We are living in the age of technology and we know how it can improve the potential of our daily lives. The same is with art. If you know how to hold a pencil in your arm and you like sketching and/ or drawing, then step forward and open the world of new possibilities. Start for modern technology to a modern artist. It doesn’t matter if you are a 5th-grade student or you are already in University, or your profession is such as graphic artist, designer.

Take a look at these drawing tablets with a screen. This will change the way you may work with 2D or 3D programs such as Adobe Illustrator, Adobe Photoshop, Corel Draw, Corel Painter, Gimp, Zbrush, Sketchbook Pro, Manga Studio, Paint Tool Sai, CLIP Studio, Krita and Autodesk Sketchbook, etc.

Of course, you can find cheaper drawing tablets with advantages for your work but without a screen, so let’s spoil you with the possibilities we can offer.

The main player in this field is the Wacom brand. It offers a wide range of products with great quality. If you are professional or money doesn’t bother you, this could be your choice.

There are a good alternative and also cheaper solutions, like XP-Pen or Huion. About all of them a little further.

If you like Apple’s brand and you think nothing can stand in the same grade, then take a look at iPad pro.

Although you will need an Apple pencil for drawing tasks. It can be a great solution to your everyday life. You can take it everywhere you go, watch your favorite videos, make notes and sketches. This pencil works like a charm, it is very sensitive, an angle and pressure make a difference while creating.

I will intrigue everyone, because, there are more options.

Did you know that Samsung Galaxy Tab A and S5e with S Pen, can make the same outstanding drawing results with special apps from the Google Play store? This Tab size is big enough to draw or sketch comfortably on screen. The S pen is made by Wacom, so you will get pressure sensitivity and palm rejection. Great gift for a kid, who is dreaming about the designer profession, or just wants to create art. Let’s take a look at these beauties.

1. Wacom Mobile Studio Pro

Enjoy All In One (AIO) full studio toolset in your hands. It has an outstanding display with 4K resolution, 85% Adobe RGB coverage (CIE1931), precise pen, with high-performance graphics options, will bring your creativity into the world without hitch. Pen technology is way beyond competitors, by trying to achieve excellence.

Creative professionals choose Wacom’s pen displays to make fashion and designs, digital art, films, and special effects. When you need it, it’s possible to upgrade internal and operative memory to fully satisfy your needs.

Wacom Mobile Studio Pro is capable to give great performance with 2D, 3D and CAD applications. It’s equipped with an i7 Intel processor, fast data processing and good grip of memory with Solid State Drive. Large photograph files and rendering will not slow you down. Delivering demanding visual computing workflow with NVIDIA® Quadro® P1000, it will allow you to work in real-time with HDR content and up to 5K full resolution. You can use the Wacom Link Plus adaptor* to attach any Mac or PC. The Wacom stand gives three working angles. Also, you can choose which pen to use: Wacom Pro Pen slim, Wacom Pro Pen 3D and previous-generation Classic Pen, Art Pen and Airbrush Pen.

You can see an artist drawing some serious art right over here. It’s amazing.

Specification

Processor:	Intel® CoreTM i7-8559U
Graphics:	NVIDIA® Quadro® P1000
Display Size:	15.6 inch / 39.6 cm
Resolution:	Ultra HD (3840 x 2160)
Pro Pen 2:	8192 levels of pen pressure (battery-free)
Viewing angle:	176 degr.
Color gamut coverage ratio:	85% Adobe RGB (CIE1931)
Compatibility:	Windows 10 – Stand-alone Windows, Mac – when attached

 

2. Microsoft Surface Studio 2

Also, elegant All In One solution for your digital creation workflow. Microsoft made it very thin (12.50 mm) with a spectacular display, beautiful, but also pricey. Of course, it is a great option for artists, content creators, good for 2D and 3D applications. Often professions that employ touch displays use multiple products like graphic tablets, secondary displays, different input devices. Surface Studio included all into this product. For a great workload, Surface uses M.2 solid-state drive (SSD), an i7 processor, and an Nvidia GeForce GTX 1060 or GTX 1070 graphics chip. This machine is not in workstation-grade but for designers, media editors and other professionals and creators. It has a huge 28-inch display with 10-point multi-touch touchscreen, most of this kind PC’s are far smaller. What’s unusual, that is the aspect ratio. It’s more like 3:2 instead of usual 16:9 widescreen ratio. It has greater resolution than 4K, saturated colors, great viewing angles, the overall picture is super – crisp, very bright and you can adjust everything as expected.

A nice option is magnetic strips on both sides of the screen where you can put your pen while using a mouse or keyboard. One big disadvantage is the price, too high for the specifications it offers. Price match iMac Pro, but compare like with older hardware.

Specification

Processor:	Intel® Core i7-7820HQ
Graphics:	NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 1060 6GB GDDR5 / GTX 1070 8GB GDDR5
Display Size:	28-inch PixelSense Display
Resolution:	4500 x 3000 (192 PPI)
Pro Pen 2:	Surface Pen
Display:	With Zero Gravity Hinge
Color gamut coverage ratio:	85% Adobe RGB (CIE1931)
Compatibility:	Windows 10 – Stand-alone Windows, Mac – when attached

 

Now let’s look at more like drawing tablets, but with the screen which you need to connect to your computer to work with, and it doesn’t matter is it Mac or Windows.

As we look before at Wacom pen computers, they offer also the best Pen Display tablets for artists, which you can find in the market. Let’s take look at best Cintiq alternatives which are also not most expensive. Here are the popular ones.

3. Wacom Cintiq 16 & 22

A whole new class of creative pen display. With a nice and ergonomic design, which will make your creative work more comfortable and productive. The screen is very vibrant and has HD clarity. Pro Pen 2 gives you a natural feel as drawing on paper and will bring your creativity to a higher level. This was achieved by EMR (Electro-Magnetic Resonance) technology, which allows you to work without a need for recharging the pen. The pen is designed for maximal comfortable use, has a rubber grip, buttons and you can use the opposite end as a rubber.

For the 16-inch model you can get foldable legs, but with a 22-inch model – stand. It’s lightweight and easy to carry with you.

Specification

Display Size:	15.6 inch & 21.5 inch
Resolution:	1920 x 1080 (Full HD)
Pen technology:	Wacom Pro Pen 2 with Wacom EMR
Pen pressure levels:	8192
Color gamut coverage ratio:	72% NTSC (CIE1931) typical
Product Weight:	1.9 kg without optional stand

 

4. Wacom Cintiq Pro 32

You want to feel the best experience while bringing your dream to reality, then the Cintiq Pro family is for you! Choose between a variety of sizes: 13 or 16; 24 or 32 inches. These are advanced creative drawing tablets with featuring premium 4K screens offering color accuracy up to 99% Adobe RGB. Virtually no lag and no parallax while drawing, with great accuracy and natural tilt support and all of this working in perfect unison to provide an experience that feels similarly natural.

The biggest tablet is ideal for 3D modeling, game development, animation, illustration. Of course, you can use it for graphic or photography needs as well as for painting and retouching jobs, or just for sketching and drawing.

Included Wacom Link Plus adapter allows you easily connect to your Mac or PC. As an option, there is type-C cable alone, or Mini DisplayPort with USB-A together.

Need to be mentioned ExpressKey Remote with programmable 17 buttons for faster and diligent workflow. It can be used with any pen tablet or pen display, just plug the USB receiver into the USB port.

Cintiq Pro 32 and Cintiq Pro 24 models came with a touch display function.

Wacom Ergo Stand allows you to raise, tilt and rotate pen display.

Specification

Screen size:	31.5 inch / 80 cm
	23.6 inch / 59.94 cm
	15.6 inch / 39.6 cm
	13.3 inch / 22.8 cm
Screen resolution:	4K: Ultra HD (3840 x 2160)
Color gamut:	98% Adobe RGB (CIE1931) typical and reduces by models till 87% in the 13-inch model
Pen technology:	Wacom Pro Pen 2
Pen pressure levels:	8192, both pen tip and eraser
Product Weight:	13 kg without optional stand (32 inches)
	7.2 kg without optional stand (24 inches)
	1.5 kg without optional stand (16 inches)
	1.1 kg without optional stand (13 inches)

 

If you feel as artist and creator, but don’t want to spend a lot of finances in Pen Displays, then cheaper alternatives can be a good option.

Today’s drawing table market is full of capable devices tailored to anyone’s needs and budget. Budget pen displays can offer an increasingly better experience and come close to expensive ones. Rival companies came out with stronger contenders and even more favorable pricing.

5. XP-Pen Artist 15.6 Pro

It is an easy process of connecting and setting up the Artist Pro for the first time. For all drawing screens, you need to download and install a driver, calibrate the pen and customize the shortcut buttons. All standard affairs. I also express my gratitude for XP-Pen for including physical express keys (it has 8). I want to mention that the screen is extremely bright, and brightness can be conveniently adjusted by buttons on the side. One of the features that very much accelerated workflow, was adding the Red Dial, a programmable rotating button placed in the center of the shortcut keys. It’s in the perfect spot, easily maneuverable by your free hand, providing a lot of options, such as zoom in and out, scroll up and down, etc. XP-Pen Artist Pro has a fully-laminated HD display, which greatly reduces parallax and has a high color accuracy. The high-quality glass design will give you high precision. The screen delivers life-like colors with greater contrast and gives sharp, and vivid images.

The stand that comes with the Artist Pro is made of sturdy plastic and can be propped to only one angle.

It does use separate cables for HDMI & USB so it’s not too cluttered. Color gamut support 85% Adobe RGB and is even higher than the Cintiq 16, making the display appropriate for photo editing, painting, drawing or design.

A few cons are: It has slight parallax when drawing at a tilt and you can feel it hot near the back of the tablet when using a long time. It has a fragile connection and it is not suited for fieldwork, but use in the studio.

XP-Pen creates passive pen (PN03S) stylus technology, which provides 8192 levels of instant pen pressure sensitivity.

The Artist 15.6 Pro has the perfect balance between affordability and performance. It provides a satisfying experience with added confidence. This can be a good investment in a professional device that’ll stay with you for a long time.

Main differences from Pro version for XP-Pen Artist, are – it has 6 customizable shortcut keys, the resolution stays the same – 1920 ×1080 pixels; Color gamut – 75% Adobe® RGB, and has included pen, without tilt function.

Specification

Screen size:	15.6 inch
Screen resolution:	1920 x 1080 (Full HD)
Color gamut:	75% Adobe® RGB and 88%NTSC (120% sRGB) for Pro version
Pen technology:	P05 Battery-free Stylus and PA2 Battery-free Stylus for Pro version
Pen pressure levels:	8192
Product Weight:	4.56 kg

 

6. Huion KAMVAS GT-191

It features a 19.5-inch Full HD IPS LCD with 16.7 million colors. It is made of AG glass, which gives it anti-glare looking, smooth and thin frosted glass surface, and you will experience natural feel handwriting sensations. The IPS panel gives greater light transmission from all viewing positions. Because of a larger display area, it allows you to have plenty of room to edit, design and create. That means you can work consistently for hours without stopping your workflow and no need for charging your stylus pen.

Tablet has 10 customizable hotkeys and 1 touch bar on each side of the device. You can freely configure the hotkeys through the controller. The configuration of one side can be a mirror on the other side. Therefore, it is ideal for left-handed and right-handed users.

Operating system and software support: As previous devices, this one supports Windows 10/8 / 8.1 / 7 and Mac 10.11 / 10.12 or higher too. Works with almost all major art programs, including Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator CC, Corel Painter, Manga Studio, Paint Tool Sai, CLIP Studio, Krita, etc

Specification

Screen size:	19.5 inch
Screen resolution:	1920 x 1080 (Full HD) with aspect ratio 16:9
Color gamut:	72% NTSC
Pen technology:	Digital stylus pen PE330 with Active Electromagnetic Resonance technology
Pen pressure levels:	8192
Product Weight:	3.3Kg (With Stand)

 

If you don’t want a separate screen for drawing and don’t want new technology gadgets in your house, but want still be mobile and multitasking, or maybe drawing and sketching is just for fun, you have a solution too, just choose between android and Apple device.

 

 

7. Galaxy Tab A 8.0 (2019) with S Pen

Quite small to fit in medium size handbag, could be used for sketches, designing or note-taking, or just video watching. It comes in two colors: carbon black and silver-gray. It has a great application, called PENUP. With it, you can follow pre-recorded artist’s work and draw your art.

It is an affordable drawing tablet and with a pen, you got a comfortable draw, pressure sensitivity, and palm rejection. Samsung uses a full Wacom EMR pen. It means good performance and no need for charging your pen. It’s a multitasking, multifunctional tablet, with great performance for up to 13 hours on a full charge.

Tablet has a lightweight and refined metallic design, giving a premium feel and look, and easy to hold in one hand. Brightness and viewing angles are excellent, so you should have no problem using it in direct sunlight. Tab supports 5GHz Wi-Fi, for fast internet browsing, with Bluetooth 4.2 support for wireless audio.

It is budget-friendly, inexpensive and can be a great present for a new artist.

Specification

Screen size:	8 inch
Operating System:	Android v9.0 (Pie)
Resolution:	1920×1200 pixels, 16:10 ratio
CPU:	Quad-core 2.0 GHz Cortex-A53
Memory:	32GB storage, and additional storage of up to 512GB with a MicroSD card
Main camera:	8 megapixels
Weight:	345 grams

 

8. Apple iPad Pro 11

Best you can buy from iPads at the moment. It’s expensive and powerful and it’s worth it. It’s slim and lightweight, running Apples iPad OS 13.1. As we know, picture quality on Retina displays feels great and everything looks just amazing.

This Apple supports Apple Pencil, which gives artists and designers great drawing experience with high-pressure sensitivity and palm rejection. The pen is very responsive, feels fantastic. I think the best program to work with it is Procreate. The pen has tilt support and eraser when using the other side of the pen.

Everybody knows Apple products and I guess iPad Pro too, so what else I can add? Just take and try it with Apple Pencil and feel the potential it can deliver.

Here’s a video of how an artist is drawing a Koi Fish on the iPad Pro, just to get an idea of what you can do with this drawing tablet.

Specification

Screen size:	11 inch
Resolution:	2388 x 1668 pixels
OS:	iPadOS 13
CPU:	A12X Bionic, Octa-core
Storage:	Can choose between – 64GB/256GB/512GB/1TB
Camera:	12 MP
Storage:	32GB
Battery:	10 hours

 

Of course, these are not all options for drawing tables, there is a big verity of them. There is a lot to try and find which fits best for you. We just got a quick look at best in their class, which can fulfill your needs for creating art, from small ones to big ones; from inexpensive to very expensive ones. Give a shot and don’t miss it! Good luck!

What is the best drawing tablet with the screen?

The best, best option for drawing is a tablet from Wacom company, Pen Displays series. I would suggest Wacom Cintiq Pro, just decide, what screen size fits for you best. 16 or 22 inches big. Basically, understand what type are you? In most cases are you working in a studio or home or you are a traveler.

What is the best drawing tablet for a beginner?

What kind of beginner are you? What are your interests? If you want to try, maybe take Samsung Tab A8 Android tablet or Apple iPad Pro with Pencil and try, if you stop drawing, you just continue to use a tablet for other cases.

If You take a lot of notes and you don’t have time to scan it all, or you like sketching, then an interesting product to look at is Wacom Bamboo Slate, where you draw on paper and you can capture all your work from paper.

Not expensive and quite good products are Wacom Intuos, with the included software, you can easily use it for digital painting, photo editing, or comic and manga. Its only tablet so you need to connect it to computer wirelessly or with the USB cable.

Also, an affordable display tablet is Wacom One 13, but don’t miss it for One by Wacom, which is a non-display tablet, but good for a sketch, draw or edit photos and Wacom pen gives natural experience.

Huion 950p – incredibly affordable drawing tablet. It’s very lightweight and easy to use, install driver, plug USB to a computer and you are ready to go. It came with 8 programmable buttons, they save a lot of time. The pen is battery-free, so no worries about charging. The surface area is big. Cons – be careful about edges, it won’t register drawing near them well and the computer sometimes doesn’t register clicks and pen have no eraser.

How much does a drawing tablet with a screen cost?

Of course, it depends on the quality and screen size. Cost starts at 16$ For Huion 420 up to 4700$ for Microsoft Surface Studio 2 

Can you use a drawing tablet without a computer?

There are drawing tablets with a built-in computer and you don’t need extra devices; it’s like all in one computer, but with a drawing screen. They are extremely expensive.

Also, it could be an iPad or Samsung Galaxy Note series with a drawing pen, they are called – tablet displays.

And an option for notes and sketching could be – Wacom Bamboo Slate, as mentioned above. XP-Pen Note Plus does the same thing, but precision will be lower. They can save drawings in the device until you transfer them to your Bluetooth powered smart device.

I would suggest use graphics tablet