thanks to an awesome commission I have enough to seriously start thinking about buying myself a drawing tablet.
with that in mind I’d like to ask for a little advice:
some criteria:
must, Must, MUST be a display tablet
US $300 ish or under preferred, (this includes all the cords, pens, bells & whistles & etc)
works with Windows 11 (hp 255 G8 Notebook pc)
works with Krita (obv.)
a good sized drawing area, bigger than, say 6 x 10
side buttons would be nice
at the moment I’m looking at a Huion Kamvas Pro 13
but frankly there are so many different options that I’m afraid I’m missing something
and I’m way out of my depth.
I can google for myself, and have already read a lot of reviews, but they all seem to be mega geeky pros, so I’m mostly looking for personal experience from normal people here. extra points if you yourself have used the kamvas pro 13, or multiple tablets and can compare contrast.
what have you all used? any preferences/advice?
More background.
I primarily work in pen and ink – stippling, but like to venture into watercolor occasionally. I currently use Krita with a mouse and have done some fun things but really want to branch out into things I can only do with a tablet/stylus. Including importing some of my (non stippled) drawings and colorizing them, or even better doing the drawings right in the program. Or making intricate paintings/illustrations etc.
I have a bit of a tremor so will likely end up resting my hand on the screen for stabilization, so I know I’ll need a glove thingy. I also have TERRIBLE hand eye coordination, so really DO need the display.
Bonus questions:
is the pro 13 gen 3 really enough of an upgrade to be worth the extra $75 + cables & etc? How quickly should I expect to go through nibs? Should I buy extras right away? Any accessories that you find invaluable/100% necessary?
Any advice for setting up the tablet/computer/krita so everything works together nicely?
Things you wish you’d know before getting a tablet?
I’ve had my Huion Kamvas 13 display tablet for four years now (I’m on Windows 10). It’s my first display tablet, so I won’t be able to give you any pros/cons versus other brands, as I’ve no experience outside of the Huion.
That said, I’ve been pretty happy with it, for the most part, though I did have an initial setup issue. Getting the driver to detect the tablet was connected was a real hassle for me. I was following along with the single page steps included within the package, but it just wouldn’t see the tablet. I eventually stumbled upon this link, which had a suggestion that worked in my favor. Since then, I haven’t really had an issue.
I heard a lot about people going through nibs quickly (same with Wacom), but I haven’t experienced anything close to what I’d consider unreasonable. My tablet came with 10 replacement nibs, but I’ve yet to go through five of them. Now… maybe I don’t draw as much as those other people (though I draw just about daily), or maybe I just don’t apply as much pressure? I don’t know… On the other hand, you have to consider the wear and tear I’m seeing on the surface of the tablet. Around a year ago I noticed my surface was starting to get scuffed up, and eventually a small nick appeared. Maybe that’s a sign I should swap my nibs out more, lol? Again… First display tablet, so I don’t know. In any event, I ended up taping a laminating sheet, for covering paperwork, over the surface. I can see through it just fine and doesn’t hinder the pens detection at all. In the future, when I inevitably need to get a new one, I’ll be covering it straight away (and from what I heard, they make replaceable covers now, but I haven’t gone looking for one). Beyond that, I don’t really have much to offer.
my partner and I were just talking about needing to get a screen protector for her new phone but it never occurred to me that I would need one for a tablet, so that is VERY helpful advice! thank you!
I ended up going with the Kamvas 13 Gen 3 and absolutely love it.
I got the 3-in-1 cord and it’s a bit fiddly to hook things up because of my computer’s usb configuration, but otherwise everything works beautifully and I’ve had no driver issues and drawing is smooth and easy.
the entire experience is actually MUCH better than I was expecting it to be from general display tablet reviews that I’ve read.
(i suspect most artists also have better eyesight then me as well to be able to detect such tiny differences in nib/cursor placements and things like screen sparkle)
my biggest difficulty is getting used to having proper pressure sensitivity now that I’m no longer dependent on just a mouse!
I got a “paper texture” screen protector as well, which arrives a little later and it improved the drawing experience as well, but unfortunately the nibs don’t seem to like the extra bit of texture and wear out SUPER fast with it.
I may end up having to remove it and switching to the felt tip nibs that huion makes instead.
