This digital age has artists moving away from traditional materials and jumping into drawing tablets. Designers can draw and retouch more naturally with tablets than with a mouse or a touchpad. A drawing tablet is an artist's companion in the creative field. It is the perfect gadget for an artist's ideation and doodling in a digitalized manner. Spending time bridling the creativity on a digitalized platform gives wings to imagination and ideas. Are you planning to become a professional artist or graphics designer? Then you will need to use a graphic tablet with professional drawing capability. Buying a professional drawing tablet can be confusing & difficult for first-time buyers. The pricing is confusing, and important features like pressure sensitivity and resolution aren't always easy to understand. This guide is useful for just about anyone in need of advice on what drawing tablet to buy or what tablet to replace their current device with. So, whether you're a professional artist, a novice, or you just wish to express your creativity using a drawing tablet for fun, read on to find out which drawing tablet best suits your needs! What is a Graphic Tablet? the types of the tablet? A graphic tablet is a computer input device composed of two main parts: a digital pad and a stylus pen. The tablet's sensor board receives the stylus' electromagnetic signals, detects the incoming data, and tracks the pen point's current position. Drawing tablets comes with 3 versions: drawing tablet without screen, drawing tablet with screen and standalone drawing tablet. A non-display drawing tablet is regular graphics tablet with a black drawing surface. You connect it to a computer via a USB cable or wireless and look at your monitor while drawing on the black surface. This can certainly take some getting used to, but starts to feel natural after a while. Display drawing tablets, on the other hand, work the same as a pen and paper. You simply trace lines on the drawing tablet with your drawing pen and they appear on the tablet screen. This type of tablet still need to connect to a computer, and it will be detected by the operating system as an additional monitor. Then our tablet works as a very sensitive and precise screen. The stangalone drawing tablets are in fact portable computers with a touch screen. The biggest advantage of these graphics tablets is that you do not need a second computer to work with. Especially it is useful when you travel a lot and you like to create while traveling. For this reason, when choosing a tablet, it is worth paying attention to the battery life. Tablet Features & Considerations When choosing to buy a drawing tablet for yourself it's helpful to check what the features to consider. This can give you a good idea which drawing tablets are worth buying. Active work area The working area is the section of drawing tablets that is responsive to pen input and this area's size is important for comfort and detail. Drawing tablets without screen come in varying sizes. The smallest have an active area of about 4 x 3 inches, while the largest ones have an active area of more than 13 inches wide and a height of over 8 inches. With no display, you will want your drawing tablet size to be closer to the size of your monitor and if possible the same size. This is because the way drawing tablets without screens work is by mirroring your monitor. But if the tablet is much smaller this mirroring is scaled down to be able to match your bigger monitor's size. The smaller-sized tablets are more convenient for beginners and hobbyists, while larger active areas (that's the portion of the screen you can draw on) better suit the needs of professionals. Pressure Sensitivity The pressure sensitivity of a drawing tablet is the most important characteristics to consider before making a purchase. The greater the sensitivity, the more control you have over your strokes. Pressure sensitivity is important because it allows you to create lines of varying thickness and opaqueness to add dimension, shadows, and highlights to your work. And you can manipulate the lines' weight with a single pen! A drawing tablet with at least 2,048 levels of sensitivity is a must if you wish to have better control over your strokes. Tilt Recognition This feature, e.g. of the Airbrush tip and eraser, senses the amount of tilt between the tool and tablet. The standard values in which this function operates are ± 60 levels. This is used to create natural-looking pen, brush, and eraser strokes in applications that support tilt-sensitivity. Resolution A tablet's resolution impacts the quality of the art you create. The higher the resolution, the more lines per inch (LPI) you can draw, i.e., the more details you can add to your drawing. Most smaller-screen tablets have 2,540 LPI, while medium and large have 5,080 LPI. Although the difference between devices of the same size is often insignificant, you should factor in the resolution when buying a tablet. Responsiveness Responsiveness impacts the speed at which the lines you're drawing appear on the screen. It depends on a laptop or tablet's operating system, its CPU, GPU, and RAM, which is why it's important to check the tablet's specs to avoid having issues with lag. If your PC has limited processing power and RAM, then you're destined to run into input lag. Pen Type Stylus (pen) comes in two varieties: lithium battery-powered and electromagnetic resonance, but all are intended to simulate the feel of a pen on paper. Rechargeable: Rechargeable pens have lithium batteries inside. They need to be charged like your phone or a laptop, typically every eight to ten hours. like apple pencil or surface pen. Electromagnetic resonance (EMR): This type of pen is the most convenient because it doesn't require recharging or fresh batteries. Instead, EMR styluses rely on the electromagnetic frequency, which wirelessly infuses them with the tablet's power. like the stylus of wacom and xppen. Shortcut buttons Most higher-end drawing tablets offer buttons somewhere along the body of the pad. These can serve as a custom function. These extra keys, which are normally located on the left, are intended to save you time and streamline your work routine. Instead of flipping between menus, apps, or just clicking brushes in Photoshop, hotkeys will save you a significant amount of time. Additional Features to consider when buy the pen Screen monitor Outside of the screenless tablet, there are some special terms used for pen display options. These are fairly important to consider when purchasing a drawing tablet and its accompanying pen. Screen Size: The screen size dictates how much work space you have on screen. Most pen display monitors range from 10 to 24 inches, measured diagonally from corner to corner. In order to consider the screen size, you need to look at the space available on your desk or the portability. The professional user will be happy with 22-24" screens. This range provides enough screen real estate for general productivity tasks and even heavy multitasking without overcrowding your desktop. Screen Resolution: The most common screen resolution today is 1920×1080. Full HD is characterized by a screen with 1,920 horizontal pixels and 1,080 vertical pixels (1920X1080). The resolution of 2K QHD is 2 times that of FHD, reaching an ultra-high resolution of 2560X1440. A 2K resolution screen display offers a clearer, sharper image for showing videos and photos with higher source resolution. Monitor Pixel Density: Another feature that affects the clarity and sharpness of a display is the Pixels per Inch (PPI), which measures the pixel density of a screen. PPI is calculated using the resolution and diagonal size of the screen. A higher PPI results in a clearer, crisper, and more precise image. ipads and retina screens looks so crisp because they have a very high PPI ratio. Color Gamut: The color gamut represents the range of colors visible to the human eye on an output device. The wider the color gamut range is, the richer the screen colors are. Otherwise, no matter how high the resolution is or how powerful the graphics card is, the screen will still look gray, yellow, and dim. The common color gamut range of drawing tablets is NTSC, sRGB and Adobe RGB, which is often represented by a percentage; the higher the percentage, the bigger the color range that can be displayed. Panel Technology Types: In-Plate Switching (IPS) displays are known for their great image quality, color accuracy, and viewing angles. They offer a wide viewing angle, which represents how far down, up, to the left, or to the right the content can be observed without loss of image integrity. The benefit of IPS displays is that the user can view the screen from several different positions, plus several users can collaborate on one screen. OLED monitors are still prohibitively expensive for most consumers, but they offer incredible contrast ratios, color reproduction, and response times. Instead of using LED backlights to illuminate the screen, OLED monitors are capable of lighting each pixel individually. This gives them the ability to create incredible levels of black, simply by turning off specific pixels. As a result, these screens can offer up truly remarkable picture quality unmatched by these other technologies. Refresh Rate:The screen refresh rate (measured in Hertz or Hz) is the number of times per second a video display renders a new picture. For example, a typical drawing tablet monitor will have a refresh rate of 60 Hz, meaning that it displays a new frame 60 times per second. In general, the higher the refresh rate, the smoother video appears on the screen, especially if it involves lots of motion. Fully laminated vs non laminated screen: When it comes to pen displays, there are two main types – laminated and non-laminated. Laminated displays are more expensive, but they offer better image quality and durability. The glass and the display panel are actually completely glued to each other, eliminating air gap so you touch what you see. A laminated display removes parallax and helps significantly to make cursor tracking more accurate. Non-laminated displays are less expensive, but they have more parallax. Matte vs Glossy Screen: Matte screens offer anti-glare better than Glossy screens and can be visible in well-lit environments such as sun-lit rooms. But 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. Brand If you're looking into purchasing a traditional graphics tablet, these 2 brands probably keep coming up: Wacom and XP-Pen. Wacom is the brand of choice for most professional artists. XP-Pen carved out a niche by offering appealing, affordable alternatives to the industry leader. Drawing performance is excellent across the board with both brands of tablets. And the famous big players like Apple, Samsung and Microsoft also developed some excellent standalone drawing tablets over the years. Price Non-Screen Drawing tablets are appealing as a first-time purchase at their much lower price points. Display Drawing tablets are considerably more expensive than non-display drawing tablets. The standalone drawing tablet is the most expensive, but it offers the great overall experience. Wacom tablets tend to be more expensive, than other options. For beginners, the other brand like XP-Pen comes with plenty of accessories and functions at lower price. 7 Best professional and most expensive drawing tablets for artists The market today offers various kinds of drawing tablets each suited for different users with different configurations. Below is a short list of some professional drawing tablets. Obviously, you need to make sure that these drawing tablets will be a good match for your needs, so do your research! 1. iPad Pro The iPad Pro 2022 is a great option for those who are looking for a powerful and portable standalone drawing tablet with a screen. There are many apps for sketching and drawing which is created for iPad Pro specifically like Procreate, Adobe Fresco and Sketchbook. iPad Pro has a gigantic 12.9-inch mini-LED Liquid Retina XDR display with a resolution of 2,732 x 2,048 pixels and up to a 120Hz refresh rate. The colour accuracy is near perfect, with vibrant tones and deep dark shades. It's powered by Apple's M2 chip, which gives it impressive performance, with 16GB of RAM, all your most demanding apps will run smoothly. Plus, with up to 512GB, 1TB or 2TB storage. Draw on the iPad using the Apple Pencil (2nd Generation), which has lag free tracking and tilt sensitivity that is designed to work like a regular pencil. So if you're working in Procreate app and decide to shade at an angle, the Apple Pencil will simulate the effect of shading with the side of your pencil with a thicker line. The other great things about the Apple Pencil, is that it has palm rejection when working with the stylus, low latency, pressure sensitivity and incredible precision. The only downside is that the Apple Pencil will have to be bought separately from the iPad. The iPad Pro 12.9" boasts an excellent battery life with a large 40.88 Wh battery (10758 mAh). The device was able to last through a full ten-hour day, but it really depends on how you use the iPad. This is the best standalone drawing tablet on the market for those who want a versatile device, that they can use for drawing, photography, videography, listening to music and more. 2. Samsung Galaxy Tab S8 ultra The Samsung Galaxy Tab S8 ultra is one of the best Android tablets on the market. The 14.6″ Super AMOLED display is bright and clear. It's large enough that you won't have to zoom in and out too much when working on art projects. The screen offers the resolution of 2960 x 1848, and a dynamic refresh rate that gets up to 120Hz ensures super smooth animations. The screen can cover 99.87% of sRGB and 99.4% of DCI-P3 color gamuts while maintaining a very low Delta E number – and that means this screen is very color accurate and doesn't deviate off from the true color much. It's fast, It has Qualcomm's Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 Octa-core chip paired with 8GB, 12GB or 16GB RAM. Storage tops out at 512GB but a microSD card slot lets you get an additional 1TB space if you want it. The tablet comes with the S Pen, so you can use it to draw, write or take notes. It's great that the stylus ships with the tablet and we're not forced to buy it separately. The S Pen feels nice and sturdy in the hand, shorter than the Apple Pencil, and it feels more natural on first use given the softer, more pen-like tip. It also uses Wacom tech and supports up to 4,096 levels of pressure sensitivity with tilt recognition. One of the best features of this tablet is DeX mode. This allows you to use the tablet as a PC. You can connect a keyboard and mouse and use all your favourite Android apps on a larger screen. This is great for when you need to be productive and get work done. With a 11,200mAh power pack, the Samsung Galaxy S8 Ultra’s battery is meaty enough to provide that gigantic screen with loads of juice. it only has a battery life of 6.5 hours with High refresh rate enabled, and a more acceptable 8 hours with the Standard refresh rate! If you need a fast, large screen Android tablet that can also double as a PC, the Samsung Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra is a great option. 3. Microsoft Surface Pro 9 The Microsoft Surface Pro 9 is a high end standalone drawing tablet with some great features. The tablet has a 13″ PixelSense display with a 2,880 X 1,920 resolution, which outputs at a smooth 120Hz and supports Dolby Vision HDR. The screen achieves 106.1% of the sRGB color gamut, 82% AdobeRGB, and 75.1% DCI-P3, all excellent results. It also has 10 point multi-touch support, so you can use your fingers to draw directly on the screen. The Surface Pro 9 is powered by an Intel i5 or i7 12th Gen Core processor and has a snappier LPDDR5 RAM of 8GB or 16GB RAM. It can also be kitted out with either 128GB, 256GB, 512GB or 1TB of M.2 SSD storage. This is a great tablet, that bridges the gap between drawing tablet and laptop. It's the 2-in-1 tablet design we've all grown to enjoy, including the built-in kickstand and removable keyboard. This keyboard includes the built-in storage (and charging) solution for the Surface Slim Pen 2 – which will also cost you an extra $130. Microsoft's Surface Slim Pen 2 resembles a carpenter's pencil and it works even better when paired to Surface Pro 9. it offers a smooth drawing and note-taking experience. The pen itself is very nice and has no noticeable lag. Having Windows 11 is also a major boon for this tablet, as it means you can use the full desktop version of programs like Adobe Photoshop CC and illustrator CC. Microsoft Surface Pro 9 battery capacity is 5900mAh, it ran the PCMark battery life test for just over eight and a half hours, don't expect that 16 or 19-hour result. The Surface Pro line has always looked sharp and performed well. It remains the best overall example of a Windows-based tablet/laptop hybrid. Use this device for any of your art business needs. For running your favourite drawing software, editing images for print or doing the admin for your art shop. 4. Wacom MobileStudio Pro 16 Wacom makes a tablet at every price point, from the entry-level One by Wacom, to the mid-level Intuos tablets and Cintiq displays, to the top-of-the-line MobileStudio Pro. The Wacom MobileStudio Pro has something to offer people of all skill levels, but it's ideal for people who draw professionally and draw often. This device comes in a 13.3” & 15.6” size, and runs Windows OS. The 15,6" display has stunning 4k UHD (3840 x 2160) resolution, With 4k resolution, you will be able to see all the smallest details and colour transitions in your work. The display covers 85% of the Adobe RGB color space, which is good, though it's a bit disappointing that this art-focused device does not hit 100 percent. The thin etched glass minimizes parallax and provides a distinct, tactile experience as you draw, mimicking the feel of a pen on paper. Great drawing performance thanks to professional computing power, powered by an i7 Intel chip, 16 GB system memory, 512 GB SSD storage, and powerful 4GB GDDR5 graphics card. Multi-touch function, 8 customizable ExpressKeys, Radial Menus and one-touch shortcuts are design for better productivity. The Wacom Pro Pen 2 stylus really makes the drawing experience feel natural on the MobileStudio Pro 16, as there is virtually no lag and no parallax. The pen has 8,192 levels of pressure sensitivity and 60 degrees of tilt function. The 7.6 V, Li-polymer, 70 Wh battery’s life isn’t as great as one might like. With very light use, you could probably get it to last up to 6 hours, but really we’re talking about maybe 3 hours of use. The price is the highest amaong the list, but if you are someone who enjoys working on the go without switching between several devices and requires the reliability, multi-functionality and processing speed of a quality computer, then this could definitely be for you. 5. XPPen Deco Pro The XPPen Deco Pro graphic tablet is reliable, long-lasting, and large enough for the creative. The XPPen Deco Pro comes in two sizes---Small and Medium. With an active area of 9×5 inches or 11×6 inches, provides you a sufficient creative area. It has Bluetooth capability, allowing you not to worry about carrying the USB cable, and you can still use it while it is charging. The build quality of deco pro feels like a premium tablet and sleek in appearance, black plastic mixed with silver color aluminum alloy scheme has won several design awards. The dual wheel (dial + virtual wheel) and eight shortcut buttons are a welcome addition, which can be really handy for making quick changes. The included PA1 stylus is amazing, It does not have a battery inside and does not need to be charged. The tip is firm, the rubber grip is comfortable, and there are 2 buttons on the side for added convenience. The 8192 levels of pressure sensitivity and ±60° tilt recognition is great, it's able to detect extremely minute shifts in pressure and tilt. It feels like an actual pen you're working with. The XPPen Deco Pro is compatible with Android, Chrome OS, Linux, Windows and Mac OS devices. It comes with a USB cable and an adapter, so you can just plug it in and start using it right away. The tablet can be used with just about any digital art software, and includes bonus free drawing software (choose one from ArtRage 6 and openCanvas ) to help create and edit your art. 6. XPPen Artist Pro 16TP The XPPen Artist Pro 16TP tablet has a 15.6" screen with 4K UHD (3840 x 2160) resolution and can display 92% of the Adobe RGB color space. Its IPS display is color accurate, with good contrast levels, and the pixel density is such that you don't ever feel you're working with a screen. The Artist Pro 16TP's laminated screen provides excellent precision, Parallax is minimal as the glass screen is quite close to the display. The cursor will always be beneath the pen tip. The matte textured screen surface reduces glare and makes it easier on the eyes when working for long periods of time. The battery-free pen has 8,192 levels of pressure sensitivity, 5080 LPI and 60 levels of tilt recognition. it comes with two buttons, a pen nib, and an eraser at the end, Drawing feels fluid and natural. The screen supports multi-touch gestures for fingers. Touch functionality is a necessity for several types of digital design, where this aspect is totally seamless and smooth. It features a combination of glass surface and metallic body, giving it a more premium look and feel than most cheap tablets. The only drawback of this tablet is the lack of shortcut buttons. This Artist Pro 16TP tablet is compatible with Linux, Mac Os, Windows, Android OS and Chromebook devices. it can be used with any design software that supports graphic tablets. 7. XPPen Artist 24 Pro The XPPen Artist 24 Pro is a professional drawing tablet with a large 24" IPS screen that offers excellent performance, and stunning visuals.
The 24″ tablet is the largest canvas ever made by XPPen, it reduces the need for panning and zooming in and out on the artwork. It also reduces the need for extra screens to display reference photos and composition sketches, as there is more than enough screen space to have it all right in front of you in one place. The display has stunning 2k QHD (2560x1440) resolution, and 90% Adobe RGB color coverage, which makes it the perfect tablet for colour sensitive work, like designing prints. The PA2 stylus is battery free, has 8,192 levels of pressure sensitivity, tilt-response and lag-free tracking. There are two buttons on the pen for access to customizable shortcuts. The tablet itself also feels well-constructed, with robust, high-quality materials and an impressive stand, which offers shallow angles from 16 degrees all the way up to 90 degrees. The tablet also comes with 2 Red Dial Wheel and 20 Shortcut keys that you can customise to create shortcuts for your favourite software functions. This is a handy feature that can help speed up your workflow. This is a great tablet for professionals who have the budget to spend on a high spec piece of kit. It is more appropriate for office and studio use. Conclusion Buying a high-quality drawing tablet can be a major investment so we hope this article has helped you narrow down your choices. Traditional drawing tablets are a staple of digital art and design. But nobody's saying that you have to do your work at a PC. There's always the ultra-portable standalone drawing tablets like iPad Pro. it depends on your needs and preferences. Advanced artists and professionals may elect for an advanced model like the display drawing tablets. The display tablet model is available in various sizes and price tags, but the additional features and investment may not be right for a beginner. The best choices make a balance between price, screens, size, and other drawing features. Your hard earned money deserves the best drawing tablet for making digital art or your digital markup. Source: https://www.xp-pen.com/forum-6277.html
0 Comments
If you've ever tried to learn how to draw in Krita, probably you've heard about graphics tablets and that you can't really draw digitally without one. Drawing tablets and PCs were the main tool of illustrators, digital painters, and animators for years. Almost all digital artist these days uses a graphics tablet to pipe pen input into PC digital art applications. If you're a digital artist, you're probably using Krita to create your work. But what if you want to use a graphic drawing pad instead of a mouse? Can you use Krita on a drawing tablet? What does Krita do? Krita is a full-featured sketching and digital painting application for creating art from start to finish, suitable for concept art, texture, matte painting, illustrations and comics. Krita is not Photosop, Clip Studio Paint, Paint Tool SAI, or Corel Painter copy, but unique creative tool for digital artists. It supports bitmap and vector graphics and wide range of color profiles. The application supports full color management and it can handle HDR image editing and proofing. CMYK is supported natively and is ready for professional production (Gimp lacks of CMYK Support). Krita runs on all popular operating systems; Windows, Apple Mac OSX and Linux. It's written in C++, based on KDE Framworks and Qt, supports Python scripting extensions. It has an intuitive, non-intrusive UI design. It is optimized for multi-core CPUs and uses OpenGL for canvas acceleration and display enhancements. Krita is primarily designed for free-hand drawing purpose. It has an extensive, highly-customizable brush engine and a sophisticated layer system. Krita comes with strong layer management system, supporting many layer types e.g. Paint, Vector, Filter, File, Group … You can combine, rearrange, add, delete layers, move objects between layers and choose from three different layer views. Mask(s) can be applied to any layer for non-destructive transformations e.g. transparency, resize, color filter. More filters can be applied to layer simultaneously and any filter can be switched on or off at any time. The Krita's Assistant Tool enables you to make the shape you want. You can choose from various drawing assitant toll like perspective, ellipse, fisheye, point, … Multiple assistants can be used at the same time when drawing. Krita supports various file formats including PSD (Photoshop file format ). It supports loading and saving raster layers, blending modes, layerstyles, layer groups, and transparency masks from PSD. You can now do proper frame-by-frame animation in Krita. Multiple layers, all sorts of playback speeds, onion skinning, on top of all of Krita's existing paint tools: It's enough to make any animator's fingers itch! Krita is used by comic book artists, illustrators, concept artists, matte and texture painters and in the digital VFX industry. Krita is free software, licensed under the GNU Public License, version 2 or later. Does Krita work with drawing tablets? The answer is yes! You can use Krita with a drawing tablet, and it can be a great way to create digital art. Krita does support graphic tablets and maps pressure, stroke speed, and other things to its advanced brush engine properties. Any drawing tablet connected to a computer that runs on Windows, Linux or Mac OS X operating systems is completely compatible with Krita. even the microsoft surface pro. However, Krita is not compatible with Android and iPad OS tablets, such as the samsung galaxy tab and iPad Pro. because krita is not available on the Apple or Android app store. Drawing tablets are simply input devices, like a mouse or a keyboard. Their compatibility is entirely related to the operating system, not to their price, brand name or any other characteristic. Types Of Drawing Tablets A drawing tablet can be used to draw on the computer like a pencil would. It does not matter if you decide to buy a drawing tablet from Wacom, XP-PEN or any other companies, they all work the same way. When you boil it all down, there are only two types of drawing tablets. The first option is a trackpad type tablet, while the other is a screen-type tablet. Each is valuable in its own right, but it's important to consider which best suits your style. Trackpad type tablets do not have a screen. Only a pad, pen, and even a few express keys on certain models. This type of tablet replaces your mouse and makes adjustments on your actual computer screen. This is a common drawing tablet amongst artists as it's simple and lets you use your actual computer monitor. The screenless tablet requires the user to have great hand-eye coordination or at least enough patience to develop it overtime. Like any new skill, there will always be a bit of a learning curve at the beginning and you will inevitably have to spend a lot of time practising the basics. However, once you get the hang of it, it's all smooth sailing. The second type of tablet is the screen type. The screen tablets typically connect to your computer via USB and HDMI to display your screen on the tablet. From there, you can use the drawing tablet to directly draw onto your image as if you're painting. This is a preferable option for anyone who does illustrations. Standalone drawing tablets work virtually the same way as tablets that have a screen. The main difference is that standalone drawing tablets do not need to be connected to a computer, they have everything you need in one package. The most famous device that belongs to this category is the iPad Pro, samsung galaxy tab and microsoft surface pro... Drawing tablets without screens can cost as little as $50. Those with screens tend to cost ≥ $200. So Any screenless tablet would do the job for a beginner. Which type of tablet you choose depends on your budget and the features you are looking for. Advantages of drawing tablet works with Krita The tablet is a very good complement when working in digital painting and illustration. It made the transfer from traditional art to digital art so seamless and actually exciting. If a standard mouse causes you pain or discomfort though, or if you suffer from a repetitive strain injury (RSI), it can be an unpleasant experience. The drawing tablet offers a different experience that just may be the answer to your problems. The stylus pen is a fine ergonomic mouse alternative to reduce strain from desk work. It allows us to better control the details when trying to work in krita, it is much more accurate and natural than using the mouse. Rather than having to continually change brush sizes, a tablet uses pen pressure. Just like when you are drawing on paper, the harder you press will alter the look of the brush stroke. With a properly installed tablet and stylus, Krita can use information like pressure sensitivity, allowing you to make strokes that get bigger or smaller depending on the pressure you put on them, to create richer and more interesting strokes. With drawing tablets that have hotkeys functionality, this is another great addition to your workflow in Krita. By mapping your favorite shortcuts to different buttons on your tablet, you can speed up those mundane parts of drawing. For example, you could map a hotkey to undo and redo, so you don't have to use a keyboard shortcut. Tablets are way faster than mouse for drawing, obviously. You'll work twice as fast. in addition,you get so much more precision with a drawing tablet compared to a mouse... Drawing Tablet setup in Krita Krita isn't much fun without a pressure sensitive tablet. If the tablet has been properly configured, Krita works with drawing tablet well. You can modify how the pressure affects what you are drawing in two ways. You can modify the global pressure curve of the application or you can set up different pressure curves for different brushes. I have a XPPen Star G960S Plus tablet which features 9x6 inches active area, support connect to android smartphones and tablets, minimalist design. The PH2 Battery-free Stylus Pen works nicely in Krita (good pressure and tilt.) on Windows OS laptop, it even have a digital eraser at the end of stylus.
My pen has two buttons and my tablet has 4 buttons. Everything worked just fine, I just had to set up the buttons and the pressure curve. You can also set up it for lefties by just rotating it in the tablet manager software. The tablet can be configured several different ways - multiple display, restricted to single display, and customized drawing area. I have used all configurations without any problem. I'm seconding XPPen. Very reasonable price, and I'm pretty impressed with the quality and performance. It will allow you to try drawing without paying much. XPPen also has Linux/ubuntu drivers at the their official driver download page and I find them acceptable ,but things are missing, like pen tilt function. If you really want a screen, you can have a look at XPPen artist series which have 11.6" , 13.3", 15.6", 22" and 24" models. The XPPen Artist 15.6 Pro screen drawing monitor is pretty affordable and seems to be an amazing entry device, why don't you give it a look and see if it suits you? If you have never used a graphic tablet before, it can seem a little tricky to get it set up properly. For more info on how to configure drawing tablet or any other pen pressure tablets out in the market, head over to Krita community forum. My Drawing Tablet is Not Working Properly with Krita, What Should I Do? Sometimes Krita may display unusual behavior due to version incompatibility. Since Krita is updated frequently and drawing tablet drivers are also constantly changing, driver conflicts may randomly arise. Driver conflicts may cause Krita to be completely unresponsive to the drawing tablet, may affect the stylus tracking and, more commonly, may disable the pen pressure, which is a crucial feature. There is an easy way to fix this: Simply go to your drawing tablet manufacturer's website and download the latest driver recommended to your specific device. Once this is done, install the driver, restart your computer, and try opening Krita once again. This will almost surely fix the issue. Krita Still Does Not Work Properly After the Installation of New Drivers, What Should I Do? In very rare occasions, more recent drivers can have bugs. Since they have not been used for too long, companies did not have enough time to receive user complains and start working on patches. This may lead to Krita issues even when your drawing tablet is already running on the latest available driver. There are two ways to fix this issue: Try installing a slightly older version of your drawing tablet's driver. This driver does not have to be from the exact drawing tablet you are currently using, but must be from the same series. Try to install an older version of Krita. Incompatibilities work both ways, sometimes the problem can be originated in the drawing tablet's driver, other times Krita itself is the culprit. Conclusion Krita is arguably the best free drawing program out there.other free famous options are Gimp, Firealpaca, Medibang Paint Pro, Sketchbook, MyPaint, and Artweaver. Drawing tablets are great computer drawing aids that many digital artists wouldn't be able to live without—myself included! It's important to get familiar with how your drawing tablet works before you start using it for work. Spend some time playing around with it, experimenting with different brush sizes and pressure sensitivities. The more comfortable you are with your drawing tablet, the better your results will be. The XPPen Star Line of tablets is a perfect started line from a solid brand. These are graphics tablets with minimal features. They may take a while to get used to, but aren't too expensive, and are guaranteed to last. They also work perfectly with Krita. Once you're used to them, upgrading should be easier. I have seen many artists use regular tablets and make great art, they are very talented. The tablets are useful but it takes someone eager to learn and talent to shine work on these machines. whether or not you need a graphics tablet for Krita depends on how you plan on using the software. If you're a casual user, chances are you don't need one. However, if you rely on Krita for professional purposes or do a lot of digital art, a graphics tablet can be a valuable addition to your workflow. If you want to learn how to use Krita on a drawing tablet, there are plenty of tutorials available online. Just do a search for “Krita + drawing tablet” and you'll find plenty of helpful resources. If you love 3D sculpting or modeling in Blender, Zbrush, Sculptris, SketchUP, Maya..... you need a drawing tablet. Drawing tablets and pens have always been the popular choice by animators and visual effects artists. Working with tablets makes your work easier and allow you to create perfect models through various tools. What is a drawing tablet? drawing tablet is basically a computer input device which is used used for digital drawing. It is also called pen tablet, graphic tablet, or digital art pad. You require a Stylus (Pen) to use it, it utilizes pressure sensitivity, and the tablet itself usually comes with a lot more function buttons (hotkeys). The pen also acts like a computer mouse, giving you the ability to left and right click by using a button on the side of the pen. It can be a tablet with screen or without screen. The screen drawing tablets still needs to be connected to a computer to function, whether its a PC or Mac. Blender vs Zbrush Both ZBrush and Blender are amazing 3D design software. They are similar in the aspect of sculpting and modeling but are quite different at the core. ZBrush is a sculpting program from Pixologic famous for its perfect digital sculpting technique. On the other hand, Blender is an open-source 3D modeling program famous for its modeling, sculpting, animating, rigging, concept arts, and storyboarding. Blender is free to use, while ZBrush costs money. This can be a major consideration for some people, as free software is always appealing. ZBrush is a much more robust and feature-rich program than Blender, so it may be worth the investment for serious 3D modelers. ZBrush is better suited for modeling intricate details, while Blender is better for more general modeling. If you're looking to create models with a lot of small details, ZBrush is the better option. However, if you need to create simpler models or don't need as much detail, Blender will probably serve you better. Blender has an integrated game engine, which can be used for creating games or prototypes. ZBrush does not have this capability, so it's not as good of an option for game development. Both programs have a learning curve and take some time to master. But they have active communities of users who are willing to help beginners get started. If you need to sketch a quick concept, with simple but efficient tools: choose Sculptris! which is a very feature limited version of Zbrush, but it's free. Are drawing tablets and pens good for 3D modeling? In the past, most modeling work was done with a simple mouse, a keyboard. As technology evolves, 3D modeling has taken a different shape and modelers are asked to be more resourceful than their counterparts were back in the day. You'll be very hard-pressed to find mice useful in 3D sculpting. Sculpting essentially requires a stylus, for best (most natural) results. 3D modeling is close to drawing so you are basically using a pen to sculpt. If you are a 3D designer or digital artist working with a tablet is more efficient and comfortable than a mouse, especially when you use it for longer period of time. You can use it for making 3D sculpted models in softwares like zbrush, Sculptris, SketchUP, Maya, and blender… The digital pens have a natural feel that can give you better control in drawing objects or characters. The tablet lets you work as if you are drawing on paper which allows the modeler to freely move their hand in a more natural way. The pressure sensitivity of digital pen can be mapped to such functions as the strength or size of your stroke (The harder you push the bigger the effect). This allows you to more organically dictate how much of an effect you will have on your model as you perform such tasks as sculpting or texturing. And you can even customize the buttons on the tablet with your favorite shortcuts conformed to individual software. Hence, with the drawing tablet, you can unleash your creativity in a whole new level. And that too, with such an extent of convenience and efficiency you never knew could be possible! Tasks such as sculpting and texturing are probably the most suited to tasks for a Drawing Tablet and you can really benefit from using one. The pressure sensitivity helps adjust brush strength whereas the precision helps get each stroke to look exactly how you want it to. If the tasks you are performing in 3D program only rely on clicking buttons or dragging items it really isn't necessary. Such tasks include animation, composition and rendering. Screen tablet vs Screenless tablet The screenless pen tablet get connected to a computer through a USB cable or through wireless (2.4GHz wifi or bluetooth). Looking at the screen while drawing takes getting used to. but it takes up less workspace, cheaper, better for ergonomics. Usually the disconnect between drawing on a non-screen tablet and seeing the results on your computer monitor goes away with very little practice. Some people even prefer it as neither your hand or your pen will ever cover what you are drawing. A display tablet is a tablet that allows users to draw directly on the screen of that tablet. It's More costly, takes more workspace, ergonomics require some setup (keyboard placement, screen placement, practicing good posture), the hand in the way thing. But the advantages are 1:1 Interaction with the digital clay when sculpting, larger work area (though you mostly use the middle part), generally pen displays come with better colors than computer. Even though there are many great tablets for 3D modeling that aren't display tablets, display tablets have an advantage as it's easier to do 3D modeling when you can draw directly on a tablet's screen. It makes work more intuitive and you feel more connected as you are not working on a surface separate from what you look at. I am not saying you cannot do 3D animation with a drawing tablet, many do, but if you get a chance compare working on both types. Not everyone prefers a heavier, larger, more fragile tablet however. What should I look for in a drawing tablet for 3D modeling? Before you go and purchase a drawing tablet for 3D modeling & sculpting, you need to know that there are certain features that a tablet for 3D modeling should have. These features can differentiate what tablet is good for 3D modeling and what tablet isn't. Here are a list of features you should consider when picking which tablet to buy: Size options Drawing tablet works in absolute mode, each point on the tablet maps to a point on the screen. for optimal experience and precision, buy a tablet that matches (roughly) your monitor dimensions. Generally, with drawing tablets, the bigger the device, the larger the drawing area. However, as the surface area increases so does the price of the tablet. The working area you should opt for is dependent on your convenience, preference, mobility, desk space, and the magnitude of artworks or sculptures you need to create. You'd require larger models for producing bigger artwork as it'll require wider hand movements and vice versa. But smaller ones can be ideal for portable use or when you are short on space. Stylus Pen The Pen is one of the biggest factors to consider when purchasing a tablet. It has to be comfortable to hold for extended periods of time. It needs to feel natural and fit in with your workflow. The pens come in 2 types. Battery-Free Electromagnetic Resonance pens which as the name suggest do not require to be charged and pens with batteries requiring charging. Opting for battery-free ones would be a smarter move as it would eliminate the hassle of recharging. It relies on the electromagnetic signal being sent from the pen to the tablet. Other features you need to consider are the pen's pressure sensitivity, resolution (Lines Per Inch), Responsiveness (Report Rate Speed), tilt function support, etc. Pressure Senstivity High levels of pressure indicate a more sensitive stylus which can detect even the faintest difference between the pressures exerted. It can provide the most detailed outputs as you'd be able to produce lines of a more versatile range of thicknesses and opacities. When purchasing a drawing tablet it is pretty standard to have 8192 levels of pressure sensitivity this is basically a measure of how responsive a brush is to pressure. Some cheaper ones with will have half of that with 4096 levels. 8192 levels is preferred for 3D Program however 4096 is adequate. This ensures if you need to make any adjustments to the pressure curve (how hard you need to press to get the desired result) you still have a reasonable amount of levels to do so. Responsiveness Report Rate Speed measures how many times per second the tablet sends information about the stylus position & pressure back to the computer. Usually, above 200+ RPS is ideal for drawing. The tablet for 3D modeling should also be highly responsive to your pen strokes or other inputs. This is crucial for receiving the most realistic sculpting/drawing feel as a laggy device will not only be annoying and time-consuming, but will also result in inaccurate outputs. Lines Per Inch Lines per inch (LPI) refers to the resolution of a drawing tablet. The LPI determine how well a tablet can pick accurate strokes and tiny details. For 3D modeling, you need a tablet with at least 2540 LPI. This LPI is sufficient to provide enough detail for your sculptures and illustrations. Depending on what you want, you can go for tablets with higher LPI, even reaching 5080 LPI. Tilt Function You will also note that a lot of the pens have tilt senstivity support. This is irrelevant in 3D Program as it is not supported so don't be concerned over this function. Tilt support on a drawing tablet just means that when the pen is tilted, it will result in a different size of the brush. It's definitely not necessary, but can sometimes make drawing with a tablet feel more “organic” or similar to traditional art tools. Hotkeys Hotkey and shortcut keys is where having a tablet for 3D modeling can really come in useful. The need for keys to navigate, masking, smoothing and even undoing soon add up. the more the better. Wireless Connectivity this is one of the things that can make a noticeable difference in terms of comfort while using the graphics tablet. A wireless drawing tablet is always a good thing as it reduces the amount of cables over your desk and allows you to work more comfortably. The wireless tablet can connect to your computer wirelessly via 2.4GHz Wifi technology or Bluetooth technology, with a wireless range of up to 10 meters. Your non-screen pen tablet can operate wirelessly or in USB cable mode, but not both at the same time. Pen display monitors generally use 3 cables to connect: a HDMI cable for video, a USB cable for data, and a separate power supply cable. Some screen tablets however include a convenient 3-in-1 cable that incorporates the 3 functions in one cable, reducing the amount of cables over your desk and helping you keep a much tidier workspace. Some newest pen display models support usb-c connection, which hailed as one connection to rule them all, it was developed to handle power, data and video, and it was drop-dead simple to use. you just need one cable to connect to your laptop. Compatibility The drawing tablets on the market are compatible with almost all operating systems, including the Windows, Linux and Mac OS. Some new models even support Android and chrome OS devices. Therefore, no need to fret over that since you can connect to practically any device and resume your work. Basically, any tablet that is compliant with a stylus is good enough for using 3D modeling programs. Other features to Consider When Buying pen display monitor A good tablet (≤ 22") has a screen resolution of at least 1920 x 1080 or more, so that the colors are sharp and crisp. If two screens both with a 1080p Full HD resolution. the smaller monitor will have a more densely packed pixel density, resulting in smoother lines and sharper images. The color gamut describes a range of colors within the spectrum of colors, or a color space, that can be reproduced on an output device. The most commonly known color gamut might be “NTSC” ,“sRGB” and “Adobe RGB”. In-Plane Switching (IPS) panels are the ideal panel technology for monitors for graphic design because they feature a brighter display and higher color accuracy, giving you a clear and real-life color image. Compared to non-laminated screen, full-laminated screen can effectively reduces parallax and brings the pen tip closer to the cursor, allowing for more accurate positioning. A matte display comes with an anti-glare coating that helps minimize reflections on your screen. but the image quality in displays with matte finish is not as sharp or bright as a glossy screen. 6 Best Drawing Tablets for 3D Sculpting & Modeling Choose between Pen tablets without a screen, an screen drawing tablet, or a standlone tablet computer, whichever you choose, there is definitely something for you. If money is not the problem and you need the best drawing tablet, get a Wacom. Wacom is the industry standard and they make fine products. If you are a beginner then XPPen is the best option. XPPen is a nice option for the drawing purpose with reasonable price. which might give you a bit more for the same price. As a leading graphic tablet manufacturer, XPPen tablets allows you to draw, paint, and create amazing artworks. you really can't go wrong with either one. 1. XPPen Deco 03 The XPPen Deco 03 is one of the best tablets for 3D sculpting. This tablet comes with a bunch of features that make it excellent for professional 3D modeling work. Best of all, it is quite affordable. It features a 10 x 5.62 inches active area with papery texture surface, so you have plenty of space to create and get work done. The Deco 03 tablet can be used wirelessly or wired. For wired use, you simply need to connect the USB cable a PC. For wireless use, the tablet has an ISM 2.4G USB receiver. The battery of the Deco 03 tablet charges quite fast. With 2 hours of charging, the tablet will be good for use for up to 16 hours. The tablet features 6 programmable shortcut keys and a red roller wheel. This will make your sculpting work easier. This stylus P05 does not need to be charged since it is battery-free. and it has a high 8192 levels of pressure sensitivity. Therefore, your strokes will feel natural and the drawings or 3D models come out life-like. 2. XPPen Deco Pro The XPPen Deco Pro tablet features a very sleek and unique design with silver aluminum alloy casing, which gives this tablet a much more beautiful and durable feel. It has 8 programmable keys for functionality, however what is really cool is the double wheel deign. You could map one to brush size the other to zooming for instance. The Deco Pro is available in two sizes, small (9" x 5" drawing surface) or medium (11" x 6" drawing surface), but these should not be confused with Wacom's small and medium sizes as XPPen's small and medium sizes are much larger! The Deco Pro MW & Deco Pro SW version features Bluetooth connection option. So you can work wirelessly by pairing your tablet to a computer by Bluetooth. It comes with PA1 battery-free stylus which has 8,192 levels of pressure sensitivity, has virtually no lag, and has a natural tilt response, making each stroke more organic. Compatible with Windows, Mac, Linux, Chrome OS. It is even compatible with Android OS, so you can connect it to your Phone or tablet. 3. XPPen Artist 13 (2nd Gen) The XP-Pen Artist 13 (2nd Generation) is a well-positioned entry into the budget drawing tablet market that costs only $300. The 13.3-inch display size with 1920 X 1080 pixels of resolution is ideal to carry around. The tablet's color gamut is incredibly high with 96% Adobe RGB. The screen shows 16.7 million colors. Therefore, you can be as creative as you want when it comes to coloring your models. The fully laminated technology and anti-glare screen coating reduces parallax to create a pen-to-paper feel. It comes with 9 fully customizable express keys on the left side. It allows for different key setup for different programs. It can connects with a single USB-C cable or 3-in-1 Cable to your computer. but the single USB-C cable is sold separately. The Artist 13 (2nd Gen) tablet offers precision control when sketching, sculpting, or drawing when bundled with the stylus X3 Elite. The stylus is powered by the X3 smart chip, without the spring mechanism, have a reduced initial activation force to just 3g. offers better stabilization, sensitive and accurate. The device offers three other display size variants – 10.1-inch, 11.9-inch and 15.4-inch. which has almost same technical specifications. 4. XPPen Artist 15.6 Pro The XPPen Artist 15.6 Pro is a 15.6-Inch creative graphic display with 1920x1080 FHD resolution. The color gamut is also incredibly high with 120% sRGB. Showing you 16.7 million colors on the screen, this is loved by professionals who work in 3D animation and have to deal with multiple colors and shades. On the Artist 15.6 Pro tablet, the glass and LCD panel are laminated into one piece, which reduces or eliminates parallax. the parallax will not bother you. The pre-applied, and replaceable film cover's anti-glare properties reduce reflections considerably. The tablet has 8 fully customizable shortcut keys, alongside the unique red dial, which can be programmed to zoom in and out, alter brush sizes, and so on. The stylus is battery-free and boasts 8192 levels of pressure sensitivity, as well as 60 degrees of tilt functionality. It is easy to maneuver, and you can change the angle at which you work. The Artist 15.6 Pro is unquestionably an excellent product and value for money for all the 3D artists and designers out there. It also offers two other display size variants – 11.6-inch and 13.3-inch. which has almost same tech specs. 5. XPPen Artist 22R Pro With a 21.5-inch IPS screen, you get a lot of space to let your creative juices flow. The resolution of XPPen Artist 22R Pro tablet is 1920 x 1080 pixels. and will display sharp images and provide a good drawing experience. The tablet performs great in terms of vibrancy and color accuracy. Its display is capable of producing rich colors that cover 88% NTSC – 120% sRGB color space. This tablet includes an adjustable stand that allows you to adjust your work level. It is compatible with popular 3D software packages. It includes 20 customizable hotkeys and 2 red-ringed rotary wheels that can be customized in the tablet's driver settings. The pen is battery free and has all the features of more expensive tablets like 8192 points of pressure senstivity, 60-degree tilt functionality, 200RPS report rate. The buttons on the side of the pen can be assigned to things like mouse clicks etc. It comes with an artist glove included for less resistance while working. This model is ideal for those who want a big screen to work on. The larger the work area, the more control you have over your final outcome. If you don't need the hotkeys, you can get the XPPen Artist 22 (2nd generation) in the same size at a much lower price than the Artist 22R Pro. 6. XPPen Artist 24 Pro This is a huge, heavy, well-built monitor. Boasting a 23.8-inch workspace with the attached adjustable stand. the monitor can adjust from 16 degrees up to 90.
The tablet's screen resolution is 2560 x 1440. This high resolution allows you to create models with superior color quality. Your modes will be both vibrant and detailed. The XPPen Artist 24 Pro has a 90% Adobe RGB color coverage, looks very vibrant, and is capable of displaying subtle differences between the color tone which are not distinguishable on generic computer monitors. It comes with a textured film overlay bringing the feel of drawing on paper. This helps to give it a real pen on paper feel, which always works to bring out the most natural finishes. It has 20 customizable keys on the two side of the tablet as well as 2 red dial wheels for changing brush size, etc. The PA2 battery-free stylus provides 8,192 levels of pressure sensitivity as well as tilt response, ensuring superior definition of even the finest lines. XPPen provide a non shortcut key version and you can save $100. Conclusion The possibilities of drawing tablet are endless! you can draw, you can retouch or restore pictures, you can make digital paintings with greater accuracy than a mouse, you can make past of your design work flow be faster, you can use it as a mouse and click on things, scroll things. Pen Tablets are great for 3d art they aren't only used for 2d. If you are a professional, beginner, or hobbyist I can almost assure you will see the benefit in having one provided you are performing the kinds of tasks that will best utilize its features. They are a really fun tool to use and one I personally couldnt function without one. I have a XPPen Artist 15.6 Pro tablet and use it daily for Blender work. It is MOST useful for sculpting, texture painting, and grease pencil. At the end, it will really come down to preference and what you're able to get used to and be comfortable with. Kindly take note that these are just tools and won't be an instant thing that will make you a good sculptor. Good luck with your decision and happy sculpting! Source: https://www.xp-pen.com/forum-6140.html Whether you are a graphic designer, illustrator, video editor or photo retoucher, having a comfortable workspace and professional tools is fundamental to fuel your creativity and productivity. If you want to get started in digital art the drawing tablet is an ideal choice. Using the best drawing tablets can make creating art digitally as natural as sketching on paper or painting on canvas. There's so much to choose from when it comes to drawing pads! the best quality tablets will come from Wacom and XP-Pen. Once Wacom was the only brand in drawing tablets, now XPPen carved out a niche by offering appealing, affordable alternatives to the industry leader. XP-Pen is a chinese firm that specialises in graphic tablets, pen display monitors and related devices. It was formed in 2005 in Japan. With Star, Deco and Artist series, it is a national high-tech firm with multiple patents and autonomous R&D capabilities. I have been a XP-Pen user since 2018 as well as for writing detailed reviews of their new products a few years ago. my old model tablet is still served but the Specifications are out of date now. because the technology has improved a lot since then! Since the type of artistic freelance work I do requires me to have a tablet, I went ahead and bought the smaller XPPen Deco MW, hoping it could serve me well for a couple of weeks. It turns out the tablet is a good buy for beginners, an acceptable fit for artists on a tight budget. Like the other XPPen Deco tablets, the XPPem Deco MW Tablet is a graphics tablet—with a writing surface but no screen—responsive to an included pen stylus commands. Your pen strokes are mapped to your computer's screen or monitor, so you can draw, edit photos, and perform other actions and see the results almost immediately. The XPPem Deco MW is a great addition to the lineup, because it's small and portable, while packing the punch of its larger siblings. it comes in two versions: Deco M, and Deco MW. Deco MW is the wireless Bluetooth model and Deco M is the wired. I love to use the small Deco MW when traveling and its great to fit on a podium or table while speaking at events. It's a good choice as a graphics tablet for use with a laptop, especially for mobile use where your working space may be at a premium. Introduce The active horizontal drawing area of the Deco MW is 8″ x 5″. Thickness is 8.8 mm. It's light, thin and easy to move around the table, and it has rubber feet to prevent slipping. This tablet uses two-shot molding with a rubber material to protect the edge. which help protect it from drops, bumps and scuffs. Overall design looks quite seamless. There is a row of eight shortcut keys on the side. The tablet can be turned so the keys are on the left or right, depending on whether you're right or left handed. One of the unusual features of the Deco MW is wireless Bluetooth 5.0. Also new is that the XP-Pen has rebuilt its wireless stylus from the ground up. The X3 Elite Pen equipped with the most advanced X3 Smart Chip technology. The colors offered are pleasant to look at. The XP-Pen Deco LW Pen drawing tablet comes in four colors: green, pink, blue, and black. More Information about Deco MW tablet from XP-Pen official site: https://www.xp-pen.com/product/1250.html Unboxing The box the XPPen Deco MW comes in is small, light and has a nice design on the front to catch your eye. On the back, You have all the information you need at your fingertips, including the size, colour and other infors. On opening the box you will find the tablet, the stylus, 2 Adapters, Wireless Dongle, 10 Nibs, Nib Extractor, Quick Guide, Warranty Card and a USB-C cable. The cable is used for charging the Deco MW as well as connecting it to a computer, which you will need to do to get started. The two small adapters for use with Android or Chrome OS devices with USB-C or micro-USB ports. Unlike other drawing tablet makers, XP-Pen is known for giving out so many useful accessories. Connectivity Bluetooth connectivity means you have extensive flexibility with your work setup—without annoying cords and cables in the way. Bluetooth may or may not require the supplied USB dongle to work—it depends on your computer model and setup. The dongle is USB A, but the XP-Pen offers USB-C and Micro USB adapters if needed. Surprisingly, the Deco LW feels snappy and responsive overall when being used wirelessly. The device can also connects to your computer using the latest generation USB type-C connector. One of the main advantages of USB-C is, it can be plugged on both sides which makes it very comfortable to use in both left or right-handed mode. It comes with L-shaped connectors which makes the wires swiftly run along the sides of the tablet without making a mess. The wires are long and seem to be made of quality materials. Driver Install You can get your product drivers, manuals from xp-pen official site, There are drivers for Windows, MacOS and Linux. The driver enables the tablet to properly communicate with the computer and take full advantage of the hardware. On the very first page of the driver, you will find a pressure curve that changes the pressure sensitivity of the pen. You also get the option for mapping your monitor, changing your button shortcuts and much more. The 8 buttons can be customized to execute your choice of actions (apply modifiers like Shift, Ctrl or Alt for example), commands or navigation functions and can be used alone or in combinations. Think of them as a flattened and expanded set of mouse buttons. Once you decide and assign the operations you want automated, the keys are great time savers when used in drawing and photo editing. The drawing tablet can be used with Android and Chromebook devices but because there's no driver, you won't be able to use or customise the shortcut keys or pressure sensitivity. Setting up your XPPen Deco MW with a smartphone is pretty easy. To get started you would need a USB OTG connector and a compatible Android smartphone. Once you have those all you have to do is connect your tablet with your phone through the USB OTG connector. you can then use your Deco MW with a smartphone. For Chromebook, The XPPen Deco MW is fully plug and play so all you have to do is connect your tablet with your chromebook laptop and unleash your inner artist. Bundled free software You have a few different options depending on the xppen's model that you get. Since I have the XPPen Deco MW model, I can download 4 different pieces of software. I can get Explain Everything, ArtRage Lite, Toon Boom and Zoner Photo Studio X. “Explain Everything” is a software you are getting for free together with this tablet. It's great for remote learning and allows both students and teachers to share their thoughts and ideas in real-time. ArtRage Lite is a realistic art media painting program that you can mix colors directly on the paper while you are painting. Toon Boom Harmony is a 2D vector- and raster-based animation suite with a robust animation and compositing toolset. Zoner Photo Studio X is a full photo-editing toolkit, with workflow, corrections, effects, online galleries, print ordering, and even Photoshop-like layer editing...... Drawing Surface The work area of the Deco LW is slightly textured, which can make moving the stylus around while drawing feel more natural, like a pen on paper, by providing some resistance for the nib. The Active area of XPPen Deco MW is 8 x 5 inches, which is verity good for the price you will pay for this tablet, giving how any Wacom with similar active area will cost much more than this one. The current beginner Wacom Intuos Art tablet has a medium size of 8 x 5 inches drawing area costs a whopping 200 USD. Bear in mind that the active area is different than the overall dimensions of the graphics tablet itself, which are 10.2 x 6.2 inches. The bigger the tablet, the better the precision. As a rule of thumb, I normally recommend a large sized tablet for anyone using a monitor of 20" or larger. I've tried the various sizes and Medium size has always worked best for me. Your mileage may vary, but I always encourage people to start with a Medium size and if you are dissatisfied after using it for a week then work with your seller to get an alternate size. Stylus with X3 Smart Chip The new stylus feature XP-Pen's most advanced X3 smart chip technology. This new tech allows for the stylus to have a lower initial activation force meaning, allowing the stylus to be much more sensitive. This results in nice, smoothly tapered lines and better control of the pen's 8,192 points of pressure overall. There is over 8,000 levels of pen pressure, which means that you can get really nice, smooth transitions between opacity and line width, and it feels a lot more natural to draw. The Stylus features a 60 degree tilt angle which allows you to simulate accurate brush strokes and create realistic drawing effects. "Tilt Angle" is actually the direction your pen is tilting. Which is controlled by the direction feature, in Photoshop under the brushes pressure drop downs menus. It will allow you to do things like use arrow brushes and have them always follow your crazy curvy lines to follow in the drawn't direction. The stylus has two buttons by the side. There's no eraser and to me it's not really a big deal. I got around the inconvenience by customizing two express keys in Photoshop; one for the brush and the other for the eraser. The stylus is thinner than the usual Deco ones. There's no rubber grip but the textured surface throughout ensures that it's not slippery even if you have sweaty hands. It has a nice weight and comfortable to hold and draw with. Use Performance All the shortcut buttons are placed on the left side of the device which is an ideal position for your hand to rest naturally. The quality of the buttons is great as they make a crisp click sound with good feedback. This reliable wireless design also makes it easy to take it on the road with your laptop when you travel too! The matte textured surface is nice to draw on. There's a nice tactile feel to the nib as it glides on the working area. There's no lag to speak of. Strokes appear instantly as dictated by the stylus movement. Quick strokes are smooth and have no jitter. Apart from the physical feel, it performed great in various digital painting software. The stylus was very responsive, with no delay in between me placing a stroke and it showing up in Photoshop. Its pressure sensitivity was on point, and there were no wobble and jittering in fast as well as slow movements. I was able to place some lovely strokes with different sizes and opacity. The transition from low pressure to high very accurate and on point with no traces of pressure bumps. Lines are able to taper smoothly. The Initial activation force is really very low. I was able to draw a thin line with barely any pressure applied. This is the most sensitive pen XP-Pen has made so far. My digital artwork made by xppen deco mw tablet: I love how the pressure-sensitive pen allows you to draw realistic and precise strokes. It almost feels like drawing with an actual pen. Besides drawing, I designed different hand-drawn fonts, icons, and brushes using the tablet.
I also highly recommend it for doing photo editing work like using the healing brush, creating complex masks, HDR, dodge & burn, painting, etc… Even if you have a good touch screen, nothing replaces the XPPen Deco MW for photo editing in Photoshop (and it's pretty darn handy in Lightroom if you use the adjustment brush). It's just so much more easy and natural than using a mouse, and you get used to them really quick to the point that you can't live without them. Although I used Adobe Photoshop throughout this review, let it be known that the Deco MW works with all major graphics applications. In this new era of touch everywhere devices, one place where things were a bit clunky with pen tablets was that there was no mechanism for doing natural touch gestures like swipe. Final Verdict XPPen is a highly affordable, credible and reliable brand which makes it stand out from other brands. For many reasons, XPPen has quickly grown to become one of the the most popular drawing tools for digital artists around the world. XPPen Deco MW is a good tablet for all kinds of creative digital work like illustration, vector design, image editing, etc. Although it's mainly advertised as a beginner or student drawing tablet, any level of creatives can use it. This tablet is good value for money because its drawing experience is just as good as other fancier tablets that I use, and it costs much less. The size is small enough to take anywhere and at less than $70 USD its really worth it. It can be a great option for your first tablet if you're new to graphic design and drawing. It's also a good budget option for those who are looking for a quality tablet at a lower cost. I like how portable it is because I can work anywhere with the tablet and it doesn't take up much space in my bag or on the desk. This small size option is probably one of the most pocket-friendly tablets that you can find in the market. I would also recommend investing an extra $20 to get the XP-Pen Deco LW which has a larger working area of 10 x 6 inches, if only for the better X3-Smart-Chip pen, less $20, get the Deco M version without bluetooth. Once you advance in your career and start becoming a pro you might want to opt for a display drawing tablet like the XP-Pen Artist series. But, as a beginner or intermediate, the XPPen Deco MW will be your best friend for a long time. Buy it from XP-Pen US Official Store: https://www.storexppen.com/buy/deco-mw.html People from Other regions can select your country from the menu to reach the local store, the price may be different because of the Transport costs and customs tax. Remember the light pens that let you draw right on your screen? Take a look at XP-Pen's updated digitizing pad version - Artist 12 (2nd Generation). Digitizing pads are wonderful things, but we're at our best when we can look at what we're drawing as we draw it. Looking down at your pad and then up at your monitor to see what the computer "saw" may be a great way to strengthen your neck muscles, but it's a tiring way to draw. Designed to work in a multi-monitor environment or to be your only monitor, this tablet's display screen shows you what you're drawing as you draw it. This is a huge upgrade for me. I have gone from the lower end XP-Pen tablets (Star, Deco...) to this. I am not a die-hard serious artist, but I do commissions from time to time and overall want to improve my work and the speed of my workflow. My goal is to work on compiling coloring books at some point, so I really wanted to get serious without completely breaking the bank. I read each review on this product several times before finally making the decision to buckle down and buy this Artist 12 (2nd Generation) Pen display monitor . Since XP-Pen is the only brand of tablet I have used and essentially the only brand that I trust, I had no concerns at least giving this tablet a try. And let me say, I am so very glad that I did! Design The XP-Pen Artist 12 (2nd Generation) combines the advantages of a high quality IPS LCD monitor with XP-Pen's patented, professional X3-Smart-chip pen technology to form the perfect interactive companion for your Mac or PC. Thin and light, the new Artist 12 (2nd Generation) gives you the flexibility to work directly on screen as you would on paper. Easily rotate your display when working flat on your desktop to find the right position for your hand, or for grater comfort, recline the Artist 12 (2nd Generation) on the desktop. Ergonomically designed for maximum comfort, it's even light enough for use on your laptop. Any way you choose to use it, the Artist 12 (2nd Generation) gives you a natural pen-on-paper feel in a digital environment. The XP-Pen Artist 12 (2nd Generation) tablet is available in 4 beautiful colors: Black, blue, green, and pink. There are four rubber feet on the tablet back to help it stay still on flat surfaces. The bezel on the unit also sports 8 customizable keys. and the buttons are a productivity enhancing joy. As well as being able to connect it to a Windows or Mac OS computer you can also use it with an Android device, like the Samsung Galaxy Smartphones. Connection The setup for the XP-Pen Artist 12 (2nd Generation) is technically simple. Plug in some cables, install the XP-Pen drivers which you can download from XP-Pen official site: https://www.xp-pen.com/product/1069.html , restart your machine, and you're good to go. Admittedly, the set-up is a little daunting with all the cords that come with it. The XP-Pen Artist 12 (2nd Generation) uses an all in one adapter that splits to 3 connectors for power, HDMI and USB. The HDMI powers the display and the USB acts as an interface for the digitiser pen. The third cable ends in a jack, to which a cable to the power adapter connects. you can also connect to any Mac or PC with a single USB-C cable (not included) to a USB-C port for both video and data. I read over the instructions a couple of times before I started to ensure I had a good grasp on what I needed to do, and once I began plugging things in, it was a breeze. Don't let the cords worry you too much. It is not pick-up-and-go portable, but not impossible to bring it with you on the go. Just set aside a little extra time for setting up everywhere you do go. Driver Features and bundled drawing software Like all XP-Pen tablets, the Artist 12 (2nd Generation) includes driver software that provides a variety of controls over the behavior of the tablet and individual pens. This includes sensitivity adjustments for tip feel, and pressure sensitivity; button assignments for individual pens; and functions for the buttons on the tablet itself. These settings can be made globally or assigned as custom settings for individual applications. This is useful, for example, when you want to set the button to scrub in Paint Tool SAI but zoom in Adobe Photoshop. Like other XP-Pen Artists, the Artist 12 (2nd Generation) include a utility (built into the driver software) for calibrating the cursor with the position of the pen. On the software side, it's also worth noting that the Artist 12 (2nd Generation) comes bundled with Artrage 6 , openCanvas, and Cartoon Animator 4 digital art software. Color Accurate Screen The Artist 12 (2nd Generation) sports a 11.6-inch IPS LCD display--a bit smaller than a Apple MacBook display. The screen has a resolution of FHD 1,920 x 1080 pixels and looks good at this size. so the images on screen appear sharp, crisp, and vibrant. IPS display technology boasts bigger, better, and brighter colour contrast, visual and sound quality, and more robust viewing angles among other attributes than its predecessors (TN and VA monitors). The viewing angle of this tablet is a whopping 178°, meaning that you are able to get the same crisp, colour saturated picture even when looking at the screen almost sideways. The Artist 12 (2nd Generation) monitor have the capability of displaying a much wider range of colour of 94% Adobe RGB. What this all means in real world terms is the reproduction of much deeper more saturated, accurate and natural colours. This enables better rendition of colour tones and better gradation in colour. For image processing and printing this is a key advantage and for photographers is critical to achieving the best possible results. As a display designed specifically for visual artists, its quality is far superior to that of any notebook display I've seen. Colors, brightness, and contrast are even across the face of the screen. And the device calibrates up nicely using a colorimeter. Above that, Artist 12 (2nd Generation) tablet has a laminated display, something that reduces parallax. This means there is no air gap between layers, thus there is no light refraction or light interference, making the screen clear and vibrant. Many of the non-laminated display drawing tablets suffer from a common issue called parallax. In use there is a slight gap between the tip and the pen and the display when you draw, which allows for parallax error. The tablet screen does not have a etched glass surface, but is covered with a matte film. As you'd expect from a matte screen protector, it does reduce glare considerably and it cuts down on fingerprints too. X3 smart chip powered Stylus As for the pen which comes with the X3 smart chip. The initial activation force is lower than other XP-Pen stylus which is a huge plus. X3 Elite Stylus requires as little as 3 gram-force and probably less which is about equal to simply resting the pen tip on the digitizer. It can even start writing and drawing without exerting force and only relying on the gravity of the pen itself. As usual XP-PEN Stylus works without batteries and is lightweight, so there's no need to charge it at all. It has 8,192 pressure sensitivity levels, placing it among the best styluses on the market. Pressure sensitivity determines how much you can vary the width of the lines you paint. This is done by applying different pressure on the tablet surface. When it comes to that. Pressure sensitivity helps you draw like you do with traditional media. Like pencils & brushes. The 8192 levels of pen pressure sensitivity will provide you with ultimate precision and control with every art and illustration that you are doing. This stylus also supports a tilt function of up to 60 degrees. It means that when you use the appropriate brushes in Photoshop, the line on the drawing file will change from what angle the pencil holds to the screen. Using the XP-Pen Artist 12 (2nd Generation) Couple this with a laptop or, say, a Mac mini, and you have yourself an excellent, compact, portable setup for visual arts. Or combine it with a higher-end workstation and additional displays, and it makes a great companion tool that can also be taken on the road when needed.
The XP-Pen Artist 12 (2nd Generation) is compatible with any drawing software, including Photoshop, Illustrator, Paint Tool SAI, Sketchbook, Clip Studio Paint, Gimp, Krita.... and etc. It works transparently and, it's completely plug-and-play. The screen is the perfect size for the type of work that I do, so I have absolutely no complaints about that in the least. I was initially concerned that the size would be to small, but it is great! However, if you are more serious about your art or currently seeking to become a professional, it probably wouldn't hurt if you got a larger size. Others have commented that they were scared about the stylus not being able to go all the way to the edge of the screen, but I do not have this problem at all. I am able to easily click, write or draw at the very edges with no concerns. The pen is great. It is not too large or bulky and when I am drawing, it feels just like I am using a pen on paper. The cursor goes exactly where I intend for it to go with no lag or jumping. I like that I do not feel disconnected from my picture as I did in the past with my previous screenless tablets. I could not believe how comfortable and natural it felt, the fact you can make strokes directly on the screen and see the result right beneath provided greater control and comfort. The buttons to the side are an excellent addition. I love being able to zoom in and out freely while I am working on my lineart or coloring. Eliminating the need to stop drawing, look for the magnifying glass to zoom in/out, then returning to drawing saves me a lot of time. The tablet is only senstivity to the pen input. So I have no issues with where my hand lays on the XP-Pen Artist 12 (2nd Generation), as I can always see what I'm drawing without any problems. The XP-Pen Artist 12 (2nd Generation) a joy to use for photographic and retouching work. Display your image on the main monitor, then use the Artist 12 (2nd Generation) and its HotKeys to touch up the details, while keeping an eye on what effect your changes are having on the overall image. Conclusion For the price of $250 USD this is a terrific device that I have used this every day since I got it. and It had really streamlined my work and gave everything a boost in quality because it is just natural to use a pen and draw right on the display. Taking it on the road is not much of a hassle, and it truly allows me to be able to do the same type of work in the same way, and in the same amount of time, as I can from the comfort of my studio. If you are looking for a portable pen display experience solution, or can't afford the larger units but still want a drawing monitor for your work, this is the ticket. Overall, I would definitely recommend this product on the XP-Pen Artist line, despite a few minor concerns. If you are interested in designing anything, this is the way to go for way cheaper than its big brother the 21.5 inch model - XP-Pen Artist 22 (2nd Generation) . For the professional designer the pay off period is very short and the question of whether to purchase is a no brainer. For the student it is a good investment for the future and will certainly prove its worth. That is really everything that I can think of, but if anyone has a question I will be more than happy to do my best to answer it. I am sure I have forgotten something! XP-Pen US official Store: https://www.storexppen.com/buy/artist-12-2nd.html From first impressions I think the XP-Pen Deco L & Deco LW looks like a decent tablet, I personally recommend it - XP-Pen's quality is now up with Wacom's, but it has similar specs and a bigger surface for the same price! The XP-Pen Deco L & Deco LW tablets have a slim design and are made with premium materials. Both models are available in four colors, including Black, blue, green, and pink. XP-Pen has a few types of pen tablet, If you have much more budget you can buy a larger drawing tablet with screen , which most artists would prefer. Drawing Tablet –What the Heck is it and why Would you Need it? Good question, and I'm glad you asked! graphics drawing pad takes the place of a mouse and mouse pad for a computer. The tablet portion acts as your mouse pad. The pen acts as your mouse. It gives the user a ton of control over the cursor. That control over the cursor is something that is a complete godsend when dealing with designs and artwork on the computer. Graphic designing becomes a breeze with the Graphics Tablet. It's the perfect way for me to combine my technological expertise with the creative side I've always had. Advantages of XP-Pen Deco L & Deco LW 1. Bluetooth Connection XP-Pen Deco LW can be used wirelessly via Bluetooth connectivity. working wirelessly really adds to quality-of-life when making art for long hours. Being able to move around and work in lots of positions easily is a massive boon to those who make a lot of digital art. If you're on a budget and don't care about wireless, save money and go for the cheaper XP-Pen Deco L. If you want a wireless drawing tablet, go for the XP-Pen Deco LW with Bluetooth. 2. Large Working Area The XP-Pen Deco L & Deco LW has a huge active drawing surface of 10x 6 inches, allowing you to do large brushstrokes and easily use your whole arm, shoulder and elbow when drawing and painting, as well as make smaller delicate strokes a bit easier. If you have a larger budget and plan to use your tablet daily, I would get a larger tablet like the XP-Pen Deco L & Deco LW. because drawing for long periods is easier and healthier on a larger tablet. 3. Bundled Free Drawing Software With Deco L & Deco LW, XP-Pen has kindly bundled free software so you can get right to making art. You get ArtRage Lite, Zoner Photo Studio X, and Explain Everything (online whiteboard) for free. While you do pay bigger bucks for a XP-Pen tablet, this really adds a lot of value to the purchase - especially since ArtRage Lite suit for the beginners. 4. Advanced X3 Elite Stylus The X3 Elite Stylus has a few advantages over the old stylus models. Mainly the new X3-Smart-Chip Stylus delivers a fully upgraded drawing experience with a more subtle initial pressure sensitivity and a much shorter tip retraction. Aside from this, the X3 Elite Stylus also comes with 8192 levels of pressure sensitivity and 60 degrees of tilt function, which you can easily shape subtle lines, crafting your unique masterpieces. Thanks to the elimination of wear-prone spring parts, the upgraded internal structure prevents the nib from moving unnecessarily and doubles the lifespan of the stylus. 5. Eight shortcut keys programmable New models of Deco L & Deco LW tablets have their customizable keys at the top edge of the tablet. which offers eight programmable keys to trigger macros, shortcuts, and applications, select tools or open files or directories. While this might be an attempt to make the Deco L & Deco LW more accessible for both left handed and right handed people, having the buttons on the side makes them more accessible and easier to use. With Deco L & Deco LW you're able to just rotate the tablet so the buttons are either on the left or right, and in the settings change the orientation of the tablet to left or right handed. 6. Drawing Experience From the very first moment I picked up the X3 Elite pen and started drawing with it on the tablet surface, it felt natural. It flowed smoothly and was surprisingly precise in its resolution and highly sensitive to pressure, even light pressure.
My first impression was “wow! this is fun!!” It came very easily to me and felt very similar to the feel I was used to in using pastel crayons on paper. The pressure sensitivity was essential – it enabled me to forget that I was working in a digital world and instead just draw like I normally would. my XP-Pen Deco L & Deco LW is an indispensable part of my computer set up whether working in my studio on my iMac, or traveling the world with my MacBook Air. I love the A4 sized Deco L & Deco LW since provides the perfect balance of convenience, ease-of-use and portability without being too small. In other words it's very comfortable. Comfort is, for me, a key ingredient for digital creativity. When I am comfortable I can paint for hours without any adverse physical fatigue or stress, and I can also forget the digital and be focused and immersed in the zone of making art. What more motivation can you have than well designed and effective tools, like the Deco L & Deco LW, that empower your creativity and are fun to use! Conclusion Do you have a passion for art, photography, or design? Maybe prefer something a little more larger? Well, if you are looking for a grand format tablet the XP-Pen Deco L & Deco LW can help you unleash your creative passion. Just Live, dare, and create with Deco L & Deco LW! Product Page: https://www.xp-pen.com/product/1168.html Are you an architect that works with AutoCAD you need more control over your free-hand drawings? Are Graphic Tablets useful for Architects? Does it handle all types of tasks? Contemplating getting a mobile tablet computer for as on on the go drawing but can't decide which fits your workflow, budget or specifications? Architecture is one of the fields of activity where computers have given professionals a lot more precision, the ability to work faster and more efficiently. Computers are a necessity in today's world. It encourage creativity through the use of apps that help in creating digital art like drawing and painting. If you have a smoothly working laptop with architecture softwares such as Revit, 3dsmax, SketchUP, Archicad, Autocad, Rhino, etc. you may want a drawing tablet that comes with a digital pen to work with it. As architects, we tend to draw a lot, sketch everything we see in our way, even if it is just drawing trees, people, or just doodling down what seems to be buildings. But, what if we want to do all of this and put it digitally right away? There are two ways of doing this, scanning all of your sketches and importing these into photoshop or illustrator software, or doing these sketches directly on a graphic tablet. The AutoCAD ( also support some other architecture programs, You need to check first ) software fully supports drawing tablet, which enables you to quickly sketch an idea or easily modify parts of your drawing. what is drawing tablet? and the types? A graphics tablet is an optional electronic input device for computers, generally used by architects, engineers, artists, and others who want to correctly edit pictures. Graphics tablets come with a stylus or pen with removable tips and have pressure sensitivity, allowing artists to have more brush stroke variation as determined by how hard they push the pen to the screen. The Drawing tablets for Architects and Designers work best for those who do a lot of sketching, concept design, rendering or, illustration. Also, for those used to sketching with a pencil and paper, you will be able to easily pick up the basics of using drawing tablets while advanced users are introduced to a world of deep functionality. These drawing tablets come in three forms: Pen Tablets It includes two main components, i.e., a flat, rectangular pad on which to pull and a stylus applied to locate shapes on the pad. Simple drawing pads that connect to a computer and are typically less expensive than other options. you will need to see the pc's screen to visualise how your drawing comes out. They're perfect for beginners or established artists looking for an inexpensive option. Nowadays they tend to be wireless with an internal battery. Pen displays As traditional artists usually love the feel of drawing on paper, so the designers have come up with a way to recreate that feeling. Feature a screen that you draw on but must be connected to a computer to supplement the necessary amount of power. They cost a bit more, but being able to draw directly on your art instead of staring at a computer monitor with your hand on a separate pen pad is really convenient. A digital drawing tablet with screen allows you to blend your creativity with technology. With a screen that feels like paper-like-texture, you can have a more natural experience drawing. if you have a slightly higher budget, you should consider choosing display tablets. Pen computers / All-in-one tablets Standalone machines that feature HD displays and don't need to be connected to other devices to function. This is often what you'll see high-end professionals working on. These are the most expensive tablets. One of the biggest advantages of these tablets is that you don't have to attach them to the computer to see your drawings. Furthermore, they are lightweight, making them one of the most portable devices. What you'll want to keep in mind are the following things:Your screen size requirement, battery life, use case, and what operating system you prefer for use. Since drawing tablets interact with computers, it gives you access to more intensive architecture software than a mobile app can provide. Drawing tablets can also have massive displays making it easier to work on the finer details of your work. However, the trade-off here is that drawing tablets aren't nearly as portable since they either need to be connected to a computer or can be too bulky for easy mobile use. What Are the Uses of Graphics Tablets in industrial design? It is almost difficult to describe the use of graphic tablets in a single sentence since they are used instead of a mouse in various ways. They are a necessary tool adopted across a pile of multiple industries and artistic niches. Graphic tablets use the human hand's fluid motion and physical positioning to its most magnificent power. Utilizing a graphic tablet is as convenient and straightforward as using a pencil, pen, or airbrush. In industrial design, architects & engineers spend hours in the head of computer screens to build that ideal design. This may increase the need for persuasive drawing devices with unique features to induce their visions to life. The hardware and congenial software are steadily advancing. With the height of the list of new products, it is possible to discard your traditional screen and mouse and move entirely to a graphic tablet. The one who does many illustrations, concept design, sketching, or rendering work might find a graphic tablet most useful. They use graphic tablets because the use of a digital pen feels more natural to hold and work. This empowers them to create and design more smoothly and speedily. Benefits Of Using Graphic Tablets For drawing architecture One of the great things about having a drawing tablet is that being a architects, you can increase your productivity a lot. By getting a drawing tablet, you're going to be able to do just what you're doing with pen on paper right on your computer screen. Architects and designers can rely on it for their ideations and sketches with the help of the pen that comes with it. The stylus makes the creation more effortless and convenient as everyone is used to keeping a pen or pencil in his or her hand. Through a stylus, the tablet is used to create complicated shapes and allows a more natural drawing motion than it is possible with a computer mouse. You're going to be able to draw nice straight lines exactly as you want and waste less time redoing them to look right. you can zoom in and pinpoint the stylus just where you like it. Your creations will now look 100% like you want them to and you have complete power over the stylus and drawing tablet. The drawing tablets use pressure detection technology ( This is a unique feature of a drawing tablet and the app used for the purpose ) to trace current images which can storing in a digital format for uses like archiving or retouching. Writing or drawing extensively with mouse can lead to repetitive stress injuries and even carpal tunnel syndrome. Many Architects and designers suffer from these injuries. Choosing graphic tablets instead of mouse helps in avoiding all these injuries. The tablet have Functional keys around the active area can be programmed to create shortcuts. This saves time by offering quicker access to the most-used command functions. If you're excited about the value of getting a drawing tablet, you're going to enjoy working with one! The 6 best drawing tablet for architects Plan on getting a new tablet for AutoCAD, SketchUP, Archicad, Revit, 3ds max, photoshop, etc? Tablets are essential devices when it comes to architecture and construction because without them, making changes to drawings can be a time-consuming task. And so, they make things easier for you. Wacom drawing tablet models are especially ahead in the industry. But from my experiences, it's true that XP-Pen's products have been getting better over the years to the point where their products could directly compete with Wacom's products, and their price, compared to Wacom's, is relatively cheaper, which means you could possibly get more value with the same budget. If you are an artist and looking for a compact and powerful drawing device, you must have come across Apple iPad Pro and the Microsoft Surface Pro. In this article, we list the 6 best tablets for architects, architecture students and construction drawings. 1. Microsoft Surface Pro 7 Microsoft Surface Pro 7 is a tablet and a laptop at the same time. In other words, you get the best of both worlds. Because the ability to detach the display from the keyboard makes it a tablet, and putting it back transforms it into a laptop. So unless you will be doing some serious rendering, then the Microsoft Surface Pro 7 is a solid option for architecture. The performance varies because of the different configurations. The most powerful has an Intel Core i7, 16GB RAM and 1TB SSD. Whiles the base model has an Intel Core i5, 8GB RAM, and 128GB SSD. The display is bright and beautiful making it easy to be used outdoors. And the build quality is better than the previous version – Surface Pro 6. But, the weight and thinness are still the same. The stylus of the Microsoft Surface Pro 7 is one of the things that makes it great for drawing and making changes to the plan. However, it is sold separately and that includes the keyboard. Its Color Gamut is 97 percent of sRGB ( 72% NTSC / 79% Adobe RGB ), very close to the Standard Gamut. Battery life is decent about 8 hours on average. Good enough for a day's work. Overall, the Microsoft Surface Pro 7 is one of the best tablets for architects and construction drawings. It's lightweight and has enough performance to handle architecture software. Highly-recommended. 2. iPad Pro Brilliant 12.9-inch Liquid Retina XDR display with ProMotion, True Tone, and P3 wide color. which is bright, sharp and has great viewing angles. 5G for superfast downloads and high-quality streaming. New features include a near edge-to-edge display, a lot more storage space, a 12 megapixels camera for insanely sharp pictures and a 35% faster processor. Apple M1 chip for next-level performance. That means this iPad outperforms many laptops speed-wise. The iPad Pro 11-inch is compatible with the new second generation Apple Pencil. If you use a stylus a lot – to draw and do more detailed work – the new Apple Pencil has some updates that might interest you. It's technically more advanced meaning it's even more pressure sensitive and will react in absolute unison with your hands movements. You can also charge it with a magnetic connection, which means it automatically recharges while you're not using it. No need to plug it into your iPad to charge it, which gives it a clear edge over the first generation of Apple Pencils. Battery life is superb easily able to last over 10-11 hours. However, the stylus pen, keyboard and trackpad are not included in the package. So, you have to make a separate purchase. A lightweight device that you can take along to construction sites and architectural projects. which lets you easily bring your technical drawings and view their details with the highest accuracy wherever you need to. The Apple iPad although pricey offers much better value and performance than most drawing tablets. 3. XP-Pen Star G640S The XP-Pen Star G640S is one of the cheapest option, and with a 6.5×4 inches working area, it's also one of the smallest and lightest. That means it's easy to stick in a bag and take on the go. It has 8,192 levels of pressure sensitivity, which matches that of much more expensive models, and promises to work with Windows, Android , Chromebook, Linux , Mac Operating system and a wide variety of graphics software. It comes equipped with 6 customizable physical keys and 20 replacement pen nibs. The stylus does not need charging which ensures no disruptions in the middle of work. XP-Pen Star G640S is ideal for drawing, editing, sketching, animation, and digital signatures. Because of its size, it's definitely a starter tablet, but if you're just looking for something to begin, then this might be a good product to start. The Star G640 offers the best drawing pad option for any architects and engineers looking for a portable, decent-priced tablet. 4. XP-Pen Deco 03 Experience a more natural way of working on your computer with a 2.4 GHz wireless connection. The drawing tablet has a larger active drawing area than Star G640S in this list at 10 X 5.62 inches and 8mm thick. The tablet comes with six built-in expresskeys and a red scroll wheel to help improve your workflow and speed. The battery-free stylus included comes with two shortcut buttons and 8192 levels of pressure sensitivity, that provides natural looking, accurate and efficient strokes. The drawing area has a glossier finish than other tablets available, but there is still a slight paper-like surface that imitates the feeling of drawing with a pen and paper. For those on a tight budget who cant yet afford a Wacom Intuos tablet, the XP-Pen Deco 03's performance and features are way beyond what you can expect to pay for it. With plenty of shortcut keys, precise levels of pen pressure and a textured drawing surface. Its sleek design plus its A4 size large working area is the perfect choice for architects, engineers, and students using CAD, 3D sculpting programs, and other software. 5. XP-Pen Artist 13.3 Pro The 13.3-inch screen that comes with an anti-glare film. the XP-Pen Artist 13.3 Pro's Fully laminated Screen seamlessly combines the glass and LCD which reduces the parallax. With its rich 16.7-million color display (6-bit) , 1920x1080 FHD resolution and 88% NTSC ( 120% sRGB / 91% Adobe RGB ) gamut, the Artist 13.3 Pro certainly runs the gamut of quality graphics and colors. The pen is sensitive and can detect pressure on the screen, allowing you to have great control, which is highly important for any professional architect. It also supports a 60-degree tilt brush effect, letting you apply just the right strokes to your CAD drawings. Designed for either left-handed or right-handed use, the Artist 13.3 Pro also has 8 customizable buttons and 1 red roller wheel to make drawing easier than ever. Whether you're a beginner, a casual artist, or a professional, the XP-Pen Artist 13.3 Pro is the best drawing tablet option for an easy yet professional user experience. 6. XP-Pen Artist 22 2nd Generation Its 21.5 inches large display helps you to access any software's dashboard and artboard more perfectly. A larger screen allows you to more easily draw fine details . The drawing tablet provides precise accuracy with colors and more vibrancy compared to older models ( Artist 22E Pro and Artist 22 Pro). The display offer realistic color accuracy up to 90% Adobe RGB ( 86% NTSC / 122% sRGB ). which means you can accurately reproduce even the most subtle shades. Its PA6 battery-free Pen has 8192 pressure levels and 60 degrees of tilt function that creates smooth and natural lines. The graphics display tablet supports USB-C to USB-C connectivity. This makes it easy to connect it with other devices that support USB-C input. Artist 22 2nd Generation comes with a stand that can be adjusted as per the working position. Users particularly love how crisp and vibrant this drawing tablet's display is. Simplify your workflow by getting this well-built drawing tablet for architects and engineers. 7. XP-Pen Artist 24 The larger model 24” comes with a 2K ( 2560 x 1440 ) QHD resolution and can display 94% of the Adobe RGB ( 90% NTSC / 127% sRGB ) color space.
The PA6 digital pen has been engineered with Battery-Free Electromagnetic Resonance (EMR) technology. Stylus does not need charging and ensures smooth lines with 8192 pen pressure levels, 60 degrees tilt recognition and a 233PPS report rate. Its adjustable stand that comes with the XP-Pen Artist 24 device has an ergonomic design to provide comfort while working. This is the perfect high end tablet for cad drawings and fast SketchUp. you can create plans and technical drawings with the utmost precision and efficiency. Conclusion Choosing the right graphics tablet for your projects is the key to get good quality digital artworks. The drawing experience (pen to screen) is much more natural.But if you are just starting out, a screenless tablet will work fine for what you want to do. I couldn't exactly say which model is the best for you as architects' needs vary heavily from a person to another. For me, I put the most weight on the color accuracy and the responding speed of the display because the nature of my work requires high color accuracy (lots of printing and digital displaying). Others may put weight on the pen's performance due to their drawing styles, which require highly responsive actions. Digital drawing tablets are a godsend for all the architects out there as it has eliminated all the hassle of endless large canvases or pages. They have also enhanced the accuracy of their designs, along with boosting their efficiency and productivity; even on the go. Since these devices are solely designed for the purpose of drawing, you get a true and enhanced convenience to bring all your visions and creativity to life. If you're an architect or a student of architecture; or even if it's to recommend the best tablet for architects to your friend or relative, this write-up is just for you. Let me know in the comments below what are your thoughts on a Graphic Tablet and contribute to this community with your experience using one. Source Link: https://www.xp-pen.com/forum-2817.html I have both the XP-Pen Artist 13.3 Pro art drawing pad with screen 13.3inch and iPad pro 12.9inch. iPad pro so far I have to admit is amazing. Portable and easy to use, iPad Pro helped me draw and deliver illustrations while on the aeroplane, on the beach, in bed and in beautiful cafes around the globe. Creating print-ready illustration on the go is now possible with an initial investment into an iPad Pro, Apple Pencil, and a few free Adobe apps. Thanks to these new tools being an illustrator don't mean living an isolated home-bound experience like it used to be. I got the XP-PEN Artist 13.3 Pro ( https://www.xp-pen.com/product/464.html ) , mostly due to cost. It was $330 or so and if you couldn't afford the iPad Pro, It is undoubtedly superior.
I'm very happy with it and I've been using it for a year-ish and have had zero problems. I love having programmable buttons as I have pain in my thumb from copy/pasting and other repetitive keyboard commands, so that helps. Easy to set up, easy to customize for each application. Maybe not for you, but maybe this'll help someone else on the market for a reasonable graphics tablet. Choosing a digital tablet: XP-Pen or iPad? So, you have decided to purchase a drawing tablet. What should you go for: a XP-Pen or an iPad Pro? Each of these tablets has their pros and cons and a few distinctive differences. 1. The ability to see the image that you are drawing directly on the tablet. When you purchase an iPad Pro you would be able to see the image that you are drawing, as if it was on paper. To get the same effect with a XP-Pen tablet you will have to go for a higher spec Artist Pro Series , which need plug in a laptop. 2. Portability. iPad Pro functions independently from your laptop or PC, so you will have a self-sufficient drawing device everywhere you go. The models of xp-pen artist have to be plugged into a computer in order to mirror the screen. its just a display. it has no processing power or battery. all cintiqs need a computer. 3. Software choice XP-Pen is used to mirror the screen of your laptop or PC, so you will essentially be using the desktop version of the software such as Illustrator or Photoshop. XP-Pen Artist 13.3 Pro is great for use with full Adobe apps on desktop like touching up images in photoshop or creating artwork in illustrator. iPad Pro is a mobile device, so you would be able to use various apps which have been specifically adapted to deliver smooth mobile drawing experience. The main issue with the iPad is that you're limited to iOS apps like procreate . There really aren't any fully-featured animation or 3D modelling apps yet. Procreate on iPad pro is fabulous and can create printable work up to certain sizes, especially if your main purpose is for web, definitely iPad pro is enough. I absolutely love it. But Recently, there has been some development in animation apps for iPad Pro, which is also very useful for a contemporary illustrator. 4. Functionality You don't have to use your iPad Pro only for drawing. It will come in useful in other life scenarios, such as checking emails, sharing images on social networks, editing videos and lots more! With XP-Pen, you will not be able to use it for anything else. Let's compare the two types of tablets in detail. The ease of drawing with a stylus. XP-Pen is a professional and well-known provider of creative digital devices like graphic tablets, drawing pen displays and digital pen stylus. XP-Pen Artist 13.3 Pro screen tablet are better when it comes to the most natural feel of drawing on a digital device. it gives me the realistic and precise drawing experience. If you try an iPad Pro in the store you will notice that its surface is much more slippery. I know plenty of illustrators who like it, but if you are after a more paper-like feel then you can buy a cheap matt screen sticker (I use this one) which will add grip to the screen. Apple is also constantly improving the Apple Pencil, which in itself is quite a sophisticated tool. the iPad pro are good for rough sketching or lineart. The next argument that the drawing tablet supporters usually give is that graphics tablet works with full versions of Illustrator and Photoshop, providing excellent choice in file resolution and functions. And indeed, there was a limit in file sizes and resolutions available in apps when iPad Pro first came out. However, the situation is different now. Firstly, Procreate app has always offered a good choice in image resolution and formats. Moreover, Adobe CC developed some amazing iPad apps. You can now get Adobe Fresco, which works with any size and resolution and offers mind blowing tools and brushes. The two older Adobe drawing apps are Adobe Photoshop Sketch and Adobe Photoshop Draw. They seamlessly integrate with Adobe desktop apps through Creative Cloud. With all these apps you will be able to draw in both vector and raster graphics. Final thoughts: When choosing between XP-Pen Artist and Apple iPad Pro, ask yourself the following questions: Do I want to draw in full desktop version of Photoshop with all its functions? If the answer is yes, then XP-Pen is more suitable for you. I would say a full desktop would have better art programs. Especially if we are talking free. If you just want to doodle, it doesnt matter. If your going to be doing any serious art however, Get a XP-Pen Artist or wacom cintiq tablet. You get many times more freedom on a desktop. Sidecar , Astropad or Duet Pro app lets you mirror your iPad Pro display, thus turning it into a pen display tablet. But My ipad would overheat (with astropad and duet) and it lags a lot, to the point that it starts making random lines when trying to draw. How important is it to be able to draw anywhere I want? If you want a light tablet that you can take with you anywhere, iPad Pro is perfect for you. Do I like to try new mobile apps? If the answer is yes, you will have a lot of fun testing various drawing and animation apps available for iPad Pro. If, however, the thought of exploring new technology gives you more stress than excitement, then you might find it easier to learn how to use XP-Pen, which simply mirrors a desktop version of Photoshop. In terms of choosing the size of a tablet, think what you usually feel comfortable working on. I have always liked big sheets of paper to draw on that's why I went for a gigantic 12.9 inch iPad. However, you might be comfortable working on a smaller canvas. Both have different uses and advantages, eventually it comes down to what is your main purpose. My suggestion, if using it professionally, is to buy the one you need first then buy the second later. Both work for me in my line of work. If your main use is adobe desktop apps then the XP-Pen Artist 13.3 Pro. Professionally, both benefit me. In today's tech-savvy world, a graphic drawing tablet is a graphic designer's best friend. With thousands of features and functionality, a drawing tablet grants a vast spectrum of flexibility to a designer. But every artist has a unique style. A drawing tablet that works for a particular graphic designer might not suit your style. Hence, choosing the right drawing tablet is important. Graphics tablets offer intuitive controls over brushes that emulate natural media while increasing precision and speed. Yesterday I received a XP-Pen Deco 01 V2 ( https://www.xp-pen.com/product/461.html )drawing tablet as I had never used one before. The XP-Pen Deco 01 V2 is a moderately priced drawing tablet for beginners and entry-level users. It is excellent for practice and to improve your drawing skills. It has a high value of pressure sensitivity of 8,192 levels , 60 degrees of tilt function and a fantastic resolution of 5,080 LPI. The stylus is battery-free, though, which is an excellent plus-point. The active area is 10 inches wide and 6.25 inches long. It does not have a battery, which means that you have to connect it with a power source that is a laptop or a computer. The Deco 01 V2 is only 8mm in thickness and is designed for both right-handed as well as for left-handed individuals. It has eight customizable hotkeys and a USB-C port. It is an excellent value for money tablet that has a variety of unique features for an entry-level user product. They are better than a mouse when using programs like Photoshop. I have been experimenting with Photoshop recently and enjoying it more than I thought I would.
At first, I found the drawing tablet and stylus pen hard to use as it was new technology, though I soon got the hang of it and found that I liked using it. The XP-Pen tablet was easy to use, and I think its simplicity made me enjoy using it more. I liked how I could write text with it in my handwriting. Using the stylus pen allowed me to draw in a more precise way. I expanded on my work with brushes, continued from last week, playing around with the different designs. I like the idea of sketching with a drawing tablet, using the Photoshop layers to trace images in a way that is akin to my actual sketching style. The ease of being able to draw directly into a computer program (rather than having to scan things in) also appeals to me. Recently I have found that I am much less averse to creating art and designs digitally, possibly due to discovering all the artistic effects and possibilities available on certain digital programs. These programs have certain benefits that analogue methods don't (such as an ‘undo' button). I'm still interested in analog, handmade methods of creation, but I am glad that I have stepped out of my comfort zone slightly to use digital programs and equipment – I am always interested in combining these two processes (analogue and digital). I could use a drawing tablet when working on my new brief, which is based on typography. It is fun to draw on the digital tablet, and it is getting a little easier to get it to do what I want everytime I sit down. With a graphic tablet you can draw on your computer! Your screen will turn into your canvas. If you do any type a graphic design, digital design, digital art and marketing graphics there will come a time that you will need some new equipment to take your skills and abilities up a notch. I highly recommend XP-Pen products. Graphics Drawing Tablets for PC have come a long way in recent years. Gone are the days where the only game in town was a Wacom Intuos. Now, there are options to suit all budgets – from powerful, feature-packed pen displays with high-resolution touchscreens, to mid-range and cheap drawing tablets that balance price with power. XP-Pen was founded in 2005 and in my opinion, whether you're interested in painting, drawing or photograph retouching, it is the company you should consider when looking for a graphics tablet. Recently, XP-Pen introduced a new addition to its Deco family: the XP-Pen Deco Fun with XS, S, L three sizes and four different colors. Since I've been a XP-Pen tablet user for many years, I couldn't wait to get my hands on it. The first thing I noticed was that XP-Pen now offers a bewildering selection of entry level and mid range tablets. These “entry level” tablets are the XP-Pen Deco Fun Series. Prices vary because their sizes vary by tablet. They feature a smooth drawing surface and Android compatible with Android, Chrome OS. For my tests, I bought the whole models of the Deco Fun range. Unboxing the XP-Pen Deco Fun When I first got it I was really excited because I'd seen on Youtube all the unboxings and the interior of the box is really nice! It's a beautiful box for storing your tablet in! Underneath the tablet is a compartment for the cable, that connects it to your laptop, and the manual. Once you buy it, you'll get: – The actual Tablet . – The pen with buttons . – 1 Pen Clipper and 10 extra nibs – A booklet containing information on the tablet – a USB connecting cable Models There are three versions of the Deco Fun. The price depends on the size you get too, obviously the bigger, the more expensive. Extra Small ($29.99) — This tablet works well for those looking for an ultra-portable design as it measures 182.4 x 134.7 x 10.5mm. Small ($39.99 ) — This size is my personal preference at 210.5 x 159.8 x 12.9mm. This matches my laptop well and easily fits in the bag for on-location work. Its large enough to use comfortably at a desk. Large ($49.99) —This size works best for illustrators or those with a large work area. It measures 315 x 222.9 x 12.5mm. Info & Features: Here is some information and features about the tablet: – The tablet has no buttons on the side to customize . – There are additional 2 buttons on the pen. – you can connect the tablet with its USB-C to USB-A type cable. – The XP-Pen Deco Fun has also great pen pressure sensitivity. – It has about 3 sizes and four colors ( Classic Black, Space Blue, Apple Green, Carmine Red ) to choose from. – The small and Large Size tablets do have tilt feature. – tablets supports Window , Mac , linux , Android connection and is widely compatible with Chromebook devices. The Deco Fun is a simple entry into pen and tablet-based photo editing and illustration on a budget. While not as large as pricier options, and serving only as a map of the screen and not an actual screen, the Deco Fun' pressure sensitivity simplifies and speeds up many types of brush-based work. Here's the official website for the XP-PEN Deco Fun: https://www.xp-pen.com/product/905.html Install the Driver Getting used to the tablet also involved getting the hang of how the pen worked on the tablet's surface. Much of this was made flexible via the tablet driver. Once you have your tablet, you need to install all the drivers so it all works properly, which is a very simple task to do and shouldn't take up a lot of time. Just Go to the XP-Pen official site drivers page. Click Download next to the latest driver that corresponds to your computer's operating system. Follow the prompts to finish the driver installation. The Driver will help you to make relevant modifications on pen pressure to helping it feel akin to an actual pencil. Tech Review The tablet surface corresponds to your computer monitor; moving the pen over the tablet is analogous to moving your finger on a track pad — the movement is in your hands, but your eyes remain forward, looking at the monitor. While it sounds less intuitive than drawing directly on the screen, in practice it feels natural. Made from smooth black plastic similar in feel to the Touchpad on a Laptop, the XP-Pen Deco Fun should look right at home on most desks. The majority of the tablet is taken up by that work surface, which measures 6.3 by 4 inches on the small model . Four rubber pads underneath provide grip to carry the tablet steady while you're working. While constructed from plastic, the Deco Fun feels well-built for the price. I did find that with enough use, the pen will leave tiny scratch marks in the surface of the tablet . Use the Deco Fun feels like the you tried to type without looking at your hands. Watching the screen instead of your hand while drawing feels strange, at first, but that odd feeling slowly fades the more you use the tablet system until it feels just as easy as typing. In fact, employing a separate tablet and monitor — versus drawing directly on a screen — may even be a plus, as your hand doesn't physically block your view of your digital canvas. My experience with it Digital Painting experience After installing the XP-Pen Deco Fun, I began exploring the digital medium landscape by trying out the paid software offer of Photoshop CC , alongside various other different free software including Medibang Paint, Gimp ,Krita, etc. The bundled software ( ArtRage Lite ) doesn't do much for me . I think it's better to buy a Deco Fun and then buy whatever software you want to use with it. The drawing surface is awesome: slick and smooth with no skips or lag. XP-Pen has always made quality tablets so there's no surprise that the pen responsiveness is spot-on. The product does have its downfalls, The real difference between this tablet and its predecessors (and other tablets in XP-Pen's lineup) are the customizable hot buttons down the side of the tablet. you can using it replaces drawing paper, pencils, watercolors, and just any other art tool you could think of! A lot drawing programs are free, so once you get a tablet, you are essentially ready to go. Since tablet stylus acts just like a pen, paintbrush, or whatever you want it to be, the table itself senses pressure. The biggest edge the Deco Fun has over a mouse is the pressure sensitivity. More pressure creates smaller, darker strokes, while less pressure creates a line as large as the selected brush with more edge gradient. The pen doesn't mean you never need to choose a brush size, shape, or edge again, but the pressure sensitivity allows you to urge that maximum brush size or just a fraction of that selected brush with light pressure. This makes it so that when you press hard, the lines made are thicker and darker, just like in real life. You can easily draw and color like you would on regular paper, except with more tools that you couldn't use in real life. Use Deco Fun Graphic Tablet to Edit Photos The main benefit to a tablet when photograph retouching is not as obvious as you might think. The precise movements compared to a mouse are nice but actually being able to change pressure on the pen is equally as useful, especially if you are dodging and burning. While the Deco Fun is the most time-efficient when using the pressure sensitivity, the tablet-based editing feels more natural for a number of other uses. Using the pen to tap out blemishes with the healing tool was slightly faster than using the mouse, but it also felt more natural and, frankly, helped me in making a tedious task a bit more enjoyable. If you think you'd be better/faster with a tablet, you should seriously consider getting one. Illustrators, cartoonists, animators, photographers doing retouching/editing by mouse would all benefit from a tablet. I use the pen stylus even for video editing. Period point blank, holding a pen is going to be more accurate and efficient rhan holding a mouse for any computer task you can think of, at least for me. Works with Chromebooks This entry level tablet connects to any Chromebook with a USB cable and then you use the included stylus to draw like you'd normally draw! I've used a similar product from XP-Pen before to draw out math equations and it worked really well. Supported on Chrome OS 88 and later, and Kernel version 4 and later(including 4.4, 4.14 and 4.19). If your Chromebook has a touchscreen, the lag on some of those can make drawing accurately nearly impossible. There are plenty of drawing apps for Chromebooks . You could use this for art (obviously) but also for students who want to show their math work. This most likely has very little lag and the price makes it very affordable to boot. Also when you buy the deco fun tablet you will get the three-month trail of Explain Everything whiteboard app ( just like Google Jamboard , Openboard and MS Whiteboard ) license . Just download the app on your device to use to draw and open the board in a browser to screen share (or just send them the share link to view) and they can see what you draw. I've been using the xp-pen with OneNote and PowwrPoint and it's worked great. You get used to coordinating the pen with the screen pretty quickly. it's great for online courses . Support connect to your Android phone or tablet! you need to download a driver to your pc and connect the tablet to update the tablet's firmware . after that its suppoused to work as intended. It doesnt work with bluetooth it has to be connected using usb otg ( not come with , you have to buy one by yourself ) . I connected my XP-Pen Deco Fun to my Samsung Galaxy (my phone came with a special adapter) and it technically works. However, you can't see where the pen is but you can still click and draw. inixPint X this one support pen pressure and Sketchbook are my favorite apps . also with also medibang paint and adobe sketch ( idk why those 2 dont support pen pressure , But you can still draw. ) Conclusion
The XP-Pen Deco Fun is the perfect tablet for anyone to start their journey in the digital medium. The added bonus of the free software, and relatively cheap prize makes it a perfect comic for the budget artist. If you're looking at buying a Drawing Tablet, I definitely recommend getting a XP-Pen Deco Fun. For a beginner, it's perfect, not difficult to use and great results. I'm thrilled with it and happily using it to sketch and paint in Photoshop. If you do a lot of retouching, photography editing or even drawing, you should buy one, in my opinion. It's a solid product with minimal problems. If you draw a lot, I would consider a XP-Pen Artist 12 Pro Drawing Tablet With Screen . I do not think you'd benefit from a screen with photograph retouching, so I do not recommend getting the more expensive model if you're only interested in photography. |
AuthorI am a professional digital artist and graphic designer. Archives
January 2023
Categories |