Best Graphic Tablet Wacom Intuos4 Medium Review 2021

While not the cheapest tablet option on the market the Wacom Intuos4 medium strikes a nice balance between cost and fuctionality.

So who needs a graphic tablet?

Have you ever tried navigating Photoshop, Illustrator, Corel Paint or other digital art software with a mouse? If so, you know you need a graphic tablet.

If you’re an aspiring digital photographer, artist, illustrator, or graphic designer looking to improve your work flow, a Wacom Intuos4 tablet will help bring your art to the next level.

Wacom Intuos4 Medium Graphic Tablet

Great Value

The Wacom Intuos4 is the perfect tablet for use with desktop or notebook computers. With a slim profile and light weight the Intuos 4 medium can easily be slipped into your 15.4″ laptop bag. I think the medium sized Intuos tablet strikes a happy medium between workspace and portability.
You will find that this tablet greatly increases the functionality of applications such as Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator, and Corel Painter.
Wacom Intuos4 Medium Pen Tablet

The Wacom Intuos4 Medium tablet is easy to use. 8 express keys and 4 touchring presets provide the highest efficency. With 2048 levels of sensitivity, slim design and a very comfortable pen grip this tablet is a pleasure to draw on. The acitive drawing area is ample and offers the feel of pen on paper you would expect. The included software bundle offers even more value

Wacom Intuos4 Graphic Tablet Video Overview

Wacom Intuos4 Medium Review

My Initial Impressions

Wacom Tablet BoxI have had my first graphic tablet an Intuos 4 medium for just over a week now. Not long enough for a technical review, but I can say that so far I am very happy.

Getting the tablet set up to use was extremely easy, about 10 minutes from opening the box to drawing with the tablet.

Drawing with the tablet is very intuitive. I found the pen to be very comfortable. I did find myself occasionally hitting the buttons on the pen barrel while I was drawing. The feel while drawing on the tablet is very similar to drawing on paper. For me the biggest hurdle so far was getting used to looking up at the screen instead of down at my drawing.

Drawing on the Wacom Intuos4 medium is very comfortable. I think the size of the working space is about perfect. Not so small as to feel cramped, but not so large as to require large arm movements. You can easily reach the entire work surface of the tablet with minimal movement or wrist strain.

The Intuos4 has 8 express keys all conveniently located on side of the tablet making it ambidextrous. I have not yet tried to program these keys. Once I decide which functions need a shortcut, I will program them and let you know how it goes.

I was pleasantly surprised by the selection of software that came with the tablet. The bundle included Photoshop Elements 9, Autodesk Sketchbook Express, Corel Painter Sketchpad, and Nik Color Efex Pro. These are mostly light versions but great for checking out what’s available.

I have not done a lot of work with my Wacom tablet yet, but what I have done was accomplished much more quickly and efficiently using my new tablet.

If you are considering the purchase of a graphic tablet I would highly recommend the Wacom Intuos4 medium.

Wacom Intuos4 Medium User Review Update

After several months of use I am still loving my tablet. The only slight issue that I have found so far, is that the drawing surface is a little bit rough. The roughness provides a nice feel while drawing similar to paper, but also leads to what I feel is excessive nib wear. To combat this issue, I have installed a protective cover on the drawing surface. This simple and inexpensive fix not only reduces nib wear , but also protects the drawing surface from dust and scratches.

Features of the Wacom Intuos4 Graphic Tablet

Wacom Intuos4 Graphic TabletNew Tip Sensor

The Intuos4 features a new tip sensor that reacts with only 1 gram of force, capturing the smallest change in pressure. Artist will find that 2048 levels of pressure sensitivity make it easy to adjust exposure, brush size, line weight, opacity and more.

The Intuos4 Grip Pen

The comfortable grip, reduces hand and wrist stress, and provide the feel of your favorite pen. Convenient user-defined switches located on the pen barrel are preset to “right-click” and “double-click” but can be set to switch between almost any commonly used functions.

The Most Ergonomic Intuos Tablet

The Intuos4 Tablets slim-profiled design, with gently sloping, easy glide palm rests that provide comfort and support while working on all areas of the tablet. With all of the Express Keys and the Touch Ring located on the same side of the Intuos4 tablet is ambidextrous maximizing productivity for right or left hand users.

8 Express Keys

Customizable Express Keys allow you to easily setup time saving shortcuts to match your needs. You can even have different settings in multiple applications. With the handy illuminated display, you can easily see the programmed settings for your current application.

The finger-sensitive Touch Ring

Easily control of scrolling, zooming, brush size, canvas rotation or layer selection with the new touch ring. The central toggle button allows you to control up to four different functions in each application.

Wacom Bamboo Graphic Tablets

Affordable tablets for beginners

Wacom offers an entire line of graphic tablets for everyone from the beginner to the profesional. Anybody with an active interest in photography, digital art, graphic design, or animation will benifit from a good graphic tablet choose the one thats right for you today.

Surface Protectors For Wacom Tablets

POSRUS NibSaver Surface Cover for Wacom Intuos Draw Pen Tablet

Stop Excessive Nib Wear

Protect your graphic tablet and prevent premature nib wear, with these easy to install surface covers.

What Can You Do With A Wacom Tablet?

The creative possibilities are limitless.

Photo editing, photo manipulation, graphic design, digital art, and illustration. The only limitation on the creative possibities of a graphic tablet is your own imagination, as demonstrated by the digital artwork below.

Software To Make Your Wacom Graphic Tablet Shine

Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator, Corel Draw, and Corel Paint

Did You Find This Information Useful?

Getting Creative with a Computer Drawing Pad

A computer drawing pad is quite similar to pen and paper and only differs in such a way that the translation process immediately produces the result. Also called a graphics tablet, it allows graphic designers and illustrators to take advantage of it as a tool of the trade; others such as CAD operators, architects, and engineers use it in designing buildings and other objects that require dimensionality to see a potential product that could be used. It lessens the expense of creating a physical model by building the model on the computer and saves time in discussing defects which can be improved immediately.

In looking for the perfect tablet, you will have to take a look at your own design process. Some people prefer to have big drawing pads, like illustrators and graphic designers, while some prefer having a small because of space issues. For the most part, when watching for a graphic tablet, be sure that it is the one that you will be able to work and be comfortable with. There are already some injuries that are caused by working on the computer for a long time. Things like carpal tunnel syndrome and repetitive strain injury are caused by improper arm posture and equipment that does not suit the user. As such, when searching for your drawing tablet, test out the weight of the pen and even the size of the tablet to see if it ergonomically fits your capability as an artist.

Be sure to note that in buying a computer drawing tablet that the size of the tablet refers to the drawing surface, so you’ll have to see what the outer rim of the pad looks like and how big it is.
Most computer drawing pads have software attached to them. It would be wise to read the specifications of the hardware to see if it is compatible with your programs. If you are not sure, you can easily browse online to see which tablets are best recommended by other designers and illustrators.

For the most part, owning your very own computer drawing pad frees you from the constraint of having to depend on pen and paper for drawing. You can paint with it, erase previous lines drawn, and completely revise your drawings without having to waste resources to birth your ideas.

Share Your Thoughts About Graphic Tablets

Wacom, Intuos, Bamboo or Other

Have you used a graphic tablet? Do you prefer a different brand or model? Are you still shopping? I would be happy to here your thoughts.