Considering a new tablet. [Art people please chime in]

Count Trashula

Friend PM Trade

And by that I mean a pen display tablet for digital drawing. I've been using a Wacom Bamboo for countless millennia now, always putting off an upgrade due to the cost and the fact that my crappy old computer made any such move not really worth it because it could barely handle digital drawing at all. But now that my computer has finally kicked the bucket and been replaced, along with a shiny new 4k monitor, I think the time for a new tablet is upon me.

I have always wanted a display tablet, because the disconnect when drawing on a tablet while looking at my computer screen has always been my biggest complaint and the main reason why I don't draw nearly as much as I'd like. It's just really awkward for me, and I never totally got used to it even so I've been using a tablet for over a decade. So now that I actually have the option of drawing and looking at the same surface, I am gonna take it.

The problem is, I don't know enough about tablets to pick the best one for me. I do know that my budget is not as uh, flexible as it used to be. I need to keep it as far under $1k as possible... but I also don't wanna sacrifice a good experience and quality. It's not worth the (potentially) hundreds of dollars if it's not a significant upgrade from my current tablet.

So far the ones I hear most about are XP-Pen 15.6, Cintiq 16, and Huion Kamvas GT-191. But I have, of course, never used any of them or anything remotely like them.

This is where you art people come in:
Do you have any experience with these models? Recommendations either out of those or for something else entirely?
What will give me the most "drawing on paper" like experience?
What will give me the smoothest lines with the best control?
And as an aside, do you have any recommendations for (preferably either free or low-cost) drawing software? I'm used to Sai; it's all I've had in the past decade, but I lost it along with my computer and it isn't compatible with my new setup. I downloaded Krita, but I'm still keeping my eyes open for things to try.

Tsundererra

Friend PM Trade

TSUN ★ TSUN ★ TSUN (≖︿≖✿)

@Count Trashula: So my dream has been to own a cintiq because I wanted to draw on the screen, and I got one as soon as I could afford it out of college. Then a couple of years later, I got an iPad with an Apple Pencil, and that has literally replaced my cintiq for most art I do, and it’s hella cheaper than the thousands I dropped on the cintiq.
If you do decide to go with an iPad/Apple Pencil, make sure to put a textured screen protector on it because it feels so much more natural to sketch with that on. Alsoooo, there is a free program (procreate) you can use for art, and I’ve only heard good things about it.

(✿ ♡‿♡) DERE ★ DERE ★ DERE

Priestess of Pie

Friend PM Trade

I can't speak much for display tablets, but I can suggest another option in an iPad and apple pencil. This is the closest to drawing to paper I've had. As for programs, the iPad also has Procreate, which is inexpensive and has lots of great brushes to work with.

If you still want to go the PC route, I recommend Clip Studio. It's not terribly expensive and it goes on sale often. It's been pretty intuitive for me and has pretty much replaced Photoshop for most things.

Priestess of Pie

Friend PM Trade

@Tsundererra:

grost

Friend PM Trade

Okay some tips for picking a display:

Never. Buy. Wacom. Seriously, they've basically monopolized the drawing tablet industry and feel free to overprice absolutely everything they possible can. There are much cheaper and better companies.
Figure out the features you want. I can't work without the tilt function and like having a responsive pen tip that pushes in a little bit when I press down harder. A paper-y feel is also very nice but not necessary for my own choice.
Look through several different brands before buying. Check reviews for different things, I was tempted to buy a tablet from a brand I can't remember the name of until I saw Sara Tepes' make a review where the experience for her was abysmal

I have a Huion Kamvas GT-221 Pro for my desktop (it's a couple years old but very reliable) and a 13" Microsoft Surface Book for when I need to work on the go. Newer models of the Kamvas have more features like a battery-less pen that doesn't need charging, tilt function, and a few other neat things that my older model didn't have.
My Kamvas has a nice papery texture on it and 8 hotkeys (looks like 16 but they're just mirrored on the other side for different handedness) and a scroll bar with completely customizable functions, the pen has a responsive springiness to it with a very smooth drawing experience, the screen is big (although that may be a drawback for some), overall a very nice product.
My Surface Book is like my baby, I don't let other people touch it unless I really trust them. Its pen does need a battery but you basically never have to change it (original battery lasted over a year). There's tilt abilities, touch abilities, all sorts of neat things on top of being an actual laptop. The lines come out smooth and the feel of drawing on it is really nice.
I would never recommend an ipad and apple pencil, mostly because I have a negative amount of respect for the company, really scummy business practices that I will never support

As for programs, I use Clip Studio Paint and LOVE it but uh... let's just say I can't actually afford that kind of program lol

Tsundererra

Friend PM Trade

TSUN ★ TSUN ★ TSUN (≖︿≖✿)

@Priestess of Pie: Great minds think alike. :D I also agree with what you said about Clip Studio, though ooooof, that subscription charge on the iPad version is slightly annoying... but so worth it if you gots money.

(✿ ♡‿♡) DERE ★ DERE ★ DERE

The truth behind Reaping Ritual 2019

Art by the rightful Mayor, Kiwi

Priestess of Pie

Friend PM Trade

@tsundererra: Oh yeah I don't use clip studio on iPad. Usually I'll draw in Procreate and then transfer to my desktop if I need clip studio for something. My PC is a lot more powerful than my iPad atm. Procreate does most things I need it to though, I just have to figure out the shortcut keys.

grost

Friend PM Trade

@KDA Drew: Same, my best tablet decision. I had an intuos draw before and it started acting up real bad (drivers kept failing and whatnot) and decided to move to greener pastures. So much better of an experience with my Kami, she's been my right hand gal for two years and don't plan on replacing her anytime soon!

Shop
The Impossible Quest
Unofficial Color Suggestions

pachi

Friend PM Trade

★ ★ ★ i recommend watching review videos on youtube before deciding, there are some people out there who review basically every variation of screen tablets out there. my first experience with a screen tablet was horrible because the thing was clunky and i couldn't get used to drawing on it comfortably because i need my keyboard shortcuts.

i settled on getting a surface pro since i can take it on the go and it can run desktop version of clip studio paint. a friend recently got the kamvas pro and really loved it and i was also eyeing it but it's unnecessary $ at the moment--

as for programs, wait for CSP to go on sale to grab it, it's a really good program with a tonnn of features.

Count Trashula

Friend PM Trade

i'mma be honest with y'all i HATE watching video reviews. I don't have the patience for 'em and find 99% really irritating and draining to watch, so I end up missing the more valuable information. I prefer written reviews that utilize charts or bullet points and make easy-to-follow comparisons. Things that get right to the point.
I've read a fair amount of those already so far, which is what led me to the 3 models mentioned in my post; I'm just at that point where further reviews aren't gonna do me much good and I rather get a wider variety of people's personal experiences and see if there are any major suggestions/options that I'm missing.
For instance, y'all talking about Huion has bumped it up higher on the list. Its reviews are about even with the other two, and the comparisons I've read are all very similar at the end of the day. So this is the kind of feedback that's most helpful to me, and thanks for sharing your experiences.

I will have to look into clip studio; I've known about it for a while, but don't know anyone who has used it. How does it compare with Sai?

As for ipads, I'm pretty iffy on those and anything else that starts with a lowercase i. Especially since I'd only want it for drawing.

Lucifera

Friend PM Trade

I recently bought the huion kamvas pro 20 i believe? While it was on sale earlier this year. So far, honestly, I love it. Very few complaints. adn it was almost 1/3 of the price of an ipad pro and definitely a lower price than a wacom. But, if you can afford professional grade, I hear Wacom displays are like, the top doggos. Granted companies like Huion have been putting up serious competition. I think what it came down to for me was this:

Programmable buttons
Sliders or knobs for zooming in, etc.
Ease of set-up
Usable drawing space
Parallax

I ended up with he huion because I liked sliders on both sides. Especially when I am working and I need to zoom in and zoom out quickly just to make sure I am not getting tiny details in something that won't be seen when zoomed out.

programmable buttons made mirroring the image easier to fix proportional issues and other things you probably already know.

The drawing space was really nice for me, coming from a standard ipad (one of the first that came out with pencil support) Setup is pretty easy but also a bit tricky at first. And honestly, I just wanted a larger drawing space. I rarely use the whole screen for my drawing program, sometimes I pop up pinterest with a good old mood board and just sketch while I have netflix on my main monitor or something.

At the end of the day, Get the one you feel very strongly you want. If it doesn't work out, just return it before the return period is up and go on the hunt again. Just make sure what you keep, is exactly what works for you.

Count Trashula

Friend PM Trade

@Scribartz: I really appreciate your detailed experiences, thank you! One thing I don't like about the Wacom is the lack of buttons; I use keyboard controls with my current tablet, but if I'm gonna be drawing on the screen, it's gonna be a lot more convenient to have the buttons actually on the device. Considering that and the price, the Wacom is p much at the bottom of my list rn. I'm hearing a lot more feedback about Huion here, which is helpful 'cause it was the one I saw the fewest reviews for in my online search and comparisons. I probably won't feel very strongly about my decision at any point tbh; without having used either brand before, I can only go on other people's experiences and hope for the best. In terms of price, overall review ratings, and features, Huion and XP-Pen come out about the same so far.

At this point I'd probably go with the Huion. Searching for more reviews online puts that and XP-Pen side by side, with Huion coming out on top slightly more often. And you have a good point: worst case, I can always make a return and try again.

Priestess of Pie

Friend PM Trade

Clip Studio is a pretty solid program. It's been a while since I've used SAI but I know CS also does line stabilization which was one of the big draws for SAI. They also update ALL THE TIME and there's no additional cost for new features. They have a VERY robust asset gallery where you can download brushes or textures, many of which are also free.

Mallow

Tumbleweed
My Sons

Count Trashula

Friend PM Trade

@Priestess of Pie: sounds pretty good. I'm slowly getting the hang of Krita, but I'll have to give that one a look. Sai's line stabilizers were perfect. Krita has stabilizers, but they're a bit fiddly and the line-drawing experience is just not as smooth (at least from what I've done so far, though I'm getting a better handle on which settings work best for me).

ALWAYS PING ME

Lucifera

Friend PM Trade

@Count Trashula: Yeah, this was my point of view when I received mine. It took a while because Amazon made a mess of things. So I had to open a box inside of a box, inside of a box to get to the actual box. Lmao! If amazon has any coupons on those that are newer, i'd go for the most you can get out of your price point. As far as reviews, some of them are situational cases where there are bad experiences or they are moving from Wacom to huion or XP-pen. Tbh I wanted the xp-pen but the one I wanted wasn't available in canada yet, and I needed this sooner rather than later.

I think with Huion you're really getting your money's worth for a more affordable price. Mine was around 585CAD after a coupon? So it was literally the most afforadable option with the biggest screen space and all the features I wanted. Comes with nib replacements and a cute little donut storage case for them that doubles as a pen holder.

My sister in law also bought the same one as me, but smaller screen size.

But try it out, give yourself about 3 days to a week to really test it, and then I think if you don't like it, you have one more week to get things organized to return. =)

Ping me for fast replies!
https://youtu.be/y4IF2WtkgtM

fuwapuff

Friend PM Trade

@Count trashula:

Hi~! I am a wacom user, seems to be a minority now a days that is for sure lol I started with intuos 3 and used that for years before buying a first gen screen display cintiq 12wx and used that forever as well... I have owned and used the cintiq 13 Pro, 24 Pro and the latest Cintiq 16 (I haven't used it yet but just set it up). I honestly really do enjoy the wacom line, I do know there are alternatives and I might try out another brand like Huion in the future to truly experiment between them, but for now I'll stick with wacom.

Concerning sizes, I do enjoy my 24" a lot, but I am planning on moving so the size won't be viable for my plans while moving so I will have to sell it. The 13" imo is just too small that programs seem very cramped on it. The 16 is very nice and I think I do prefer that one more. Though I haven't drawn on it yet. I can't tell much of a difference between pro vs non-pro but my eyes are not that great anyways so that is probably why.

I did consider getting an ipad pro and apple pencil for portability reasons, but since I am not an apple user on any other front I had a hard time justifying needing that. I am also terrified of the durability of the screen in case I drop it and I don't care for apple's constant updates on their software and devices every single year. I literally only owned one ipad as a gift and it was so old, you couldn't use it or update the ios anymore so it was basically worthless... so when it comes down to art, I had been using the 12wx for many many years and that was fine and I would rather not be stuck with software issues from another company... just my opinion.

Anyways, sorry for rambling. Just my thoughts and opinions, feel free to ask questions!

Drawn by Q t e a p o n

Forums General Chit-Chat Considering a new tablet. [Art people please chime in]

Count Trashula

Tsundererra

Priestess of Pie

Priestess of Pie

grost

Tsundererra

Priestess of Pie

grost

pachi

Count Trashula

Lucifera

Count Trashula

Priestess of Pie

Count Trashula

Lucifera

fuwapuff

You must be logged in to post