>>3807043I used Intuous Pro M for four years and never got used to drawing with it. I still have it with me for portability, and I can 3D sculpt and paint with it just fine, but the drawing is a no-no for me. I rather do line work on paper and scan it to photoshop and manipulate it there.
I bought a Cintiq 24" last year and couldn't be more satisfied. Sketching and clean up feels so good with it, and talk about painting. I understand that it's way too expensive toy for most but I have been wanting to have one for five-ish years, and meanwhile I know friends who have blown that amount of cash to gym memberships in that time (while some don't even visit the place).
Based on the reviews, if someone would ask me what to do if they are serious about starting digital art, I'd tell them to buy a new Huion Kamvas 22" as it seems a really viable option. Everything looks really bang for the buck with it if the price tag is around $800 usd.
I have also tried iPad and iPencil and they seem like a good option for quick sketching out in the wild but the screen size (I tried 10,5") was too small for me. But I can see how it can replace gouache and sketchbook if you are doing color studies outside. I personally wouldn't recommend that for a first digital art device likewise I wouldn't recommend Intuos S due to the size. It's difficult to draw and paint loose strokes with your elbows on such a small device.
