the weight of your arm leaning on the screen. To move it, you simply lift the front a bit and roll it into position. The large cable coming from the back is a bit unsightly and thick, but it’s worlds better than having multiple cables running from it and having to worry about getting everything tangled. The end of the cable is split between USB, video, and power adapters and comes with several different video adapters, so that it can be hooked to VGA or DVI ports. It also comes with the standard Wacom Grip Pen and several replacement nibs. Installation was a breeze, even with Vista.

After a quick and easy set-up and calibration of the pen, I was almost ready to get started. First I wanted to customize a few keys. The Cintiq (20″ and 21″) comes equipped with (14 and 12 respectively) modifier keys that make life so much easier for a colorist. Opening up the Wacom Tablet Properties will allow you to customize each and every key on the Cintiq. Figure 1 shows the various modifiers to choose from. One of the best choices, and one I HIGHLY recommend using, is the Keystroke modifier. This will allow you to perform multiple keystrokes at the push of the button. This is great for any colorist that uses Actions in Photoshop. You can also label the keys so you’ll have a reminder of what key is programmed to do what.

The Wacom Tablet Properties menu will also allow you to customize the stylus pen as well. Pressure sensitivity. Tilt sensitivity. Calibration. It’s all at your fingertips. Figure 2 shows you some of the options available to you.

Well, I’ve got the Cintiq set up and ready to go and now I’m ready to start coloring. This is what I’ve been waiting for! The Cintiq really is the closest thing you’ll get to working on actual paper. The screen has two plastic coverings, one to minimize glare, and the other a smooth surface that simulates the feeling of paper against the pin nib. The screen resolution at 1680 x 1080 allows for a lot of real estate, which is great for zooming in tight without having to scroll. I highly recommend calibrating the screen to ensure that the colors you see on the screen are what will print on the page. The large screen size really allows for a more natural range of motion, and the 1024 levels of pressure gives you so much flexibility that you’ll instantly notice the difference.

PROS AND CONS
When we’re talking about the Pros and Cons, I mean Cons like ordering a scoop of chocolate peanut butter ice cream and being served a scoop of cookies and cream instead. Still really good, just not what you were expecting. I prefer to think of the “cons” of the Cintiq as more of “adjustments” you might need to go through when switching from a mouse or another tablet.

For example, since the Cintiq is a large monitor that you can draw on, there tends to be a lot of heat generated between your hand and wrist and the screen. This can leave some sweat smudges on the screen. Easily cleanable, but it can be a little warm at times. I decided to counter that with a small fan set up behind me to help blow on the screen. If you’re not a person who likes it cold, you could also try using a small cotton glove and simply cut all of the fingers except the pinky off of it.

While it’s great to no longer have to deal with the disconnect between looking at the screen and drawing on the tablet (the urge to look down take a while to get used to), it was kind of nice to be able to see the entire image unobstructed. With the Cintiq, you hand now covers a part of the image and it took a little while to get over trying to look over my hand for things. Also, there was an annoyance that the menu pop-ups generated by the stylus would appear underneath my hand, but that’s just something that takes a little getting used to.

Because of the 20″ or 21″ inch Cintiq’s size, it’s not exactly what you would call “portable”. They weigh approximately 20 pounds, so you wouldn’t want to just lay it in your lap and start coloring. And taking it on trips can be a bit risky unless it is packaged properly and carried on to a plane. You wouldn’t trust it to the sky caps would you? Me either. And whatever you do, keep your cat away from the screen. Scratching the surface of the Cintiq isn’t as easy to fix as a scratch on the overlays of other tablets. It would need to be sent to Wacom to be resurfaced. The approximate cost of that is between $300 and $400.

THE WRAP-UP
Put aside the adjustments you may need to make, the Cintiq will more than meet your needs. The price tag is a bit steep, but for those serious about making coloring more than just a hobby, it’s well worth the price. It will completely change the way you work, and for the better to boot. I can’t imagine having to go back to a regular tablet after working with the Cintiq.

- Ross Hughes has been working as a Freelance Digital Colorist for four years. He is currently working on a seven issue mini-series called Fallen Justice from Red Handed Studios. Samples of his work can be found at: http://thebdc.deviantart.com/gallery/. He also can be reached by e-mail for commission work at: hughescoloring@comcast.net.

Credits: Phantom of the Opera: Pencils by Carlos Gomez, Inks by Julien Hugonnard, Colors by Ross Hughes Fallen Justice: Pencils and Inks by Harold Edge, Colors by Ross Hughes