Best Drawing Tablets

With the rise of digital art and illustration, there are not a few people who, for work or hobby, look for the Best Drawing Tablets to draw as an alternative to graphic tablets, which also offer greater use than simply creativity.

And of course, for professional and aspiring artists, there are Best Drawing Tablets with screens that make work easier and that have now lowered their price of entry considerably.

In this article, we invite you to know what are, in our opinion, the best normal tablets that you can buy if you want to have a device that allows you to create professional-grade creative results. As well as the Best Drawing Tablets with the best value for money screen, already thinking of a more art-focused use.

In addition, we tell you in more detail about the differences between technologies, which one is better in each case, and how you can make the most of each alternative.

Feature	iPad 8	Samsung Galaxy Tab S6 Lite	Lenovo Tab P11	Meberry M7
Display	10.2″ Retina display	10.4″ TFT LCD display	11″ IPS LCD display	7″ IPS LCD display
Resolution	2160×1620	2000×1200	2000×1200	1024×600
Processor	A12 Bionic	Exynos 9611	MediaTek Helio G90T	Unisoc Tiger T618
RAM	3GB	4GB	4GB	3GB
Storage	32GB, 128GB	64GB, 128GB	128GB	32GB
Camera	8MP rear-facing camera, 12MP front-facing camera	8MP rear-facing camera, 5MP front-facing camera	13MP rear-facing camera, 8MP front-facing camera	5MP rear-facing camera, 2MP front-facing camera
Battery	8,200mAh	7,040mAh	7,500mAh	3,150mAh
Operating system	iPadOS 15	Android 11	Android 10	Android 11

Best Drawing Tablets

• iPad 8 – Best tablet for drawing and architecture
• Samsung Galaxy Tab S6 Lite – Best tablet for drawing and design
• Lenovo Tab P11 – Best drawing tablet for beginners
• Meberry M7 – Best drawing tablet for kids

1. Best tablet for drawing and architecture

The iPad is considered by professional illustrators and digital artists to be the Best Drawing Tablets. And if you ask one: Which Apple tablet to buy to draw? He will probably answer that an iPad Pro or Air, because of the size of the screen and because of the Liquid Retina technology, which makes the pixels so close that they are practically imperceptible.

In addition, there is Procreate, an app only available for iPad, which is the quintessential tool for illustrators, designers, and cartoonists from all over the world. To top it off, if you have macOS Catalina on your Mac or Macbook Air, you can use your iPad as a graphics tablet!

Of course, Apple products are not characterized by being especially cheap, but we already mentioned above that the budget is around 200$ and 300$, and this iPad 8 of 2020 that we propose has a price of 379$.

It has a 10.2-inch screen with Liquid Retina technology and supports more than 10 hours with the screen in use and with the brightness at full. For the price that we mentioned, you will have a 32 GB version that, frankly, is very little for the apps and the iPad OS 14 operating system (which occupies almost 10 GB).

However, if you have cloud storage you may not need to go for the 128GB version. This model is compatible with the 1st generation Apple Pencil, but if you don’t want to spend a fortune on the premium accessory, we recommend this compatible KXT pencil, which is priced at 33$.

2. Best tablet for drawing and design

The Galaxy Tab S6 Lite is considered by many to be the best Android tablet for drawing if you’re on a budget. Yeah sure, it might seem like $399 isn’t exactly the cheapest thing in the world, but compared to the iPad you’ll get:

A 10.4-inch screen with a resolution of 2000×1200 pixels (Full HD), with the, included S Pen, which is one of the styluses best valued by professionals. In addition, you have a powerful Exynos 9611 processor and 4 GB of RAM, which provide adequate performance for medium-high-demand applications.

The storage is 64 GB but it can be expanded via SD card, and it has a 6,840 mAh battery that has a very good performance. The metallic, borderless design, combined with the magnetically attached S Pen, gives this Best Drawing tablet a very premium finish.

Compared to the next Best Drawing Tablets we will review, it has better graphics performance, and the stylus experience for writing and drawing is simply second to none.

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3. Best drawing tablet for beginners

The Lenovo Tab P11 is an 11-inch tablet, with a screen resolution of 2000 x 12000 pixels, good saturation, sharpness, and brightness of 400 nits.

It integrates a Qualcomm Snapdragon 662 octa-core processor that reaches 2.3 GHz, 4 GB of RAM, and 64 GB of storage. It comes with the Android 10 operating system installed and with its 7,700 mAh battery, it reaches 7 hours of screen use with maximum brightness.

It is compatible with the Lenovo Precision Pen 2, the brand’s digital pen, which is made of aluminum and supports up to 4096 levels of pressure. It is not as good as the S Pen, because in writing the strokes are not as clear, so you can choose to buy a cheaper alternative, the Hommie pen which has a very interesting price.

Compared to the Tab S6 Lite, the Tab P11 performs better, but the handwriting is slightly lacking. Therefore, it is an ideal option for budding artists who want to obtain good results thanks to a suitable tool.

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4. Best drawing tablet for kids

Drawing on a tablet is not always going to be an interest for adults, so if you have noticed that your child has a talent for digital art, you do not have to spend 250$ on a mid-high-range tablet like the ones we have discussed so far. moment.

This Meberry model costs only 115$, and it is an excellent Best Drawing Tablets for coloring and creating work with a medium level of detail. Well, the 10.1-inch screen has HD resolution (1280 x 800p), and as we told you if we zoom in on the drawings a lot, the pixelation is noticeable.

However, unless your child is very dexterous and detail-oriented, they won’t have to work as closely. That is why we find it a good option for children and teenagers who want to experiment with the vast number of painting and design apps available for Android.

Another reason we like this screen is its premium finish with 2.5D curved and scratch-resistant glass. And speaking in general of the offer, a cover, a protective lens, and the stylus are included with the purchase, which although it does not have a very premium finish, it does its job and with a good drawing application you can take advantage of it.

In other specifications, we have a 1.6 GHz eight-core Unisoc processor and 4 GB of RAM, which allow adequate performance in low and medium-demand apps. In addition, we are convinced that 64 GB storage, is enough for a lot of apps, saving your own artistic projects and if that were not enough, you can add up to 128 GB of storage per SD card.

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Top 4 Best Graphics Tablets With Screen

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If you have decided to invest in a professional drawing tablet, below we show you the characteristics of the 3 options with a screen, with the best performance-price ratio on the market:

Best Graphics Tablets With Screen

• XP Pen Artist 12 – Best graphics tablet with an IPS screen
• GAOMON PD1161 – Best graphic display for 200$
• Wacom One – Cheapest Wacom tablet with a screen
• HUION Kamvas Pro 13 – Best Graphics Tablet with Screen and Tilt Support

1. XP Pen Artist 12 – Best graphics tablet with an IPS screen

The XP-Pen Artist 12 Best Drawing Tablets is approximately 14 inches in size, of which the working area for drawing is 11.6 inches. Its resolution is 1920 x 1080 pixels, and the screen reaches up to 178 ° viewing angle.

It has 6 shortcut keys and a battery-free pen, which supports up to 8192 levels of pressure. The latter has a hexagonal design that makes it very comfortable to hold and incorporates a digital eraser. It comes with 8 tip replacements and supports so it doesn’t get damaged.

It is compatible with Windows, Mac, Linux, and Chrome operating systems, and with Photoshop, Adobe Illustrator, SAI, Krita, ZBrush, and GIMP software, among many others. In addition, Open Canvas 7, Art Rage 5, and Explain Everything software is included with your purchase.

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2. GAOMON PD1161 – Best graphic display for 200$

GAOMON PD1161 is a graphic tablet with a screen that barely costs 200$, and offers the same size and resolution as the XP-Pen Artist 12. Its disadvantage compared to the first one is that it is not compatible with the Chrome operating system.

Other than that, it’s a great product that offers a very adequate color gamut, and a response time of 25 milliseconds. It has 8 direct access keys, and the Gaomon Art paints AP50 pen has 8192 levels of pressure and comes with 8 spare tips and a pen holder.

It has notable features in two ways to view your work: the Duplicate Mode, which shows the same thing you are drawing on the Best Drawing Tablets on the PC screen, and the Extended Mode, which allows you to draw simultaneously on the tablet and on the computer.

It is compatible with Windows and Mac, and with most design, architecture, and creation programs such as Sketchbook Pro, OpenCanvas, FireAlpaca, CorelPainter, Lightroom, Clip Studio, Photoshop, Illustrator, etc.

3. Wacom One – Cheapest Wacom tablet with a screen

Finally, we have Best Drawing Tablets from the Wacom company, which for decades has been a leader in the digitizing tablet sector. The Wacom One is priced at 340$ and has a 13.3-inch screen with a resolution of 1920×1080 pixels.

It offers compatibility with both Windows and Mac and Android, so if you want to connect it to your Android Best Drawing Tablets or smartphone, you can do it without a problem. It includes a 6-month subscription to Clip Studio Paint Pro software, 2 months to Adobe Premium Rush, Bamboo Paper, and the Wacom program.

The pen has 4096 levels of pressure, and provides a smooth and precise drawing experience, as you would expect from any Wacom product. As if that were not enough, the tablet is compatible with a good number of stylus models, so you do not have a problem if you lose the one that comes with the tablet.

4. HUION Kamvas Pro 13 – Best Graphics Tablet with Screen and Tilt Support

It comes with an adjustable stand, a battery-free stylus with 8192 pressure levels, a base to take care of its tip, which has 10 refills percent, and also a glove to prevent the hand from slipping.

It is compatible with Windows and Mac, and with most painting, design, and architecture software such as Corel Painter, SAI, ZBrush, Krita, Photoshop, Illustrator, Lightroom, etc.

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Some Apps to use with these drawing tablets

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In case you decide on a tablet to draw, we recommend the following applications, basically all free and with a large number of downloadable resources. We analyze some of them in more depth in our post about the best apps to draw on a tablet, so don’t hesitate to consult it if you want to know what to expect with each one:

• Medi Bang Paint Pro
• MediBang Colors
• Huion Sketch
• Photoshop
• Adobe Illustrator
• Krita

Medi Bang Paint Pro

Our favorite app for drawing on Android tablets without a doubt is MediBang Paint Pro: The closest thing to free Photoshop that we have found. It is an app that is very easy to use, and with many possible configurations, in addition to numerous brushes and textures that can be downloaded for free from the MediBang cloud.

MediBang Colors

MediBang Color is an ideal app for coloring. In addition to being able to color different predetermined images, you can also make your own sketches.

Huion Sketch

Huion Sketch is the Android application of the Huion graphic tablet brand, but you can use it with any tablet actually.

It is an application very similar to MediBang, in the sense of having a large number of brushes, the possibility of making a large number of layers, professional editing tools, filters, etc. But some functionalities are only supported by Samsung tablets (such as the appearance of a cursor) or Huion tablets.

And if you opt for a graphics tablet with a screen, then our recommendations are:

Photoshop

Photoshop is not learned from one day to another, but when you get to know its basic operation, it is very intuitive.

In addition to being a powerful photo editing tool, it is also highly valued by painters and illustrators, thanks to a large number of free brushes that can be obtained, the possibility of applying filters, working in layers, and much more.

Adobe Illustrator

Illustrator is vector software, which means that no matter how much you enlarge the image you’re working on, it won’t pixelate (unless you use a lower-quality downloaded brush). This feature makes it ideal for graphic design, specifically the creation of logos and other jobs that may require large-scale printing.

Krita

Krita is very similar to Photoshop, but being Open Source it is totally free and has a huge community around the world that contributes its own brushes, textures, and other resources and knowledge. Most graphics tablets with and without a display are compatible with this software.

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Drawing Tablets vs Graphic tablets

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Those who aspire to be illustrators or digital artists have numerous alternatives to emulate the experience of drawing on paper.

For a professional result, the most suitable computer programs are Photoshop and Adobe Illustrator, and in favor of dispensing with the mouse, a graphics tablet that connects to the PC is necessary to make the lines accurately and naturally.

The problem is that conventional graphics tablets have a somewhat steep learning curve since you have to get used to the difference between the proportions of the surface of the tablet and the size of your computer monitor. Besides the fact of having to draw looking at the computer screen and not at the tablet itself.

So that this is not an obstacle when it comes to obtaining magnificent drawing results from the first attempt, there are two alternatives: apps for drawing on tablets, which provide professional results on tablets accompanied by a suitable tablet pen. And graphic tablets with a screen.

What are graphic displays?

A graphic display is a device very similar to a conventional graphic tablet, in the sense that it has to be connected to a PC (and in some cases also to an extra power source) to work with compatible software such as Photoshop, Illustrator, etc. Krita, Paint Tool SAI, etc. The main difference is that instead of looking at the computer screen, you can focus on the graphics tablet.

Hardly any graphics tablet can be used without a computer because this device has no operating system, processor, RAM, or storage to support and store its own processes. So if you’re looking for a tablet to draw without a PC, the only one on the market so far is the Wacom MobileStudio Pro Workstation 16, priced at 3,572$.

How much does a graphics tablet with a screen cost?

A graphic tablet with a screen has a basic price of 200$ and can go up to more than 500 depending on factors such as the manufacturer, the number of accessories, construction materials, specifications, dimensions, etc.

We consider that there are very good graphics tablets with a screen between 200 and 300$, which is the same price that a suitable drawing tablet will have.

Although you can use a tablet of about 120$ with a generic pen, the screen of these Best Drawing Tablets will have a maximum resolution of 1200 x 800 pixels (HD), and when you zoom in on your drawing, you will see the pixels, therefore, it will be difficult to achieve great levels of detail.

But, you may be wondering: If the price is the same, what is the difference?

The versatility: After you finish drawing on a common tablet you can use it to watch movies, browse, check your social networks and even immediately share your work. While the graphic screen is only for drawing, it is, therefore, more recommended for professionals or people who have a serious interest in illustration, photo editing, and graphic design.

What is a better graphic tablet with a screen or without a screen?

Both screen and non-screen tablets have their advantages:

A tablet with a screen is better if you want to work more comfortably, seeing exactly what you are doing on the tablet surface itself.

On the other hand, non-screen graphics tablets today can be as cheap as $30, so they’re great for budding artists.

Summing up: What is the best drawing tablet?

If you have found it more convenient to opt for a conventional tablet to make your drawings, without a doubt the best recommendation would be the iPad 8, which will not only act as a perfect canvas for your creations but can also be linked to a Mac and function as a tablet graph.

What is the best pen tablet for drawing?

On the other hand, if you bet on a more professional and specific alternative, the best pen tablet you can find on a budget is the XP-Pen Artist 12, which has a solid construction and a premium finish pen. It also has wide compatibility with both different operating systems and software.

We hope that no matter if your goal is to get a device for design, architecture, illustration, or art, you may have found an option to your liking among our selections.