The change also occurred in the world of digital art; drawing tablets with screens is not only a technological advancement but also brings ease and efficiency. Gone are the days of drawing on a separate surface and relying on a monitor for visual feedback. Drawing with these innovative tablets offers a more natural and intuitive experience, which mimics the feeling of pen on paper. But when it comes to buying a good and cheap drawing tablet with screen, you will get many options in the market, but choosing the right one can never be easy because many products, especially those labeled as budget-friendly, are not of good quality and high efficiency. Don’t worry; despite the tricky task, our guide to choosing the right affordable drawing tablet with the 3 best options available in the market will help you make the right decision.
Benefits of Drawing Tablets with Screens
Although the drawing tablet brings ease in creating wonderful digital art, here are some of its benefits in detail for further knowledge.
- The biggest advantage of the drawing tablet with a screen is the ability to draw directly on the screen, replicating the pen-on-paper sensation. It’s always challenging to draw anything on a separate surface and look at a monitor to check the results, but with drawing tablets, you will get a more fluid and responsive workflow with efficient results.
- Drawing tablets with screens comes with high-pressure sensitivity, which allows artists to get better precision due to finer control over line weight and detail. This pressure sensitivity feature mimics the subtle variations of a traditional pencil.
- The traditional method of creating digital art, which uses a drawing surface and monitor, is tiring as the artist has to constantly shift the gaze between the two mediums to check results, which puts a lot of stress on the eyes. Drawing tablets with screens promotes a more comfortable drawing experience as they reduce eye strain irrespective of the long working hours.
- Most drawing tablets are compact, 8 to 13 inches or a maximum of 16 inches, which makes them easy to use anywhere and settle in any workspace size. Moreover, they are also lightweight, so the artist can easily take them anywhere, at any place inside the home or outside, wherever inspiration strikes.
Choosing the Right Drawing Tablet with Screen
Although the drawing tablet comes with many benefits, selecting the perfect drawing tablet with a screen requires careful consideration of your needs and budget. So, keep in mind the following things while picking a drawing tablet for you.
- Screen Size: The first thing to check is the screen size of the drawing tablets, as they come in various sizes. Which one you pick depends upon your needs and how you plan to use it. Remember that if you want more drawing space, pick the large screen tablet, and for a portable option, choose a small screen product.
- Pressure Sensitivity: for the best experience and nuanced drawing, higher pressure sensitivity is needed. A drawing tablet offers a good experience if it has 4096 levels of pressure sensitivity or more; don’t pick a product with lower levels.
- Resolution and Color Gamut: For sharper visuals, which are necessary for creating art, you should get a higher-resolution display tablet. Remember that a wider color gamut offers a vibrant and accurate color representation.
- Pen Tilt Support: You should also check the pen tilt as it allows you to mimic the natural tilt of a pen when shading, thus offering a more realistic drawing experience.
- Connectivity: You can connect tablets with your computer system either USB-C or through wireless options, whatever the tablet offers. So, pick one that is compatible with your operating system.
- Other Features: You should also check other features like tilt stands, shortcut buttons, stylus holders, etc, to bring more ease to your workflow and drawing experience.
- Price: Like everything, tablets also come with different price tags. Don’t worry. If you want a high-end and efficient drawing tablet with a screen but with budget-friendly price tags, we have mentioned some excellent options available for budget-minded artists.
Top 3 Affordable Drawing Tablets with Screens
XP-Pen Artist 12 (2nd Gen):
XP-Pen Artist 12 (2nd Gen) is a powerful yet affordable drawing tablet with a screen that is a perfect choice for beginners and hobbyists alike.
- Affordable Price: This tablet offers exceptional value for its price, making it a great entry point for aspiring digital artists.
- Decent Screen Size: The tablet has an 11.6-inch IPS display, which provides ample space for creative drawing and offers vivid colors for a visually pleasing experience.
- Full HD Resolution: This tablet comes with a resolution of 1920 x 1080 pixels. With such higher resolution, you can expect clear and crisp visuals while creating your digital masterpieces.
- Level of Pressure Sensitivity: this tablet has 8192 levels of pressure sensitivity, which allows you to achieve a wide range of line thicknesses and textures, thus helping in giving expressive and detailed drawings.
- Passive Pen Technology: Drawing a tablet with a pen that needs no charging is the best part, as it gives a consistent workflow to the artist. The Artist 12 also comes with a pen that doesn’t require charging, thus eliminating the worry of running out of power mid-creation. Moreover, the pen has a comfortable grip and minimal lag, which further enhances the drawing experience.
- Compatibility: The Artist 12 (2nd Gen) works smoothly with major drawing software on Windows, macOS, and even Android, allowing you to explore your artistic potential across various platforms.
The Artist 12 (2nd Gen) is the perfect blend of affordability, functionality, and performance, which make it the ideal companion for aspiring artists on their creative journey. Another great thing is that you can get it in your favorite color as it is available in four trendy colors – Black, Green, Blue, and Pink Drawing Tablet.
XP-Pen Artist 13.3 Pro
XP-Pen has an Artist 13.3 Pro drawing tablet for those who want a slightly larger canvas for workflow. This tablet has a 13.3-inch Full HD display along with an 88% NTSC color gamut, which means a wider range of vibrant and accurate colors, which makes this tablet ideal for creating detailed illustrations and graphic design. 8192 pressure levels provide excellent sensitivity along with pen support tilt that offers realistic shading. When it comes to additional features, this tablet has eight programmable express keys and two dials, which further enhance customization and productivity. Overall, XP-Pen Artist 13.3 Pro is a high-end tablet with professional features, but at an affordable price.
XP-Pen Artist 16
For people who want a spacious digital canvas for proper workflow, XP-Pen offers them an Artist 16 drawing tablet with a 15.6-inch display and full HD resolution. Moreover, the tablet has a laminated anti-glare screen that minimizes parallax and reduces eye strain. 8192 pressure levels and pen tilt support make this Artist 16 a perfect tablet that offers a professional-grade drawing experience. This one comes with 10 programmable shortcut keys and a dual red dial which enhances the control of the artist over the canvas. As it has more amazing and advanced features and additional options, the cost of XP-Pen Artist 16 is higher than the other two options available. Still, it is a good option for budget-conscious artists seeking a feature-rich, large-screen tablet.
Conclusion
Drawing tablets is the need of the hour, and new technology with more advanced features has taken the art game to another level. There are many options available in the market for artists on a budget, which offer a blend of affordability, functionality, and features that will help you show your artistic potential.