Archive for the ‘computer drawing pads tests’ Category

Best Wacom Graphics Tablets you Should Consider Today

Tuesday, December 5th, 2023

A high-quality drawing tablet is essential for producing professional-quality artwork and designs. For many photographers, animator, artists and designers, there has only been one reliable name in tablets, Wacom.

Wacom is a very professional and reliable brand. Their graphics tablets are of incredible quality and are industry standard in the animation, gaming and film industries.

Are you thinking of buying the best wacom tablet for digital sketching, drawing, photo editing, online teaching, and more?

Since the company has such a vast array of models and types, It can be difficult figuring out what to pick for your needs.

To help in that regard, we’ve collected what we believe to be the best of its offerings right now. We have Included options for every type of user so whether you are looking for the best budget.

What is Wacom?

Wacom is a Japanese company that specialises in graphic tablets and related devices. It was established in 1983 in Japan.

From cinema and animation to auto-design and manga, Wacom comprises many creative customers worldwide.

Wacom also provides revolutionary user interface technologies and solutions to successful medical, educational, and other companies.

Wacom owns the pro market. Meanwhile, It has filled out the more affordable end of its range, with budget tablets to tempt those who don’t have huge amounts to spend.

Is a Wacom tablet worth buying?

Nowadays, There are many other options out there, cheaper ones, such as HuionXPPenUgeeGAOMONVeikk, etc. However, Even though Wacom tablets are relatively expensive, they are well worth buying.

Wacom tablets are often seen as being of more features and better performance. For example, the Cintiq Pro range display has wider color accuracy, higher resolution, and provides 27-inch and 32-inch screen size that other brands doesn’t have.

Thanks to a combination of solid build quality, extremely high-quality components. Every wacom tablet is built to last, which means you’ll be creating stunning works of art for many, many years to come.

Wacom produce the most precise, lag-free, responsive styluses in the industry that require no batteries to work. These pens comes with a lower activation force and can recognizes light pen strokes.

Wacom pen tablets and displays are built with artists’ needs in mind. they comes with good compatibility with practically every operating system and piece of artistic software.

Wacom have taken longer time to refine and hone their drivers within their tablet products. This, along with their features and design, mean they have a lot of extra capabilities that other brand’s products do not yet offer.

There’s lots of help and support online for almost anything you need because most artists use Wacom, so there’s a lot more info available for you compared to other lesser known brands.

We recommend saving up more for wacom if drawing quality, durability and longevity is concern.

What are the different types of Wacom tablets?

1. Drawing tablet without screen

Wacom Intuos and Intuos pro series are a really good pen tablets for beginners who getting started in digital art.

The main reasons for this is that they are much more affordable and quite durable.

They don’t have a built-in screen, so you will need to look at your computer screen while drawing on the tablet.

2. Drawing tablet with screen

Wacom Cintiq and Wacom Cintiq Pro series are drawing tablets with screen, which is ideal for illustrators and those doing a lot of line drawings.

Here, it pays to be able to look at what you are drawing as you draw it, exactly as if you were using paper.

In general you pay more for this privilege, but many prefer screened pen tablets for their ease of use, more natural and intuitive.

They still need to be plugged in to your computer to work, and will use your computer’s resources to work.

3. Standalone Drawing Tablet

Portability is crucial as you will probably draw, edit and write on the go. The Wacom MobileStudio Pro is a unique standalone graphic tablet for creative professionals who want the freedom to create anywhere.

You don’t need a laptop or a desktop to use it, as everything (screen, computer, and stylus) is within one handy box. Of course, they are the most expensive in general.

10 Best Wacom Drawing Tablets

Let’s go over the 10 different Wacom tablet models that are now in the market and see which one is the right for you!

We selected this list based on Price, features, specifications, and performance.

1. One by Wacom

2. Wacom Intuos

3. Wacom Intuos Pro

4. Wacom One 13

5. Wacom Cintiq 16

6. Wacom Cintiq Pro 16

7. Wacom Cintiq 22

8. Wacom Cintiq Pro 24

9. Wacom Cintiq Pro 27

10. Wacom Mobilestudio Pro 13

In conclusion

Wacom is the industry leader in the pen tablet field and with good reason – their products are well designed, well made and customisable in virtually every way imaginable.

This is a brief overview of all the Wacom tablets on the market to help you choose the right one for you based on your current skill level, your preferences and your budget!

If you’re a beginner who is looking to utilize a tablet for recreational use, you’ll likely be better off saving some money and choosing to one of the regular Wacom Intuos tablets.

If you’re a professional who is looking to invest in a tablet for multimedia manipulation, we highly recommend Wacom Cintiq display tablets.

If you are an advanced artist who is constantly on the go, and you don’t want to be stuck in one place. The freedom and portability of Wacom Mobilestudio Pro gives you will be worth that investment and more.

Whether you’re an artist, teacher, designer or photographer, these devices have a lot to offer.

Frequently Asked Questions about Wacom

Which Wacom tablet is the best for beginners and professionals?

The Wacom Intuos, Intuos Pro and entry-level wacom cintiq is a fabulous choice if you are getting started with digital art. They are compatible with many platforms and has essential features you need.

The Wacom Cintiq Pro and Mobile Studio models adapt well to professional environments. They bundle many premium features like a vast color gamut, 8k levels of pressure, tilt recognition, multi-touch function, higher resolution, radial menus and etc.

How many pressure levels do you need with a Wacom tablet?

The number of pressure sensitivity levels indicates how realistic and natural your drawing experience will be.

The more pressure sensitivity a graphics tablet has. The more you will be able to vary the size of your strokes with pressure.

Most wacom tablets have a pressure sensitivity of at least 2,048 levels, which is adequate for most users.

However, if you want to achieve more realistic and expressive effects, you may want to look for a higher pressure sensitivity, such as 4,096 levels or more.

How do I install the drivers for my Wacom tablet?

To install the drivers for your Wacom tablet, visit the Wacom official website and download the appropriate drivers for your operating system. Follow the installation instructions provided.

Is it possible to connect a wacom tablet to an Android smartphone or tablet?

Wacom tablets are primarily designed for use with computers, but some models are compatible with certain Android smartphones or tablets. Ensure to check compatibility before purchasing.

Can I replace the pen that comes with a Wacom tablet?

Yes, you can usually purchase replacement pens for Wacom tablets. Check the Wacom website or authorized retailers for compatible pen options.

Can I use a Wacom tablet without a computer?

Wacom Intuos and Cintiq tablets require a computer or compatible device to function since they are input devices.

Only Wacom Mobilestudio Pro can work without a computer.

Source: https://pctechtest.com/best-wacom-drawing-tablets

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Best Alternatives to Wacom Tablets

Wednesday, November 22nd, 2023

The graphic tablet is one of the most necessary accessories in the graphic artist’s studio.

It allows artists to use a pen to make creative design such as incredible artwork, illustrations, and animations onto the computer screen.

In addition, it speeds up workflow, improves precision and offers greater ergonomics than a mouse.

Wacom is a well-known brand in the world of digital art, but their tablets can be quite expensive.

Fortunately, there are some best wacom alternatives that offer the same quality and performance without breaking the bank.

Why is Wacom considered the Best?

Wacom is considered by many to be the industry standard. Wacom has been creating drawing tablets for years. They are well known for creating reliable, long-lasting products, with a lot of key tech.

In the industry, most artists use Wacom products because of their quality, durability and superior accurate and precise.

Wacom is known for providing quality driver support. Their tablet drivers continue receiving updates long after a product is released.

Is the Wacom worth the Money?

Wacom tablets are very expensive, It costs twice as much as some of its counterparts in the market.

However, the brand is renowned for its high quality, And their tablet offers an accurate and pleasant drawing performance. In addition, there are some brand premiums.

If you are professional and have a flexible enough budget, then you shouldn’t think twice about getting the Wacom.

What types of tablet does the Wacom Offer?

Wacom provides intuos pen tablets for beginners, Cintiq interactive pen displays, and MobileStudio Pro standalone drawing pads to equip and inspire everyone to make the world a more creative place.

Wacom Intuos and Intuos Pro are drawing tablets without a screen, so you need to draw on the tablet while looking at your computer screen.

These drawing tablets aren’t as powerful as others but they are the most affordable. This makes them the best option for budding artists who want to start doing digital art without spending too much on a tablet, for now.

Wacom Cintiq has an Integrated screen that comes in various sizes and provide a pen-on-screen experience for precise and natural drawing.

Although the Cintiq models have a screen of their own, they are not “standalone tablets”. They need to be plugged in to your computer to work, and will use your computer’s resources to work.

Wacom MobileStudio Pro is a computer and a portable small Cintiq, much like a Microsoft Surface, iPad and samsung galaxy tab.

Therefore, they don’t need to be connected to your computer to be able to work with them. It’s portable, easy to use, and allows you to draw on the go.

Still, they have one noticeable flaw: the price.

What brand competes with Wacom?

There are a hand full of really good competitive brands out there, and it’s really hard to beat prices. Lots of features for a fraction of the Wacom price.

1. Huion

Huion is a chinese company, which was established in 2011. Its logo is a representation of 3 pencils. The number three symbolizes in the Chinese culture “stability, balance, the tripartite confrontation and development”.

Huion uses independent innovations to build digital panel and screen systems, stylus pens and other professional product lines.

At this moment, it has a total of three series: Inspiroy, Kamvas, and Kamvas Studio. They all have very iconic characteristics and you can select the right model that fits your demand.

2. XP-Pen

XPPen is another Chinese brand that makes great drawing tablets. It was originally founded in Japan in 2005 and is now affiliated with a parent Chinese company, Hanvon Ugee.

It is a professional and reliable supplier of graphic tablets, pen display monitors, stylus pens and more digital graphical products.

XP-Pen has a huge variety of graphic tablets as well as drawing accessories. Right now, the company provides tablets from 3 different series: Star Series Tablet, Deco Series Tablet, Artists Series Display tablet.

XP-Pen is currently the only company which offers company-developed Linux drivers (still in beta testing). As a comparison, Wacom’s Linux drivers are community-developed, and are not actually official drivers.

3. Gaomon

Gaomon is a Chinese high-tech enterprise that is known for independently researching and developing core technology such as animation products and handwritten input digitizer products.

Since our establishment in 2011, GAOMON has developed over ten digital products that have found applications in various fields.

4. Ugee

Ugee is a professional manufacturer specializing in research, development, production, and sale of pen tablets and pen displays.

Founded in Shenzhen, China in 1998, they also established UGEE online drawing school, which served to help young artists learn about and improve their digital drawing skills.

5. Veikk

Founded in china in 2009, Veikk has been dedicated to the research, design, R&D, production, and marketing of digital pen tablets and we have obtained more than 60 product patents.

6. Xencelabs

Xencelabs is a new company which seems to be created by many veterans in the tablet field, such as developers with prior experience in Wacom and other such tablet companies.

Xencelabs developed about 5 different tablet models, 1 of them have a display surface.

How to Choose the Best Wacom Alternative Graphics Tablet?

When considering an alternative to Wacom, it’s essential to consider factors such as pen pressure sensitivity, display quality, size, compatibility with software, and overall user experience.

Reading reviews, comparing specifications, and considering your specific requirements and budget will help you find the best alternative that meets your needs.

12 Best Wacom Alternatives in 2023

In this list of the best Wacom alternative models you will find on-par performance whether you need Wacom Intuos alternatives, Cintiq alternatives, or the MobileStudio alternatives, you will find it here!

1. Gaomon S620

2. XP-Pen Deco 01 V2

3. XP-Pen Artist 12 (2nd gen)

4. Huion Kamvas 13

5. Ugee U1600

6. Huion Kamvas Pro 16

7. Huion Kamvas 22 Plus

8. XP-Pen Artist 24 Pro

9. Huion Kamvas Pro 24

10. Apple iPad Pro

11. Samsung Galxy Tab S9

12. Microsoft Surface pro 9

Conclusion

In the end, you’re just trying to reduce cost and get decently cheap products to make simple art, not to pay more to get the most performance tablet for professional drawing.

Wacom alternatives are not equal to wacom, but it’s close. Every year their products get better and bette.

It’s worth looking for good, affordable Wacom alternatives. For the rest of us hobby artists, spending that much is just not in the cards. But it’s perfectly possible to find a suitable alternative without sacrificing quality.

With 10 tablets to choose from, Now you should be able to find the best Wacom alternative without going over budget. We hope you’ll find this list useful!

Having a great pen tablet is always a good investment for an artist. Once you get used to using your device, you’ll never want to use a mouse ever again.

Source: https://pctechtest.com/good-cheap-alternatives-to-wacom

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Using Pen Tablets for Interactive Online Teaching

Friday, November 17th, 2023

In the ever-evolving landscape of education, online teaching has become an integral part of the learning process. Educators around the world are adapting to virtual classrooms to provide quality education to students.

As this mode of teaching continues to gain traction, it’s essential to explore innovative tools that can enhance the online learning experience. One such tool that holds significant potential is the use of pen tablets.

In this article, we’ll delve into the ways educators can leverage pen tablets to create interactive and engaging online teaching environments.

Enhancing Visual Communication

Visual communication plays a crucial role in online teaching. Through the use of pen tablets,such as wacom, huion, xppen, gaomon, ugee, veikk, etc. educators can seamlessly illustrate concepts, annotate content, and create diagrams in real time.

This enhances the clarity of explanations and makes complex topics more accessible to students. By incorporating visual aids directly into their virtual classrooms, educators can foster better understanding and engagement among students.

Real-Time Problem Solving

One of the challenges of online teaching is the lack of immediate interaction.

Pen tablets for online teaching address this challenge by enabling educators to solve problems in real time. They can work through mathematical equations, scientific experiments, and other practical tasks while students follow along.

This interactivity bridges the gap between physical and virtual classrooms, providing students with an experience similar to traditional in-person learning.

Personalized Feedback and Assessment

Effective feedback is a cornerstone of learning. Pen tablets allow educators to provide personalized feedback on assignments, quizzes, and projects directly on the students’work.

This personalized touch not only enhances the learning experience but also helps students identify their strengths and areas for improvement.

The use of pen tablets in assessment encourages a more holistic understanding of students progress.

Creating Dynamic Presentations

Static presentations can sometimes lead to disengagement. Pen tablets enable educators to create dynamic and interactive presentations.

They can use annotate pdf with digital tablet, highlight key points, and draw connections between concepts on the go.

This dynamic approach captures students’attention and encourages active participation, making the online learning experience more vibrant and memorable.

Fostering Collaboration

Collaborative learning is a vital aspect of education. Pen tablets facilitate collaborative activities by allowing educators and students to work together in real time.

Whether it’s a group brainstorming session or a collaborative project, the ability to sketch, draw, and write together fosters teamwork and a sense of shared accomplishment, even in a virtual environment.

For educators teaching in diverse settings, language barriers can pose a challenge. Pen tablets offer a visual way to overcome these barriers. Educators can use them to explain concepts without relying solely on language.

Visual representations transcend linguistic differences, ensuring that all students can grasp the content effectively.

Adapting to Hybrid Learning Models

As education transitions into a hybrid model that combines in-person and online teaching tools, pen tablets become even more valuable.

Educators can seamlessly switch between traditional teaching methods and digital interactions using pen tablets.

This adaptability ensures a smooth learning experience, regardless of whether students are attending class in person or remotely.

FAQs

Q1: Do I need any specific software to use pen tablets for online teaching?

While some pen tablets come with proprietary software, many are compatible with popular online teaching platforms and whiteboard applications.

Q2: Can pen tablets work with different devices?

Yes, pen tablets can be used with computers, laptops, and even some tablets, offering flexibility in your teaching setup.

Q3: Are pen tablets suitable for subjects beyond art?

Absolutely. Pen tablets are versatile tools that can be used across various subjects, from mathematics to science and even language arts, such as graphics pads for pixel artdrawing pads for tattoo design and etc.

Q4: Do students need their own pen tablets to participate?

No, students can follow along and engage with the content even without their own pen tablets. Educators can share their screen and interact using their tablet.

Q5: Are pen tablets user-friendly for educators who aren’t tech-savvy?

Yes, many pen tablets are designed with user-friendly interfaces, making them accessible to educators of all tech levels.

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Best Graphics Tablets for MediBang Paint

Tuesday, November 14th, 2023

MediBang Paint Pro is a free lightweight digital painting program for illustrators and comic book artists.

MediBang Paint supports graphics tablets from popular brands such as Wacom. So you can use a pen tablet or display to draw directly in MediBang software.

Drawing tablet is a computer input device that enables a user to hand-draw images, animations and graphics, with a special pen-like stylus, similar to the way a person draws images with a pencil and paper.

If you work with a graphics tablet, you can control painting tools with pen pressure, or the angle. And that makes drawing in medibang very accurate and precise.

Choosing the best graphics tablets for MediBang Paint is not easy since we don’t have to worry only about size or screen resolution but software compatibility, portability, price, and performance.

To help you buy the right one, pc tech test have drawn up a list of the best drawing tablets available today.

What types of drawing tablet to get for Medibang Paint?

There’s 3 different kinds! drawing tablets without screen, drawing tablets with display, stabdalone drawing tablets.

The classic graphics tablet consists of two main parts: a flat surface that is mapped to your screen and a stylus. You look at your computer screen while drawing on the pen tablet. This takes a while to get used to.

Some have a highly sensitive LCD monitor upon which you can draw directly. so it’s a bit more expensive but amongst the closest to pen on paper action.

Both of these need to be plugged in a computer or laptop to work.

Standalone pen tablets like ipads allow you to draw on the screen, without the need to plug it into another machine.

These are the most expensive, but the benefit is they’re portable, set up is easy, and u can use em for other things.

Taking Medibang Paint to a New Level

Because the drawing tablet is operated with a pen, so it delivers more precision and control than a mouse that’s optimized to work with Medibang Paint to speed workflow.

Tablets help a lot to people who suffer from carpal tunnel, They will always be more ergonomic, nature and comfortable to use than a mouse!

Tablets are absolute positioning devices, so all you have to do is just place your pen on the device’s surface and your cursor position will be mapped precisely to your screen.

Pressure and tilt sensitivity are two amazing features that most good graphics tablets have that allow for perfect translation of pressure and tilt movements from your pen to your artwork.

By applying more pressure to your graphics tablet will result in wider brush strokes while putting less muscle into it will produce thinner strokes.

Most drawing tablets also offers customizable ExpressKeys, which can be assigned to application-specific settings of medibang paint, putting your favorite shortcuts at your fingertips.

What drawing tablet brands are good?

Wacom is still leading brand when it comes to drawing tablets. But good cheap rivals like XP-Pen and Huion are also worth considering.

Apple, Microsoft and Samsung, meanwhile, not only produce some of the best tablets in general, but ones that are increasingly good as drawing tablets too.

What graphics tablet size to get for Medibang Paint?

Drawing tablets come in different sizes, and the size you choose depends on your personal preference and the type of work you’ll be doing.

Generally speaking, you’ll want the graphic tablet size to be close to the size of your computer monitor.

The tablet surface is mapped to the whole screen. That means if you have a small drawing surface, everything you draw will be magnified much larger.

For medium size tablets, the difference of your tablet stroke and screen stroke is not as much, and hence it feels more natural to see your strokes come out the way they are on screen.

For large tablets, the difference is even less. They are great if you have a high budget, and these tend to be used by professional artists.

What drawing tablet is compatible with Medibang Paint?

MediBang is available for Windows, Mac OS X, Android, and iPad OS. So no matter what drawing tablet you get, it will work well with Medibang Paint.

Many similar posts: Graphics Tablets for PhotoshopPen Tablets for illustratorDrawing tablets for Krita, and etc

12 Best Drawing Tablets for Medibang Paint in 2023

For our long research, we found the best tablets for Medibang Paint, which is suitable for animators, graphic designers, and any other artists. Let’s discuss it.

1. Wacom Intuos

2. XP-Pen Deco 01 V2

3. Huion HS610

4. Wacom One 13

5. Huion Kamvas 13

6. XP-Pen Artist 16 (2nd Gen)

7. Ugee U1600

8. Huion Kamvas 22 Plus

9. XP-Pen Artist 24 Pro

10. iPad (10th gen)

11. Samsung Galaxy Tab S6 Lite

12. Surface Go 3

Conclusion

Anyone who has been working with MediBang for a long time will sooner or later consider purchasing a pen tablet for MediBang.

The choice of graphic tablet will depend on the individual’s needs, budget, and preferences, as well as the type of work you will be doing.

From the above list of the 12 best tablets for Photoshop, you can choose one that meets your product specifications and budget.

If you need the portability, We can recommend you to use the surface, ipad and samsung galaxy tab cause they are really awesome standalone pen tablet.

If you are getting into the digital painting from a professional point of view, you should consider investing in a quality pen tablet that will make work easier and improve accuracy.

Source: https://pctechtest.com/best-drawing-tablets-for-medibang-paint

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Wacom Intuos Pro vs XPPen Deco Pro Comparison

Friday, November 10th, 2023

Whether you are doing photo editing, digital painting or 3D sculpting, having a professional tool is fundamental to fuel your creativity and productivity.

For the longest time, the Wacom Intuos Pro series was considered the pinnacle of screenless graphics tablets.

These offered the highest pressure sensitivity settings along with extra features such as wireless connectivity and touch support.

However, these tablets also tended to cost an arm and a leg. The justification for the pricing is that these products are targeted for professionals.

The Deco Pro is XP-Pen’s high-end addition to their Deco series of screen-less tablets, which features a very sleek and unique design with Rich features.

It is made to compete with Wacom’s Intuos Pro line while costing only as much as the low-end Intuos tablets.

Which one is better or more suitable for your needs? This article will help you understand the key distinctions between the two tablets and make the best decision possible.

Brand Comparison: Wacom vs XP-Pen

Wacom is more well-known and widely used because of its sturdy construction and widespread availability, plus it’s an older brand which was established in Japan in 1983.

In the last couple of years Wacom has seen its grip on the entry level graphics tablet market loosening considerably.

Competitors like XP-Pen have artists who want to make their mark in the digital art world more choices in the tools that they can use.

XP-Pen tablets are generally cheaper than Wacom tablets and have more features.

If beginner artists wanted tools that were appropriate for their skill level, they could always get the XP-Pen tablets. This brand is also a budget tool for professionals.

Keep in mind that both of these corporations are successful and sell products that satisfy almost all their customers.

Features Comparison: Wacom Intuos Pro vs XP-Pen Deco Pro

So let’s dive into the debate, Wacom Intuos Pro vs XP-Pen Deco Pro Comparison, Read on to find out…

Build Quality and Design

Wacom’s build quality has always been stellar and this Intuos Pro is no exception.

The device is a sleek black, feels reassuringly strong even though it is only 8mm thick.. It has a sturdy anodized aluminum back panel, with a fiberglass composite resin shell on the front.

The XP-Pen Deco Pro has a rather unique design with its black plastic front and cool sliver aluminum base & dial. It is a nice looking tablet with solid build quality.

The device is extremely slim, with just 7 milimeters height on most areas, except on the side where the buttons are, where it reaches a 16.5 mm height.

The back of both tablets has two long rubber feet spanning the whole tablet for maximum stability, and the usual information sticker.

Compared to Wacom intuos pro tablet, the Deco Pro is much sleeker, thinner and more modern. It has won a few design awards, like the 2019 Reddot Design Award and the 2018 Good Design Award.

Wacom intuos pro tablet felt more heavy, which gave you a feeling of higher quality.

In additin, The edge of the Deco Pro tablet is a fairly sharp corner design, while the edge of intuos pro was slightly more rounded.

Active Area Size

The Wacom Intuos Pro comes in three different sizes: small version with 6.3 x 3.9 inches active area, medium version has 8.7 x 5.8 inhes while the large version offers 12.1 x 8.4 inches.

The Deco Pro is available in two sizes, small (9×5 inches working area) or medium (11 x 6 inches), but these should not be confused with Wacom’s small and medium sizes as XP-Pen’s small and medium sizes are much larger!

If you tend to work on a small monitor below 19 inches or a laptop, you should be just fine with the small version of wacom intuos pro. It should be enough.

If you really need a tablet with a larger drawing surface, the savings you would make on the XP-Pen Deco tablets far outweigh any advantage you would get by opting for the doubly priced medium sized Wacom Intuos Pro tablet.

Surface Texture

The surface of intuos pro is rough, meaning you get a good degree of friction as you sketch. This gives it that paper feel, plus it helps to control your stylus.

In actual use, the Wacom Intuos Pro works very well. But the friction/resistance on the surface eats down the nibs very fast.

The surface of Deco pro also has a slight grain to it, but it’s smoother than the wacom, and after weeks nibs didnt wear down much.

It’s worth noting that if you don’t like the default surface, Wacom sells different overlays with smoother or rougher surfaces you can apply to the tablet. The packaging includes a sampler sheet of the surface options.

Shortcut Buttons

Both tablets had lots of macro buttons and a scroll wheel. You can program them to do all sorts of stuff, it’s cool.

On the xp-pen you have eight shortcut keys and the innovative double wheel.

“double wheel” means that you can turn the outside rim of the dial (the mechanical wheel) and assign that to one function such as zoom in & out, or increase & decrease the brush size, etc.

And additionally you can use the inner or “virtual wheel”, which is the circumference of the touch sensitive trackpad, assigned to something completely different, such as rotating the workspace, scrolling, etc.

On the wacom you have 6 to 8 shortcut buttons and a touch ring, which can help you resize the brushes quickly, it can also be used to zoom in & out, or to rotate your canvas.

The button in the middle of wheel is only for switching the function of the wheel and nothing else.

Stylus Pen

Wacom Intuos Pro tablet comes with the most precise stylus – Pro pen 2, which is battery-free, supports 8192 pressure levels and tilt sensitivity.

It has a semi-hard/semi-soft rubber grip with two side buttons and a pen eraser on the end. Holding this pen is very comfortable.

The XP-Pen Deco Pro tablet has a PA1 battery-free stylus with 8192 pressure levels and Tilt recognition.

It features 2 buttons, a semi-hard/semi-soft rubber grip with silver plastic for much of the rest of the pen. It is quite light but doesn’t feel unbalanced.

The advantage of going with a greater number of 8192 pressure levels is that it enables you to make finer distinctions in the thickness of the lines, which is essential when working on high-resolution drawings.

Tilt sensitivity means that the tablet can detect the inclination angle of the stylus and change the brush stroke to achieve a more natural and realistic feeling. This is great for shading but has many more applications.

The wacom has the slight edge with pen handling over the xp-pen, it’s pressure sensitivity is more natural and needs less force to draw.

In addition, Wacom’s pen tilt is fast, precise, and doesn’t change directions when you press the pens macro keys. It’s completely smooth.

XP-Pen’s tilt was slower by comparison to the wacom, and it jittered around a bit and changed directions when you pressed the macro keys on the pen. It’s not precise enough.

Multi-Touch Support

The XP-Pen Deco Pro does not support and touch gestures, and will not recognize your fingers – it will only recognize the stylus.

The Intuos Pro has multi-touch and gesture support, which is incredibly useful. so you can use phone gestures on your tablet with your fingers.

You can customize some of these, so tapping four fingers might open a menu, while tapping three might open a new window, and pinching zooms in and out on an image.

If you don’t like it, you can easily disable this feature from the side of the tablet.

Compatibility

The Wacom Intuos Pro offers excellent Windows and Mac compatibility.

The Deco Pro isn’t just built to work on both Windows and Mac computers, it can also be connected to an Android device so you can paint and sketch on your phone or tablet.

Connectivity

Wacom includes a USB-C to USB Type-A cable, with the USB-C end plugging into the tablet for charging.

XP-Pen contains the USB-C to USB-A cable to connect the tablet to your laptop. it also has 2 adapters: USB-A to USB-C and USB-A to Micro-USB.

The Deco Pro tablet will support a USB-C to USB-C connector cable but it doesn’t come with the cable.

Bluetooth Wireless is standard on the Intuos Pro and is optional on the XP-Pen Deco Pro.

Although you can get a cheaper version of the Deco Pro without Bluetooth, this is not recommended as the hassle from having extra wires is just not worth the small cost saving.

Drivers

To setup the tablet with a PC or Mac, all you need to do is connect it to your computer and then download and install the drivers.

The XP-Pen driver have a nice interface, letting you change active area size, pressure sensitivity, customize shortcut keys, etc. The actual driver software itself is quite simple and gets the job done.

Comparing it to the Wacom driver, it’s very similar, maybe the Wacom app would win in the comparison as it has more features.

In addition, Wacom’s driver software is notably simpler, convenient to update and install than that of the XP-Pen.

Accessories

Despite being cheaper than the Intuos Pro, the XP-Pen Deco Pro comes with more accessories, such as extra black artist drawing glove, 2 adpaters, etc.

XP-Pen Deco pro comes with 8 nibs in total, all of which are of the same hard plastic design.

Wacom Intuos Pro has ten nibs, including four felt nibs which are similar to using paint brushes or pastels.

Additionally, the Deco Pro comes with a pen holder, while the Intuos Pro has a pen stand.

The weighted pen stand of wacom has a screw-in bottom and when you unscrew the piece, you will find a variety of 10 different pen tips.

To remove the included pen tip, there’s a small hole on the bottom of the pen stand which you can use to easily remove the pen tip.

The pen case of xp-pen is a tube which holds the pen safely inside during transportation.

Both ends can be unscrewed, with the lid on one end acting as a pen stand, and the other end holding the pen nib replacements and the pen nib remover.

Bonus Software

When you purchase Deco Pro, and register it on the XP-Pen website, you get a choice of two software options for free. These are ArtRage 6 and openCanvas, and are for windows and Mac.

You can get a free 3-moth trial of Shapr3D and MASV, which comes with Wacom Intuos Pro purchase.

Luckily, there are many free drawing, photo editing, animation and whiteboard programs available, so you can use a pen tablet for online teaching, a graphic tablet for annotating pdf and etc.

Price

XP-Pen Deco pro is priced affordably and within reasonable, It is priced at $99.99 (Deco Pro Small), $129.99 (Deco Pro Medium), $129.99 (Deco Pro SW Bluetooth), $159.99 ( Deco Pro MW Bluetooth). Wacoms prices are more expensive, respectively $249.95 (Intuos Pro Small), $379.95 (Intuos Pro Medium), $499.95 (Intuos Pro Large).

Conclusion

Looking at the balance between specs and cost, we believe Either tablet will be a perfectly good buy. Which one you get really depends on your art style and preferences.

XP-Pen deco Pro series is known for its best value for money. Wacom Intuos Pro series is quite costly but they have a great experience and smooth user interface.

If you’re a professional who is looking to invest in a tablet for multimedia manipulation, I will highly recommend Wacom’s line of Intuos Pro tablets.

Wacom Intuos Pro tablet is known to be free from pen lag and extremely accurate. It’s worth it’s weight on gold for the time savings and increased accuracy.

If you’re simply a consumer who is looking to utilize a tablet for recreational use, you’ll likely be better off saving some money and choosing to one of the XP-Pen Deco Pro tablets.

The affordable price point of this means you could start on this as a beginner and really grow into it over time as you improve.

Source: https://pctechtest.com/wacom-intuos-pro-vs-xppen-deco-pro

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Wacom Cintiq 22 vs Huion Kamvas 22 Plus Comparison

Friday, November 3rd, 2023

If you’re not new to the digital art world, you’re probably already aware that graphic tablet with display is a good tool for an artist.

These display tablets are unbelievably cool, allowing you to use a stylus and work directly on your artwork. Even traditional artists are surprised by how easy, nature, accurate and intuitive the process is for them.

Compared to sizes of 15.6-inch or smaller, the 22-inch gives you a physically larger drawing area that allows you to create more lengthy pen strokes and more comfortable arm movements as you draw.

If you are looking for a quality 22-inch pen display that has all the necessary drawing features you need while still being very economical, the Wacom Cintiq 22 and the Huion Kamvas 22 Plus are the two best and most popular choices.

One may be wondering which one of the two to get. For the most part, both devices are similar, like screen size, resolution and pressure sensitivity, but there are some differences here and there.

Keen on one or the other? We compared Wacom Cintiq 22 vs Huion Kamvas 22 Plus, divided all pros and cons of each model, describe all features to help you find the best device.

Brand Comparison: Wacom VS Huion

Wacom is the industry leader and standard. They have been producing high-quality drawing tablets for artists since its foundation in 1983.

If you weren’t worried about price, you’d want a wacom and you wouldn’t get remorse anyway because you’d own the best possible tablet.

On the other hand, Huion is a newcomer, founded on 2011. It is something of a market leader in terms of budget tablets, so there’s plenty to cover.

Huion tablets are certainly becoming more and more popular. They are typically much cheaper than an “equivalent” Wacom and – on paper, at least – do the same things.

Features Comparison: Wacom Cintiq 16 vs Huion Kamvas Pro 16

For detailed information about Cintiq 22 vs Kamvas Plus 22comparison, you can find below:

Build Quality and Design

Huion and Wacom both take quite a minimalist approach with the design of their tablets.

If we compare the Huion Kamvas 22 Plus and the Wacom Cintiq 22, we’ll see that both are mostly screen, without function buttons.

As for appearance, Both Tablets comes with a black plastic body, Build quality is solid and feels well made.

Both tablets also come with an adjustable stand that allows you to set it to your preferred height.

The Wacom stand offers angle adjustment from 16° to 82°, while the Huion stand provides angle adjustment of 20° to 80°.

In addition, With both devices, you can remove the stand to reveal a VESA mount, which gives you the option to mount an arm.

Both drawing tablets are big and bulky devices that are difficult to carry around.

But there is some significant difference in weight– the Huion Kamvas 22 Plus weighs 3.9kg including stand, while the Wacom Cintiq 22 weighs a considerably more hefty 5.9kg with its stand!

Screen Quality

Both devices offer the same screen size of 21.5-inch, as well as the same 1920 X 1080-pixel resolution.

We must say that these specifications perhaps have room for upgrades such as 2.5K or 4K resolution for a higher pixel density and clarity.

In terms of color gamut there is some significant difference – the Cintiq 22 features a color accuracy of 96% sRGB, while the Kamvas 22 Plus offers a hugely impressive 140% sRGB color gamut.

A wider color gamut will provide more accurate and vibrant colors, which is especially important for artists and designers who need to work with a wide range of colors.

This is down to Huion’s new Quantum Dots Technology of QLED Panel, which also allows the tablet to boast a hugely impressive 1200:1 contrast ratio, while Cintiq 22 has an IPS panel with 1000:1 contrast ratio.

Since Wacom Cintiq display is calibrated out of the box, so the colors looks accurate. As for Huion Kamvas, it has a relatively inaccurate color calibration out of the box.

However, you can always manually tweak the colors by going through the OSD options of Huion. And If you’re willing to do a bit of color calibration on setup, it’s absolutely class-leading.

Screen Technology

Cintiq 22’s screen is not laminated, which is cheaper to manufacture. Because there is a gap between the active screen and its top layer, this creates a parallax issue.

Kamvas 22 Plus has full lamination screen, which reduces the air gap, the parallax is minimal, resulting in a lag-free drawing experience.

Drawing Surface

The Kamvas 22 Plus uses etched glass on the screen, which is more scratch-resistant than the matte film that the Cintiq 22 uses.

Both type of textured screen is super nice and its really almost glare free and feels a bit rougher, somehwere in between glass and paper.

This texture helps give resistance against the pen while drawing to make it easier to control your strokes.

Stylus Pen

For the most part, the pens of the two devices are quite similar that is thickest on the area most proximal to the tip and tapers towards the other end.

They both have 2 customizable buttons, and a rubber grip for better and comfortable use. They are both battery-free, and requires no charging at all.

However, the wacom Pro Pen 2 that comes with Cintiq 22 has an extra eraser on the top end, which allows you to switch to the eraser tool the same way you could do with regular pencils.

On paper the two pens are very similar. Both Wacom and Huion PW517 stylus boast 8,192 levels of pressure sensitivity and ±60° tilt detection. This assures excellent accuracy in making manual inputs.

However, and with the caveat that this is subjective, the Wacom stylus still just feels better in use, with a smoother action in the hand.

Wacom Pro Pen 2 has a lower initial activation force where it better detects the lighter pressure! Much better than Huion stylus, The tracking is impeccable, no jitter at all.

Programmable Buttons

As mentioned above, neither the Cintiq 22 nor the Kamvas 22 plus comes with programmable shortcut buttons.

If you are someone who uses a keyboard for in-application shortcuts, this is not really a big deal .

If you want button control, you can pick up a Wacom Expresskey Remote for the Cintiq 22, which gives you 17 programmable buttons and a touch ring.

It connects wirelessly via 2.4Ghz to the computer and can work for around 160 hours on 2 hours of full charge.

The Kamvas 22 Plus also have a comparable accessory, the Keydial Mini K20, which includes 18 programmable buttons and a mechanical dial.

It feature with the Bluetooth 5.0 wireless function, And Its 1200mAh battery ensures continuous working for about 100 hours.

Note that both Expresskey Remotes are not included in the box and needs to be purchased separately.

Connectivity

Both tablets are not a standalone drawing tablet, so they needs to be connected to a computer.

Cintiq 22 connects to a computer via 3 separate cables for power, USB, and HDMI connections.

The Kamvas 22 Plus comes with a somewhat interesting power cable which Huion calls the 3-in-1 cable.

The cable comes with a USB-A, HDMI, and a port for the power supply which all converge into a single USB-C input plug for your computer.

Another difference to the Cintiq 22 is the addition of a USB-C to USB-C cable so you can attach your compatible android phone or laptop.

Compatibility

The two devices in this comparison can work seamlessly with devices running on Windows, or macOS, and supports various mainstream drawing and designing software.

However, Wacom Cintiq 22 lacks the Android connectivity that Huion offers on its Kamvas 22 Plus tablet, so if you use Android devices, this is worth bearing in mind.

Drivers and Software

Before drawing on the screen, you need to download the drivers from their official website, install them and then you are good to go.

The tablet driver software interface will detect the pen display and open the available options for you.

Wacom drivers are more stable and a bit more “plug-and-play” in terms of setup, with more options to speed up and simplify your creative experience, including customizable pen gestures and on-screen pen and touch controls.

Huion drivers may encounter more issues, and not as well as wacom in quality. But it still allows you to adjust your personal preferences on pressure sensitivity, tilt, and button mapping, all of which required only a few minutes of effort.

Accessories

Despite being cheaper than the Cintiq 22, the Huion Kamvas 22 Plus comes with more accessories, such as extra black artist drawing glove, pen nibs, etc.

The Kamvas 22 Plus comes with a circular pen holder. It can hold your pen in an upright or flat position.

The pen holder also doubles up as nib storage, which houses 10 spare pen nibs. This can last you quite a while.

The Cintiq 22 comes with a simple fabric loop to hold the pen. The loop is attached to the side of the tablet. It also houses the 3 extra pen nibs.

Price

Price is one of the main reasons why so many artists are excited about the Huion Kamvas 22 Plus. It will cost you $549.00.

Compared to Kamvas 22 Plus, the Cintiq 22 is 1.2 times more expensive at $1299.95. But it still has the lowest price Wacom has ever offered for a drawing display of this size.

Additionally, If you can tolerate a non-laminated display, narrower 120% sRGB color gamut, a matte screen film instead of etched glass, then you can save extra $100 on Huion Kamvas 22 (basic, non plus version).

Conclusion

Both the Cintiq 22 and Kamvas 22 Plus are good drawing device for those who want a large screen at a budget-friendly price.

Wacom Cintiq 22 is more expensive, but still has the best pen and drawing experience. For most artists, Wacom’s main feature is longevity and dependability.

But if your budget is tight, get a Huion Kamvas 22 Plus, It’s more budget-friendly and offers great value for the price.

You won’t go wrong with any of them, as they offer all you need to create good artworks. All depends on your levels of skill, preference, needs and budget.

Source: https://pctechtest.com/wacom-cintiq-22-vs-huion-kamvas-22-plus

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Wacom Cintiq 16 vs Huion Kamvas Pro 16 Comparison

Tuesday, October 31st, 2023

In today’s digital age, finding the right tool that can meet multiple needs is crucial.

The graphic tablet with screen is objectively better in every concievable way over the non-screen versions, which feels more natural to traditional drawing.

15.6 inch is a popular size that gives you plenty of working space but without being too huge. It’s still small enough to carry it around easily.

You might have seen the Wacom Cintiq 16 vs Huion Kamvas Pro 16. They are both budget-friendly mid-range display tablets that get fantastic reviews.

But which tablet is better? If you’re a beginner, it is evident that choosing the right tablet between them will absolutely put you in turmoil.

This is where you’ll require some advices that can guide you correctly. In this guide we place the two tablets side by side to compare and contrast their features, helping you decide which one is right for you.

Brand Comparison: Wacom vs Huion

Through the years, Wacom had been the main player in the field producing high-quality drawing tablets.

Huion came in later and started off with cheap drawing tablet options for beginner artists.

As years went by, Wacom also came up with beginner-centered drawing tablets that were cheaper and rookie friendly.

Huion on the other hand also grew to make high-quality professional devices that matched up to the high-quality standard set by Wacom.

Features Comparison: Wacom Cintiq16 vs Huion Kamvas Pro 16

Should you pay the extra money for Wacom Cintiq 16, or is the Huion Kamvas Pro 16 good enough? We have compared the two display tablets– including the display quality, parallax, stylus, drawing experience, and more.

Build Quality and Design

Huion Kamvas Pro 16 is a sleek looking device with an all black front with a shiny silver rim.

This tablet is made quite durably with premium feel. The back of the tablet is made of a silver aluminum alloy material which feels hard and cool to the touch.

Wacom Cintiq 16 is made of plastic, the overall build quality and polish impresses, it is very solid and the design is professional and clean.

Screen Quality

For drawing and photo editing, clarity and precision are key. Higher clarity allows you to see every detail on screen.

Also, you are going to want a color accurate display to ensure the colors you use are going to be colors you expect in the final product.

The tablet Wacom Cintiq 16 and Huion Kamvas 16 Pro comes with same screen size of 15.6-inch and reolution of 1920 x 1080-pixel. So they have same pixel density and clarity.

The screen of Huion Kamvas Pro 16 covers a wider colour gamut of 120%, While the Wacom Cintiq 16 only has 96% sRGB color support.

However, Wacom Cintiq 16 displays come pre-calibrated out of the box and show accurate colors right of the bat.

Kamvas Pro 16 is not precalibrated, the default calibration is somewhat off, a bit strong on the blues, but once you calibrate the display using a colorimeter, the colors displayed become very accurate and better as expected.

Screen Technology

Huion Kamvas Pro 16 comes with fully laminated screen, which have reduced the space between the glass and the screen, reducing parallax to almost zero and making drawing much more accurate in the process.

Wacom Cintiq 16 does not have a laminated display so you have some parallax, But It’s worth noting that the parallax is minimal and less noticeable.

Drawing Surface

Wacom cintiq 16 have an anti-glare film applied to the glass surface, preventing any distracting reflections. The matte finish is also more pleasant and natural to draw on than the smooth glass.

It’s glued more firmly onto the glass than a normal screen protector so it’s tricky to remove it, you could also damage your screen if you use too much force.

Huion Kamvas Pro 16 comes with an etched glass surface with light texture. This gives it enough resistance to not feel like you’re sliding around uncontrollably.

It doubles as an anti-glare texture to prevent too much glare from light reflecting off the screen.

This texture has been applied directly to the screen and is not a screen protector so you cannot take it off. Glass will last practically forever, whereas a plastic film wears down from use.

Stylus Pen

Both tablets come with a battery-free pen, so you don’t need to worry about replacing the batteries often.

The wacom pro pen 2 and Huion PW507 stylus looks similar. They both have two side buttons, a soft rubber grip and same shape.

But wacom stylus has an eraser on the end that can be used just like a normal pencil eraser for a more intuitive, natural erasing motion.

️ Both pens have over 8,000 pressure levels, ensuring smooth transitions between thick and thin lines, as well as transparent and opaque paint.

Both pens also supports tilt functionality, measured at ±60°. This is great for those who like to use the stylus at an angle to get different effects in their artwork.

The difference here is that Wacom stylus comes with lower initial activation force, and better tracking + tilt accuracy, etc.

This means it better detects the lighter pressure, eradicates unnecessary lags, and the pointer will not shifts off-center.

Hotkeys

There are 6 programmable buttons and 1 touch bar along the side of the Huion Kamvas 16 Pro tablet. It allow for instant one-touch access to time-saving shortcuts in all your favorite creative applications.

The two bigger buttons at the top and bottom are unprogrammable with one of them being the power button, and the other being the function switch button (which doubles as the OSD settings button).

There are no express keys on this Cintiq 16 model and Wacom doesn’t include the Express Key remote, but it is compatible.

The Wacom Expresskey Remote will give you 17 programmable buttons and a touch ring.

Accessories

Wacom Cintiq 16 comes with a detachable fabric loop, which is attached to a piece of plastic that slides and snaps into the side of the Cintiq 16. It also houses 3 standard replacement nibs and a nib removal tool.

With Huion Kamvas Pro 16, you get a pen stand, which allows you to keep your stylus in a horizontal or vertical position when not in use. Inside it, you’ll find 10 replaceable nibs and a nib remover.

Wacom Cintiq 16 features VESA Support and 2 integrated foldable legs so you can go from almost flat to a 19° incline in seconds.

Kamvas Pro 16 comes with a Huion ST200 metal foldable stand, which offers six angle adjustments of 14.5, 19.5, 22.5, 37, 41.5 and 45 degrees to let you get the most comfortable angle possible for your hand. you will also get a drawing glove.

Connectivity

You can easily connect the Wacom Cintiq 16 and Huion Kamvas Pro 16 tablet with its Included 3-in-1 cable (USB-C to HDMI, USB-A and power) to your desktop.

In addition, Huion Kamvas Pro 16 also support a single USB-C to USB-C connection. This helps to avoid desk clutter and easily connect the tablet to your devices with USB-C port, but you need to buy the cable separately.

Compatibility

Huion Kamvas Pro 16 is compatible with Mac, Windows, and Android.

Wacom Cintiq 16 is only compatible with Windows and Mac devices.

So the Huion Kamvas beats the Cintiq for Android compatibility.

Drivers & Software

A tablet driver is a software program that allows a computer to communicate with a drawing tablet.

If you use your tablet without its drivers, the operating system will often see it as a mouse, rendering most of its features useless.

With the drivers installed, there will be a bridge between the two, letting the OS know how it should react when the tablet is used in a certain way.

The drivers also come with a handy user interface trough which you can change your tablet’s settings.

Wacom is well known for providing stable drivers for all operating systems. Huion’s software quality, the driver and configuration app can be lacking.

Price

If you were to go to Amazon right now and buy both tablets, the Wacom Cintiq 16 would cost you $599.95 whereas the Huion Kamvas 16 Pro tablet would cost you $399.99.

The Kamvas 16 Pro is priced substantially lower than the Cintiq 16. If you get the newer Huion Kamvas 16 Pro version with higher 2.5k Resolution, then they will hover around the same price.

Conclusion

Looking to upgrade from pen-paper to creating projects directly on the screen? These are the best upgrade for professional artists/designers.

Both the Wacom Cintiq 16 and the Huion Kamvas 16 pro are excellent screen tablets for artists. Both products are reliable, high-quality, and have a great reputation.

Wacom Cintiq 16 is still the best in terms of the drawing experience.

Comparing strictly in terms of functionality and price—the value for money—Huion Kamvas Pro 16 appears to be a more advantageous choice than Wacom Cintiq 16. A great drawing tablet for animation, drawing, photo editing and more.

Which tablet you go for will depend on your individual preference, budget and need.

Source: https://pctechtest.com/wacom-cintiq-16-vs-huion-kamvas-pro-16

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Best Pen tablets for CorelDraw and Painter

Monday, October 30th, 2023

Corel Painter is a well-known digital painting software, while CorelDraw is a market-leading graphic design softwre. But in order to run smoothly, it needs the right device.

The graphics tablet is comprised of the drawing surface and the stylus. They have become an essential tool for artists, animators, photographer, graphic designers, and digital illustrators.

For them, This is a great way to produce many drafts and to be able to make changes, while being able to also directly digitise the image and edit it in various programs.

With a digital pen and powerful features, these devices allow unparalleled precision and flexibility in artwork creation.

Are you looking for the best drawing tablets for Corel Painter and CorelDraw? Whether that be for drawing, illustration or art, pctechtest have got you covered!

Corel Painter vs CorelDRAW: What is the Difference?

 

Corel Painter is built for digital painting, with all the features and tools needed for creating realistic digital artwork.

It has a robust painting engine, multi-layered brushes, cloning and photo-painting tools, and a drawing tablet compatibility that makes it very intuitive for painting.

It allow susers to make and edit raster based images or bitmaps like your JPGs, PNGs and BMPs among others… stuff made out of pixels. If you need a professional-level digital painting program, then Corel Painter is definitely the way to go.

CorelDRAW, on the other hand, is a vector-based graphic design software. It is a powerful and versatile application that provides a wide range of tools and features for creating, editing, and manipulating various types of visual content.

CorelDRAW is primarily used for graphic design and illustration purposes. It allows users to create and edit vector graphics, which are images defined by mathematical equations and can be scaled without losing quality.

This makes CorelDRAW suitable for designing logos, illustrations, posters, brochures, banners, and other printed or digital materials.

Advantages of using a Graphic Tablet for Corel Painter and CorelDraw

The graphic tablet allows you to draw with a pen or stylus, which feels more natural, easier and comfortable than using a mouse. This can be especially helpful for people who are used to drawing on paper.

graphic tablet allow more accurate control than a mouse, which makes it possible to do very detailed work.

A graphic tablet can be more ergonomic than using a mouse, as it allows you to keep your arm and wrist in a more natural position. This can help to reduce fatigue and pain.

When you use a pressure-sensitive stylus or pen tablet with Core Painter and CorelDRAW, the amount of pressure that you apply controls the width of your strokes.

Each person uses a different strength or pressure level in a stroke, and you can set the application to match your stroke strength by specifying pen settings.

Best of all, The brushes of Corel Painter and CorelDraw are built to take advantage of pressure and many also allow for tilt, rotation and bearing control so that you can create your ultimate art.

In addition, You’ll also like that the Hotkeys on the side of the tablet can be customised to suit Corel Painter and Corel Draw so that you can work even more easily without having to use your keyboard.

Combine a drawing tablet with Corel Painter and CorelDraw’s wide selection of brushes and features, like the bezier tool, It will fit all your digital art needs and take your digital art to the next level.

You’re in for a treat when you get used to it; and when you start using the tablet for drawing in Corel Painter and CorelDraw software, you’re going to start to wonder how you ever lived without it…

What Drawing Tablet Types is Best for Corel Painter and CorelDraw?

There are 3 types of drawing tablets available and which type you intend to get will drastically alter your required budget.

1. Graphics Tablets

The first type is called a graphics tablet. Usually, the tablet is interacted with a pressure sensitive pen with the surface of the tablet mapped to the display of the computer.

Notably, drawing pads for beginners are relatively inexpensive at less than $100 USD, and perfect for beginners. But there is a learning curve of feeling your position on the tablet with what you are seeing on your monitor.

The most popular such device at the moment for instance would be the wacom intuos, XP-Pen Deco, and Huion Inspiroy.

2. Display Tablets

The pen display tablet has an in-built screen so that you can just draw straight on the display. The learning curve is much less than the hand-eye disconnect experienced with a non-screen graphics tablet.

The obvious disadvantage of a display tablet is the increased cost which can exceed $200 USD. So you will need to decide how much you are willing to spend.

Display tablets come in a variety of sizes and display resolutions. But they still require a computer in order to function. You can think of it like an extra monitor that handles drawing on the screen.

The most popular such device at the moment for instance would be the Wacom Cintiq, XP-Pen Artist, and Huion Kamvas.

3. Standalone Tablets

Some mobile tablets come with pen input support and when they do you can usually buy an optional pressure sensitive stylus. Of course, they are usually the most expensive.

The most popular standalone portable graphic tablets at the moment for instance would be the iPad Pro + apple pencil, surface pro + slim pen 2, and samsung galaxy tab + s pen.

Compared to regular drawing tablets, they allows you to more easily draw digitally on the go, when you’re out and about since these are highly portable devices.

These devices can come with different operating systems, most of them will ship with either iOS or Android and only very few will ship with Windows (Surface Pro though).

This also means that your drawing software choices will be limited by your OS, for instance you are not going to get full fledged corel painter and corelDraw going on iOS or Android.

In addition, These Mobile Android & iPad Painting Applications will never match up to their fully featured desktop counterparts.

10 Best Graphic Tablets for Corel Painter and CorelDraw in 2023

 

The drawing tablets for Corel Painter and CorelDraw do not differ based on the app- they typically work just as well in each software.

We’ve compiled this list of the best tablets for Corel Painter and CorelDraw based on various criteria. We’ve included such factors as screen size, resolution, color accuracy, pressure & tilt sensitivity, and price.

1. Wacom Intuos Pro

2. XP-Pen Deco Pro

3. Huion Inspiroy Dial 2

4. Wacom One 13

5. Huion Kamvas Pro 16

6. XP-Pen Artist 16 (2nd Gen)

7. Wacom Cintiq 16

8. Huion Kmavas 22 Plus

9. XP-Pen Artist 24 Pro

10. Microsoft Surface Pro 9

How to Use Pressure Sensitive Digital Pen in CorelDRAW?

The following tools in CorelDRAW let you use the pressure of your pressure-sensitive pen, stylus, or other device: Artistic Media (Expression mode), Eraser, Smear, Twirl, Attract, Repel, Roughen, and Smudge.

In addition, you can vary brushstrokes by using pen tilt and pen bearing with the Artistic Media (Expression mode) tool, Eraser , Roughen and Smudge tools. Note that pen tilt and pen bearing can be used only if your pen or stylus supports these features.

Conclusion

If you are drawing in Corel Painter and CorelDraw, we recommend that you take advantage of using a graphic tablet since with it, you will gain speed, precision, and comfort.

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

You should find the right tablet for you from this list! Whether you’re looking for a graphics tablet, pen display, or a standalone tablet.

There are plenty of options out there for artists, It all boils down to what your preference, workflow, ecosystem, skill levels and budget are.

If you’ve got a small budget to start with, pick something cheaper from our list and start with that.

As you grow, you can upgrade to something a little more loaded with features. Happy drawing!

Source: https://pctechtest.com/best-drawing-tablets-for-corel-painter-and-coreldraw

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Drawing Tablet for Digital Painting in Paint Tool SAI

Tuesday, January 10th, 2023

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

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

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

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

What is Paint Tool SAI used for?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Advantages of drawing tablet for digital painting in Paint Tool SAI

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

How to Turn on Pressure Sensitivity in PaintTool SAI

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

Method 1: Use the Brush Settings

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

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

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

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

Method 2: Change Minimum Pressure Settings

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

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

3 Good cheap drawing tablets for Paint Tool SAI

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

1. XPPen Deco LW

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

2. XPPen Artist 16 (2nd Generation)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

3. XPPen Artist 24 Pro

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Is Paint Tool SAI available for iPad or Android tablets?

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

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

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

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

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

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

Conclusion

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

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

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

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

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

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Drawing tablet for vector graphics design in Inkscape

Tuesday, January 3rd, 2023

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

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

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

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

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

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

Inkscape: Best free vector graphics design software for beginners

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Inkscape vs Adobe Illustrator: What’s the difference?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

What is a graphic tablet?

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

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

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

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

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

Does drawing tablet work with Inkscape?

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

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

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

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

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

Taking Inkscape to Next Level

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Choose the best drawing tablet for Inkscape

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

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

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

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

1. Nonscreen drawing tablet

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

2. Screen drawing tablet

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

3. Standalone Drawing Tablet

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

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

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

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

After buying a tablet for Inkscape

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

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

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

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

Conclusion

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

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

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

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

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

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