This post is to address some common phrases people use in tablet reviews and/or tablet advice which show bias or a simple lack of knowledge about tablets and how they affect your art.
I suggest that you keep an eye out for anyone who says these phrases or something similar when looking for tablet advice because it more often than not means that their advice is not well thought out or well researched and that you should take their advice with a grain of salt.
Table of Contents
- “If you are serious about art, get a Wacom.”
- “If you intend to become a professional in the future, get a Wacom.”
- “Wacom alternatives are cheap Chinese knock-offs.”
- “People who get free review tablets from Wacom alternative companies are biased.”
- Conclusion
“If you are serious about art, get a Wacom.”
The first phrase which makes no sense is:
“If you are serious about art, get a Wacom.”
This phrase shows a complete lack of knowledge about the current state of the tablet market because they clearly do not know, or do not want to believe, that there are completely respectable and worthwhile tablets aside from Wacom right now.
Perhaps they’re still living in the past when non-Wacom tablets had problems more often than not, but it’s clear that they’re not looking at the state of the tablet market in the present.
Also, it’s extremely important to note that your “seriousness” about art is not shown through the tools you have. It’s shown in the time and effort you put into practicing your craft and improving your art, and it has almost nothing to do with the tool you are using. Someone who furnishes their table with a 2000 USD Wacom Cintiq is not necessarily more serious about art than someone who works hard on a basic 60 USD Wacom Bamboo.
It should be noted that there are many “professional” and popular artists who use the cheapest most basic tablets possible, yet they can create works which garner lots of attention with that basic tablet. It’s clear that as long as your tablet gives you proper drawing functionality, there’s absolutely no need to get the “best” tablet possible to be a “professional” artist.
Remember, the tablet is not what improves your art skill. It’s your time and effort which does.
That being said, make sure you get a tablet which actually works and suits you. If you are serious about art, spend the time to find what works best for you, but always make sure that you don’t spend too much time away from actually practicing art!
“If you intend to become a professional in the future, get a Wacom.”
The second phrase which makes no sense is:
“If you intend to become a professional in the future, get a Wacom.”
Well, quite frankly, this is basically a repeat of the first phrase I mentioned. However, I would like to mention again that a “professional” artist is NOT defined by the tool he/she uses. Businesses and commissioners could care less what you use to create the art they want. They just want the art they asked for to be fantastic.
And just like I mentioned before, there are many “professional” and popular artists who use cheap basic tablets to make their amazing artworks. Anyone who says your tool needs to be a top-of-the-line Wacom Intuos Pro or Cintiq to create amazing art clearly does not realize that the time and effort you put into practicing art is much much much more important than dishing out thousands for the “best” tablet you can get.
Unfortunately, money doesn’t buy you art skill. Make sure you keep that in mind.
“Wacom alternatives are cheap Chinese knock-offs.”
The third phrase which makes no sense is:
“Wacom alternatives are cheap Chinese knock-offs.”
This phrase is often said in a variety of different ways, but anyone who uses the argument that non-Wacom brands are bad simply because they’re made in China are clearly not knowledgeable about tablets, or manufacturing in general.
Anyone who uses that argument clearly hasn’t noticed that Wacom tablets are also made in China. Does that make them bad? No. So why would it instantly make non-Wacom tablets also made in China bad?
Basically all products are made and assembled in China because it’s the cheapest place to do it, so saying something is bad because it’s made in China is an extremely uneducated notion.
The important thing that you should actually be considering is not where the tablet is made, but whether the company is actually reputable or not. There are countless reviews on the internet for you to refer to, so you should easily be able to tell whether a company is actually making bad tablets or not. Whether it’s made in China or not has nothing to do with that at all.
“People who get free review tablets from Wacom alternative companies are biased.”
The last phrase which makes no sense is:
“People who get free review tablets from Wacom alternative companies are biased.”
You may already understand how ridiculous this notion is, but sadly, there are many people who still believe in this idea.
The simplest argument to give against this phrase is that Wacom also supplies free products for review. Most, if not all, of the Wacom Intuos 2018 reviews currently on Youtube at this moment (April 10, 2018) are reviews of Wacom Intuoses which were supplied for free by Wacom.
So I ask you this question here: Are all the reviewers of the Wacom Intuos 2018 biased? No, of course not.
I have luckily been able to receive a few free review products myself but not once have I been required to say anything aside from my honest thoughts. Anyone who accepts a condition which requires you to say only good things about a tablet is not a reviewer. They are just an advertising agent.
Anyways, if you’re not following the basics of online shopping and checking multiple reviews to cross-reference the information given about a tablet, do you really have any right to complain when you are misled by a single biased review? I don’t intend to be insulting, but I can really only see it as the buyer’s fault for not taking the time to properly check multiple sources.
(That being said, make sure to check that the reviews are still pretty current because drivers may be updated to address some issues noted in older reviews.)
Side note about Youtube reviews
Most Youtube reviews that do not give honest feedback about a tablet will have a LOT of dislikes from people who were tricked, and will also have quite a few angry comments. However, it is extremely important to note that comments can be hidden on Youtube by channel owners (without even notifying you that your comments were hidden), so you should mainly be referring to the like/dislike bar rather than the comments section.
I did not know you could hide all of a users comments from your channel in Youtube until I had my comments hidden by a Youtuber who only promotes Wacom and hides arguments made for Wacom alternatives.
Basically, they make themselves look good by only leaving the praise comments and illogical Wacom alternative fanboy comments visible. Most of the comments which make valid arguments for Wacom alternatives are hidden, and all their subscribers are tricked into thinking that anyone who supports Wacom alternatives is a crazy illogical fanboy like the ones he leaves visible.
Honestly though, people like that are not a problem. If you’re properly checking multiple reviews from different sources, you should clearly know that they’re just being illogical and aren’t worth your time to watch. I just thought it was important to let you know that you shouldn’t waste your time trying to argue with a biased Youtuber because they have the power to hide all your comments without bothering to have a proper discussion with you.
So yeah, avoid arguing or calling someone out in Youtube comments. If you really need to bring attention to their bias, do it where you know you can have a proper discussion without having your comments deleted.
Conclusion
When you’re looking for tablet advice and you meet someone who uses any of the above phrases, keep in mind that you should probably take their advice with a grain of salt. However, you should probably still keep an open mind and try to judge if their advice is truly uneducated or not. Some people can have valid advice, even if they haven’t realized how illogical the phrases that they use are.
If you know any other phrases that can show someones bias or lack of knowledge about tablets, let me know in the comments section, but these four are all I could think of at the moment.
Digital Art Tablet Guides 
How about :
“Well, Wacom may be expensive but I’ve heard people saying they’ve owned a Cintiq for 11 years and it still runs and holds just like day one!
Trust me, saving up the money for a Cintiq is totally worth it!”
That can be simplified as :
“Wacom tablets will last long while the alternative would broke easily”
Or “Wacom tablets easier and will last longer, than the alternative that you need to worry setup and wont last long”
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True, people seem to insinuate that their Wacom lasting for many years somehow means that the alternatives won’t last at all, even though it just means their Wacom lasted for a long time and it says nothing about the lifespan of the alternatives.
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