Drawing Tablet for Digital Painting in Paint Tool SAI

If you’re searching for good digital painting software, you’ve probably come across PaintTool SAI. This is a rather old digital painting and drawing program developed in 2004 for Windows.

It is widely used by anime and manga artists, but you can use PaintTool SAI for almost any kind of project. many digital artists combine the PaintTool SAI with popular programs like Adobe Photoshop or Adobe Illustrator to optimize their creativity.

PaintTool SAI is a popular digital artist software due to its simplicity and variety of tools. Its intuitive user interface is simple and easy to learn yet powerful. The popularity can also be attributed to how the lightweight painting software has been optimized to run with minimal resources and rarely crashes.

Drawing tablets are essential for artists painting in Paint Tool SAI. The possibilities they offer are simply immense! With a drawing tablet, an artist will no longer have any limitations.

What is Paint Tool SAI used for?

PaintTool SAI is a graphics design software that helps artists create and edit different types of illustrations like cartoons and anime.

It is an editor and painting tool with anti-aliasing capabilities with which you can smooth out jagged edges and minimize distortions in low-res drawings and images.

It achieves this by averaging the colors of the pixels at the boundaries of different shades. This has a greater impact when there is a high contrast border between pixels.

PaintTool SAI allows you to view entire brightness ranges of different colors on one platform. You can then combine portions of different drawings or images and transfer them or erase what you need.

It has multiple robust tools for specific tasks needed to achieve this. There are raster drawing tools like a marker, airbrush, watercolor and pen. It also has selection-based tools like a magic wand and lasso, which can be configured to enable anti-aliasing, and works well with its zoom and rotate functions.

There are layering tools, Lineart tools, transformation tools, linework layers, brushes and erasers for removing hard edges.

PaintTool SAI enables you to draw smooth curves and diagonal lines without jagged distortions, remove unsightly jagged edges and smooth the edges of your digital images or graphics.

It also softens the color transition between edge pixels and background pixels in Adobe Photoshop to make it appear smoother.

It is compatible with MultiMedia eXtension (MMX) technology, an Intel processor architectural extension that enhances the performance of multimedia algorithms, enabling the processor to handle data faster and more efficiently.

It also has 16bit ARGB color channels in line with photography and Photoshop advancements. This enhances image manipulation because there is more flexibility in handling colors. Editing is easier even in photoshop projects with glaring differences.

The tool provides full digitizer support so you can process all kinds of images and convert analog to digital. You can export your images in their native SAI format or through BMP or PSD.

You don’t have to keep jumping from one application to another. PaintTool SAI also has a data protection function that protects the integrity of your multimedia images and backs them up just in case there is abnormal termination.

The lightweight painting software only requires 1024MB of your system memory and 512MB of storage. This memory footprint and CPU utilization are low compared to the tasks it accomplishes. It is currently priced at approximately $52 per software license, which is a steal for a wholesome digital painting tool like this.

Advantages of drawing tablet for digital painting in Paint Tool SAI

A stylus provides more control and interactivity than a mouse because it gives you the most responsive digital painting experience by allowing your hand and brush to work fluidly as one.

While a mouse is a great pointing device, it is not particularly convenient for painting. A mouse can only move on a flat, two-dimensional surface.

This tool has also been cited as the cause of the aptly named mouse arm syndrome, specifically repetitive strain injury (RSI) and carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS).

A tablet stylus, on the other hand, has the ability to sense the motions of your wrist, hand, and arm. This gives you an authentic feel, accuracy, and control.

Drawing tablets work with commonly used digital art programs such as Paint Tool SAI and Photoshop, turning your computer into a digital canvas. You can draw as naturally and comfortably as you would with pen and paper.

Want to undo? Tab, copy, paste, command, shift, spacebar, and more. You can do this by assigning custom keystrokes or actions to the express keys on your pen or drawing tablet. This enables you to work faster and eliminates the tedium and strain that come with performing seemingly repetitive tasks.

Pressure sensitivity is the key to creating dynamic digital art. With pressure sensitivity, you can vary the width of your strokes and control how dark you would like your lines.

Many Paint Tool SAI brushes respond to stylus pressure. Depending on the variant settings, greater stylus pressure can increase the width of a brushstroke, the penetration of color, or the degree of other effects.

The most significant aspect of a drawing tablet is how sensitive it is to pressure. When you use a pressure-sensitive stylus or pen tablet, the amount of pressure that you apply controls the opacity and width of your strokes.

In theory, a mouse has no pressure information because a mouse button is either “on” (button down) or “off” (button up).

How to Turn on Pressure Sensitivity in PaintTool SAI

In PaintTool SAI, you can easily turn on and adjust your pressure sensitivity through the brush settings and minimum pressure.

Method 1: Use the Brush Settings

In PaintTool SAI the Min Size slider in the brush settings menu “changes the brush size when pressure is 0.” This affects the size of your brush depending on how much pressure you apply while drawing.

Find Min Size under Brush Size in the brush settings menu. Adjust the slider to your preferences. Default PaintTool SAI brushes have Min Size values ranging from 0-50%.

As a general rule, the higher value % your minimum size is, the less pressure sensitivity your brush will have. Therefore, if you want to have a more reactive brush, it is better to choose values 50% and below.

The benefit of using this method to turn on and adjust your pressure sensitivity is the ability to customize the brush to your comfort and preferences.

Method 2: Change Minimum Pressure Settings

Another way to turn on and adjust the pressure sensitivity in PaintTool SAI is by changing the minimum pressure settings in the Pen Tablet section of PaintTool SAI’s options.

In Pen Tablet section find the Minimum Pressure for Brush Stroke. Use the slider to adjust the minimum pressure you desire. keep your values low if you prefer a more reactive brush. The default settings for minimum pressure are usually 0.

3 Good cheap drawing tablets for Paint Tool SAI

A drawing tablet is something you can make great use of whether you’re are an experienced artist or just starting.

Non-screen drawing tablets are some of the most beginner-friendly drawing tablets out there as they are very inexpensive. You use them by drawing on the tablet while looking at the monitor screen.

The Pen Display Monitors come with a built-in screen and support for pen input. Draw directly on the screen is very engaging and enjoyable. They are considerably more expensive than normal pen tables and mostly used by intermediate and professional artists.

With so many drawing tablets out there, it’s hard to know which one to choose if you’ve never used one before.

The pressure sensitivity of a drawing tablet is among the top characteristics to consider before making a purchase. The greater the sensitivity, the more control you have over your strokes.

Drawing tablets come in varying sizes. Generally speaking, you’ll want the graphic tablet size to be close to the size of your monitor.

It’s not as comfortable to draw on a small tablet, so if you have a comfortable working space, it’s a good idea to get a bigger tablet.

The number of hotkeys differs by tablet, but the ones that include more hotkeys allow for greater customization options, which is particularly convenient for pros!

Wacom has been at the very top of the drawing tablet game for a long time. If you’re looking for the best overall and budget-friendly graphics tablet, then the XPPen brand is a must-buy for you. It feels like a premium build device with the wonderful price.

1. XPPen Deco LW

The XPPen Deco LW is a great choice for artists and graphic designers who want the best drawing tablet under $100.‍

It has a 10 x 6-inch working area and a papery texture surface, providing a wonderful experience for your digital artwork creation.

There are eight hard shortcut buttons on the left side of the device that can be customized, as well as two buttons on the stylus.

There are 4 color variants (Black, blue, green, and pink) to choose from, so you can select the one that best suits your style.

The Deco LW comes with a X3 Elite battery-free digital pen, so you won’t have to be bothered if your stylus needs to be charged.

Its 8192 levels of pressure sensitivity, ±60° tilt function, combined with 3g initial activation force, make every stroke more fluent and accurate.

It is compatible with Windows, Mac OS, Linux, Android, and Chrome OS, so you can do your drawing on any device.

It has Bluetooth capability, allowing you not to worry about carrying the USB cable if you don’t feel like it, The fact that you can still use it while it is charging makes it worth it right there.

The XPPen Deco MW tablet has the same technical specifications with Deco LW, but it offers a smaller active area of 8 x 5 inches.

2. XPPen Artist 16 (2nd Generation)

Advanced artists and professionals may elect for an upgraded model like the XPPen Artist 16 (2nd Generation).

The 15.4″ display is a comfortable size for making art work on with enough space to maneuver your arm properly – it also doesn’t take up the whole desk and is even small enough to be portable.

The display is laminated which has no gap between the drawing surface and the LCD beneath. When drawing, the line looks like it’s coming out from beneath the pen tip. there’s no parallax.

The anti-glare screen makes it much easier to draw outdoor or in certain areas, as one of the most annoying things while drawing is having lights reflected on the screen while you draw.

The resolution is the standard 1920 X 1080 FHD, which is more than enough for most artists. True-to-life color with 94% Adobe RGB and 1.07 billion colors means the tint you choose is the tint you’ll see in your final output.

The X3 Elite battery-free pen supports 60 degrees of tilt recognition and 8192 levels of pressure sensitivity. Its initial activation force is just 3g which is to say that the pen register strokes even at extremely light pressures….

Not only is it feature-rich, but it is also compatible with Windows, MacOS, Linux, Chromebook, and Android devices.

The Artist 16 (2nd Generation) tablet comes with a black artist’s glove, a free bundled drawing software (choose from artrage 6 and penCanvas), and ten spare nibs. the four color options of Black, blue, green, and pink also adds appeal to the design.

The XPPen Artist (2nd Generation) series are available in four size variants: 10,1″, 11,9″, 13,3″ and 15,4″. gives pro and amateur artists and photographers new functionality, including android support, Anti-glare coating, and X3 Chip stylus.

3. XPPen Artist 24 Pro

A large drawing tablet is quite an accessory for a professional artist. The XPPen Artist 24 Pro is an illustrator’s dream come true: a large 24″ digital canvas with very little parallax, 2K resolution, wide color gamut and the advanced pen technology.

The 24″ tablet is really big. Make sure you have a deep enough desk to be able to accommodate this beast of a tablet.

The screen with ips panel, 2k resolution (2560 x 1440 pixels) and 90% Adobe RGB color space is very crisp and it feels great to be up close to your artwork. The etched glass protector gives you a nice feel when either drawing or animating.

The PA2 stylus is fantastic. using the pen felt really natural, brush strokes are quick and crisp. It supports 8192 levels of pressure sensitivity and tilt response.

The pen has a rubber grip and comfortable to hold and doesn’t require a battery, so you don’t have to worry about charging it.

This Artist 24 Pro tablet has an adjustable stand that can give you some elevation, from 16 to 90 degrees, allowing it to be used on any flat surface or tilted to the optimal angle for viewing and drawing.

Having 20 programmable keys, as well as 2 Red Dial Wheel can make drawing convenient, which should be more than enough for any artist. The red dial wheel makes certain functionalities like zooming in & resizing the brush easier.

Is Paint Tool SAI available for iPad or Android tablets?

The straightforward answer is no, you can’t, at least not directly. You will need to connect the iPad to a windows machine and use Sai that way similar to a XPPen Artist.

Paint Tool SAI is not compatible with Android, iPad OS and Mac OS devices. SAI is only available for Windows desktop, laptop and tablets that run on Windows operating systems.

The best ipad OS alternative painting program is procreate, which is e is great value for money and costs $9.99 as a one-time purchase.

Paint Tool Sai isn’t available on the android tablet like Samsung Galaxy Tab. There are alternative desktop quality art apps like Clip Studio Paint on the google Play Store. There are other drawing apps that work will like Artflow, Infinite Painter, and Medibang paint.

If you like portable standalone drawing tablet, the Microsoft Surface Pro tablet has windows OS is your best choice for Paint Tool Sai. A compact, and powerful Multifunction drawing tablet for professionals comes with the additional benefit of increased mobility.

A pro version of the Microsoft Surface will come with a pen/stylus. So you have to have a pro version for pen and pressure sensitivity capabilities.

Conclusion

Paint tool SAI’s brush engine is still my favourite out of all the art programs. I just do all the post processing outside of SAI. I always loved brushes with tilt support, but unfortunately Sai doesn’t have that.

I think it’s the only real lightweight option for digital painting. You can work on huge canvases and lots of layers (For me, usually 4k canvas and 60+ layers) and see minimal impact on the CPU.

Big brushes are lightning fast compared to alternative softwares. It still lacks pro level color/level management. But what is offered, works really well.

XPPen Deco MW bluetooth tablet is the one that I use the most because it’s convenient to carry around and I often work in different places. Even though it’s not as fancy as other tablets, it works perfectly fine for what I need in daily work.

I hope this article helps you decide which drawing tablet will suit your needs as a creative person.

Source: https://www.xp-pen.com/forum-6253.html

Drawing tablet for vector graphics design in Inkscape

Inkscape is gaining popularity because it’s free and it offers tools that can create vector graphics.

When working with vectors in Inkscape, brushes are often considered to be vectors. This means that they can be scaled, rotated, and moved around the document without affecting the overall image quality.

The Inkscape program has a simple interface and the tools are easy to learn, which makes it a perfect choice for self-taught beginners who are new to graphic design.

It has drawing tools and shape tools that are great for making icons and illustrations. It’s ideal for designers and illustrators who are looking for free vector design programs for digital work.

If you are planning on using Inkscape, I recommend that you invest in a drawing tablet. This will allow you to have more control and precision when creating your designs.

A good tablet can make your work in Inkscape much easier and more effective. Drawing and coloring are the best examples.

Inkscape: Best free vector graphics design software for beginners

Inkscape is a vector graphics creation and editing application that’s free to download and use on not only Windows and Mac, but also on GNU/Linux operating systems.

The interface of this software is transparent, stable, and consistent. The users get various tooltips along with useful information from this versatile and flexible software.

Inkscape provides several tools and various shapes, paths, text, markers, clones, transparency effects (alpha), transformations, gradients, patterns and groups.

Inkscape also supports Creative Commons metadata, node editing, layers, complex path operations, bitmap tracing, path-based texts, circumfluent object text, direct XML editing and much more.

The default file format is SVG, but can also compatible with important EPS, PostScript, JPG, PNG, BMP or TIP images and export PNG or other vector-based formats.

Design professionals and hobbyists create a wide variety of graphics like icons, logos, illustrations, maps, diagrams, and web graphics from this open-source vector drawing tool.

With the add-ons feature, the users can customize the functionality of this tool. The graphic designers will find it a hugely adaptable and excellent tool.

Inkscape has a dedicated and passionate user community around the world. This community produces tons of high-quality resources and tutorials that you can freely use to learn vector graphic design.

In addition, there are countless online resources available to you at no cost –guides, tutorials, and free courses– that teach you how to use Inkscape, from beginner to advanced.

It’ll also run on older, less powerful computers; however its main issue is that it has a reputation for being a bit slow and laggy. If you can live with that, however, it’s a good free option.

If you are a PC-based illustrator, a designer who is subscription-averse, or you’re unable to invest in expensive software packages, then Inkscape might be for you.

However, expect a learning curve if you are accustomed to working in mainstream products like CorelDRAW and Adobe Illustrator CC.

Inkscape vs Adobe Illustrator: What’s the difference?

Adobe Illustrator CC is a industry-standard software in vector drawing tools and applications for Windows and Mac OS. It does not run on Linux OS platform.

The biggest difference between Inkscape and Adobe Illustrator is that Inkscape is free and open-source, but Illustrator isn’t.

You can directly download and use Inkscape but if you want to use Adobe Illustrator, you need to choose a subscription plan and it can be expensive for some users.

Another difference is that Inkscape uses nodes editing and Illustrator uses the direct selection tool, which gives more flexibility.

The font and text tool in Inkscape isn’t as convenient as the text tool in Adobe Illustrator mainly because, in Inkscape, you can’t preview the text when you change font or size.

Inkscape doesn’t have the option to choose CMYK as the document color mode. That’s a big down point because there is a huge difference between CMYK and RGB color modes when you send the artwork for print.

Adobe Illustrator supports both RGB and CYMK. You can easily select a color mode when you’re creating a new document or change the color mode at any time. Generally, RGB is used for graphics that will be displayed on a screen, and CMYK is used for design items that will be printed.

Handling images in Adobe Illustrator is easier because you can freely transfer them to Photoshop, work between two programs is a plus.

Inkscape allows you to open EPS, AI, SVG, PDF, SVGZ, VSD, and CDR file formats. However, you can’t get all features for AI files when opened in Inkscape. Like Inkscape, Illustrator supports all these file formats. In addition to this, Illustrator supports CorelDRAW, Photoshop, Pixar, and AutoCAD drawing file formats.

Inkscape and Illustrator function in the very same way because they are both vector software that have the same foundation.

While Illustrator has become the standard in commercial graphic design agencies and studios, Inkscape actually allows you to make creations that are as good as those that are created with commercial software.

What is a graphic tablet?

The graphics tablet is comprised of the tablet (surface) and the stylus. This makes it possible to do very detailed work.

Graphic tablets are pressure sensitive so how hard you press with the stylus determines how dark or thick the strokes are on your screen. You can also get features like tilt sensitivity which accounts for variations in the angle of your stylus in the same way that changing the angle on a pencil results in a different stroke. This allows for a more natural way to shade your drawing, for example.

There are a few different types of graphic tablets that all function differently from one another. There is the classic graphic tablet without screen, the graphic tablet with display, and then the standalone tablet computer like an iPad Pro, Microsoft Surface Pro, or Samsung Galaxy Tab.

The first two types of tablets itself has to be connected to a computer or laptop in order to be fully utilized.

Each of these types of graphic tablets are used in combination with many different kinds of software, including graphics, animation, and sketching software. As long as it is compatible with the graphics tablet, you can use the two together.

Does drawing tablet work with Inkscape?

As they replace your mouse cursor, all graphics tablets will work with Inkscape.

Inkscape allows you to create images by drawing geometrical shapes like rectangles, elipses, lines, and curves with your computers mouse or a graphics tablet. The freehand drawing tools make it possible to draw directly onto the Inkscape canvas using the mouse or a graphics tablet stylus.

You will get the best results if you use a drawing tablet and pen. Inkscape is able to utilize pressure sensitivity and tilt sensitivity of a tablet pen that supports these features. The sensitivity functions are disabled by default because they require configuration.

Inkscape has plenty of drawing tools where the most popular one is the pencil tool which is ideal for free-hand drawing. On top of that, Inkscape features a pen tool ideal for Bezier curves or straight lines. There’s also a calligraphy tool that helps users create great-filled paths.

I have to say that I really like Inkscape’s brush tool (it shows as Draw calligraphic or brush stroke) because they are more practical and pressure-sensitive when drawing with a graphic tablet.

Taking Inkscape to Next Level

Although drawing tablets are typically more useful for applications like GIMP (a free raster photo editing software) and Krita (a free bitmap digital painting software), they do have their place in the Inkscape workspace.

A mouse will work fine for the basic functions. A drawing tablet would be good if you start using Inkscape on a regular basis, and are doing more professional work.

It is extremely difficult to create natural lines and curves with a mouse. Also, fatigue soon sets in when making a digital painting or doing heavy Inkscape work with a mouse!

Drawing tablet is an ergonomic device that combines pressure-sensitive pen delivering precision and control that’s optimized to work with Inkscape to speed workflow.

The Tablet offer intuitive controls over brushes that emulate natural media while increasing precision and speed. It allows you to create freehand digital art the same way you would with a pencil and paper.

Artists can draw clear lines, add colour, change from line to shading, and much more. The stylus (digital pen) allows the artist to use various filters and brushes in quick succession, and editing is easy once the image is finished.

The ability to edit quickly and easily is especially important for graphic artists working with editors and directors who may want change.

The drawing tablet offers customizable buttons that can be assigned to application-specific settings that works with Inkscape, putting your favorite shortcuts at your fingertips.

Choose the best drawing tablet for Inkscape

Whether you’re a visual artist moving into graphic design or you just want to bring your illustrations to life in the digital realm, a drawing tablet is a great purchase.

The price of a drawing tablet can vary dramatically from around $50 for a simple screenless tablet to over $1000 for a professional model. Professional-level tablets measure at least 4,096 degrees of sensitivity and should offer a screen resolution of 1080P or higher.

You’ll usually need to install a driver onto your computer before the tablet can be used. A download link and installation guide is typically packaged with the tablet. Once that’s installed, you’re free to start using your tablet on the image editing software of your choice.

Wacom is the brand of choice for most. I have used Wacom tablets but in recent couple years i changed to a XPPen tablet. Much, much cheaper for the same specs.

1. Nonscreen drawing tablet

Cheaper tablets tend not to have a screen. They’re just a basic plastic surface that tracks the movement of the stylus (pen) and displays it in the computer screen.

Drawing tablets that do not have a screen require a very well-developed hand-eye coordination because they’re hard to use in the beginning.

You would need to train your hand eye coordination for a while by just drawing and tracing lines over and over again until it’s second nature. By that point you should be able to draw with ease.

The entire active area of your tablet represents the entire monitor screen – place the pen in the lower left-hand corner of your tablet and the on-screen pointer will move to the lower left-hand corner of your monitor.

While it is completely possible to use Inkscape on any size of non-screen drawing tablet, even the really tiny ones like the XPPen Deco Mini4, it’s particularly hard to create anything meaningful when the drawing area is too small. If you intend to do free-hand drawing, you’ll need a large tablet.

The XPPen Deco LW Bluetooth drawing tablet I own is a non-screen tablet that connects directly to my laptop. Within a week of owning it, I already feel 10x more confident than I did at first. It’s improved my designs and has refined my ability to sketch and draw more with my hand.

It has Bluetooth capability, allowing you not to worry about carrying the USB cable if you don’t feel like it, and the tablet is well-charged.

It has 8 hot keys, easy to press, which makes it much easier to resize your brush and do similar tasks like zooming.

The X3 Elite Stylus that comes with it is battery-free, so there’s no need to charge it at all.

The Deco LW tablet works with both Linux, Windows & Mac, and it can be used with Android with the right OTG dongle (it comes with a USB-C dongle out of the box).

It has a large working area of 10 x 6 inches, a slim profile and nice specs which supports up to 8,192 levels of pressure, 60 degrees tilt sensitivity and the Initial activation force require only 3 gram.

And I recommend it because of the low Initial Activation Force (IAF). which Requires very little force with the pen to make strokes appear.

IAF is the amount of force necessary to cause the pen to output a line. Ideally, your tablet will have an extremely low IAF where the pen will output a line with the least amount of force possible.

High initial activation force (IAF) means that you have to press slightly harder for the tablet to register your pen strokes. While most people don’t mind it, I’m very dependent on light strokes during my lineart process.

You could say that Deco LW tablet is slightly more expensive than similar tablets, but you get more features & better drawing experience along with it. If you can shell out the additional cost, then I believe you will get your money worth from it.

2. Screen drawing tablet

A tablet with a built-in display is considerably more expensive but gives you better control and visibility.

The graphic display tablet allows the user to write on the tablet’s screen and see the fruit of their work exactly as one would with a pen and paper.

Not having to look between hand and screen and you also don’t have that awkward disconnect between hand and eyes.

I prefer to work with 13,3″ XPPen Artist 13 (2nd Gen) drawing display rather than Deco LW tablet, it’s just that much more intuitive and natural for me with less frustration and multiple undos.

The Full HD IPS display comes with 16.7 million colors. Combine that with the 96% Adobe RGB color accuracy and you’ve got the perfect display for Inkscape.

The screen of the Artist 13 (2nd Gen) has full-laminated technology to minimize parallax, a good anti-glare texture to prevent glare from light reflecting off the screen.

On top of that, the X3 Elite pen has 8192 levels of pressure sensitivity, ±60 degree tilt recognition and minimal initial activation force. Making your arts look as detailed as possible. The pen is also battery-free.

The XPPen Artist 13 (2nd Gen) also did a pretty good job of handling the rest of the features. For example, you’ll be getting 9 re-programmable express keys. It also support Android device connectivity via a full-featured USB Type-C cable.

It’s lightweight, available in four colors (Black, Green, Blue, and Pink) , easy to set-up, and comes with free drawing software (Artrage 6, openCanvas and Cartoon Animator 4). What more can you ask for!

Overall, the XPPen Artist 13 (2nd Gen) is a great display tablet for using Inkscape at an even greater price. If you choose this tablet, you’re bound to love it!

3. Standalone Drawing Tablet

Windows, Android and iOS devices like the Surface Pro, Samsung galaxy tab and iPad Pro take on the other drawing tablets in two ways. You don’t need another computer: just download an art app and start drawing with your fingertip or a stylus.

The good thing about the them is that it’s a standalone device, you don’t need to connect it to anything. It’s easy to carry around and work on-the-go.

The disadvantage is that since it’s a small computer, it doesn’t have much storage, processing power or even speed in comparison with most desktop computers (which drawing tablets are connected to). Also It’s a big jump in price from all the previous drawing tablets.

Inkscape is not available for Android and iPad OS Tablet but it works on Windows standalone tablet like Microsoft Surface Pro yet. I’d suggest you just try it out if you prefer the portable touchscreen and stylus. but notice that you need to buy the surface pen separately.

After buying a tablet for Inkscape

After buying the XPPen drawing tablet, using Inkscape is a completely new and refreshing feeling. I can now create all my sketches digitally which helps save me time and makes sketching even easier.

I can easily make the changes to my sketch when needed as I just have to return to that layer and go back to sketching.

Inking is a breeze because you can always get those thick perfect lines just the way you want them and if they’re not what you want all you have to do is change the brush, just like picking up a different marker in real life.

Coloring is even easier thanks to masking and sometimes I don’t even bother masking now because of how precise I’m able to get my lines.

Conclusion

Not every designer needs a graphics tablet, it’s certainly an option, not a requirement. If you do typographic design, logo, branding, or vector graphic design in Inkscape software, using a tablet is not a must.

If you’re an illustrator, then definitely yes you should get a tablet because it’ll level up your art. Lines and strokes look much more natural when you draw with a tablet than a mouse.

Using a stylus, you’ll be able to tilt the pen and move your hand and wrist in a much more natural drawing position, giving you much more control over the strokes you’re creating.

If you’re choosing a tablet for assisting daily graphic design work in Inkscape, I would say a nonscreen graphic tablet is more than enough. For digital drawing, I would go for a tablet with a screen or the All-in-one drawing tablet.

Adding a drawing tablet to your design arsenal will not only improve your work but will bring you a refreshing design experience that might even spark your next big piece!

Source: https://www.xp-pen.com/forum-6236.html

Drawing Tablet for painting and illustration in Corel Painter

Corel Painter is the market-leading digital painting software, but in order to run smoothly, it needs the right device.

Plenty of people use drawing tablet for digital painting in Corel Painter, because using a stylus is much more natural and precise than using a mouse.

You can take full advantage of the realistic brushes in Painter by using a drawing tablet. Use Brush Tracking to show Painter how you paint and then take advantage of the power of pressure, tilt, bearing and rotation control of Painter’s brushes for the most impressive painting results.

You will not get the most out of this software if you are not using a drawing tablet; do not get this software unless you are using a device with a pressure sensitive pen or you also plan on buying a drawing tablet.

Is Corel Painter worth it?

Corel Painter is one of the leading software for painting and illustration and is developed by Corel corporation . It runs on both Windows and Mac OS.

Corel also has other softwares like CorelDraw (vector design), PaintShop Pro (photo editing) etc.

Corel Painter is a raster-based digital art application created to simulate as accurately as possible the appearance and behavior of traditional media associated with drawing, painting, and printmaking. It is intended to be used in real-time by professional digital artists as a functional creative tool.

The application offers a wide range of traditional artists’ materials and tools. The features are Brush Search engine, Stroke preview, Jitter brushes, Advanced Brush Controls, Brush tracking, Cloning workflow, transforming multiple layers at a time, Memory optimization, Flow Maps, Custom palettes, Customizable surface texturing etc .

There are different types of painting that it offers such as oil, watercolor and acrylic. From there you will be able to utilize their brush and color offerings. There are over 170 brushes to choose from! Beyond this it allows you to use things such as a pencil and charcoal for sketching.

Mirror and Kaleidoscope tools are amazing! Using Corel Painter’s new Kaleidoscope (top) and Mirror (bottom) tools, you can quickly create unique designs.

The most interesting feature in Corel Painter is the RealBristle technology which uses the angle and the pressure of the stylus pen for controlling the color and effects of the image.

With the aid of a graphics tablet or computer mouse, the user is able to reproduce the effect of physical painting and drawing media such as watercolor, oil, chalk, charcoal, and color pencil.

There are also a few non-traditional items, such as the Image Hose, pattern pens, F/X, Distortion, and Artist tools for allowing artists to apply less conventional elements to an image.

If you don’t want to try tracing or drawing yourself, or you are in a studio where you need to increase productivity, Painter’s Auto-Painting palette will transform your photo into a painting automatically.

You need a super computer to deal with pro-grade resolutions, and computations are heavy. This is one of the reasons why Painter cannot be defined a rock-solid software to rely on totally…

Do you want to paint on a 8000px canvas with the Real Bristle and Watercolours? Only 16GB od RAM and 2 cores? Pray…

Is Corel Painter better than Photoshop?

There are a few key differences between Corel Painter and Photoshop that may make one or the other a better choice for certain types of projects.

Photoshop is made by Adobe and is the industry standard for photo editing. It has a wide range of features and tools that allow users to make detailed edits to photos.

Photoshop’s brush engine is very versatile, if one takes their time with it to make your own brushes (or if you get them from someone else whether free or bought) you can get pretty cool results. however photoshop doesn’t exactly emulate the actual “paint” that well which is a part of what Painter does.

Corel Painter is made by Corel and is geared more towards digital painting and art. It has a more limited set of features than Photoshop, but the features it does have are specifically designed for painting.

Bristle and Watercolour models of Painter are almost “unbiased”: this means that there is a physics model behind pigment/media/canvas interactions so results are “almost” real.

A lot depends on your background in art. If you have a lot of experience with traditional media like oils, acrylics, etc., you might find Corel Painter’s brushes more easier to use; in my experience they emulate natural media more closely than Photoshop right out of the box, especially when you combine them with various paper/canvas textures.

Please be aware that there is no definitive answer to this question as it depends on individual preferences and needs. Both Corel Painter and Photoshop are excellent software programs with a wide range of features, so it is worth taking the time to try out both to see which suits you best.

When it comes to price, Photoshop has a clear advantage. It is available as part of Adobe’s Creative Cloud subscription, which starts at $20.99/month.

Corel Painter is only available as a standalone product, which costs $610 or Subscribe for S$ 24.92 monthly.

Corel Painter Essentials is a hobbyist version of Corel’s Painter line of software which cost only $ 69.00. becuase it lacks some of the more complex and capable features of the pro version.

For users who are focused on photo editing, Photoshop is the obvious choice. It has more features and is more affordable.

For users who want to create digital paintings, Corel Painter may be the better option thanks to its specialized tools and features.

Drawing Tablet Advantages for painting in Corel Painter

To draw & create artworks, either if you decided to use Corel Painter or any other art program, I highly recommend that you get a graphics tablet, as using one is closer to how you draw using pencils or brushes, compared to a computer mouse at least.

Graphics tablets can also be a huge productivity boost for creating artworks, and it can make drawing certain lines easier. And more importantly, it is generally more healthy & comfortable than using a mouse.

If you use a Drawing Tablet for Corel Painter, it will gives you new, more realistic velocity control. As you increase the speed of your pen, less ink is applied, resulting in thinner brush strokes. If you slow down your drawing, brush strokes get thicker.

Corel Painter supports pressure sensitivity of graphics tablets just fine. In case you don’t know what pressure sensitivity is, it is a feature in graphics tablets that allows you to get a thicker or thinner lines based on how much you press the pen on the tablet surface. This aims to emulate how traditional pencils work.

And besides being able to vary the thickness or your lines, some programs allows you to use pressure to affect other things, like the brush opacity.

Similarly, for heightened realism, Corel Painter is fully responsive to the tilt of the pen on the tablet. A more vertical angle of the pen will create a thin brush stroke, while a slanted angle yields a wider stroke, perfect for shading and textures, and for enlivening a drawn outline.

Graphics Tablet Recommended

Almost any pressure sensitive drawing tablet will be a massive improvement on trying to use something like Painter with a mouse.

Wacom graphic tablets are seen as the industry standard, but when you get started with digital art, I would advise getting a low budget graphic tablet, they can do a great job.

XPPen tablets are priced very reasonably for the performance that you get. That makes them an excellent choice for beginners or occasional use.

1. Non-Screen Graphic Tablet

A screenless graphic tablet works a bit like a mouse and needs to be attached to your PC or laptop.

You can draw on the surface of the graphic tablet using a special stylus. The surface of the graphic tablet reflect your screen.

So when you put your stylus in the upper right corner of the surface, you will find your cursor in the upper right corner of your screen.

It takes some time to get used to, since you need to watch the screen and can’t look at your hand while drawing.

They are relatively cheap, actually you can get a decent graphic tablet for around $50 – $100.

I’d recommend getting a graphic tablet at A5 or A4 size, this is large enough to make fluid strokes.

I tested Corel Painter with my XPPen Deco MW A5 sized tablet, and it worked pretty well when it comes to both the pressure & the tilt sensitivity.

XPPen Deco MW has a good size working area of 8 x 5 inches, while it’s not the largest, gives you more than enough room to draw comfortably.

The tablet has a compact design and is pretty thin to carry in your backpack easily. but it’s built strong enough to handle a few knocks here and there.

With 8,192 levels of pressure sensitivity, 3 gram initial activation force, tilt recognition and virtually no lag. the X3 Elite Battery-free Stylus give you the tools needed to create amazing artwork wherever you go.

Thanks to a built-in battery and Bluetooth connectivity on the tablet, you’ll be able to use it where and how you see fit.

This tablet is compatible with Linux, Android, Chrome OS, Mac OS and Windows when it comes to compatibility.

You can get your hands on the XPPen Deco MW in any of the following colors: Black, blue, green, or pink .

2. Graphic Display Tablet

If you want to make digital art on your computer, but don’t want to use a screenless graphic tablet, then a graphic display might be an option for you.

They are more expensive than a non-screen graphic tablet, but let you draw and paint directly on a screen. Perhaps this will feel more intuitive to you.

XPPen Artist 16 (2nd generation) is one of the best drawing tablets with a large drawing area, tilt recognition, accurate color display, superb stylus, and more.

This tablet has a Full HD IPS 15.4-inch screen fearures a color accuracy coverage of 94% Adobe RGB which giving you a crisp, clear view that you need as an artist.

Coming with a fully laminated and anti-glare-treated screen, this Artist 16 (2nd generation) has no parallax, and it offers even a much better colour output.

This tablet comes with an excellent classic design with the screen on the right and 10 shortcut buttons on the left side that you can easily customise.

You get the connectivity ports on the right, making it pretty convenient because the wires won’t interfere when you’re drawing. you can even use both power the Artist 16 (2nd gen) and display video with a single USB-C cable.

The battery-free stylus powered by X3 smart chip has 8192 pressure sensitivity levels, pen tilt support, and 3g low initial activation force making it super accurate.

It is compatible with Mac, Windows, Chrome OS, Linux and even Android devices. Artist 16 (2nd gen) allows flexible drawing, sketching, and editing as per the user’s needs.

The tablet also comes in four colors: Black, blue, green, and pink. so you can select the one that best suits your style.

3. All in one Tablet

With an all in one tablet I mean a tablet like an iPad (iOS), Microsoft Surface Pro (windows) or Android tablet like samsung galaxy tab. which supports pen input function.

There are a number of good Android tablets available in the market but most of them do not come with a stylus, Of course you could draw with your finger, but that isn’t very comfortable and won’t feel very intuitive.

what’s great about all in one tablets, is that you can take them anywhere. You could draw during a trainride, while enjoying a cup of coffee in a cafe or just while relaxing on your couch!

The drawback of the all in one tablet is that it is on the expensive side and the digital pen has to be bought separately.

Corel Painter is a software that can be used on a windows or Mac OS computer, so there is no direct way to use it on an iPad and Android tablets.

The best iPad drawing app alternative is Procreate. for android users, Corel has a “painter mobile” drawing app which enables you to draw on the go whenever inspiration strikes you.

There are circumstances where the near-unique nature of the Microsoft Surface Pro means that it really is the best creative device on the market for Corel Painter.

If you want the thinnest, lightest device you can run the full version of Corel Painter or CorelDraw or PaintShop Pro on, it’s a no-brainer.

Conclusion

Using a graphics tablet is a no-brainer. I prefer XPPen tablets, stylus, because both are optimized to use the features in graphics software and the stylus is super sensitive and precise.

Anyone with the artistic skill, talent, and imagination can use the Corel Painter program to create artwork, be they an amateur, hobbyist, enthusiast, or professional.

For those who don’t have the artistic skill to use graphics programs, there are all kinds of online tutorials and books. However, you learn more by doing.

What this means is that if you’re really determined to learning how to use Corel Painter or any graphics program, just go into it and play around with some of the brushes and features.

Just remember to temper your expectations and don’t expect to be the next Rembrandt.

Source: https://www.xp-pen.com/forum-6222.html

Best Christmas XPPen Drawing Tablet Deals 2022

Are you planning to buy a new drawing tablet during the Christmas 2022 sales? If yes, then you are in just the right place!

In this guide, we’ll be covering the very best Christmas XPPen drawing tablet deals to save you time and money this December 2022.

Right now, you can save up to a whopping 40% on leading models in the XPPen Christmas shopping season.

Why Drawing Tablets?

Digital drawing is amazing, but you can’t do it efficiently without a graphics tablet. A tablet and pen can provide detailed pressure information to your photo editing or drawing software, unlike a mouse’s binary control.

Drawing tablets are excellent tools for artists because they enable you to sketch and draw using a stylus and touchscreen, which converts your scribbles into digital art that you can view and edit on your computer.

The pen tool is the ultimate and most precise tool for drawing paths. You will have much greater and finer control (pressure control, angle control) once you dial in the pen pressure settings on whatever software you use.

Use a drawing pad for photo editing in photoshop, this all means you have much more control over your brush operations (among other operations). Consider dodging and burning, where instead of having to continually tweak the strength of your tool, you can just press harder or softer. This not only lets you work far faster, but with much more refined control.

A few general benefits of drawing tablets are that the stylus does not require any batteries and you will never run out of ink!

Using a drawing tablet can help reduce the risk of carpal tunnel syndrome or repetitive strain injuries (RSI). it provide some comfort and ergonomic advantages.

Macro buttons are the additional configurable buttons built into the tablet. These typically can be programmed right from the tablet’s driver software, and can perform functions as simple as switching between tools, or as complex as multi-step macros.

Having a good number of accessible macro buttons can make using a tablet a seamless process, allowing you to stay hands-on with the tablet throughout multiple steps in your workflow.

Playing games like osu with a drawing tablet gives you better flexibility and faster movement than a mouse because you can bend your wrist much more quickly and save time when doing jumps.

A drawing tablet is a comfortable, cost-effective, low-maintenance way to add a digital pen to teachers’ classroom experience without distracting from teaching/learning.

The wide compatibility of drawing or graphics tablets makes them ideal for developing pre-recorded videos and lectures in addition to real-time learning.

XPPen Christmas drawing tablet deals 2022

Graphic tablets are essential tools for visual artists. XPPen has made a name for itself as one of the most prominent manufacturers of such tools and related accessories.

XPPen creative drawing tablets and displays are compatible with virtually every piece of creative software, from Mac OS to Windows to online-only apps.

If you are looking for a drawing tablet and want a better deal and better value for money, you should confidently go for XPPen.

Christmas might still be a couple of weeks away, but popular drawing tablet manufacturer XPPen is kicking things off early with an epic Christmas sale.

Purchase directly from the XPPen United States Official Store, and you could save up to 40% off the retail price of some of the best drawing tablets on the market today.

This is an excellent opportunity to pick up a XPPen tablet on the cheap.

See below for quick looks to the best XPPen Christmas drawing tablet deals.

1. XPPen Artist Series

The price makes the XPPen Artist Series a must-have product for any digital artist wanting to move up from a Deco or other non-screen graphic tablet.

XPPen Artist have many things to recommend: a decent screen with fully laminated and anti-glare technology, good color reproduction, a comfortable stand, and a precise & responsive stylus.

If you don’t already have a favorite piece of digital art software, or you’re looking to learn something new, every XPPen Artist product is bundled with 3 free drawing software (ArtRage 6, openCanvas, and Cartoon Animator 4) so you can get your hands on the power of using XPPen Artist for creativity.

Artist 10 (2nd Gen) (10.1″, $144.49, -15%)

Artist 12 (2nd Gen) (11.9″, $199.99, -20%)

Artist 12 (2nd Gen) Gift Edition (11.9″, $199.99, -20%)

Artist 13 (2nd Gen) (13.3″, $254.99, -15%)

Artist 16 (2nd Gen) (15.4″, $319.99, -20%)

Artist 22 (2nd Generation) (21.5″, $399.99, -20%)

Artist 24 (23.8″, $559.99, -30%)

Innovator 16 (15.6″, $299.99, -25%)

Artist 12 Pro (11.6″, $207.99, -20%)

Artist 12 Pro Line Friends Edition (11.6″, $209.99, -30%)

Artist 13.3 Pro (13.3″, $209.99, -25%)

Artist 15.6 Pro (15.6″, $277.49, -25%)

Artist Pro 16 (15.4″, $314.99, -30%)

Artist Pro 16TP (15.6″, $629.99, -30%)

Artist 22R Pro (21.5″, $449.99, -25%)

Artist 24 Pro (23.8″, $629.99, -30%)

Artist 12 (11.6″, $159.99, -20%)

Artist 15.6 (15.6″, $269.99, -10%)

Artist 22E Pro (21.5″, $424.99, -15%)

2. XPPen Deco Series

The XPPen Deco Series tablet is really top-notch. It feels great, has a nice heft, and looks professional. which was perfectly engineered to be handled by someone with a soft and precise touch.

Its lightweight design is perfect for using it on a desk or on your lap, and with multiple sizes and colors available, you can use this practically anywhere.

With virtually no lag, 8,192 levels of pressure sensitivity and ±60 degrees of tilt function in the battery-free pen included, the XPPen Deco is the best one on the market for professional artists.

The possibilities are endless when it comes to creativity with XPPen Deco Series, and that is reinforced with a fully-customizable buttons located on the side of the active area. These buttons allow for artists to add their most-used tools to them for easy access.

Deco Mini 4 (Active area: 4 x 3 inches, $19.49, -35%)

Deco Fun XS (4.8 x 3 inches, $23.99, -20%)

Deco Fun S (6.3 x 4 inches, $31.99, -20%)

Deco Mini 7 (7 x 4.37 inches, $42.49, -15%)

Deco Mini 7w wireless (7 x 4.37 inches, $50.99, -15%)

Deco MW Bluetooth (8 x 5 inches, $62.99, -10%)

Deco Pro S (9 x 5 inches, $74.99, -25%)

Deco Pro SW Bluetooth (9 x 5 inches, $90.99, -30%)

Deco L (10 x 6 inches, $62.99, -10%)

Deco LW Bluetooth (10 x 6 inches, $80.99, -10%)

Deco 01 (10 x 6.25 inches, $46.74, -15%)

Deco 01 V2 (10 x 6.25 inches, $47.99, -20%)

Deco 01 V2 Line Friends Edition (10 x 6.25 inches, $47.99, -20%)

Deco 02 (10 x 5.63 inches, $67.99, -15%)

Deco 03 wireless (10 x 5.62 inches, $74.99, -25%)

Deco Fun L (10 x 6.27 inches, $39.99, -20%)

Deco Pro M (11 x 6 inches, $97.49, -25%)

Deco Pro MW Bluetooth (11 x 6 inches, $111.99, -25%)

3. XPPen Star Series

The XPPen Star Series is a cost-effective drawing tablet that allows for 3D Modeling & Sculpting, writing, taking notes, painting, editing photo and playing osu.

It’s one of the most basic XPPen’s drawing tablets. But don’t be fooled by its looks, it’s still durable and powerful.

With virtually no lag and 8,192 levels of pressure sensitivity in the battery-free pen included, the XPPen Star Series tablet is the best one on the market for beginner artists.

Ideal for mobile use (most models). Highly portable. Good value for its price. Pen stylus comes with extra nibs included .

Star G430S (Active area: 4 x 3 inches, $17.99, -40%)

Star G640 (4 x 3 inches, $27.99, -30%)

Star G640 Line Friends Edition (4 x 3 inches, $27.99, -30%)

Star G640S V2 (6.5 x 4 inches, $39.99, -20%)

Star 05 wireless (8 x 5 inches, $52.49, -25%)

Star G960S (9 x 6 inches, $34.99, -30%)

Star G960S Plus (9 x 6 inches, $41.99, -30%)

Star 03 V2 (10 x 6 inches, $44.99, -25%)

Star 06 wireless (10 x 6 inches, $68.79, -20%)

Conclusion

These are the best deals you will find on XPPen drawing and graphics tablet this Christmas.

Your personal needs and budget will determine which graphics tablet works will be best for you. Buy the one that caters to all your needs and falls within your budget.

The XPPen Store Christmas promo in the End of Year 2022 is global. like XPPen United Kingdom Store and XPPen Australia Store . If you are not lived in united states or canada, then head to the XPPen local online store by select your region from the menu at the top.

Tell us which XPPen tablet you purchased this sale season or drop in a few other recommendations, in the comments section below.

6 Best Drawing Boards for Tattoo Artists to Create Design

Tattoos are a great way to express yourself and your personality. those with tattoos are usually very proud of them.

Tattoos have become less taboo and more of a trend in recent years.

Tattooing is a permanent choice, so it is important that the design is well thought out and executed flawlessly. one thing that remains the same about getting inked is the ability to design your own meaningful tattoo.

When it comes to sketching out a tattoo design, artists have a few different options for tools. The most common and classic tool is the pen and paper method.

Using a pen and paper gives the artist a lot of control when it comes to the line work and details of the tattoo.

Another popular method is using a computer program to design the tattoo. This can be anything from a basic drawing program to a more complex tattoo specific program.

This method is becoming more and more popular as it gives the artist a lot of freedom to experiment with the design and make changes quickly and easily.

Tattoo artists print the design on a special transfer paper, then transfer it to the client’s skin. This makes any tattoo designed in art programs like Photoshop easy to get permanently drawn onto your skin.

I loves the fact that it saves on paper and sketching time and it’s so easy to add layers and remove lines. Being digital it’s backed up in the cloud, so I’m not hunting through masses of paper trying to find that sketch, for the client who’s in the waiting room !

Tattoos are art just like anything else, they just have different styles and rules that make them special. Once you get the hang of drawing and coloring and shading in general, you can apply what you’ve learned to tattoo styles.

7 Best Tattoo Design Software & Apps

Whether you’re a tattoo artist or someone looking to get a tattoo, there are plenty of design apps to aid your decision.

While using an app from the Apple App Store or Google Play is the most common, many revert to using software like Adobe Illustrator or Photoshop. That being said, you should use the option that best fits your budget and skills in technology.

Procreate

Procreate is great for “painterly” work and pencil sketching because of the minimalist interface, Available only on iPad, and packed with features artists and creative professionals love.

One of the biggest advantages of this app is that the default brush sets are beautiful and they are fully customisable.

Moreover, you can create your own brush/ brush set to meet your own drawing needs.

Moreover, the powerful “Adjustment” function located at the top left corner in Procreate (icon looks like a magic wand),

allows you to apply various effect to the selected layer, including Blurs, Sharpen, Noise, Hue, Saturation, Brightness, etc.

In almost no time at all, Procreate has become the essential tool for digital illustration on the iPad due to its intuitive interface and the variety of resources and artistic styles for which it can be used.

Designing digitally makes it easy to create perfect lines for stencils, present work to clients, and quickly resize designs during an appointment.

Adobe Fresco

Adobe Fresco replaced the two previous mobile drawing apps from Adobe, Photoshop Sketch, and Illustrator Draw. both were discontinued for iOS and Android and are no longer available for download.

Adobe Fresco is a powerful new iPad app that combines your favorite Photoshop brushes with vector brushes and Live brushes.

This new functionality allows you to “paint with watercolors and oils that blossom, blend, smear, and smudge just like the real thing.” Since vector brushes are also an option, you can create crisp, clean lines that are infinitely scalable so you can print your masterpieces at an size.

Adobe Fresco has the power of the Photoshop painting engine. It’s USP, the “real-time brushes” that duplicate the communication of ink or paint with paper. Its element of the specialist system jobt hat Adobe brands like Sensei.

Adobe Fresco is free for the basic version, but like all things Adobe, there’s a monthly fee for more advanced features and Photoshop Creative Cloud integration. If you have an iPad and an Apple Pencil, it’s worth downloading the trial just to check it out.

Some tattoo flash I did on Adobe Fresco. It’s got a super neat watercolor live brush. Works like a charm!

Clip Studio Paint

Clip Studio Paint Pro is the perfect program for artists on a budget since it doesn’t cost very much but still provides plenty of vector and brush tools for you to create professional-looking comics.

For more detailed work for both lineart and painting, I prefer CSP due to it’s more advanced features. I don’t use CSP for manga/comics or animation, but I use it kind of like a better Photoshop geared towards illustration and general digital art.

It is definitely more complex and takes a lot of time to learn, but it has a lot of features that Procreate just doesn’t even try to have.

For example, the vector options alone would probably be worth the price for you. You can draw a line and then pull/adjust it into place. The inking brushes are extremely smooth and crisp. Anything that involves inkwork is going to be better on CSP than Procreate.

The most impressive feature of this is how easy it is to draw. The brushes “feel” natural and drawing is smooth. Changing sizes and shapes are intuitive and line weights react excellent from graphic tablets.

Available on Windows, macOS, iPad, iPhone, Android & Chromebook. You don’t need a new device to make pro art!

Adobe Photoshop CC

Photoshop is one of the most popular and powerful photo editing software programs used by tattoo artists. It allows them to create custom designs and make changes to existing designs.

In addition to providing a complete photo editing experience, Photoshop is a great drawing program for improving drawings. Many digital artists use this system to make beautiful images.

You can use it to draw up all kinds of tattoo designs and ideas. The program features layers, freely zoom for finer details, and a variety of other drawing tools. The Pen tool and Freeform tool can be used for drawing on a blank canvas.

There are several painting tools available in the Photoshop application. The Brush and Pencil tools are used as traditional drawing features to apply color with strokes. You can use the Eraser, Blur, and Smudge tools to modify the image further.

Making tattoo art in Photoshop is a lot more straightforward than you probably think it is.

Adobe illustrator CC

Adobe Illustrator is a magical software. Rich in features and functionalities, it provides infinite opportunities for designers to create any sort of design. The interface is intuitive, the toolset is impressive, and the number of tutorials you can refer to whenever you are stuck with your design makes it a top-choice for every designer.

you can create a tattoo vector illustration in Adobe Illustrator. it has powerful shape tools. you can make curves faster, shade with mask and blob brush, and color quickly.

Adobe Illustrator CC is an industry-standard tool in vector drawing and editing for professional design and artwork.

Rich in features and functionalities, it provides infinite opportunities for designers to create any sort of design. The interface is intuitive, the toolset is impressive, and the number of tutorials you can refer to whenever you are stuck with your design makes it a top-choice for every designer.

you can create a tattoo vector illustration in Adobe Illustrator. it has powerful shape tools. you can make curves faster, shade with mask and blob brush, and color quickly.

I have used Adobe Photoshop for sketching, Then I transfared the sketch into Adeobe Illustrator. Inking process is important for defining outer lines of your artwork. Try to crate all lines as clean as possible when inking process. This will huge impact your final result of artwork.

Medibang Paint Pro

If you’re looking for a free app to draw and design your tattoos, then MediBang Paint is the one for you. Initially created as a comic creation app, MediBang is a great graphic app that you can use to design a tattoo for yourself or your clients.

It offers multiplatform support and is available for Android, iOS devices (iPhone and iPad), Windows, and macOS. You can use the app to draw and paint gorgeous tattoos. Start a design on your PC, then take it over to your iPad or Android tablet with ease.

You can use it to import photos to help create or design a photo tattoo. MediBang also has a network of users that you can share your work with when you create an account. That’s a great way to get your work out there, besides the traditional social media route.

While the app does have ads, they don’t disrupt the creative process. It may not replace the likes of Photoshop or the beloved Procreate. However, MediBang is a simple, yet powerful drawing app that any tattoo lover or artist would enjoy.

Autodesk Sketchbook Pro

Autodesk Sketchbook is one of the easiest to grasp designing/ sketching apps out there. Used by concept artists, designers, architects, and even Tattoo Artists. it is one of the go-to options for deigning.

It lets you create basic sketches and convert them into intricate designs with minimal efforts. It is opted by professionals looking for clarity and speed when working on their stylistic projects.

Users can also capture ideas on the go since the software lets users use device cameras as scanners.

It helps digital artists and illustrators design with professional-grade perspective tools and intuitive user interface.

Works with graphics tablets. Changing the size of the brush is very intuitive – this operation can be performed using a keyboard shortcut or a special toolbox.

It is a popular app suitable for all systems – iOS, Mac OS, Windows and Android. You can sketch, draw, and paint on any platform it’s badass !

what drawing tablets do tattoo artists use?

If you’re a graphic designer, illustrator, or digital tattoo artist you’ll know that a drawing tablet can boost your creativity and streamline your workflow.

You can use a graphic tablet such as Wacom or XPPen to create and use calligraphic brushes in digital painting software.

Almost all drawing tablets for tattoo design have a number of sensitivity levels (some as few as 2000, others can go over 8,000.

A pen with high pressure sensitivity picks up even light pen strokes, making it easy to create different shades and shapes without digital augmentation.

In the same vein, many pro-grade tablet pens feature “60-degree tilt,” which allows you to press down on the pen tip from many angles, offering much a wider range of marks, and less frustration.

Before we jump in, it’s important to make sure you understand the difference between the different types of graphics tablets.

There are 3 types of drawing Tablets for Tattoo Sketches:

Classic drawing pad

Don’t have screens are more common and affordable. They’re basically large, pressure-sensitive trackpads that you control with a special stylus.

Using a classic drawing tablet like xppen deco 01 v2 can still work really well, but it takes some time to get used the hand-to-eye coordination.

Screenless is a great affordable option for a beginner don’t concern yourself with what the pros are using get what works for you and fits your needs now. Your equipment will grow with your skills as and when required.

Pen display monitor

Built-in external monitors that hook up to your computer. Drawing directly on the screen is really nice to have, similar to the pen-to-paper drawing, however, these tablets also come at a much higher price tag.

They offer a natural experience and help take your creative ideas and illustrations to the next level. Apart from looking stunning, you can draw or paint directly on the screen using your favourite 2D Software or 3D Software which makes it more intuitive and responsive for the digital tattoo artist to use.

I recommend that tattoo artists use drawing tablets with display, the possibilities presented by having a digital surface with countless colors and hues means that anyone with enough skill and creativity can find a way to apply digital capabilities to physical objects.

XPPen is a great brand, and I recommend their Artist line there’s a variety of sizes there, so just browse the specs and see what best suits you. Their products are quality and their customer service (should you ever need them) is good too. XPPen Artist have to be plugged to your computer and to the wall to work, but give you the freedom to use all your desktop apps.

Standalone Pen Computer

The main want/need for this type of tablet is to be portable, and have a decent battery life. This is because the tattoo artist wants to continue drawing the hours away from the comfort of being outside, or in different areas of their house without needing to be plugged in.

Standalone drawing tablets, such as the iPad Pro, Surface pro, and samsung galaxy tab, function without being connected to a laptop. extremely portable, good battery life, and works great, so you can draw on the go.

This types of tablets also comes with a pressure-sensitive stylus offering features designed to replicate the experience of drawing, writing and sketching on paper, with a real pen or pencil.

The ability to take a picture (fitted with a camera) and instantly edit it, or use it as a template for an illustration or concept drawing, is priceless for many creative users, such as tattoo artists, muralists, and sculptors.

One of the main disadvantages of buying a standalone drawing tablet like iPad for drawing is the cost. Even the cheapest iPads are much more expensive than other drawing tablets, which is why it’s best to think about how you want to use your tablet before you set a budget.

6 Best drawing tablets for Tattoo Artists: Reviews & Recommendations

Now that you know the basics, it’s time to go out and pick the best drawing tablet for you.

1. iPad Pro

iPad Pro with apple pencil is a great tool for tattoo work and can make creation of any tattoo design a lot easier and less time consuming.

The 12.9 inch large screen will feel as big as a laptop, plus apple pencil will blow your mind with on intuitive and reactive it is. Procreate drawing app is great for doodling, sketching, and doing linework .

As far as screen quality goes ipad pro is great, it’s a glass screen, offering a resolution of 2048×2732 pixels at a pixel density of 264 pixels per inch (ppi). plus the super retina hd display tech of apple is supposed to be really good.

The display can refresh at up to 120Hz and supports dynamic refresh rate switching. It also has lower reflections, DCI-P3 color space, True Tone, and HDR video.

Apple Pencil is considered one of the most advanced styluses in the market and known for its consistent, smooth, and reliable performance.

Drawing has a better feel thanks to the speedier processor. The higher refresh rate also ensures that latency when using the Apple Pencil is reduced further to 20 ms.

As for the cameras themselves, the rear-mounted 12MP wide and 10-MP ultra-wide sensors take great photos.

2. Samsung Galaxy tab S8 Ultra

Incredibly slim, sleek design, a brilliant, punchy screen that’s expansive – perfect for watching, photo editing, or sketching on, and plenty of power help Samsung’s Galaxy tab S8 Ultra stand out.

With Samsung’s AMOLED screen technology, which is incredibly deep, vibrant, and rich, which is one of the finest and most color-accurate displays out there with support for HDR10+.

The 14.6-inch display supports a resolution of 2960 x1848, plus the high 120 Hz refresh rate makes every touch and pen input interaction feel very smooth.

The display looks beautiful. Bezels are thin. Colours are vibrant and display is bright. All visuals look sharp.

The included S Pen is well built, has a matte textured surface, nice to hold, has one side button and a firm rubberised tip.

The S Pen is almost cylindrical, and it feels more natural on first use given the softer, more pen-like tip. supports up to 4,096 levels of pressure sensitivity with tilt recognition – and it works great.

This is the best Android tablet for creating digital art and tattoo design.

3. Surface Pro 8

The Surface Pro 8 is an excellent tablet that comes with Windows 11. Digital creatives will love the power on offer here in a tablet form factor, but you’ll need to spend extra for a stylus.

It comes with a 13-inch PixelSense display with a resolution of 2,880 x 1,920, and at this screen size, that leads to a fantastic looking display with pin-sharp details.

On some models you can now up the refresh rate from 60Hz to 120Hz. it makes using a stylus for doodling even more responsive.

The most advanced versions featured an Intel Core i7-1185G7 processor with integrated Iris graphics, 16GB of RAM, and 256GB of storage. You can opt for an i5 model with half the RAM and storage, but performance will take a hit.

The image is very sharp, because there with a good 10MP rear-facing webcam and a 5-megapixel front-facing camera, which can capture video/image in 1080p.

Surface Pro 8 battery lasts only 6~8 hours on average use but advertised to last 16hr! Good tablet, good pen, not so good battery life.

If you want a capable tablet but don’t want to switch to iOS or Android, the Surface Pro 8 is a great choice.

Unlike iPads or Android tablets which run mobile operating systems, the Surface Pro 8 isn’t limited to mobile apps. So, you can run full Windows apps such as Adobe Photoshop, while still benefitting from the slim and light tablet form.

4. XPPen Artist (2nd generation) series

The XPPen Artist (2nd generation) is a pen display. Basically a second monitor that plugs into you Windows or Mac computer allowing you to draw in it with the included pen.

The resolution of these displays are FHD, that’s 1920 x 1080 pixels. On the 10.1” / 11.9” / 13.3” / 15.4” display of the XPPen Artist 10 (2nd gen) / Artist 12 (2nd gen) / Artist 13 (2nd gen) / Artist 16 (2nd gen) that looks really nice and crisp.

The IPS panel can reproduce 1.67 billion colors and features ≥ 90% Adobe RGB color gamut the colors and accuracy are amazing.

XPPen Artist (2nd generation) series is equipped with an anti-glare glass, which makes the screen can virtually eliminate reflections and reduce eye strain.

The display is laminated so there’s no gap between the line and the pen tip. it’s meant to remove parallax, ensures the cursor will always follow the pen nib closely.

The X3-Smart-Chip battery-free digital pen is a very popular stylus amongst artists and is known for its accurate tracking and well-balanced pressure sensitivity.

Initial activation force of the pen is low to 3g and thin lines can be drawn easily even with a thick brush selected.

The tablet also comes in four colors: Black, Blue, Pink, and Green. which is quite rare to find.

This tablet is compatible with windows, macOS, ChromeOS, Linux, as well as Android phones / tablets both via USB-C or HDMI wired connectivity.

It also comes loaded with ≥ 6 customizable express keys that you can set for general usage and your most-used tools/key commands to keep keyboard use to a minimum while working.

The reverse side of the tablet features four rubber feet to help keep it secure on most desks/tabletops to avoid any slips and shakes while editing.

On paper the XPPen Artist (2nd generation) looks very good indeed. It’s commonly agreed that XPPen do a good line in affordable and good quality screen drawing tablets.

5. XPPen Artist Pro series

It is very important for a drawing tablet to have a color-accurate screen. The XPPen Artist 12 Pro / Artist 13.3 Pro / Artist 15.6 Pro comes with a 11.6″ / 13.3″ / 15.6″ screen which covers 100% sRGB / 120% sRGB / 120% sRGB color space. it is decent enough.

The screen’s quite sharp thanks to the FHD resolution of 1920×1080 pixels, the colors are pretty punchy for an IPS panel, and it gets sufficiently bright.

The fully laminated display technology reduced the parallax to the lowest level, which means a thinner profile, improved display quality, better outdoor visibility, wider viewer angle, more accuracy. Drawing experience are really good.

XPPen provide a high-quality matte screen protector for the Artist 12 Pro / Artist 13.3 Pro / Artist 15.6 Pro drawing monitors, it support anti-glare and radiation protection. Plus you get extra scratch and drop resistance and an oleophobic coating to see off greasy fingerprints, too.

The Artist 12 Pro / Artist 13.3 Pro / Artist 15.6 Pro comes with some of the very unique features – like the red roller wheel, combine with other 8 programmable shortcut buttons on the tablet. you can get things done faster with the quick access to shortcuts.

Features a non-slip rubber grip design, the Battery-free digital pen PA2 will bring you a comfortable & stable grip that helps to relax your mind and enable you to come up with more creative ideas.

The 200PPS data transfer rates, 5080LPI in resolution, ±60° tilt function and 8192 levels of pen pressure sensitivity allow getting a professional level of drawing (make the thinner line with one simple movement).

XPPen’s Artist Pro tablet is one of the most compelling entry-level graphics displays on the market. It’s lightweight, well-built, highly customizable, color-accurate, and all for a reasonable price.

6. XPPen Deco MW / Deco LW

Loved for its thin and light design, the XPPen Deco MW / Deco LW comes in 4 gorgeous colors: Black, blue, green, and pink.

The XPPen Deco MW / Deco LW has a active drawing area of 8″ x 5″ / 10″ x 6″. It’s light, thin, and easy to maneuver around on the desk, but has rubber feet to help keep it from sliding.

The tablet’s enhanced effective surface also gives more friction to the tips, which gives a feel that is similar to writing on paper with a pencil.

There are a row of eight express (shortcut) keys along the side. The tablet can be turned so the keys are on the left or right side depending on if you are right or left-handed.

This tablet has a resolution of 5,080 lines per inch, and the pen has 8,192 pressure levels and can be used tilted down up to 60 degrees on either side.

The battery-free Stylus used the X3 Smart Chip has a more stable pen tip, less latency and better durability, as well as improved precision.

The XPPen Deco MW / Deco LW packs a 1,000 mAh battery which can last up to 10 hours of continuous use. This operates the Bluetooth 5.0 connectivity that uses significantly minimal power while maintaining very low latency.

This tablet is compatible with windows, macOS, ChromeOS, Linux, as well as Android phones or tablets both via Bluetooth or wired connectivity.

The two XPPen Deco MW & Deco LW tablets are thin, lightweight and stylish. But yet feels solid due to a high-quality plastic build.

It works flawlessly and provides a professional experience at lower cost.

Final Verdict

I make this guide for anyone wanting to learn or improve designing tattoos.

Some drawing tablets are ideal for beginners while others boast advanced features and technology that are suitable for professionals.

I’m a professional artist and for me, a PC and dedicated drawing tablet like wacom cintiq or XPPen Artist is an absolute must, while the iPad is nice to have but not necessary.

Personally, it feels more natural drawing on a screen tablet than an iPad because of that- a matte screen protector could help with that (I have one on my iPad).

There are professionals who can use iPads for their main workflow so it really depends on you!

Pen displays generally speaking provide better value for money simply because it’s cheaper. Eg a XPPen Artist 15.6 Pro 15.6-inch pen display is around US$370. And there are so many brands to choose from.

Source: https://www.xp-pen.com/forum-6074.html

XPPen Artist 16 (2nd Generation) Amazing Screen Drawing Pad Review

There is nothing like drawing and painting directly on screen! Which allows you to work directly on your images via a display and pressure-sensitive stylus, giving you a real-world, natural-style workflow for painting and retouching that’s hard to beat.

XPPen offer quality pen display drawing pad for Beginner and Professional Artists. and both of their premium lines of tablet are highly respected – Deco, their screenless tablets, and Artist, their display tablets.

With a Deco, there is a hand-to-screen disconnect to get used to, moving your hand on the tablet to imitate brushstrokes while looking at your screen to see the results.

The Artist line, cranks it up a notch. It’s the same tablet experience, except you are drawing directly on screen. Using a Artist feels more like real drawing and painting.

I have used a XPPen Artist for a number of years owning the 22″ and then the 24″. These tablets always retailed for over $1,000.

I just received the new XPPen Artist 16 (2nd Generation) and it has far exceeded my expectations. The response-rate is fast, the pen tip accuracy is better, it’s lightweight and it’s the perfect size for me.

This is my third product from XP-PEN and I am completely impressed with the brand’s performance and pricing.

In this Article, I’m going to look at the product more from a design perspective.

Introduce

XPPen Artist 16 (2nd Generation) is a 15.4″ creative pen display designed to help you make your imagination come to life in rich color and sharp detail.

It comes with the super responsive X3-Smart-Chip Stylus – so you can create with incredible control and high accuracy and offers the familiar feel of pen on paper with the boundless potential of digital creativity.

The 2nd Generation version of the XPPen Artist 16 is a refresh of the previous generation and costs $399.99. XPPen took a lot of the feedback from users and used it to improve upon the device.

The Artist 16 (2nd Generation) is a fantastic tool for digital sketching, illustration and technical drawing and incorporates XPPen’s many years of experience and know-how in building products that make creativity more natural and productive.

Click here to visit the XPPen’s official site if you want more information: https://www.xp-pen.com/product/1203.html

Unboxing

The packaging just felt fancy, super high quality, and really pretty to boot.

Once open, the first thing you find inside the box is the tablet. The tablet is covered in a plastic bag.

This tablet also comes with Stylus, Quick Guide, 18 months warranty card in the US, 3-in-1 USB Cable, USB Extension Cable, Power Adapter, 3 Power Plug, Cleaning Cloth, Black Drawing Glove and 8 additional standard nibs.

The ACS05 foldable adjustable tablet stand, Protective Case and the single USB-C to USB-C Cable are optional which not included.

Overall, I’m extremely happy with the tablet and the addition items in the tablet.

Design

The XPPen Artist 16 (2nd Generation) includes an attractive but compact design, making it easy to incorporate the tablet into a workspace.

The enclosure is machined from a solid piece of plastic, giving it a very durable and professional feel.

Four gorgeous colors are available to fit your personal style: Black, blue, green, and pink. the green one is really aesthetic.

There are eight shortcut buttons on the display’s left side that can be programmed to carry out simple tasks.

On the right side, you’ll find several buttons and connectivity options. There is the power and a pair of dedicated brightness buttons starting from the top. Below are two USB-C ports connecting the pen display to the computer.

Behind the tablet are 4 large rubber feet to prevent it from sliding around on table.

I was a little shocked by the weight of the tablet, I figured it would be super light and slight playable which is a big plus for transport.

If you’re looking for a pen display to use on the go with a laptop, you should definitely check the Artist 16 (2nd Generation) out – you won’t be disappointed.

Connections

The connections are fantastic, including USB type-c. not providing a USB-C to USB-C cable with the tablet seems like an oversight.

The USB-C to USB-C cable for connection shoule be full-featured. In this case, “full-featured” means a cable that’s rated for power, video, and data transfer.

With the apple Macbook Pro, I can easily use the USB type-c cable to connect the XPPen Artist 16 (2nd Gen) tablet. So easy and convenient.

I can also use the pen display with the desktop computer with the HDMI connection (3-in-1 cable).

The included 3-in-1 cable is USB-C port on the pen display’s end and has a separate HDMI and two USB-A (power and data) plugs on the other. the additional included USB extension cable can be plugged into an actual power plug.

The HDMI plug and black USB Type-A plug need to be connected directly into your computer. However, the red USB Type-A plug is only used for power delivery. The USB extension power cable gets you about three extra feet of reach.

If you don’t have an extra USB port on your laptop, you can use a simple USB-C adapter.

Driver Download and Install

Once I downloaded the driver from XPPen’s official site, installed, and restarted, it didn’t take long at all to get started at all.

The driver functions as expected, allowing pen calibration, canvas area and pen pressure customization, and setting up the dedicated shortcut buttons.

Of those, we get eight on the tablet and an additional two on the pen. these buttons can be programmed to activate shortcuts and other commands.

Compatibility

The XPPen Artist 16 (2nd Gen) will work with pretty much any computer. It’s compatible with Windows, Mac, Chrome OS, Linux, and even Android OS. If your device has the necessary ports, you shouldn’t have any issues. The same is true for your software. You can dig right in and start working in all Adobe software, GIMP, MediBang, Krita, and others.

The operating systems I’ve tested are MacOS and Windows 11. I have seen reviews of people using this with a Android phone or another tablet out and about on the go, but I don’t use it with Linux and Android devices so I can’t say much.

Screen Technology

The XPPen Artist 16 (2nd Gen) have a beautiful, vibrant screen. which is pleasant and really smooth.

This pen display uses a 15.4-inch IPS panel that supports 1920×1080 resolution. the high-definition provides outstanding clarity and color.

The screen response is fantastic, thanks to it being fully laminated, eliminating any air gap between the screen and the touch-sensitive sensor.

The tablet can reproduce 94% of the Adobe RGB color range, equivalent to 90% of NTSC or 127% of sRGB. It means a screen with colors you can trust compared with a regular monitor. which is an extremely useful function when you publish a lot on the internet.

XPPen Artist 16 (2nd Gen)’s wide color fidelity improves a photographer’s workflow and helps guarantee better results every time. Photo prints that always look right make this a photographer’s favorite.

Even out of the box, the colors look accurate. Of course, I recommend you calibrate the monitor before starting to work with it. I use X-Rite i1 Display to calibrate my monitors, and after the calibration, I can say that the display looks even better. The contrast and sharpness are both perfect for photo editing.

It has a glossy display and, rather than an etched glass screen, but it comes with an anti-glare textured matte screen protective film.

The onscreen feel is a very personal choice. the matte screen protective film makes drawing more natural and can help deal with glare issues.

The Screen protector also protect screen from irreversible damage such as scratches, dings, and harsh cleaning chemicals.

Stylus with X3 Smart Chip

Its companion stylus, the X3 Elite, provides 8,192 levels of pressure sensitivity, a low activation force, and tilt recognition of even the lightest pen strokes. As with other pens in the XPPen family, you don’t have to charge it.

It reacts to as little as 3 grams of Initial activation force with ten times better sensitivity, so “artwork can be produced with a featherlight stroke.

The nib has less retraction of about only 0.6 mm when pressed against the screen, and lines appear instantly upon the slightest touch of the surface. The pen is also very light and handles perfectly.

This new X3 smart chip technology certainly makes the stylus very responsive that shows while carefully crafting sun-shadow ink line transitions or adding rapid brush strokes for color texturing.

The super precise pen is combined with virtually no parallax and just enough screen resolution, allowing the artist to achieve exact line placement when needed!

Drawing Performance

For the past few weeks I have been using the Artist 16 (2nd Gen) Display Tablet by XP-PEN and I must say I was really impressed by the drawing experience.

This product’s build is elegant, The screen feels so nice to glide the pen on. There’s very little parallax, and the beautiful matte etched screen protector creates a drawing experience that feels natural.

It has such a high color accuracy and such good contrast that – when combined with the provided pixel density – it makes you completely forget that you’re working on a screen.

The tablet runs smoothly – of course this also has to do with the computer you plug it into – it has no lag, working on the screen surface is really comfortable & the pressure sensitivity is really great.

Having used XPPen tablets since the 22″ Artist 22 (2nd Generation), I have become used to the fluid drawing experience that the EMR (Electro Magnetic Resonance) pens provide. The pens don’t have batteries and are well balanced with a comfortable feel and never need to be charged.

When in Photoshop, there are so many tools that take advantage of pressure sensitivity, that I can’t image drawing or retouching without one.

The pen has minimal initial activation force. As long as the pen tip touches the drawing surface, even without any pressure applied, you can get a line. The pen is very sensitive at low pressure levels.

Lines can transition from thin to thick and back smoothly. Curves turn smoothly. It’s easy to maintain consistent pressure. Drawing performance is consistent and predictable.

I did not experience any glitches with various drawing software I’ve tested, namely Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Illustrator, Affinity Photo, Affinity Designer, Medibang Paint Pro, Clip Studio Paint and Krita. Pressure and tilt sensitivity work as expected.

The overall drawing experience is excellent. Lines come out exactly the way I expect them to.

The Digital Artwork made by this tablet:

The shortcut buttons are such a life saver! They don’t wobble, are large, and have a delightful, rubbery feel with a satisfying click when pressed.

The included Drawing Glove is made of Lycra which is an elastic material that provides comfort and flexibility, it fits my hand perfectly, keep sweat off of my tablet and help me draw smoothly.

XP-PEN’s attractive design and attention to detail are admirable, especially considering the company’s target user base at this price point.

Final Verdict

XPPen Artist 16 (2nd Gen) is a good looking graphic tablet with solid build quality. I really love my new tablet so much, it has given me the ability to create the art I’ve always wanted.

The Drawing performance is consistent and predictable, in other words, excellent. I did not encounter any glitches with the various drawing software I’ve tested.

My overall experience is very positive. The product works as expected so this review is easy to make.

The only downside is perhaps the limited number of physical shortcut buttons. If you need more than 8 buttons, you can purchase the optional XP-Pen AC19 Wireless Shortcut Remote.

So if you’re interested in looking to get more hands-on with your work in a digital way, with one of the best and most affordable pen tablets on the market right now I think you are really going to like this product.

You can decide whether this is worth the money based on the experience I’ve shared.

Buy it from XPPen US official store: https://www.storexppen.com/buy/artist-16-2nd.html

XPPen Deco LW Bluetooth Drawing Pad Review: Great alternative to Wacom Intuos

It’s a common question in photography and digital art groups: “Should I get a drawing tablet?” The benefits of using a tablet are many, including health benefits.

Drawing tablets offer consumers a welcome alternative to a traditional mouse. Using a mouse can be like trying to draw with a bar of soap, requiring lots of repositioning and repetitive movements.

By contrast, Graphics tablets are designed to provide a more natural experience, similar to touching pen to paper. The tablet represents your computer monitor in a one-to-one relationship, so that a stroke of the pen translates to a matching line on the screen.

The pen that comes with the Graphic tablet is pressure-sensitive, allowing you to make fine lines or bold strokes by varying how hard you press.

It’s also more comfortable to use for long periods. you can rest your arm/hand in a more natural position and it is easier on your wrist.

Drawing tablets are great for creative activities, from sketching to drawing to photo retouching. They also offer a unique opportunity to integrate handwriting with digitised documents.

With it, you can record yourself online using your webcam and Zoom while writing with the digital pad on your your laptop screen. which provide a better online teaching and writing experience!

Use a Pen tablet to add a handwritten signature to a typed letter, jot down quick notes, or mark up a document. You can leave your handwriting as is, or automatically convert it into typewritten text.

The screen drawing pad is objectively better in every concievable way over the non-screen versions, Drawing directly on the screen is really nice to have, and it is highly functional if you’re on a budget.

The non-screen tablets are by no means bad in any way, and It’s actually a lot more handy than you would think.

It’s actually not hard but in the beginning there will be a learning curve. The key is to keep your eyes on the screen instead of looking down at the tablet.

10 years ago I’d have recommended Wacom every time, within all budget ranges. But now they have competitors that are absolutely comparable.

Think about wacom like if they were apple from the drawing tablets market… their products are good, but super overpriced when compared with the quality of the other brands that have been entering the market.

From personal experience XP-Pen is my favourite, wide variety of price points and models, screen and non-screen.

XPPen are a good brand for beginners on a budget, The price of an XP-PEN is significantly more affordable compared to a Wacom device with almost identical specifications.

Review

XPPen’s latest Deco L & Deco LW graphics tablet is a professional model aimed at professionals rather than consumers. it’s a type of drawing tablet without screen.

This is my 2nd XPPen device, bought because I wanted a wireless option vs dragging cables around with me. And this new X3 Chip pen technology appealed to me.

When I decided I wanted to upgrade my tablet, my biggest concern was: Is it worth it to go from XPPen Star G640 to XPPen Deco LW? Is it a significant improvement, or should I save money for a XPPen Artist instead?

XPPen Deco L & Deco LW is available in a choice of four colours (Black, blue, green, or pink) and two versions (normal Deco L model or Deco LW which support wireless connection via bluetooth v5.0 ).

Both versions include a cordless pen, and has a 10＂x 6＂large active area for use on the tablet. The XPPen Deco L & Deco LW package also comes with a collection of popular design software — Zoner Photo Studio X photo editing software, Explain Everything whiteboard software and ArtRage Lite digital painting program.

The normal XPPen Deco L model, at $69.99, is the best value in the line, taking into account these extra goodies. The XPPen Deco L Bluetooth model costs $89.99.

Unboxing

For the price they are charging, it’s good to see a good number of items included.

In the box you get a tablet and pen, USB-A to USB-C cable, USB-A to USB-C adapter, USB-A to Micro USB adapter, paper documentation, Bluetooth Receiver, plus ten spare identical nibs and a metal nib-remover, though unlike the other XPPen Deco models there’s no pen holder to store these in.

I like that it includes adapters for micro USB and USB-C so you can use it right away with mobile and other devices.

Design

The two XPPen Deco L & Deco LW tablets are thin, lightweight and stylish. But yet feels solid due to a high-quality plastic build.

The 8 short keys are located next to the working surface, useful for accessing frequent keystrokes or launching selected applications.

On the back of the tablet are four tiny rubber feet. Without these, the tablet would surely slide around your desktop.

The X3 Elite Stylus is sleek and comfortable. It features two buttons that can be set to a choice of functions, or to which you can assign a custom pop-up menu of your favourite commands.

Compatiblity

XPPen designed the Deco L & Deco LW tablet to work across multiple platforms, and the level of support is excellent. XPPen Deco L & Deco LW model is now compatible with Chrome OS, Windows, Mac and select Android devices.

There are a good number of apps that support the XPPen Deco L & Deco LW and all of its available features. ArtRage, Photoshop, Illustrator, SAI, GIMP, Krita, MediBang Paint, Clip Studio Paint, FireAlpaca, and Sketchbook all support pressure sensitivity and shortcut functionality.

Bluetooth

The XPPen Deco LW has a wireless adapter which determines the range and the stableness of the connection. I love not having even more cables on my desk!

While using Bluetooth, it was still very responsive, but I did have an occasional jitter. It wasn’t often at all, and it didn’t really affect me at all.

I’ve found the battery life to be more than enough for long editing sessions (a few days or more if I don’t use it constantly all day) and the recharge times to be good (I do admit that I charge overnight usually if needed).

The tablet can also be used plugged in via USB while charging, so you won’t miss any pen time. As far as Bluetooth connection, I haven’t experienced any lag nor did I have any issue with the initial connection.

Working Surface

10＂x 6″ working area seem the perfect compromise between larger workspace, portability, and affordability to me, and I haven’t regretted the choice.

I personally prefer this 10＂x 6″ size as you can draw more freely. Working for long hours on the small Star G640 tablet makes my wrist hurt. Have to zoom in/out a lot.

The tablet surface has a slight texture to it too, probably to allow some kind of feedback whilst drawing.

A lot of people on Internet said that the surface scratches easily (in like a week or two of use). They said the same thing about the Star G640 – didn’t happen to any of my tablets.

All you have to do to avoid this is change the pen pressure levels, make it more sensitive, so that you don’t need to put much pressure on the pen.

Another thing you can do to further protect the surface is to put a paper on top of it, it actually feels pretty cool!

Stylus

The pen itself is the usual XPPen design and is light, easy to use and features 8192 levels of pressure sensitivity.

Thanks to XPPen’s electro magnetic resonance technology, this pen will never need a battery. Build quality is also very solid and

While not unpleasant to hold, it’s made of hard matt plastic and its contours are straight – a far cry from the PA2′ (PA2 Stylus was designd for XP-Pen Artist Pro series) soft-touch, moulded effort.

Unlike Star G640’s pen, the Deco LW’ digital pen has a tilt angle of up to 60 degrees (which can be very useful when using certain brushes, if you’re into them).

This pen uses the new X3 Smart Chip and only have a reduced initial activation force to just 3g. So the stylus has a very low actuation point which is super nice to have. You can draw thin lines very easily by applying minimal pressure.

Installation

Installation is no problem. In fact, when I plugged this into my PC, it worked straight away!

The provided USB-C cable is nice and thin too, which cuts down on the bulk of the device. you can plug in the wireless (bluetooth) connector if you want to be totally portable from your Mac or Windows Laptop.

If you are a new user of XPPen graphic tablet, you need download the correct tablet driver from XPPen official website ( https://www.xp-pen.com/product/1168.html ) and install them on your computer.

XPPen Deco LW’ driver lets you customize pen pressure in a more effective way – which you should do! It also allows you to configure it differently for general use and for drawing-software use!

The driver allows you to change the functionality of the buttons on the pen and the buttons on the pad. Even better, you can customize the buttons for particular programs. Being able to map my keyboard shortcuts to individual buttons is a huge assist to my workflow.

Use experience

The XPPen Deco LW had a very natural pen on paper feel which I liked a lot. Working Surface is not sensitive to fingers therefore it can’t be used without a pen.

For working with photographs, the precision and ease of a pen beats a mouse any day. This tablet is excellent to edit photos in photoshop. I love having Photoshop for color editing and layer effects.

The pressure sensitivity allows me to alter the brush size or opacity just by pressing harder or lighter on the tablet as I draw. and responds well to various amounts of pressure. The pressure sensitivity is a little hit or miss depending on the program.

Combined with the natural feel of the pen, this allows me to make photograph alterations involving hand-drawn layer masks and dodging/burning with ease.

Actions that would have required multiple brush size changes, opacity changes, and tons of clicks of a mouse can literally be done in a single stroke with a tablet.

I highly recommend getting a tablet if your mouse makes you frustrated while editing photographs.

If you are straight into Drawing/Illustration or also Animation, Clip Studio Paint and Paint tool SAI are (in my personal opinion) just a lot better than photoshop. because the brush engine for lineart on both of them put photoshop to shame.

Paint tool SAI runs better, has less options, I use it for ‘no frills’ cartoon stuff, doodles, very quick basic editing.

Also i use clip studio paint for all the comic features, specially vertical ones, timelapse, you name it. CSP focuses solely on art/illustration, so does not have all the photo editing tools that PS does (such as liquify tool, spot healing etc). If you are interested in making webtoon/manga/comics CSP is great for that too.

The Deco LW tablet handles it just fine, which works amazingly with csp and SAI, can’t recommend it enough!

I have included a drawing that I did with this tablet in clip studio paint software.

Conclusion

In the end, I decided the XPPen Deco LW was a worthy upgrade and kept it. I love this tablet! It works so well and is a great price!

However, I am convinced that one can achieve the same level and complexity of artwork in both tablets.

Considering the Star G640 tablets are usually less than half the price of a Deco LW, if you have a budget or if you’d rather save some money, go with the Star G640, it’s going to serve you well.

Now if you can spare the extra moneys then I do recommend the XPPen Deco line, the Deco LW is a really, really good tablet and I don’t regret getting it for one second!

XPPen has good tech support given and it has a 18 months manufacturer warrenty.

Buy it from XPPen US official store: https://www.storexppen.com/buy/deco-lw.html

6 Best Cheap Drawing Pads with Screen for Beginners

Some of the best drawings you can see today weren’t created with a pencil, they were made purely on a computer. It’s almost unbelievable to look at some of the drawings you can create without ever having to pick up a piece of paper.

By using a drawing tablet and computer art program you can select from all sorts of different tools and settings. Choose from endless brushes including watercolour, calligraphy and even chalk. Then there are the limitless colour selections on offer.

Graphic, drawing or even pen tablet! Many names, but all the same. It is a computer device that will enable you to draw on a computer with a pen.

With the stylus in hand, people can digitally draw, sketch, take notes, capture ideas and more in high comfort and with precise control, all the while keeping the screen smudge-free.

Are you a graphic designer, artist, architect, animator, or UX designer? Surely you’d regularly be drawing and sketching and that is where high-quality drawing tablets come in. They give you a way to be as creative as possible, with little to no issues with correcting your sketches or trying new ideas.

With the never-ending need to enhance the quality of illustration, the speed at which you can work and general productivity expectations, the market for digital drawing tablets has never been as competitive.

Traditionally, graphic tablets with built-in display are expensive and only reserved for professionals. More and more graphics tablets with display have since come into the market, making them more competitively price and affordable.

This is good news for the creatives, both professional, teachers and students allowing them to access the tools required to draw, sketch, paint and design on CAD and 3D sculpting, Illustrator and Photoshop.

Whether you are a professional artist or just someone who enjoys drawing, our article on the best drawing tablets with screen will help you pick the right one.

So, stay with us and see what these top-rated drawing tablet monitors offer. We’ll cover everything you need to know, from the display, screen resolution, Color accuracy, controls, and more.

Types of drawing tablet

There are two broad categories of drawing tablets: tablets with screens, and tablets without.

Drawing tablets with screens provide instant visual feedback on your work, and more closely mimic the pen-and-paper feel that you’re likely familiar with.

Tablets without screens must be connected to a computer, and you’ll need to glance over at the monitor to see your work.

There is a disconnect between the conventional graphics tablet, which is essentially a slate based input device and the screen. Marry these together and you get the best of both worlds, being able to use the stylus and actually see what you draw on the built-in display.

Display tablets are much, much more expensive than non-display tablets. They’re also what most of the professional artists I know use.

Or you can also buy a Standalone Tablet, Like the Ipad Pro which doubles as a Drawing tablet and a Device at the same time and won’t be needed to connect to any computers.

How to choose the best drawing tablet with screen?

When buying a Drawing tablet with a screen there are Many things to Consider. Such as size , resolution, Color accuracy, pressure sensitivity, The feel of the pen on the Drawing screen, and the comfort of the Stylus.

Screen Size

Screen size labeling is based on the length of the diagonal: The screen size of a monitor is expressed in inches. An inch is 2.54 centimeters.

The screen part of the device is the most expensive component in some cases, so bigger screens mean more cash.

Our recommendation would be to get the biggest display you can afford. The bigger the graphics tablet, the more room it offers to let your creative juices flow uninterrupted.

Especially when you take into account the size of the UI of most software, the actual area that you draw on is only a fraction of your screen space.

Screen Resolution

The higher the resolution, the better the picture. A monitor’s resolution tells you how many pixels a monitor has in width x height format.

1920 x 1080 (also known as 1080p, Full HD (FHD) and HD) is the minimum you need. But you’ll get sharper images with 2K QHD and even sharper with 4K.

Resolution is inextricable from screen size when you’re choosing a monitor. What you really want to optimize is pixel density, the number of pixels per inch the screen can display, because that’s what determines how sharp the screen looks (though there are some other factors), as well as how big elements of the interface, such as icons and text, can appear. our sweet spot is 109 pixels per inch (ppi).

Display Panel Type

The vast majority of LCD panels geared toward photographers and graphic artists use IPS technology.

They are worth the money because you may never face any trouble with these panels displaying shades of dark gray and light, which directly helps to determine the level of shadow and highlight detail which is displayed on the screen.

A huge advantage of IPS technology is the wide viewing angles for mesmerizing viewing experience. The color fidelity and luminosity of IPS panels are superior giving you a solid viewing experience from the top, bottom, or sides which you may never experience with twisted nematic or vertical alignment panels.

Color Accuracy

professionals should prioritize color accuracy. Color spaces standardize colors for content delivered across specific media. The full range of colors is called a gamut, and is usually greater than the range of colors than the human eye can detect.

Having a wide gamut of colors makes images more accurate to true color. A low color gamut don’t have enough colors to display so the visuals look dull and inaccurate.

There are a few standardized color spaces like sRGB, adobe RGB, and NTSC, which all cover different color spaces.

If your images are all to be posted online, a monitor that displays the full sRGB color spectrum is fine.

Monitors with Adobe RGB color space are built specifically for graphic designers working in print media. NTSC is another color space standard typically used in television and film.

Ideally, you’d want at least 99% sRGB or 72% NTSC on your monitor. Having either of these specs indicates that your monitor has enough color range to display visuals properly with accurate colors.

Parallax

Unlike drawing with a pencil on paper, a monitor is made up of multiple panel layers. These layers cause a gap between the physical pen tip position and the digital line input location. This is the most common cause of the inability to draw lines when drawing with a pen display monitor for the first time.

Fully laminating a pen display helps lower the parallax, that distance between the drawing under the screen and the tip of your stylus, which can help make you feel more like you’re drawing directly onto the image rather than pushing the drawing through the glass.

Matte vs Glossy Screen

Besides the effect of the screen itself on the image quality itself, ambient lighting is a crucial factor to take into account as well.

Glossy screen coating allows for more vivid colors and expressive contrast, but under heavy sunlight reflection or too bright room lighting, it can become mirror-like and not very pleasant to use.

The matte finish monitors, on the other hand, include an anti-glare treatment, which eliminates the issue with reflections. However, image quality is more grainy and less clear.

Since neither coating is flawless, the choice mostly depends on personal preference.

In addition, Screen protectors can help deal with glare issues and Anti scratch.

Connection Interfaces

In terms of monitors, the connection interface refers to the number of connection ports available for the monitor to connect with the CPU. Without proper connection interfaces, you might not be able to connect your computer to the monitor at all.

Ideally, you’d want your monitor to have either USB-C or HDMI connection ports as external connection ports. As most of the newer monitors as well as computers use USB-C or HDMI ports, your monitor needs to have them as well.

Stylus Pen

Drawing tablets come with a digital pen, also commonly known as a stylus.

Stylus (pen) comes in two forms: battery-operated (AES) and electromagnetic resonance (EMR), but they’re both designed to mimic the feel of pen on paper.

EMR styluses can quickly discern between pen and touch inputs, and this makes for a very smooth pen experience.

Wacom ( and other manufacturers such as XP-Pen… ) make battery-free digital pens that power can pass through LCD displays.

With an EMR stylus, artists can enjoy the best of technology combined with a natural experience that mimics that of using pen and paper.

Pressure & Ttilt sensitivity

Ideally, your digital pen feels comfortable to grip and allows for smooth strokes. Its ability to simulate the various types of marks you make with a pen or pencil largely comes down to its sensitivity, measured in levels of pressure.

A pen with high pressure sensitivity picks up even light pen strokes, making it easy to create different shades and shapes without digital augmentation.

Right now, most professional drawing tablets come with styluses that feature 8192 pressure levels.

In the same vein, many pro-grade tablet pens feature “60-degree tilt,” which allows you to press down on the pen tip from many angles, offering much a wider range of marks, and less frustration.

Customizable Buttons

Some display graphics tablets do not contain any customizable buttons, while others have a number of buttons and scrolling wheels on both the tablet and pen.

Whether this is of any use to you is down to personal preference, but I find these incredibly helpful in my use of my drawing for Photoshop and Illustrator.

Brand

Wacom and XP-Pen are positioned in the first row. You can trust in these brands. These brands produce the best drawing tablets, the design and build quality are awesome and all of the models offer tremendous features at a comfortable price range.

The Wacom Cintiq series Really is a Great Option, and is Known for its really reliable high quality screen, Great Comfortable Stylus Pen, And much more. of course it’s the most expensive.

For these, XP-Pen brand has an affordable line called Artist. You can find an affordable XP-Pen display monitor for drawing and graphic designing at a decent price, assembled with the latest technology.

XP-Pen Artist series are increasingly becoming popular in the artist community. In the past few years, we have seen a number of artists use it as their main drawing device.

If you are someone who makes digital art, illustrations, comics, animation, and other purposes – you should definitely get the XP-Pen Artist.

6 best cheap drawing pads with screen for beginners

The best drawing tablet monitors combine the fluidity and versatility of freehand drawing with the precision of digital graphics. which make your drawing experience as effortless as possible.

We’ve chosen the most popular and well-reviewed XP-Pen Artist models, both for specialized drawing tablets and all-around excellent tablets that support drawing apps.

It depends on your price range, but anything from XP-Pen will be perfect, high quality, and come at prices starting around $200 (XP-Pen Artist 12).

1. XP-Pen Artist 12 (2nd Gen)

The XP-Pen Artist 12 (2nd Gen) is available in four vibrant colors ( Black, Green, Blue, and Pink) that enables you to choose your style, color and personalize them according to your comfort.

Working on the 11.6” screen will give you a paper-like texture and it also compatible with certain Android devices, Chromebooks, Windows and Mac OS.

The tablet comes with a screen resolution of 1920×1080 for max clarity. Color Gamut of 94% Adobe RGB makes sure that colors are displayed in their most natural forms and also remain soothing.

The seamless blending of the screen with the glass increases transparency and also decreases parallax.

Pre-installed Anti-Glare screen protector delivers maximum protection for your Artist 12 ( 2nd Gen )’s screen along with maximum visibility.

The device is designed with a X3 smart chip stylus with 3 grams initial activation force and 0.6 mm retraction distance.

The stylus battery free, so you never have to worry about charging it or running out of battery.

The 8192 pressure sensitivity levels and 60 Degrees Tilt Function further allow precision.

The multi-customizable shortcut keys also improve productivity. The flexible dual ports support easy connectivity and data transfer rate.

XP-Pen Artist 12 (2nd Gen) has a stunning design with a strong and sophisticated yet lightweight body, hence, the user gets a stylish and portable device.

2. XP-Pen Artist 13.3 Pro

It comes with with a 13.3” display area, The Full HD display paired with 88% NTSC (123% sRGB / 91% Adobe RGB) Color Gamut will present vivid images, vibrant colors and extreme detail of your artwork.

With 1920 × 1080 resolution and 16.7 million display colors, the screen can come to life to present the best viewing experience.

The screen of XP-Pen Artist 13.3 Pro is laminated and bonded, which improves parallax reduction. The low levels of parallax are very similar to the Wacom Cintiq.

The tablet comes with a pre-applied screen protector which has a nice matte anti-glare texture. An amazing feature that is very beneficial for the users is that is can be directly powered from a laptop.

Along the side of the tablet, there are 8 physical shortcut buttons and a creative red dial. The red dial is a function wheel which spins extremely smoothly and is an absolute pleasure to use.

You will get a highly accurate, fast proximity and pressure sensitive PA2 Stylus that is perfect for note taking, handwriting recognition, mark-up and digital art.

With its lightweight screen, pressure ( 8192 levels ) and tilt sensitive ( 60 degrees ), battery-free pen, and low price ,the XP-Pen Artist 13.3 Pro is a great budget screen-tablet for hobbyists or beginners.

3. XP-Pen Artist Pro 16

This eye-catching XP-Pen Artist Pro 16 ergonomically designed to be user-friendly and is come with a solid aluminum metal case, Light and portable with a 9mm thick slim design.

The 15.4-inch screen space supports 1920 x 1080 resolutions and projects every creation with the highest details. Further, a 178° wide viewing angle makes viewing comfortable, natural, and smooth.

99% Adobe RGB color gamut and 16.7 million display colors give the tablet the power to make every display look gorgeous and vivid across the screen.

The glass is fully laminated with the screen to ensure the best drawing experience by making the X3 Elite Plus Stylus work naturally and minimize parallax.

This X3-Smart-Chip Stylus has a whooping 192 pressure levels, low activation force and tilt recognition, which all gives you an amazing precision for most natural drawing experience.

The pen has a built-in eraser end，and is preset to “erase” , you can just flip your pen and erase your drawings / notes with the digital eraser.

In addition, The 8 shortcut buttons and two wheels provide much convenience after customisation. It’s a very unique design which is actually fairly useful that has a physical spin wheel on the outside, and a virtual touch pad in the middle.

The styling of the device is very smart and elegant that surely adds to the personality of the user. With its specifications, this tablet seems to be very promising, with top-of-the-line features around the board and a decent price.

4. XP-Pen Artist Pro 16TP

XP-Pen Artist Pro 16TP is one of the best drawing tablets with 4K UHD ( 3840 x 2160 ) resolution and a 15.6-inch multi-touch screen. The display of this drawing tablet also supports 124% sRGB wide color gamut for vibrant and vivid color reproduction.

It projects all graphical presentations with great accuracy, maintaining a natural transition of colors and perfect color saturation.

It is very user-friendly. The multi-touch control combines perfectly with the functions of the pen to offer a seamless working experience for the users. The glass seamlessly incorporates with the screen and minimum parallax.

It adopts eye strain relief technology with the help of an anti-glare glass screen, which makes everything across the screen mild and gentle to the eyes.

As an ideal drawing tablet, much attention is paid to the stylus that comes with an eraser that is easy to use. The PH2 stylus also supports 60 degrees of tilt function and an 8192 level of pressure sensitivity.

An awesome display, precise pen, and a battery-free stylus lets you bring your projects to life whenever and wherever without disrupting your creative flow.

XP-PEN Artist Pro 16TP supports Windows, Android, Chrome OS and MAC OS. and is compatible with Photoshop, Illustrator, SketchBook Pro, MediBang, Clip Studio and many more digital art programs.

This is the most expensive tablet on my list, but as they say—you get what you pay for.

5. XP-Pen Artist 22 (2nd Generation)

XP-Pen Artist 22 (2nd Generation) is a great choice if you need a large tablet that can handle long hours of working without heating up or throttling.

It has a massive 21.5” drawing area that has a Full HD resolution of 1920 x 1080 for both amateur and advanced use.

Have complete control over your artwork and experience the nuance of every hue on the spectrum thanks to advanced color quality (90% Adobe RGB coverage).

XP-Pen Artist 22 (2nd Generation) has 8192 levels of pressure sensitivity to give you the most accurate performance and realistic pen-on-paper feel.

The battery-free pen’s outstanding tilt recognition and virtually lag-free tracking will give you the ultimate control over your creative process.

The pen comes with customizable press keys to switch between brush and deleting options and for adjustment of color and size of the brush.

In addition to HDMI connection, this device also supports another connection types which is USB Type C to Type C.

This tablet comes in the box with the adjustable tablet stand, battery-free pen, pen holder, screen protector, black glove, adapter , and combined cable.

Whether you’re into drawing, photography, animation, fashion, sketching, image editing, 3D sculpting—this tablet will do the job.

6. XP-Pen Artist 24

The XP-Pen Artist 24 boasts a 23.8-inch IPS monitor that has a QHD resolution of 2560 x 1440. 2K resolution represents every details with vivid clarity.

It offers maximum working space to users to assist in better navigation across the screen to let imagination and creativity take their shape without any limitations.

It covers 127% of the sRGB and 94% of the Adobe RGB color space. which is designed to match the professional-grade quality, making it ideal for high-level editing of imagery and photography.

There’s an in-built tilt recognition technology in the device that gives it natural tilt support.

It also comes with a pressure sensitive (with pressure levels going up to 8192), cordless and battery-free pen to save you the trouble of charging it.

Has an ergonomically designed stable stand makes the screen free from shaking. The multi-angle adjustable stand allows you to set the operation angle freely to suit the way you sit.

Supports VESA mount, which mean you can use with Ergotron arms, or many other mounting products.

XP-Pen Artist 24 is one of the most popular choices for everything to do with digital creation and visual thinking. If you want to improve your digital expression, this device has all the essential features required to sharpen your skills and also gives you the freedom to explore.

Conclusion

A friendly reminder, the drawing tablets with screens mentioned above must be used with a computer.

For years Wacom has been the standard for drawing tablets; however, I have personally stopped using Wacom tablets in favor of the XP-Pen Artist. They are equally as good!

The best screen drawing tablets for one person will differ from the next, depending on your seriousness as an artist, your budget, and whether or not you’ll want to use it for non-artistic purposes.

All this information provided or given is to help you choose your perfect device and decide for whom you want it.

With proper guidance and information, the user can get the desired product in their budget and comfort.

We hope you found this article helpful, and we wish you plenty of success with your artistic pursuits.

Source: https://www.xp-pen.com/forum-5743.html

Annotating, Writing and Signing PDFs using a Drawing Tablet and annotation software

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PDF is short for Portable Document Format and it is a versatile file format for sharing documents online. For example, many contracts and documents are signed virtually and saved as PDFs because the format tends to be more secure.

PDF files have been around for over two decades now. There isn’t a single user who has not gone through these as they are ubiquitous. PDF files not only contain text, but they also have media such as audio and videos.

If you’re exchanging and creating PDFs with your peers or coworkers, chances are high you’ll need do some notation. Annotating PDFs refers to adding notes and important remarks to the PDF for other readers. It’s common during the development process, and may be required for you to sign or fill out a PDF as well.

Don’t worry if you don’t have much experience annotating like this on a computer. We’ll go over the easiest ways to annotate a PDF on Windows and Mac OS.

What Is an Annotation?

When you mark up text, you are in fact having a conversation with what you are reading. So, an annotation is important.

Annotation is a fancy word for “marking a sentence, paragraph, page or anything else.” There are various markup tools you can use to annotate what you are reading: underline a sentence, use a highlighter, add a comment with an arrow, flag with a symbol, draw a shape around it, tag a Post-It note on it, etc.

Use the selection and the markup tools annotate the PDF. You can use type, sketch, draw, use shapes, add notes, sign, and change the format for all.

7 Best PDF Annotator Software for Mac and Windows Users

Creating or reading a PDF is simple enough, but if you want to edit or annotate a PDF without changing it to a different format (or disturbing its layout), you’ll need to have a dedicated PDF editor on hand.

Conventional PDF readers don’t make it easy to draw or write freehand onto documents.

PDF editors are a different beast than PDF readers or word processors. They’re designed to handle one specific format and perform a limited number of tasks within that format.

The ability to allow single or collaborative annotation and markup is paramount. Good PDF editors should offer helpful annotation tools like highlighting, sticky notes, comment boxes, message stamps (like “approved” or “confidential”), or even freehand notes.

Many – including Adobe’s own Acrobat Reader – make it easy to highlight text or add your signature.

1. Adobe Acrobat Reader DC

If there’s something you need to do to a PDF (and if you want to look right and stay secure), Adobe Acrobat is your best choice.

This is the industry standard for PDFs. Adobe makes it easy to create, edit, and sign PDFs (and track their activity) with its modern, intuitive interface.

The software is available for Windows and macOS systems, as iOS and Android apps, and as a Google Drive add-on.

2. Foxit Reader

Foxit PDF Reader allows you to annotate otherwise unmodifiable PDF files using its suite of drawing tools.

These drawing tools feature a variety of shapes, such as arrows, lines, rectangles, ovals, polygons and clouds, but it also offers a freehand Pencil Tool that allows you to draw or write whatever you desire.

If you mess up, don’t worry; Foxit PDF Reader also offers a Rubber Tool which allows you to erase marks made by the Pencil tool.

3. Drawboard

Drawboard PDF is now available for free through the Microsoft Store. Drawboard PDF can open, read, mark up, edit, write, annotate, ink, draw and save multiple large and complex PDF documents.

Millions of engineers, architects, lawyers, students and educators are already using Drawboard PDF every day for fast and collaborative PDF markup.

4. PDF XChange Viewer

The smallest, fastest, most feature-rich FREE PDF editor/viewer available! Create, View, Edit, Annotate, OCR and Digitally Sign PDF files plus much more….

PDF XChange Viewer has lots of features that are only available in paid versions of Acrobat or Foxit.

5. Xodo PDF Reader & Annotator

Xodo is one of many free PDF viewers. It supports annotations that will also work with other PDF viewers such as Adobe Acrobat Reader, and the app makes it easy to mark up documents using digital inking. Best of all, Xodo can save your digital signature for use across multiple documents.

Xodo works on Windows, Android, and ChromeOS, so no matter what you get you’ll have a free, excellent PDF annotation app.

6. OneNote

In the OneNote free note-taking application you can markup, highlight and tag the PDF document and it will be automatically saved to your OneNote Notebook. You can then print it, use it in a presentation, or share it via email and other apps.

Annotating PDFs in OneNote could be a good way to have students highlight parts of speech in a document that they share with you. It could also be a good way to draw attention to a particular passage in a text or make suggestions or improvement.

7. Xournal++

Xournal++ is a free handwriting notetaking software with PDF annotation support. which runs on Linux, macOS and Windows 10.

Xournal can be used to annotate PDF files, by loading the pages of a PDF file as backgrounds for a journal.

Best tablets with a stylus pen for annotating, Writing and Signing PDFs

If you’re going to mark up a PDF, you’ll want a good stylus that come with a tablet. These styli will help you create a clean signature and attractive annotations.

This is just comes down to what features you want and how much you’re willing to pay. Do you need a full OS? Or just something basic that can open PDFs and ink on them.

If marking up PDFs is something that you do a great deal of and a key part of your job, I would recommend getting the portable touch screen device ( such as ipad pro, surface pro, samsung galaxy tab…. ) you can find that supports the use of a highly-sensitive pen stylus.

Just open your document in PDF Reader, and you can begin writing on it with your favorite stylus or use a finger on a touch device.

If you already have a separate mac or pc and don’t need portability I’d recommend a cheaper option – USB drawing tablet.

All graphics tablets, with or without a display, support to write, sign name, comment, highlight on PDF like using a real pen on real paper.

The big time saver is the programmable buttons and dial that allow instant access to any menu feature you frequently use. It’s a huge time saver.

Digital pens are also a step above. it can be used as a mouse as well as a drawing tool. Angle and pressure sensitive as well as two programmable buttons on the pen (I use for single and double click selections).

The drawing board senses pressure so it is recommended to use the least amount of pressure from your hand while writing.

They can be a little unnatural to use at first, hopefully you’ll get used to it. They start cheap enough that you can see if you like them anyway.

One tip – whilst an A4 or larger surface feels like it ought to be a good idea, you end up moving your pen quite a lot and it gets tiring. Try smaller first.

Annotate PDF with Drawing tablet

Connecting a Drawing tablet & pen to your laptop or desktop allows you to write or draw electronically.

The pen tablet connects via USB or wireless. After downloading and installing the necessary driver you can use the pen and tablet to control your computer much like a computer mouse.

Then Use a PDF Annotator software to write, draw, or annotate prepared PDF slides.

How to creat your digital signature on PDF file in Adobe Acrobat Reader DC

1. Open the Acrobat Reader DC and a PDF file that you want to sign your name.

2. Click ‘Tools’ and then find the item ‘Fill & Sign’ from the ‘Tools’ menu, open it.

3. Click the item ‘Sign’, then choose ‘Add Signature’.

4. Click ‘Draw’, then you can use stylus to draw. After finishing your signature, click ‘Apply’ to save it.

5. The signature can be placed anywhere in the PDF after saving it. For example, put the signature at the place that you want it there: choose ‘Sign’, click that place, then signature comes out.

How to use graphic tablet to draw, handwrite, comment on or highlight PDF files in Adobe Acrobat Reader

1. Connect the tablet and open the Acrobat Reader DC software.

2. Click ‘Tools’ and then find the item ‘Comment’ from the ‘Tools’ menu, open it.

3. Click pen icon that named ‘Draw free form’ pen to draw. you can select a color and line thickness you want from the icon on the toolbar.

The ‘Draw free form’ option makes you can use the tablet pen to draw words freely on PDF files, just like to draw on a canvas.

The ‘Draw free form’ option also makes you can use the tablet pen to draw, line, circle or mark out the important content.

4. Move the cursor on the circled pen and click it. Then you can use the tablet pen to highlight the content you want.

Digital Drawing and Writing in Word, OneNote and PowerPoint with your drawing tablet

With the latest version of Office 365 come some pretty cool features.

In Microsoft Word , OneNote or Microsoft PowerPoint, head over to the Draw tab and simply pick your pen. Then start marking up the doc. An entire menu of options for the electronic pen will then be available in the ribbon.

Both programs also allow you to use Windows Ink to create math equations using a pen instead of a mouse or keyboard and in Word, you can embed a drawing canvas right into your Word doc. Save your doc, and you ink is saved too.

Best XP-Pen drawing tablets Recommendations for annotating pdfs

Several brands exist, XP-Pen are pretty decent too, and hit all budget levels including a small portable model.

XP-Pen is one of the leading graphic tablet manufacturers in the world.

Anything made by XP-Pen would be a good option. They are very highly regarded in the digital art community.

I would recommend the XP-Pen Star G640, I used this for marking up documents but also extensive photoshop use.

1. XP-Pen Star G430S / Star G640 / Star G640S

XP-Pen Star G430S / Star G640 / Star G640S art tablet is designed with slim and compact sized with an active area of 4×3 inches / 6×4 inches / 6.5×4 inches offering perfect creative space for limited desktop areas.It is easy to carry out and always ready for your creation whenever and wherever.

Battery-free Digital pen P01 features 8192 levels of pressure sensitivity,5080LPI pen resolution and virtually no lag, providing you ultimate precision and control.

The Star G640S has 6 buttons on the tablet that can be set to any art program shortcut keys. It supports Android and Chromebook devices, apart from your windows and mac os ( Star G430S / Star G640 only compatible with windows and mac os ).

With stylus and the tablet ,teachers and studernts can easily handwritten edit,diagram,do math,annotate on virtual whitebord in Zoom, Team and Xsplit while streaming or broadcasting.

It is compatible with Word, Powerpoint, OneNote and more.It is also perfect for taking notes ,jotting down ideas and business signature during web conferencing and remote working.

2. XP-Pen Deco Mini4 / Deco Mini7 / Mini7w

With 4×3 inches / 7×4 inches / 7×4 inches workspace, XP-Pen Deco Mini4 / Deco Mini7 / Deco Mini7w graphics tablet is compact and lightweight, which makes it convenient to draw and write outdoors.

The battery-free stylus P05D offers 8192 pressure levels and ±60° tilt recognition ( Deco Mini4 version doesn’t support this function ) for beginners to design and creat.

Built-In 2.4G high-speed wireless connectivity of Deco Mini7w tablet can reach to 10 meters transmission distance. which is more convenient for you to capture your creativity.

XP-Pen Deco Mini4 / Deco Mini7 / Mini7w pen tablet can be used on various operating system: Windows, Android, Linux , Chrome and Mac OS.

3. XP-Pen Deco Fun XS / S / L

Available in three sizes ( XS – 4.8× 3＂ / S – 6.3 × 4＂ / L – 10 × 6.27＂ ) and four colors ( Classic Black, Space Blue, Apple Green and Carmine Red ), XP-Pen Deco Fun offers more choices to users who pursue individuality.

The battery-free stylus is light and super-accurate which supports up to 8,192 levels of pressure, 60 degrees tilt sensitivity ( XS version not support this function) .

The Deco Fun graphic Tablet works well with Windows, Mac, Linux, Chrome OS and Android devices . Also compatible with all major digital art programs.

4. XP-Pen Artist 12 / Artist 12 Pro / Artist 12 2nd Gen

XP-Pen Artist 12 Pro / Artist 12 2nd Gen tablet features a stunning 11.6-inch full-laminated screen with Full HD 1080P resolution, letting you enjoy immersive viewing in great clarity and fine detail.

full-laminated screen ( Artist 12’s screen is non laminated ) reduces the parallax to the lowest so you can easily control the cursor where you expect to be.

90% NTSC color gamut of Artist 12 2nd Gen ( Artist 12 and Artist 12 Pro are 72% NTSC ) is excellent. which ensures the color of your artwork matching the color that you desire.

The battery-free stylus has a resolution of 5080 LPI and has 8192 levels of pressure sensitivity. There is a tilt support available in Stylus of Artist 12 Pro and Artist 12 2nd Gen tablets ( the stylus of artist 12 not support this function ).

The Stylus of Artist 12 2nd Gen come with new X3 chip has low activation force which allows the tablets to detect the slightest of touches from the pen. This feature alone massively improves the user experience.

Conclusion

Annotating is a key reading skill that enables you to actively and critically engage with text. Besides using it to comment on and capture your thoughts as you read.

annotation can also be used as an instructional tool with your students. For instance, you can use it for formative assessment purposes, for comprehension checks, to collect students feedback and many more.

There will be times that you have to markup a PDF, highlight specific text, or annotate something. Instead of searching for a dedicated PDF reader, you can perform all of that inside the Microsoft Edge web browser.

XP-Pen tablet does have the ability to write in Microsoft edge. To do this, select the drawing tool in Microsoft Edge and you’ll be able to write over any webpage.

Annotation with the drawing tablet was excellent, and it’s something that cannot be achieved with the typical computer peripherals or even smartphones.

For those who need to read and annotate many PDF documents everyday, the handwriting input device would do wonders and makes the process faster and easier.

Source Link: https://www.xp-pen.com/forum-2887.html

8 Best cheap standalone portable drawing tablets without computer

Drawing is a great hobby, with a drawing tablet you can sketch, draw and edit photos with a simply natural pen experience.

Traditional graphics tablets come in many shapes and sizes; ranging from small graphics tablets suitable for novices and developing artists, through to large professional screen displays. One element that they all have in common however, is that most require a physical connection to a computer and monitor.

Wacom and XP-Pen are positioned in the first row. You can trust in these two brands. These two brands produce the best drawing tablets, the design and build quality are awesome and all of the models offer tremendous features at a comfortable price range.

You can find an affordable XP-Pen digital tablet for drawing and graphic designing at a decent price, assembled with the latest technology.

Standalone Drawing devices, on the other hand, are self-sufficient and can function independently without the need of connecting to a PC/Laptop. Standalone tablets have everything packed into one – Hardware (OS, processor, RAM,Rom , etc.) and Software (the apps), making it an independent and portable device.

App-based tablet with enough resources for both entertainment and professional tasks.It is now possible to use the iPad Pro, Surface Pro, Smsung Galaxy Tab…. and so on to create artwork that is good enough for production.

Clearly, these tablets are costlier than the conventional ones, however, you will have a better drawing experience and a superior gadget overall.

some people don’t want to spend a fortune on a drawing tablet and then carry their heavy laptop around.

Advantages of Standalone Drawing Tablet

Firstly, their small size means they are very portable so you can utilize them on flights, vehicles, trains and truly any place you go to.

These devices are mostly entertainment units. People use them to watch videos, listen to music, read, play games, visit websites and so on apart from just drawing.

they also come with a stylus (digital pen) that allows the user to create artwork with the art and design software available.

You can do your drawing work directly on the standalone tablet as it has the screen and the computer into it.

What to Look for When Buying a Standalone Drawing Tablet

There are so many good standalone tablets out there that it was kind of difficult to pick one tablet over the other.

Here’s what to look out for when you’re shopping around for a standalone tablet:

Display size/ Type

10.5 inches is considered an ideal size for a tablet. If you get a bigger tablet you may have to compromise with portability. Similarly, if you go with a smaller screen you will not get enough area to work with.

The tablet screen comes in two types – LCD and AMOLED. LCD screen mainly comes with cheaper tablets, whereas the AMOLED screens come with more expensive tablets.

The AMOLED screens are considered better due to their ability to create perfect black colors which improves the overall quality of colors. AMOLED screens also consume less power, giving better battery backup.

Display Quality

As an artist, the display quality is crucial and should be the first thing you check before you pay for your drawing tablet.

While matte screen coating effectively reduces reflections, it also makes the image quality slightly more dull and hazy. Glossy monitors, on the other hand, have a more vibrant and intense picture quality but a very reflective screen.

Since neither coating is flawless, the choice mostly depends on personal preference.

Resolution

A monitor’s resolution tells you how many pixels a monitor has in width x height format. 1920 x 1080 (also known as 1080p, Full HD (FHD) and HD) is the minimum you need. But you’ll get sharper images with QHD and even sharper with 4K.

Color Accuracy

You want to produce high-quality images. Therefore you need to choose a tablet with high color accuracy.

the two most common offered by monitors being sRGB and Adobe RGB. the Adobe RGB color space was designed to encompass real-world colors on a display for reproducing in print. sRGB was designed as a lowest-common-denominator standard for colors used by typical consumer monitors viewing the web.

Most monitors allow you to switch between the two, along with other colour modes such as B&W, which is useful as long as you lock the screen to Adobe RGB for creative work.

Screen Sensitivity

The screen sensitivity is a critical factor for any digital drawing tablet. when you apply pressure on the pen while drawing, it will render a thicker line. High pressure sensitivity will allow you to sketch, shade, and draw accurate designs.

Note that the tablets with 2048 pressure levels capture more information than those with 1024 pressure levels.

The best drawing tablets will capture every detail for you. Some models even have advanced features like tilt recognition and multi-touch capability.

Stylus Type

Some stylus is active stylus whereas others are passive stylus. The active stylus has batteries inside which needs to be charged.

The passive stylus does not need to be charged and needs no maintenance. Ideally, you want a passive pen where no charging is required – but the active stylus battery can last weeks on a single charge.

Regardless of which type you get you’ll be able to draw all the same.

Just make sure the tablet you choose has a comfortable stylus that fits well in your hand. It should be easy to grip and hold so that it won’t slip if you’re drawing for hours on end.

Battery Life

You want long battery life so that you work from anywhere on your tablet. You don’t want the battery to run out when you’re not near a power source. So, look for digital devices that offer 10+ hours of battery life on a full charge.

Battery life will vary based on several factors including how you’re using the tablet, the age of the battery, and even the weather outside.

Nothing perfect here but it’s good to at least have an idea of the tablet’s total expected battery life on a single charge.

Lightweight and Portable

A standalone tablet should be lightweight and slim so that you can take it anywhere. You don’t want a bulky device weighing you down when you’re on the move.

Operating system

The operating system running on these devices determines the choices of drawing applications.

These devices come with either Android, iPadOS, or Windows operating systems, all of which have great collection of drawing apps to choose from.

you can simply go to the app store and find plenty of paid as well as free drawing applications.

Capable of Running Graphics Programs

At the same time, the best standalone drawing tablets won’t skimp on power and performance.

the faster and the better a processor is, the more power it consumes, which means that processor speed can directly influence battery life and dictate a tablet’s price.

Look for at least 8GB of RAM. Then, you’ll know that the device can handle intensive graphics programs. While you’re checking the specs, look up how much storage space it offers, too!

Price

You have to consider your budget when buying a standalone tablet. So you’ll be happy to hear that there’s the right tablet for everyone. You can find very affordable standalone drawing tablets nowadays. Just be prepared that they will offer less advanced features as a trade-off.

Available Models

So, in view of the advantages offered by these devices, let’s see what are the best tablets with stylus that you can find on the market. In addition, to make things easy for you, we have prepared this top with models of different price ranges, so that you can find the device that best fits your pocket.

Below’s a non-exhaustive list of some of the best standalone tablets for graphic designers and artists:

1. Apple iPad Pro

When it comes to finding a standalone drawing tablet that you can take with you on the go, one of the best options you can go for is an iPad Pro.

Available in two different sizes, 11 inches as well as 12.9 inches, it offers a large drawing space to satisfy any artistic needs.

With the iPad Pro, you are getting a Liquid Retina display with ProMotion technology. In other words, the display has amazing sharpness and brightness that make the colors feel pretty accurate. This device will feel extra smooth due to the technology, which increases the refresh rate.

Its resolution of 2732 x 2048 pixels produces vibrant images with outstanding color accuracy.

The processor of the tablet makes Apple iPad Pro fast and powerful. You can play several high-quality games and digital art software on this tablet.

With the iPad Pro, you can get many amazing drawing apps such as Procreate that are exclusive to the iPad.

With the 2nd generation Apple Pencil (sold separately), you get a response time of 7ms, which no other pen can achieve. Other features that the Apple pen has is that it has a tilt sensitivity and an amazing pressure.

The pen also has wireless charging and also has a small button on the side with which you can change between a pen and an eraser in just one click.

Further, Bluetooth 5.0 and Thunderbolt 4 port availability ensures pairing essential artistic devices is seamless as never before. the magic keyboard can attach to the rear side of the tablet magnetically.

Overall, for any artist looking forward to buying a standalone drawing tablet with a great camera, wonderful response time, and full multitasking options, then the Apple iPad Pro is an excellent choice.

2. Microsoft Surface Pro 7

Microsoft Surface Pro 7 has a portable design with a screen of 12.3 inches, touch support , and it offers you a flawless experience when drawing. With this Microsoft Surface Pro 7, you can do a whole lot of things from drawing, writing, play and work without any hassles.

We love the most about Microsoft Surface Pro 7 because there are different options for you to choose from when it comes to configuration, from storage to the processor and even RAM. The only cons that this device face is that its display quality isn’t as good as its market contenders.

The stylus pen ( purchased separately ) of Microsoft Surface Pro has tilt and pressure sensitivity ( 4000 levels ). It also has a rubber tip that is easy to work with and grips the glass screen giving you an awesome drawing experience.

On the device itself, there are magnets on the side that will hold your Surface pen when you are done using it, or you are having a break from drawing. It has a built-in tablet stand with which you can adjust in whatever position you want.

There are other optional accessories you can get, but the one which adds most to the cool factor of the Microsoft Surface Pro is the Type Cover, a magnetic keyboard which works beautifully, has back lit keys and a big track pad, and protects the Microsoft Surface Pro’s surface.

And since this is a Windows tab, there is a bunch of software you can use for drawing – 3D drawing, animation – anything that runs on the Windows operating system will work on the Microsoft Surface Pro 7.

it runs full versions of all PC art programs – not abbreviated versions like on the iPad or Android tablets. As such, it allows you to work anywhere and any time, and take your work to a fully realized and fully professional final version, providing awesome drawing experience.

3. Wacom Mobile Studio Pro

The Wacom MobileStudio Pro drawing tablets, both the Pro 13 and the Pro 16 accompany an entire collection of creative features, like, an amazing screen, increased power, and even a precise stylus, which makes working simultaneously which creative programs incredibly easy and efficient.

The device is powered by Intel’s Core i7 processor, which is paired with Intel Iris Plus Graphics 655 to deliver fast and unrivalled performance.

The ultra HD display, with a resolution of 3840 × 2160 pixels gives extraordinary clear and detailed images.

In addition, with up to 85% NTSC color gamut coverage, be prepared for the vibrant colors available for your usage.

The tablet screen has a matte finish, which is nice to draw on. also the screen is laminated, so parallax is minimal.

The Pro Pen 2 that accompanies it is sensitive with respect to 8192 pen pressure degrees, along with tilt technology that allows for movement at various angles.

The battery-free pen doesn’t need to be charged. If you think about it, you don’t have to worry your pen will run out of battery while you are concentrating on your drawings.

The express keys, controls, and time-saving features increase productivity even further especially for beginner drawing artists.

With the Mobile Studio Pro, you get a full-fledged Windows 10 OS machine, on which you can run any new professional drawing applications.

Battery life sticks out like a sore thumb, with an average work time of 3-4 hours after a full charge. This doesn’t make it suitable for traveling unless you have ports to plug in.

This is probably the most expensive standalone drawing tablet you will find in the market today. But if you want Wacom’s technology in a standalone device, you might want to make the investment.

4. Samsung Galaxy Tab S7+

The Samsung Galaxy Tab S7+ is a powerful multi-purpose device with a large 12.4-inch super AMOLED display and boasting a resolution of 2800 x 1752 pixels. powered by Snapdragon 865+ and 8 GB of RAM. It also has a powerful 10,000 mAh battery and supports fast charging via the included charger.

The resolution is great enough that you can watch videos in 1440p, which you won’t see in many other tabs. The AMOLED display also ensures better clarity than even the iPad Pro can provide. The colors are very vibrant, though controls are available to make them more muted if you want.

The Samsung Galaxy Tab S7+ comes with a microSD card slot so you can use older memory cards. You can also buy microSD cards cheaply on the market up to 1TB.

The S Pen stylus is well-balanced, with great build quality and a smooth matte surface. The pen has a rubbery nib that provides just enough friction so it doesn’t slip on the screen.

When you’re done, it attaches magnetically, so you’ll never lose it. It also charges when attached to the tablet, decreasing another worry of yours.

It supports pressure and tilt sensitivity and gets recognized at a distance of up to 1cm from the screen. The laminated display also means there is no parallax effect. With a 9ms latency, it is just as good as the Apple Pencil. Also, the screen has a 120Hz refresh rate, significantly reducing the lag between pen tip and cursor position.

Windows offers more powerful software, the iPads are more intuitive for artists and also offer superior software, but the Android has its own charms – it’s affordable, easy to use, surprisingly sensitive and precise and has a wide, wide range of often totally free software.

The powerful machine is reinforced by the optional Book cover Keyboard for a great all-around tool. You can use Samsung Galaxy Tab S7 not only for drawing and painting but for taking notes , marking papers , signing documents and creating storyboards as well.

5. Huawei MediaPad Pro

Huawei is popular for pushing design boundaries and coming with a high-end device with a cheaper price tag.The Huawei Mediapad Pro follows the same footprint.

The Huawei MatePad Pro comes with a 10.8-inch IPS LCD screen. Even though it doesn’t use an AMOLED display, it still has an impressive screen resolution of 2560×1600 pixels, brightening up as high as 540 nits.

The tablet comes with a pre-included M-Pen stylus with 4096 levels of pressure sensitivity and offers tilt-recognition support. This means you can use virtual pencils to draw thin lines and wider, shaded areas.

The Pen tracking is very accurate and fast which contributes to a great drawing experience. The pen works fine in all the applications but some Android apps do not support pressure sensitivity.​

A separate keyboard accessory is also available which plugs with the device using the connector pins at the bottom. The keyboard accessory has a tablet stand at the back which is very handy.

The tablet supports a quick charge and has a massive battery that lasts a long time. Overall it is a great Samsung Galaxy / iPad Pro alternative that provides equally good features at a far cheaper price.

6. Xiaomi Mi Pad 5 Pro

The new Xiaomi tablet series comprises the vanilla Mi Pad 5 and the high-end Mi Pad 5 Pro which equally has a 5G version. MIUI 12.5 base on Android 11 OS.

In terms of the specifications, the Mi Pad 5 series is equipped with a large 11-inch LCD screen with a resolution of 2560X1600 pixels, a high refresh rate of 120Hz, a PPI of up to 275, and a contrast ratio of 1500:1.

The Mi Pad 5 Pro and the 5G version are equipped with a Qualcomm Snapdragon 870 processor while the Mi Pad 5 is equipped with Snapdragon 860 processor. The Mi Pad 5 series is available in several memory options including a 6GB+128GB version and 6GB + 256GB version for the Mi Pad 5 and Mi Pad 5 Pro. The Mi Pad 5 Pro 5G is available in a sole 8GB RAM + 256GB storage version.

In terms of battery life, the vanilla Pad 5 packs an 8720mAh battery with 33W fast charging support and the Mi Pad 5 Pro crams an 8,600mAh battery under the hood and equally supports a 67W ultra-fast wired second charge.

The keyboard cover connects via POGO pins and features keys with 1.2mm of travel, and doubles as a protective case for the Mi Pad 5/5 Pro, while the stylus magnetically attaches to the side of the tablet’s frame and charges wirelessly; offering up to eight hours of use per charge, weighing 12.2 grams and featuring a 240Hz response rate.

the stylus come with 4096 levels of pen pressure sensitivity, and the possibility of recording traces and tilt recognition. The stylus can be used for both drawing as well as writing purposes.

With that said the tablet is not specifically made for the artist but has all the features you need for drawing and sketching.

7. Chuwi UBook Pro

If you’re looking for an affordable standalone drawing tablet , check this product out! This is literally the cheapest standalone full-software drawing tablet that exists.

with A 12.3-inch screen, Intel m3 8100Y processor, 8 GB of RAM and 256 GB SSD type this tablet is a bargain. The best? It comes with Windows 10, so you can install any professional photo editing program.

UBook Pro comes with a new generation of stylus HiPen H5, which is upgraded from the original 2048 pressure levels to the incredible 4096 levels. it can last up to 3 months on a single charge.

When combined with the 12.3″ 1080P FHD display, the HiPen H5 is very efficient for painting and creative arts. The precise input and low latency make it easy to finish a prototype design or a creative painting. The high pressure sensitivity helps in restoring the creator’s idea more accurately.

Besides drawing, you can use the stylus to take notes wherever you are. Of course, you can annotate PDF slides, write down ideas while browsing documents or even capture screenshots.

If you want to get creative on the train, in the park, or a cafe, this portable drawing tablet fits the bill.

Since Chuwi, the manufacturer, is still not a well-known company, there’s not a lot of feedback regarding this product’s quality. you must understand that purchasing an item like this involves more risk than getting a tablet from a company like Apple.

8. Simbans Picasso Tab 10 inch

The Simbans Picassotab has a 10-inch IPS display with HD resolution of 1200 x 800. The tablet ships with Android OS.

The Picassotab is powered by a MediaTek Quad Core MTK8163 chipset paired with a 2GB RAM and 32GB internal storage. Like other Android devices, it does have the option to expand storage with a sim card as well.

The pen included is an Active Pen that runs on AAA batteries and has 1024 pressure levels. The build is quite premium and isn’t flimsy and lightweight. It looks a lot like the SURFACE PEN from Microsoft.

It comes preloaded with Audodesk Sketchbook and Artflow apps. These are great apps for one to get started in digital art.

Since this is a compact tablet, portability should have been one of the main goals so in terms of battery life, the device gives around 8-10hours under normal usage. This is pretty good for a tablet of this price and size.

you can get both Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity. The device also has a USB, Mini-HDMI, and an Audio jack on the sides.

If you’re looking for a standalone drawing tablet for a beginner artist who is still learning this would be an excellent option. this device would do till you can afford a better professional drawing tablet.

Conclusion

So, these are the best standalone drawing tablets that you may use for your projects. There are several drawing tablets on the market that sometimes, it becomes difficult to choose the one that best fits your needs.

One of the most important things to do before getting a tablet is to figure out what features you actually want. Not all the tablets are the same and every single one of them has their own set of features.

Standalone drawing tablets are really great device for artists and graphic designers who are always traveling. They can carry these devices anywhere and can use them at their comfort.

Whether you’re a student, artist, or graphic designer, a standalone drawing tablet is a handy tool to have. So choose the model that meets your needs, and go start drawing!

In case you have any questions, simply leave a comment below. I will be more than happy to help you out.

Source: https://www.xp-pen.com/forum-2508.html