: Should I get a graphics tablet for animation? I want to buy a graphics tablet so I can animate videos for school and maybe a youtube channel if I am good at it. I don't want to spend over

@Sims5801359

For animation I think you'll be stronger at it if you get a tablet and learn some of the fundamentals even if you then move on to rigging and motion tweens.

Also if you want to illustrate and color characters and backgrounds for these animations it can be incredibly useful.

Here are some very good tutorials particularly Photoshop Animation Series (part 1 of 4).

Wacom, the top manufacturer of tablets, has some very good content as well in their Wacom Community. They cover a lot of different uses and software applications.

Should also get the book Disney Animation: The Illusion of Life.

For a complete "tool" roadmap I'd suggest:


Wacom Intuous Draw ()
Adobe Photoshop CC (/mo for students)
AnimDessin2 [discussed in the Photoshop animation series] ([CO] free)
Disney Animation: The Illusion of Life (~)


And then the one other thing that hasn't been mentioned is a smoothing application. See this Answer for your options. None are expensive but it depends if you're on Mac or Windows.

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@Vandalay110

Looking at all the animators in the building, only one of 20 currently present animation students are using a Wacom at the moment (even tough a room full of Cintixes is available). A tablet is good for certain workflows and totally superfluous for others. Looking at the graphics designers also the same most did not use a tablet yesterday. So a very quick, statistically insignificant survey says that its not the most important of things.

With 15 years of experience with graphics as a hobby (and on and off as profession, but i'm a mechanical designer mostly so...) I can tell you that a wacom entirely nonessential. Your work does not get any better for owning one. Some workflows get more manageable with a tablet though. Especially masking, and painting/coloring work benefit immensely from a tablet. However even in these cases its possible to alter our workflow for same effect even with a mouse at no big significant change in productivity.

For animation work a tablet is essential only if you do one of the following:


Traditional frame by frame animation, using no computerized tweens or rigging. (as freehand sketching is not really possible with a mouse for most people.)
3D Sculpting, which is a exceptional case that really benefits form the accuracy and pressure sensitivity.


Other than that it depends on what you do, I have a Cintix tablet connected right now (one of the perks of my job is that i have a lot of cool toys laying around). I don't use it right now except as a third monitor. Don't get me wrong its a great tool when I happen to need it, but mostly it sits idle. It greatly depends on what you do, and how traditional your approach to things are.

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@Rivera951

If you intend to work seriously with animation/illustration/image editing/design/etc. Acquiring one is strongly recommended.

My first one i got for 90BRL (~30USD) and it was kinda okay for a beginner, had its flaws, but served me well for a handful 3 years, then i got one of those basic Intuos for 280 BRL (~90 USD), that i use professionally nowdays.

About programs and tutorials, using them is mostly getting used-to. It is considerably different from drawing in a paper. The key factor is to get used to not look at where you're drawing, but at the screen instead. And to the fact that you're dealing with absolute coordinates with your pointer, instead of relative ones, as with your mouse.
At the beginning, it is normal to feel a little frustrated for not mastering it properly at the first weeks of use, the learning curve's kick-in is slow, but soon you will see yourself using it as naturally as pen and paper.

And for the programs, there is a handful of programs around there for doing stuff depending on what you will work on, since i am no animator i can't tell you with sure programs for animation specifically, but what i would tell you is that for drawing, Photoshop at first will seem a little jaggy with lines, mainly if you have a cheap tablet, but there are software out there that provide some sort of stroke stabilizing features, just like SAI or Clip Paint.

In the end, you will find by yourself which one software you feel more comfortable with, and stick with it.

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