It seems funny now to think back to my first little 4”×5” Wacom Intuos tablet in the ’90s. The first drawing software I used with it was a great little program called Painter Classic, and I only used it because it came with the tablet. I am not a hoarder, so I recycled it a while back, but took some photos for the memories.
Eventually, I got Photoshop and have been shackled to Adobe’s subscription model ever since. Remember when we were allowed to buy stuff, instead of renting it forever? Yeah, it’s a sore spot.
While software and hardware have come and gone in my decades-long career, I’ve always drawn on a Wacom tablet or display. I started upgrading Intuos models as they came out, but at some point, I set my sights on an early Wacom Cintiq.
For those unfamiliar, the Intuos tablets are pressure-sensitive drawing surfaces connected to your computer, mapped to your screen. You draw on the tablet while looking at your monitor. It sounds awkward, but it isn’t.
You don’t stare at your mouse when you use it. Same concept.
Plenty of pros still create amazing work that way. I keep a spare in my office and could probably still do my full level of detail on it. I should test that claim one day.
But I wanted a Cintiq, a display on which I could draw directly on the screen. I’d seen them in art magazines and behind-the-scenes features about movie concept artists.
At Photoshop World in Las Vegas in 2010, I was thrilled to win the Guru Award for Illustration and Best in Show. When they announced the prizes, they said I’d won a Wacom Cintiq 12WX display, a smaller version of the large one I use now. So, I went to their booth on the trade show floor, eager to pick it up, and that’s when I met Pam.
It turned out the prize was actually a tablet, not a display. The announcer misspoke. Hey, mistakes happen, and I didn’t want to make a scene. But Pam told me she’d see what she could do, and the next morning, they said they’d honour the announcement.
That’s how I got my first Cintiq, because Pam made it happen.
Over the past 15 years, I’ve had several chances to work with Pam and Wacom. I’ve done demos at Photoshop World, been part of webinars, and recorded videos for new products. Once, Wacom even hired me to demo their gear at a packed event in Calgary. I remember opening a shipment of their displays and thinking, “What have I gotten myself into?”
In 2014, I gave a talk at the Banff high school about editorial cartooning and digital painting, and Pam supplied several Intuos tablets for me to donate to the school.
So yes, I’m loyal to the Wacom brand, but mostly to Pam. She’s been the constant, and has always been great to work with. When the right opportunities come up, ones I’m suited for, she still reaches out, and sometimes, new gear comes with the work. To the guy who bought his first tablet in 1998, that would have seemed surreal.
My loyalty to the products comes from experience. Wacom devices are built to last. In a world full of planned obsolescence, my Cintiq 24HD display has been on my desk since 2012. It’s massive, solid, and still does its job for me every day. Pam now calls it a dinosaur. She’s not wrong, as they’ve had several updated models since, but I love it like someone loves an old car. 
Here it is when brand new, 13 years ago, along with my Otter in progress, still one of my bestselling paintings. Wait…is that a Blackberry?!
Last month, Pam asked if I’d do a video about their new Wacom MovinkPad 11. I’d already seen a positive review from another artist, so it was an easy yes. We worked out the details, and I was pleased I’d get to keep it. Sometimes that’s not how it works with demo products. She even included a case, which I would highly recommend as it functions as a little stand and pen holder, too.
Wacom will share the video I created a little later, but it’s already up on my channel, with permission of course. Rather than repeat what I said in the video, I’ll let you watch it.
But I’ll say this much: I didn’t sugarcoat it. This is the best mobile sketching display I’ve ever used, and yes, better than my iPad Pro. If I’d had to return it, I would’ve asked to buy it. They now have a larger MovinkPad Pro 14, but I honestly don’t feel like I’m missing anything. While the pro specs are impressive, I’m not as on-the-go as some people and don’t need something that powerful. This is the one I would buy, and it’s absolutely the tablet I wish I’d had more than 25 years ago when I was learning to draw and paint digitally.
Full disclosure: I was compensated for the video, and the sponsorship is clearly stated on my YouTube channel. But aside from some technical stuff, Pam gave me full creative freedom on the two variations of the video I recorded. This post, however, is mine, and it’s from the heart.
When politics, the news, and the noise of the world get to me, as it too often does, painting fur, feathers, and the little dimples on a critter’s nose is often the antidote. I’m at my very best when I’m drawing on a screen.
Enjoy the video.
Cheers,
Patrick
After wrapping up the three-cat commission I’ve been working on (and talking about) for the past couple of months, I needed a reset. Not a full break—but something without expectations, pressure, or deadlines. Just a chance to paint for myself again.
