Using The Wacom Bamboo In 2021

For a long time I made drawings and paintings the traditional way, using actual canvas, tubes of paint, etc. It was in 2013, eight years ago, when I got my first Wacom tablet. It’s a Wacom Bamboo CTH 470. Believe it or not I still use it to this very day. All the illustrations here were made with my Wacom Bamboo. I may have switched computers over the years but the graphics tablet that drew the line and filled the color has always been the same: my trusty, old Wacom Bamboo.

But I’m not being sentimental, I just don’t see any reason to replace it. It still does the job. I also have nothing to compare it with, so I can’t say how it compares with other newer brands. On paper, the specs between my discontinued Wacom Bamboo and the Wacom Intuos S do show a big gap. The Intuos is more compact, yet has a larger active drawing area. It’s pen pressure sensitivity is also 4 times better. Below is a side by side comparison between the Wacom Intuos S and the Wacom Bamboo CTH 470. I chose the Wacom Intuos Small because I believe it is the Wacom Bamboo’s successor, plus they’re similarly priced at around 5000 PHP or 100 USD.

  • Wacom Bamboo CTH 470
  • Tablet Dimensions: 278 x 176 x 9.8 (mm)
  • Pen Active Area: 147 x 92 (mm)
  • 4 Programmable ExpressKeys
  • 1,024 pen pressure sensitivity
  • Wacom Intuos S
  • Tablet Dimensions: 200.66 x 160.02 x 10.16 (mm)
  • Pen Active Area: 152.40 x 93.98 (mm)
  • 4 Programmable ExpressKeys
  • 4,096 pen pressure sensitivity

Ending Thoughts

So what graphics tablet do you need? It comes down to the kind of work that you do, and for me the Wacom Bamboo still does the job. If you’re in the market for a new graphics tablet, get the one that fits your budget. Don’t overdo it by buying the most expensive drawing tablet. Conversely, don’t go out and buy the cheapest one either. Do your research. To paraphrase Brad Colbow, tools don’t matter as much as you think they do. The latest hardware alone isn’t going to make you a better artist. At the end of the day you have to put in the work required. But if there is one thing to take away from this blog is that Wacom tablets are built to last.