Best Drawing Tablets to Make Better Digital Art

Wacom Cintiq 16 is a powerhouse, no two ways about it. We're not crazy about its size, with the tablet not fitting standard 15.6-inch laptop bags, but we can see where the enlarged footprint is coming from. Even pros on a tight budget will not feel restricted using this device.

To start with though, the model's luminance registers at 260.7 nits, exceeding the rated brightness that suggests the tablet peaks at 210 nits. In layman's terms, that means that the device is able to produce vibrant yet accurate colors, not something that you can always quite say about drawing tablets.

Of course, not unlike its less expensive competition, the pan that the tablet comes with offers 8,192 pressure levels and 60-degree tilt recognition, nothing interesting about that. What is interesting is the low activation force that recognizes the faintest pen strokes. What's also interesting is the pen recognizing the hand's tilt and responding to the movement with accuracy and expediency. Without parallax and with practically no lag, this pen lets you draw with more comfortable than before, and with unerring accuracy.

The balanced weight, the rubberized grip, the two side buttons making the fit natural, everything here contributes towards making this pen feel like an orthodox pen. Also, the two buttons can be programmed, so you can have multiple shortcuts easily accessible at hand without even touching the tablet.

Drawing tablets are becoming more and more affordable nowadays but pros are forced to pay anyway because you do not want to settle for anything less than excellent when drawing is something that basically defines you. On that note, we'd like to introduce the Huion KAMVAS Pro 16, the tablet that will let you present every artistic detail. The model starts with the 15.6-inch screen, increasing the working area compared to most drawing tablets yet, with its excellent screen-to-body ratio, the gadget measures only 17.32 x 9.84 x 0.39 inches, which means you can still carry this tablet around with comfort and ease.

The six programmable express keys are pretty slim yet not slim enough to cause misclicking, while the touch bar can be used with the pen to increase productivity and let you navigate the model's settings with more efficiency.

Then, you have the device's 120% sRGB color gamut, meaning that the images will look not only nuanced and vibrant but also authentic. The static contrast ratio is pretty good too, measuring 1000:1 so that, when necessary, the blacks can be drawn pitch-black and the whites can be blinding-bright. What's even more interesting though is that the colors remain realistic even when viewed from angles ranging from -89° to +89°, letting you play with different viewpoints.

The XP-PEN Artist12 puts most mid-range drawing tablets to shame. Using this device, you'll be able to draw however and whatever you want. First things first, the tech here is superb. The Full HD 1920 x 1080p IPS screen gives you everything that IPS displays are known to provide, including excellent viewing angles, high contrast ratio with excellent blacks, and high color accuracy (meaning that the image will look less washed out). 

Add to these things the 72% NTSC color gamut and have no doubt that the presented image will look vivid, featuring vibrant colors and exceptionally detailed imagery to support your artwork with stunning visuals. At the same time, the anti-reflective coating does an excellent job reducing glare. The screen will look crisp and clear, even when it is bright out. 

Of course, as far as drawing tablets go, the pen matters as much as the screen, which is where the company's advanced P06 passive pen comes in. Incorporating this hexagonal form, the pen looks and feels like traditional pencils. Shape and aesthetics aside though, there's nothing traditional about this advanced pen. The non-slip and tack-free flexible glue grip will let you easily grab, hold, and use this pen, even with wet hands. The partially transparent tip will let you draw with ease, accuracy, and precision.

On these subjects, the pen's tip and the erased located on the other side of the pen incorporate 8192 pressure levels, providing you the precise accuracy required to draw and paint naturally with smooth and streamlined performance. The pen holder that comes supplied with the package will let you keep the pen and the nibs safe. Plus, you can use this holder as a stand too.

Professional artists can be a fickle bunch, pleasing which is no small feat. The task becomes even more challenging when you have to please this crowd without making them pay through the nose. But, from most angles, thHuion KAMVAS 20 succeeds at it. While professional drawing tablets usually cost way above $500, this one comes with a ~$350 price tag, which is quite impressive considering that its almost high-end specs do not reflect the low-end price, not one bit. No, low-end drawing models are not offering 120% sRGB gamut coverage, delivering rich and vivid colors and ensuring smooth transitions between these colors. Low-end tablets are not packing 16.7 million colors, making the drawings look rich and nuanced.

But, even before these specs, budget drawing models are usually small, whereas this gentle beast stretches 19.5 inches, hanging with drawing monitors more than with drawing tablets. That being said, this device shares plenty with these tablets as well, including the adjustable stand adopting the classic sliding design that you can tilt between 20 and 80 degrees. These similarities also include the anti-glare coating, reducing distracting reflections and the glare damage that's usually overlooked but can be a real issue in the long run. Of course, like all IPS panels, this screen offers 178-degree viewing angles and, considering its size, the native Full HD (1920 x 1080p) resolution comes as no surprise.

The Huion KAMVAS 13 is not as impressive from most perspectives as its more expensive relative sitting on this list just above the subject tablet. Needless to say, the price reflects that as well, with this device not even going above $250.

One would argue that the biggest sacrifice here is the screen, with its less affordable relative boasting a 19.5-inch display and stretching the active area 17.12 x 9.37 inches, while this tablet caps at 13.3 inches display-wise and 11.6 x 6.5 inches active area-wise. But this is not some objective downside since that means the tablet is also more compact and portable and will easily fit even most bags, let alone backpacks. What's a little more objective is the stand on this tablet being a fingerprint magnet, especially its back. Is that a huge issue though? No, not really.

Plus, it's not like this model does not share certain similarities with its more capable relatives. To name one, the screen here is also fully laminated, so you can produce lifelike work without feeling like you're drawing on the most unnatural surface. The same screen comes with an anti-glare film but, this time, it is replaceable, which is a neat little feature that more expensive models should look towards replicating. Disregarding the size limitations, the display's native resolution is also Full HD (1920 x 1080), meaning that the drawing will look quite detailed despite the modest screen size.