I have a Monoprice 10x6.5 tablet and Paint Tool SAI. I see a lot of artists who shit talk SAI and Monoprice because they're cheap and constantly talk about how Wacom and Photoshop are the best of the best. Granted, I will not deny that Wacom and Photoshop are good, and the artists who use them, depending on their skills, can produce great works. I repeat - I WILL NOT DENY THAT WACOM AND PHOTOSHOP ARE GOOD AND THE ARTISTS WHO USE THEM CAN PRODUCE GREAT WORKS. Had to repeat that for emphasis for anyone who may decry me as whinging about this.

BUT

I'm so fucking sick of these artists shit talking these products and programs. I used Photoshop and an Intuos 3 tablet for years. It wasn't until I started using SAI that my skills as an artist actually improved. When I got the Monoprice tablet, my skills improved by leaps and fucking bounds.

Notice how I don't say "talent". I was never granted any visually artistic talents. I had to work to get where I am today, and I worked damned hard, so they are hard earned skills.

A great deal of Wacom fanboys and fangirls expect Monoprice tablets to be low quality, simply because they're inexpensive. But let's compare the two:

Comparing my Intuos 3 and my Monoprice tablet, I can easily, without a doubt, say that the Monoprice tablet is FAR superior. The pen is more comfortable, the usable area is larger, the drawing surface is smoother and provides a better glide for the pen, I'm still barely breaking into the first nib, and it weighs less. I've had this Monoprice tablet for only a year, and in that year, I've used it FAR more than I used the Intuos 3 in the entire five years I had it. The Monoprice tablet still looks brand new. The Intuos? No, it looks and acts closer to ten years old. The cable doesn't work unless it's in the right position, the grip on the pen has all but disintegrated, the pen nibs wear out faster than cheap underwear, the drawing area is peeling up, the surface of the drawing area is peeling up and half of the buttons don't work unless you JAM them down.

So, when I say that I want to check out Monoprice's answer to the Cintiq, and I find myself faced with Wacom fanboys and fangirls, decrying Monoprice, I get kind of pissed off. Especially when they say that they've never even tried to use a Monoprice tablet. The worst thing is when I hear these people calling artists who don't use Wacom and Photoshop "hobby artists". If not using Wacom and Photoshop makes me a "hobby" artist, then how the hell is it that, since I started using other products, I've been able to raise my commission prices, my skills have greatly improved, and the all around quality of my work has become VASTLY superior to what I was producing when I WAS using Wacom and Photoshop?

So, in short, unless you're willing to actually open your mind to other possibilities in your trade, quit being an elitist douchebag and open your fucking mind to other possibilities in your fucking trade.