03
It’s gonna be a Cintiq day
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Wacom Cintiq 21UX
After years of wanting a Cintiq, today Christmas comes early for me. My Cintiq arrives via UPS and their tracking application says it is on time for delivery. My first experience actually using one was about 5 years ago at a Flash Forward in San Francisco where I sampled one at the Wacom booth. The love was instantaneous and undeniable. So why did I wait all this time to get one? Well price was probably the biggest hurdle since the Cintiq was over $2500 US at that time. It’s not that I felt they weren’t worth it (they are), I simply didn’t have $2500 in loose change in my pocket.
Recently Wacom dropped the price for the Cintiq 21UX to $1999 US which is a great price, and to be honest, the Cintiq is worth every penny even before the price drop, but for me, there was always something more important to put that kind of money towards (mortgage, kids, food, bills, etc). The reason I bought the Cintiq now is because I recently saw an advertisement from a Facebook user for the sale of a used Cintiq for $1400. I answered his ad by calling him directly and asking him about it. After a short conversation I learned that the seller actually knew me from attending one of my conference sessions a year ago and he had bought my book (small world). The transaction was made and the Cintiq arrives today and I’m pretty darn excited about it (thanks Justin!).
I plan on blogging about my entire Cintiq experience in time - especially compared to regular Wacom graphics tablets that I have been using since the dawn of time. Stay tuned.
I am so darn jealous!!!
Scott Soeder at Nov 3, 08 at 11:58 am
Cool, maybe now you can focus more on frame-by-frame animation instead of that marionette tween technique you’ve been stuck on for so long.
James at Nov 3, 08 at 2:24 pm
Congradulations!
I had the exact same feelings like you Chris. I actually wanted to buy it even when it costed $3000. But…you can’t always get what you want. Now when Wacom reduce the price to $2000 I went ahead and bought a new one.
Now, If you are thinking of protecting your new expensive toy, DON’T. Read my impression of using a ZAGG sheild.
http://www.amazon.com/review/product/B0019GE1B8/ref=dp_top_cm_cr_acr_txt?%5Fencoding=UTF8&showViewpoints=1
Good luck on living your dreams.
Mustafa at Nov 3, 08 at 3:12 pm
Scott - I share your frustration with this….. (still want one… rats)
Congrats Chris, you deserve it!! 
TM at Nov 4, 08 at 1:10 am
Congrats! My company got us (the designers) the exact model you’re getting this past year and it has been a dream. You will love the ease of use. Plus, it’s just so darn cool!
Tiffany at Nov 4, 08 at 11:00 am
Thanks all for your comments - The Cintiq arrived and moments later it was setup and running with barely any fuss. I used it for several hours last night and had a great time with it. I now have my 24″ LCD as the 2nd monitor and keep the other Wacom Intuos connected for when I need to use the mouse or access both monitors. Funny thing is, after 10 years of using graphics tablets, I kept finding myself looking at the Cintiq while using the Intuos - then snapping myself back to the reality that I can draw directly on the screen - repeatedly feeling like a loser!
chris at Nov 4, 08 at 11:40 am
Wicked cool Chris!!!
Eric at Nov 4, 08 at 9:25 pm
I wish I had that problem. That’s funny, I can just imagine!!
TM at Nov 4, 08 at 11:08 pm
Congrats on getting the Cintiq! I have an older model at work, and absolutely love the thing (especially with photoshop…shhhhh… ok it’s pretty great with Flash too). What’s your Flash workspace setup like with the Cintiq?
jdehaan at Nov 8, 08 at 1:38 pm
@ Jen: thanks - and that would make a great blog entry as to my hardware setup - on my custom built PC i have an Intuos 3, the Cintiq and a 24″ LCD - all working in harmony. After the book update is done I will take some photos and blog about it in detail.
chris at Nov 8, 08 at 3:09 pm
I love my Cintiq 21. I have had it for a few years, (I bought it from my old boss when he closed his business).
It is the closest thing to drawing on paper. A couple of weeks back, in the midst of a deadline, my Cintiq wouldn’t start. After some research on the web, I took a chance and ordered a new power brick, the square adapter thing.
Was I ever happy that it worked! While I was waiting for that to be delivered, I had to go back to an old Wacom tablet. I’m glad that I kept them around…for just such an emergency!
Fooksie at Nov 19, 08 at 7:05 pm
You always gotta one up me huh? I get a Cintiq 12 incher… next month you get a Cintiq 21 incher… you know, if nobody knew what a Cintiq was, they’d probably think we’re talking about a dildo… but anyway… it’s kinda tough drawing and not seeing under your drawing hand anymore… but I recommend either switching the Cintiq to Intous mode sometimes, or go back to the Intous once in awhile… the weakening of hand eye coordination for the Intous come fast. But do share how you have personalized those side buttons into.
damon at Nov 21, 08 at 1:43 pm