If you are a digital artist or graphic designer, the Best Drawing Tablets for Beginners is a great and perfect addition to your workflow.
The device will not only help you output work easily but provide a perfect and natural pencil-to-paper feel when working.
One of the most common misconceptions is that all drawing tablets available are expensive and you must spend a lot to get a decent one.
Contrary to these opinions, there are many budget-friendly options available in the market that will have all the features needed by any beginner digital artist.
In this article, we will help you understand all the important factors you need to consider as a beginner before buying.
Additionally, we will help you choose the best one for you despite the very many brands available in the market today.
Before starting to choose your ideal tablet, you need to understand the types of tablets available in the market. There are 2 main categories of tablets that you can choose from.
First, there are tablets that have a screen and those that do not have an inbuilt screen. Although those that have no screen are small in size, they are relatively cheaper and still work perfectly for artists.
For example, my first tablet was the Huion H610 Pro which is one of the cheapest tablets available in the market.
For many years I comfortably used it for all my digital artwork and graphic design work before upgrading to iPad Pro. Most of the work I created with it is available on our Instagram page.
We highly recommend this type of tablet for any beginner artist.
Top Drawing Tablets for Beginners
- Huion H610 Pro Best Graphic Tablets For Beginners
- Wacom Intuos Best Wacom Graphic Tablets For Beginners
- GAOMON PD1161 The best budget drawing tablet with a screen
- Huion Kamvas 13 Best Drawing Tablet with a Screen for Beginners Alternative
- XP Pen Artist 13.3 Pro Best Drawing tablet with a screen for Beginners
- Apple iPad Pro Best iPad for Drawing
- Samsung Galaxy S8 Ultra Best Android Tablet for beginners
Best Graphic Tablets For Beginners
A graphic tablet has no screen or computer. It has a sensitive work area where you draw as you look at your software on the computer screen. This means they must connect to a computer to use.
Huion H610 Pro Best Graphic Tablets For Beginners
- Working Area: 10 x 6.25 inches
- Screen: Has no screen
- Pressure Sensitivity: 2048 levels
- Pen Resolution: 5080 LPI (Lines Per Inch)
- Tilt Support: Plus or Minus 60 degrees
- Report Rate Speed: 233 PPS
- Shortcut Keys: 8 express keys
- Pen Type: Battery Free
The Huion H610 Pro is our pick for the best drawing tablet for beginners. After many years of using it, I can confidently recommend it to any beginner artist.
First, it is very cheap and will not dent your bank too much. For slightly under 100 dollars, this tablet is perfect if you intend to test out your first tablet.
If you like it like I did it is possible to not change it until you reach professional levels in your career. For example, I used it for over 5 years and only changed it because I needed to advance to a fully portable tablet.
Just like other cheap drawing tablets, you must connect the Huion H610 Pro to a computer to use. This is because it neither comes with a screen nor a computer system and will use the applications installed on your computer.
It has a sensitive working area which is good but relatively small at 10 x 6.25 inches. It is comfortable to use but a bigger work area always offers a better user experience.
The setup process is easy and you will get a standard battery-free stylus. This means that you do not have to charge it but will automatically be charged as you use it.
Pros
- Affordable
- Battery-free stylus Pen
- Easy to set up and use
- Has 8 shortcut keys
Cons
- Small Size
- No Screen
- Must connect to a computer to use
Wacom Intuos Best Wacom Graphic Tablets For Beginners
- Working area: 6 by 3.7 inches
- No Screen
- Pen Pressure: 4096 levels
- Battery-free Stylus
- Shortcut Keys: 4
Before the Huion brand joined the industry, Wacom tablets dominated the industry. Wacom Intuos is the best alternative from Wacom for Huion H610 Pro.
Just like the Huion H610 Pro, the Wacom Intuos is also a very cheap and beginner-friendly tablet. It also does not have a screen but has a sensitive 6 by 3.7 inches working area. This is slightly smaller than the Huion H610 Pro.
Customizable shortcut keys will greatly improve your workflow speed by assigning commonly used functions to specific keys.
The Wacom Intuos comes with 4 free customizable keys that you can set to whatever function you commonly use. You will also have 2 additional keys on the stylus pens body.
In most instances including the price, the Huion H610 Pro has an advantage over the Intuos.
However, one unique advantage the Wacom Intuos has over the Huion H610 Pro is that on purchase, you will get a three-month free trial of EdTech software.
Overall, this is a great pick for a very fair price.
Pros
- Three-month free trial of EdTech software
- Affordable Price
- 4 free customizable shortcut keys
Cons
- No screen
- Small Size
- Few shortcut keys
Best Drawing Tablet with a screen for beginners
Drawing Tablets with a screen can also be divided into 2. One group must connect to a computer to use while the other does not have to connect to one. The latter is referred to as a standalone tablet.
Here are the best ones for beginners that must connect to a computer but have a screen. Most of them range under the 300$ mark.
- GAOMON PD1161 The best budget drawing tablet with a screen
- Huion Kamvas 13 Best Drawing Tablet with a Screen for Beginners Alternative
- XP Pen Artist 13.3 Pro Best Drawing tablet with a screen for Beginners
GAOMON PD1161 The best budget drawing tablet with a screen
- Display size; 11.6 inches
- Resolution; 1920×1080 pixels
- Color Accuracy; 72% NTSC/100% RGB
- Viewing Angle; 178 degrees
- Pen; AP50
- Pen Pressure sensitivity; 8192
- Report Rate; 266PPS
- Pen tilt support; yes
- Pen type; battery-free
- Buttons; 8 customizable keys
- Display type; pre-applied anti-glare film
- Weight; 866g
- Tablet stand; no
If you are on a budget but still need a good drawing tablet with a screen, the GAOMON PD1161 is a good pick.
The PD1161 is a cheap and powerful drawing tablet from a relatively new brand that has gained popularity of late.
As technology improves, the price of drawing tablets that come with a screen has greatly reduced with the GAOMON PD1161 going for an affordable price of slightly under 200$.
It features a sleek and slim design and a large 11.6 inches screen that is perfect for both portability and digital. The screen is fully laminated therefore reducing parallax and improving overall clarity.
Additionally, it features full HD resolution at 1920 x 1080 pixels and an overall color accuracy of 72% NTSC/100% RGB. You will be able to view the screen from a wide 178 degrees from all sides.
Gaomon PD 1161 Stylus Pen
GAOMON PD1161 comes with a nice battery-free AP50 stylus that is perfect for digital art. Like most professional drawing pens, it features 8192 pen pressure levels with tilt support.
You will have 8 free customizable keys on the tablet’s body to set to your quick functions.
The GAOMON PD1161 is unfortunately not a standalone tablet and does not work with Android devices. You will have to connect to a computer to use it.
Pros
- Has a screen
- Clear and High Resolution
- Comes with a good stylus
- Comes with 8 free customizable keys
- Sturdy Build quality
- Easily Portable
Cons
- Not Standalone
- Not compatible with Android
Huion Kamvas 13
Huion Kamvas 13 is slightly larger than the GAOMON PD1161 with a 13-inch screen. The screen features a reduced parallax view thanks to a fully laminated screen just like the PD1161.
Additionally, it features a 1920 x 1080 full HD resolution and 120% sRGB color gamut or color accuracy. This is perfect for digital art and even animation.
The screen has a textured feel that gives a pen-to-paper feel when drawing. To add to this it comes with a thin plastic protective film that protects it from damage.
Just like most other Huion pro tablets, you will get a professional-level battery-free pen with 8192 pen pressure levels. It also has +-60 tilt recognition for comfortable use.
Pros
- Large Full HD screen
- Fully laminated and textured screen
- Shortcut keys available
- Good stylus pen
- Textured screen
Cons
- Not a standalone tablet
- Lacks a dial
XP Pen Artist 13.3 Pro Best Drawing tablet with a screen for Beginners
XP Pen is another very affordable brand that will provide cheap but quality pen display tablets that you can use for drawing.
It is one of the Best beginner-friendly Drawing tablets with a screen that you can buy.
Just like the Kamvas 13, it features a 13-inch screen although you can choose some smaller or larger alternatives depending on your budget.
For a very cheap price, you will get a great pen display tablet with a good battery-free stylus that you will not have to charge to use.
Additionally, the pen features 8192 pen pressure levels which is the standard plus +-60 tilt recognition. The XP Pen is a good tablet that will provide a great drawing experience.
Unfortunately, it does not have a computer and must be connected to one to use.
Pros
- Large screen
- Great for beginners
- Affordable Price Range
- Good Stylus
- Battery-free stylus
Cons
- Shortcut keys available
- Not a standalone tablet
Best Drawing Tablets with a screen No computer is needed
If you need a tablet that will have software installed in it and has its own screen, plus does not need a computer here are the best picks. You can check out our full review of more products by clicking here.
- Apple iPad Pro 12.9 inch Best overall
- Samsung Galaxy S8 Ultra Best Android Tablet
Apple iPad Pro 12.9 inch Best overall
The Apple iPad Pro is the Best tablet for Graphic design available in the market today. The tablet works with Apple Pencil 2 which is a professional-level battery-free stylus. You do not have to connect to charge because it will charge itself once placed on the magnetic storing space on the top area of your iPad.
An M1 chip, similar to one on the iMac and Apple Macbook Pro powers the latest version of the Apple iPad Pro 12.9 making it fast and reliable. You can imagine how powerful it is when combined with 16 GB RAM.
Unfortunately, you will have to pay extra for the pencil because it is sold separately. Additionally, this tablet is quite expensive compared to other brands. However, it’s worth every penny and the pencil is highly accurate with perfect pressure sensitivity.
The massive storage space of up to 2 TB will save your projects, software, and extra files such as games. If you’re an artist or graphic designer looking for a drawing tablet with a lower budget, you can take a look at Apple’s older versions of drawing tablets on Amazon.
We recommend that you go for the Apple iPad 12.9 if you can afford it because it cannot be compared to other brands. Tech doesn’t come cheap, and neither is the Apple iPad 12.9 drawing tablet.
Samsung Galaxy S8 Ultra Best Android Tablet
- Screen: 14.6 inches
- Resolution: 2960 by 1848 Pixels
- Processor: Snapdragon 8 Gen 1
- RAM: 8/16 GB
- Storage: 128/256/512 GB
- Battery life: 8 hours
Although Samsung Galaxy S6 Lite is good and cheap, it is nowhere near as good as an Apple iPad Pro 12.9 inches. If you want an Android Tablet that can be used as an iPad alternative, then the new Samsung Galaxy S8 Ultra is your best pick.
It has a Super AMOLED 14.6 inches screen size and a large 2960×1848 Pixels resolution. Additionally, its unique 16:10 aspect ratio makes it always positioned in a landscape view.
You will be able to run Photoshop, illustrator, and many design and art software thanks to a powerful SM8450 Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 Processor and 8 and 16 GB options of RAM.
Just like the S6 lite, it features the Samsung S Pen which is perfect. Additionally, it is a standalone tablet and does not need to connect to a computer to use.
Pros
- Large Screen
- Full HD resolution
- Powerful processor and RAM
Cons
- Expensive
Top Drawing Tablets for Beginners
- Huion H610 Pro Best Graphic Tablets For Beginners
- Wacom Intuos Best Wacom Graphic Tablets For Beginners
- GAOMON PD1161 The best budget drawing tablet with a screen
- Huion Kamvas 13 Best Drawing Tablet with a Screen for Beginners Alternative
- XP Pen Artist 13.3 Pro Best Drawing tablet with a screen for Beginners
- Apple iPad Pro Best iPad for Drawing
- Samsung Galaxy S8 Ultra Best Android Tablet for beginners
Pingback: GAOMON Drivers: 3 Easy Steps How To Download And Install