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10 Best Tablets For Graphic Design, Drawing & Art 2021
We are ticking off the best draw tablets that you can purchase right now. Every artist has various needs, not to mention different budgets, and if you are shopping for a fantastic drawing tablet, chances are high that certain tablets would fit you more than others. If you are interested in learning graphic design, then join us at Blue Sky Graphics online graphic design course today.
Whether you are a complete newbie or a seasoned pro, we agree that our guide to the best drawing tablets should have the right model for you.
01. Wacom Cintiq 22
Wacom has placed together what we consider to be the optimum compromise of versatility and affordability in its Cintiq 22 drawing tablet. The big, full HD drawing screen is wonderful to use, with immense freedom to render broad, sweeping pen strokes. The surface is also well-designed, with an anti-glare coating, and the Wacom Pen 2 has a strong pressure and tilt sensitivity to catch the most slight differences in angle and rotation. It is just amazingly rewarding to use, as fantastic for artists at the start of their journey as it is for experienced practitioners seeking to upgrade.
2. The Apple iPad Pro 12.9 (2020)
Apple has updated the iPad Pro 12.9 exemption for 2020, and now this class-leading computer is doing better than ever thanks to its latest A12Z Bionic 8-core graphics processor. Drawing using the Apple Pencil – which you sadly need to pay extra for – is a fantastic experience, and there are plenty of little intuitive features to make it simpler for the artist, such as instantly charging the pencil as it is connected to the magnetic storage strip at the top of the tablet. The Apple Pencil is also incredibly precise and just looks right, with a natural pressure response curve. All this software may not come cheap, of course, but if you have got the cash for it, the iPad Pro 12.9 is a draw companion like no other.
03. XP-Pen Artist 15.6 pen display
The XP-Pen Artist 15.6 covers all the essentials you would expect from a pen display: a very wide drawing space, a stable pen with a number of sensitivity levels, and a decent screen. You may not get adequate exposure to the nuance or sophisticated ecosystem of extras that Wacom offers, and the offset between the stylus tip and the on-screen cursor requires time to get used to, but this remains a pen display that will turn your visual imagination without breaking the bank. Hands down, one of the best inexpensive drawing tablets, but if the budget is a major problem for you, you may want to think…
04. Huion Kamvas Pro
Huion refurbished the line-up in 2020 with the latest Kamvas collection of drawing tablets, and the Kamvas Pro 24 is the top of the line. Despite being more moderately priced than big-ticket tablets like the iPad Pro 12.9, it has pretty severe specifications, with a 1440p QHD monitor that looks simply awesome. Its colours are sharp, its specifics are sharp; it is very literally a pleasure to see.
05. Microsoft Surface Book 3
One of the newest of Microsoft’s amazing laptop/tablet hybrids, the Surface Book 3 is obviously a luxury product from the moment you bring it out of the package. Its production standard is gorgeous, and the show looks exceptional. If you incorporate the highly amazing Surface Pen to the equation (which introduces an additional £100 or so to the otherwise unimportant expense of the enterprise) then you have a great drawing method that is going to fit seamlessly into any Windows workflow that you already have. If this is not enough of a show for you, there is even a 15-inch edition – but, of course, the price is much higher.
06. XP-Pen Deco Pro
A major price undercutting of Wacom, the XP-Pen Deco Pro is an option to the Intuos Pro, providing a limited slate of functionality but at around a third of the size. So, although the app drivers are a little junky, the simple drawing experience is rock-solid. The pen does not have the premium feel of the Wacom, but it still provides 8.192 degrees of pressure response, and the overall quality of the tablet has received the Red Dot awards. This is not only a cheap knock-off – it is a luxury knock-off, and if you are a budget musician, it surely deserves attention.
07. Wacom One (2020)
Wacom’s newest tablet, released at CES 2020, the confusedly called Wacom One (not to be confusing with any previous Wacom Ones) is an impressive and compact 13-inch tablet at an incredibly affordable price point, no doubt intended to lure consumers away from cheaper products like XP-Pen. Its Complete HD monitor offers 72 per cent NTSC colour and anti-glare treated glass, and even the tablet comes with little legs to stand up while you are out and about and want to get those ideas down fast. The best tablet to fit into your day pack, the Wacom Model promises a perfect drawing experience without costing the earth.
08. Wacom Pro Intuos
When you make artwork, you want space to draw easily and a pen that looks as similar to the paper counterpart as possible. You can notice them in the Wacom Intuos Pro Wide Graphics Tablet: this is one of the purest drawing experiences you will offer from a portable computer. The pen has more than 8,000 degrees of pressure intensity and a drawing region that – while not the largest possible – allows you more than the magazine area to play within. All of this is enabled by Wacom’s large ecosystem of alternative pens and texture sheets to give your drawing surface a distinctive feel.
09. Wacom Pro Intuos (medium)
Usually, programmers do not need the range of motion needed by the illustrators, rendering this smaller version of the Wacom Intuos Pro (medium) graphics tablet only a task. As well as the drawing field, eight shortcut keys and a touch ring give you access to your most used commands and resources, so you do not have to keep switching between your tablet and your keyboard when you are working on iterating the idea. Intuos Pro now allows multi-touch fingertip movements, making it easier for you to pan and zoom across your current text.
10. Wacom Intuos Pro
It may have the ‘Pro’ designation in its name, but the highly competitive price point of the Wacom Intuos Pro Small ensures that it is the perfect option for an enthusiastic beginner with ambitions to improve their expertise. It is light enough to carry it anywhere, but it is also long-lasting and firmly constructed, with all the commands and features of its Medium and Big Siblings. The unmatched pressure-responsiveness of the Pro Pen 2 gives it a genuinely imaginative depth, while the compact footprint makes the Intuos Pro Small easy to carry anywhere you need to go.
