If you’re a graphic designer, illustrator, or digital artist you’ll know that a drawing tablet can boost your creativity and streamline your workflow.

Their ability to turn hand drawings into accurate digital representations is enough to tempt beginners and seasoned professionals away from traditional pencil and paper, and as the trend grows so do the number of options for drawing tablets available on the market.

If you have ever use a drawing tablet , you should know XP-Pen brand , XP-Pen is one of the most popular brands in drawing tablets Market . While XP-Pen Graphics tablets consistently rank alongside the best drawing tablets in terms of quality and functionality, they also tend to be available at fantastically competitive prices. This makes them a great option for ambitious creatives working to tight budgets .



About XP-Pen

XP-Pen is founded in Japan in 2005, it specializes in graphics tablets, pen display monitors, light pads, stylus pens and digital graphical products. In 2008 they established an office in Taiwan. In 2013, XP-Pen Technology Co. was founded in the United States. In 2015 they opened their office in Shenzhen, China.

XP-Pen is a professional and reliable supplier of graphics tablets, pen display monitors, stylus pens and more digital graphical products. They strive to enable young artists to realize their full digital potential by pushing the limits of tablet technology.

More details you can visit their official site > (cliquez ici pour suivre le lien)

XP-Pen Anniversary Sale

To celebrate the company's 14th anniversary, XP-Pen is running a huge sales event on a wide lineup of Graphics Tablets and Drawing Monitors .

XP-Pen Anniversary Sale 2019 dates are August 16 to September 15. you can get Big Savings for Huge Selection . Anyone who buys any product from XP-Pen will have a chance to win a pixiv Premium Account (valued at $16) for free for 3 months. also you can get free creative software Artrage Lite or Artrage 5 , openCanvas , learn more you can visit XP-Pen 14th Anniversary activity Page - (cliquez ici pour suivre le lien) .

As part of its anniversary celebration, XP-Pen offers up to $100 discount on select drawing tablets. This includes popular machines like the XP-Pen Deco 01 , XP-Pen Artist 15.6 Pro , and XPPEN's newest Artist 12 Pro Tablet Monitor .

Save with amazing Deals and Free Shipping when you buy now online. Get best deals when you shop on XP-Pen official store . this Anniversary Sale activity is Globally , just select your country or region from the top of the page .

If you see a XP-Pen tablet you like at a price to suit your budget, be sure to pick it up quickly. The best XP-Pen deals are selling out quickly, especially because graphics tablets discounts are some of the most hotly anticipated deals.
Latest XP-Pen Anniversary Sale deals Products

30% off XP-Pen Artist 12 Pro Graphic monitor



Tilt Function Battery-free Stylus - Comes with 8192 levels of pen pressure, battery-free pen provides a more accurate and natural drawing experience; Plus with ±60 degrees of natural tilt recognition, you will have much more fun when drawing. （An plastic stand is included）.

8 Press Keys and 1 Red Roller Wheel - With 13.3 Inches IPS screen, not only save your time but also enhance your productivity.

120% sRGB Color Gamut - Comes with more than 200 PPS Report Rate, you can have better performance and quicker response when working on the pen display; The drawing monitor cannot only provide users with a wider field of view, but also offering richer colors and more natural transition.

Full-laminated Anti-glare Glass - Thanks to the full-laminated screen technology, the stroke you drew is accurate and natural, and almost without offset; Besides, the screen surface is covered with anti-glare glass, effectively reducing the "glare" effect and providing better protection for your eyesight.

Compatibility - XP-Pen Artist 12 Pro is compatible with Windows 7 or later and Mac OS 10.10 or later; It is also compatible with mainstream software like Adobe Photoshop, Clip Studio, Paint Tool Sai and more; XP-Pen provides one year warranty.

20% off XP-Pen Artist15.6 Pro Drawing Tablet With Screen



A more affordable pen Display with XP-Pen advanced technology, 8,192 pressure levels and tilt recognition.

It's amazing precision and reduced Parallax ( Because of the full-laminated screen technology ) provide the most natural drawing experience .

XP-Pen’s 15.6” 1920x1080 HD display provides you with clarity to see every detail of your work.

See your creations in vibrant color on the Artist 15.6 Pro’s HD display (16.7 million colors Bit, 88 percentage NTSC ). Work as long as you'd like with the battery free pen that charges off the screen while you create .

XP-Pen Artist 15.6 Pro features 8 fully customizable shortcut keys and 1 innovative Red Dial , puts more customization options at your fingertips, and allows you to optimize your workflow to capture and express your ideas faster and more easily .
Connect to your computer with the convenient 3 in 1 (HDMI) connection cable and get into the perfect position with foldable legs that let you adjust how you want to work. Brightness 250 cd/m2 .

XP-Pen Artist13.3 Pro come with a colorable mascot gift worth for $59.99



The Artist 13.3 Pro Pen Display from XP-Pen is designed for casual artists and professionals alike who want a medium-sized drawing tablet.

Measuring 13.3", its display has a 1920 x 1080 Full HD resolution for clear details as well as an anti-glare coating with reduced parallax to help minimize distractions and replicate a pen-to-paper-like feel. Specs-wise, its display has a 250 cd/m² brightness rating, a 1000:1 static contrast ratio, wide 178° viewing angles, and support for up to 16.7 million colors with 88% NTSC color coverage.

Apart from the tablet, the Artist 13.3 Pro comes with a battery-free stylus , 8192 pressure levels sensitivity. Furthermore, there's virtually no lag or batteries and recharging required. With tilt support, you'll be able to draw naturally as you would with a pencil or brush.

Aside from the Stylus , a set of accessories are included such as a pen holder, replacement nibs, and a nib removal tool. For a more comfortable drawing experience, the Artist 13.3 Pro come with foldable built-in Stand.

For additional features and functionality, you can use 8 ExpressKey and 1 red dial to help boost your productivity.

20% off XP-Pen Artist15.6 best Budget Screen Drawing Tablet



The XP-Pen Artist 15.6 Drawing Tablet monitor features the P05 Stylus which uses Electro Magnetic Resonance technology to draw the power it needs from the tablet so it does not require a battery.

Features 8,192 levels of pressure sensitivity and a low activation force, enabling it to detect even very light pen strokes.

Full 1920 x 1080 HD display , 16.7 million colors and 75% Adobe RGB .

11mm thin design, 3 in 1 cable, and a new brightness adjustment button.

6 express keys available to be customized according to your own needs.

Compatible with Most Operating Systems and Applications

Adobe suite (Illustrator, Photoshop, Lightroom), Autodesk Sketchbook, Paint Tool SAI, ArtRage, Krita, Artweaver, Rebelle, Clip Studio Paint., Corel suite (Painter, Draw, Paintshop Pro),

17% off XP-Pen Artist 16 Pro display drawing tablet



15.6 inch 1920x1080 resolution IPS 16:9 Display with 178° degree of visual angle .

It is made with a 92% Adobe RGB color gamut, which is obviously necessary for high-quality animation and photographic retouching. Plus,

Battery-free stylus technology provides 8192 levels of instant pen pressure sensitivity.

8 fully customizable express keys create a highly ergonomic and convenient work platform.

Enjoy the high quality glass design , allow users to sketch, paint, design and edit photos directly from the drawing tablet screen.

Find a perfect and comfortable position with the adjustable stand by dragging the switch to create your work.

20% off XP-Pen Artist 22E Pro Graphic Tablet Monitor



The XP-Pen Artist 22E Pro is the upgraded version of the Artist 22E , including a large amount of programmable express keys on both sides .

21.5 inch Full HD screen with 1920x1080 resolution, color gamut 78%~82% Adobe RGB , full viewing angle of 178 degrees .

8 programmable Express Keys per side. More ease of use and comfort, faster workflow with easy access to frequently used shortcuts.

P02S digital pen with 8192 pressure levels, rechargeable, no tilt sensitivity .

5080 LPI and 233 PPS report rate (good figures to avoid broken lines and delays while drawing) .

Adjustable multi-position stand, allows inclination of the screen from 20 to 80 degrees .

10% off XP-Pen Artist 22 Pro Pen Display Tablet



The XP-Pen Artist 22 Pro is a professional level 21.5 inch Full HD graphics tablet. It is part of XPPEN's high-end range and it is designed to meet the most demanding expectations.

21.5-inch Full HD screen (1920 x 1080 pixels). The screen surface is huge, it's like drawing directly on a computer screen.

P02S rechargeable digital stylus with 8192 pressure levels (it gets recharged with a USB cable)

It features a multi-position stand that allows you to tilting the screen .

This is a high quality graphics tablet with screen for drawing, graphic design, 3D or any other creative endeavour.

5% off XP-Pen Artist 12 portablet Drawing Monitor



11.6 inch, Full HD drawing monitor with 1920x1080 resolution, colour gamut 72% NTSC, 178 degree full viewing angle.

5080 LPI and 233 PPS report rate (a good figure to avoid broken lines and delays while drawing) .

New P06 battery-free stylus, completely battery-free, 8192 pressure levels but without tilt function support. has 2 express keys on the digital stylus.

6 programmable shortcut keys and a touch bar (useful for zooming and moving around the work area), on the left side (good for left-handed use simply by turning the tablet around) .

Good value for money. A very good set of specs for a very decent price, makes this tablet the top of the list when it comes to quality-price ratio.

20% off XP-Pen Deco Pro Android Digital Drawing Tablet



New pen technology supports 8192 levels of pressure sensitivity, tilt-response and virtually lag-free tracking.

Large size is a super-slim tablet design with a more larger active area than previous models (11” x 6” Medium or 9" x 5" Small ) .

XP-Pen Deco Pro graphic tablet features 8 Customizable Express Keys and double wheel design .

System Requirements: USB port, Windows® 7 or later (64bit). Mac OS 10.10 or later,

Internet connection to download driver and Software.

20% off XP-Pen Deco 01 V2 Android Graphic Tablet Support Tilt function



Every stroke you draw on the XP-Pen Deco 01 V2 tablet can be precisely and originally recorded by pen and tablet and immediately display on your computer screen. 10" x 6.25" large working area .

8 Customizable Express Keys set individual shortcut way to skip tedious typing and clicking time and improve efficiency.

8192 Levels Pressure Sensitivity, ±60 degrees Tilt function support , 5080 LPI Resolution, ≧ 200 PPS Report Rate, providing professional drawing experience.

OS Compatibility: Compatible with Android 6.0 , Windows 7/8/8.1/10 and Mac OS 10.8.0 or above.

Works with major programs like Adobe Photoshop, SAI, Illustrator, Clip Studio, Krita, CorelPainter, Manga Studio and more.

20% off XP-Pen Deco 01 Animation Tablet



The XP-Pen Deco 01 Graphic Drawing Tablet features a large 10 x 6.25-inch work area.

Features a 5080 lines per inch (LPI) drawing resolution, a 266 RPS report rate, and 8192 levels of pressure sensitivity.

Eight user assignable Express Keys on the left side of the drawing area.

The Express Keys can be assigned to input specific keystroke combinations, launch applications, open web pages, send email, or to emulate a specific mouse function (e.g., left-click of the stylus ).

10% off XP-Pen Deco 02 Digital Art Tablet



The XP-Pen Deco 02 Graphics Drawing Tablet features a large 10 x 5.63 inch drawing area. Portable design is only 9mm thick .

Features six express keys and 1 sleek newly designed silver roller for a variety of software functions.

Includes the ability to adjust the pressure sensitivity, up to 8192 level. battery-free stylus Does not require charging.

The XP-Pen Deco 02 USB Graphics Tablet is compatible with most applications including Corel Painter, CorelDraw, Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Illustrator, 3D MAX, Autodesk MAYA, and more.

20% off XP-Pen Deco 03 Wireless graphic tablet



This might be a great choice for your powerful drawing tablet. It’s very portable, big , lightweight and full of great features.

Sufficient Compact Working Area - The large working surface of 10×5.62 inches provides users with larger space to draw, bringing users a more enjoyable working experience of the digital tablet.

Battery-free digital stylus with 8192 pressure sensitivity levels, no need for batteries and it doesn't need to be recharged. Report rate of 266 RPS, even higher than other high-end drawing tablet .

8 User-defined Shortcuts and 1 red roller wheel - The drawing tablet is convenient to set up your favorite shortcuts according to your own needs.

20% off XP-Pen Star 06 Wireless painting Tablet



large Work Area : a fair amount of drawing space, 10 x 6 inches. This drawing tablet is thin (only 10 mm) and light enough so you can carry it around your workspace.

Battery-free pen with 8192 level pressure sensitivity,Responsive and no need to charge , allowing for constant uninterrupted using.

1 Touch ring & 6 customized express Keys: touch ring make your working easily for zoom in & out, and Undo/redo etc.The 6 express keys can be customized according to your usage habits.

Wireless connectivity gives you an amazing cable-free work experience making for a tidier desktop environment at work.

Compatible with Mac and Windows. Compatible with drawing softwares such as Photoshop, Illustrator, Corel painter, Comic studio, Manga Studio ,Clip Studio etc.

10% off XP-Pen Star 05 Wireless Graphic Tablet



The Star05 features both wired and wireless USB capability: Simply plug the included USB receiver into your computer to draw wirelessly using the ISM 2.4G and FHSS, or connect to your computer with the included USB cable for standard wired use.

Built-in lithium battery charges quickly and conveniently during wired use.

2.5 hours provides a full charge that lasts up to 14 hours.

Battery-free stylus with 2048 pressure levels does not require charging.

Six touch-sensitive shortcut keys allow quick access to most commonly used functions.

8” x 5” working area provides ample room to draw and paint comfortably.

Compatible with Windows 10/8/7/Vista and Mac 10.7 or above operating systems.

Works with most currently available drawing software, such as Photoshop, Paint tool Sai, Clip Studio Paint, etc.

20% off XP-Pen Star 03 affordable Drawing Tablet



The XP-Pen Star 03 Tablet is one of the most affordable larger sized ( 10 x 6 inches ) tablets and one that is ideal for people who are just starting to use these types of devices.

Whether you are looking for an alternative to a mouse pointing device or you are interested in digital painting, drawing, or editing, this may be the right tablet for you. it is well within the price range of most consumers.

8 programmable shortcut keys, on one side, suitable for both left-handed and right-handed use, by turning the tablet around.

when it comes to sensitivity, the 8192 levels of pen pressure mean that you will be able to achieve precision every time.

One of the most popular brands in drawing tablets, XP-Pen has officially launched its flagship product Deco Pro Small and Deco Pro Medium on 17nd May 2019. These smart tablets captured the market in no time as both the tablets are highly compatible with Android OS, which has never been seen before in the entire tablet industry.

XP-Pen Deco Pro Creative Pen Tablet is an amazing device special made for professional sketchers, drawers and illustrators. The XP-Pen Deco Pro Series graphic tablet is a brand new product that can be connected not only to a PC / laptop but also to an Android phone / tablet to use. Besides, OTG connection is another feature of Deco Pro that will further facilitate drawing outdoors.

The XP-Pen Deco Pro Drawing tablet works with most graphics software like Windows Paint 3D, Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator, Corel Painter, Autodesk Sketchbook, Manga Studio, Clip Studio, Zbrush. It’s also compatible with the Sketckbook ,MediBang Paint , Deco Draw Android Drawing App Since it’s a tablet aimed at those who draw digitally, it has a pretty good variety of hotkeys – 8 of them: undo, change brush size, pan, zoom, erase and many more. Deco Pro offers one Virtual wheel ( touch ring ) and one Mechanic wheel that allows you to zoom in and out, use brushers, and scroll up and down. Double Wheel Design helps a lot to improve your working efficiency and save your time.

Deco Pro is equipped with the battery-free pen, which sets you free from the charging issues. Together with 8192 levels of pen pressure sensitivity and ±60° tilt support, you can enjoy more accurate and natural strokes, bringing you a more real paper-like drawing experience.

Because the work area of a PC/laptop is different from a phone/tablet, so the work area of the Deco Pro graphic tablet will be different according to the different connection way you choose.

266PPS helps to sense the pen movement agilely, with almost no delay lines. 5080 LPI high pen resolution makes the pen stroke more delicate and natural, which can easily achieve pixel-level painting display. Thanks to these configurations, your working flow is greatly improved.

It is compatible with Windows 7 or later, macOS 10.12 or later, and Android 6.0 or later (OTG supported devices).



XP-Pen Deco Pro Creative Pen Tablet Specs

Model: Deco Pro Small / Deco Pro Medium
Application： illustration / animation / graphic design / industry design / image retouching / anime gaming, etc.
Express Keys: 8 Customized Press Keys and Double Wheel
Technology: Battery-Free Electromagnetic Resonance
Active Area: 9 x 5 inch / 11x 6 inch
Resolution: 5080 LPI
Report Rate: 266PPS
Pen Pressure: 8192 Levels
Pen Tilt : 60 Degrees
Reading Height: 10mm
Interface Support: USB-C
OS Support: Windows 7 or later， macOS 10.10 or later Android 6.0 or later
Compliance: CE / FCC / CCC
Dimensions/piece : 350 x 211.8 x 8mm
Color: Black
Official site: (cliquez ici pour suivre le lien)
I have been professionally retouching photos for 8 years, full time. I have been using a Wacom intuos tablet (non-display) for that long. The hardware is great. I just replaced an indestructible old tablet that didn't keep up with modern technology. But thanks to that I found myself in the situation of needing a new tablet and I learned about the XP-Pen Deco thanks to various reviews on YouTube.

XP-Pen has established itself as a good drawing tablet manufacturer over the years. It has a good list of options for beginners and professionals alike. I'd like to introduce you to the Deco Pro Medium. their most advanced graphics tablet . Let's see if it's worth getting.

Design

The design of the tablet is very eye-catching, The tablet is very lightweight and beautiful, which I really like. The XP-Pen Deco Pro tablet is thinner and lighter than its predecessor, The back and the top of the tablet made of aluminum as it is cold to the touch,This is one of the few screen-less tablets on the market which uses a metal back, so it was most certainly built to last.

XP-Pen Deco Pro is built using premium materials . The result is a pen tablet that feels reassuringly strong but is a mere 7mm thick.

The surface sheet is smooth texture . On one side of the tablet you will find eight customizable express keys and the roller Wheel , offer the perfect amount of custom functionality .

The tablet comes with the latest generation pressure pen, which feels and looks nice; and a housing for the pen which also hides about 10 replacement nibs which is very cool.

The Tablet Itself



The physical machine Deco Pro Android Drawing Tablet is nice and sturdy. It uses a USB-C to connect, and the USB-C cable detaches from the other end, which is useful if you need to transport it so you don't have to coil the cord around it like some older xp-pen star tablets.

It seemed to work on my Dell PC just fine, I use it on a wired connection, and it seems to pick that up just fine anyway. the active drawing area is adequate yet still compact and portable. the smooth surface will allow the nibs to last longer.

Interaction With The Computer
The port itself is a standard USB type-C port with no tunnel in front of it. The use of USB type-C is really good here as it allows for the user to plug in the L-shaped cable whichever direction they need to, depending on whether they are right or left-handed.

Once you've gotten it plugged into your computer you'll need to spend a bit of time with the drivers to get it to work on your computer. I'm installing it on a Windows 10 desktop. It was extremely easy to setup, download and install drivers from XP-PEN's website,

The driver is packed with features. You can set sensitivity for pressure. Any of the buttons with any keystroke you want. You can set for different programs so when you're in that program, the keys automatically start functioning differently depending what software you're using. It has absolute or relative options and you can set for use with two screens or just one of the two that you have, and on and on. TIP-eliminate all other drivers, restart computer and then install this tablet's driver otherwise you'll have glitches.

First up, driver I must say instantly even before any tweaking I could feel just how smooth, and responsive this tablet was, with an unprecedented depth in pressure sensitivity, there is a nice curve editor right in there driver so you can fine tune and find the sweet spot you desire. It took me about 30 seconds to get the feel of a 2b pencil. A left-hand right-hand configuration switch, my self, being left-handed is a must, as well as aspect ratio and drawing field changes. You can also set up the dial, express keys all with user-defined commands.

I then ran the gambit software test, Adobe Photoshop, Clip Studio Paint, Zbrush, Maya, and Blender. It all registered and performed beautifully across the board. The Express keys and wheel are responsive and have a home key registration so you know where your hand is with out looking. I must same I am very happy with this purchase and believe XP Pen will have a long future with me and my graphical needs I hope to be able to try out one of there Artist Series Pen Displays in the future as soon as I can save up the money to invest in a new one, and review that as well.
The pen support pen tilt and pressure
Another great feature is the pressure-sensitive pen tip, that is designed to recognize 8192 levels of pressure and detect tilt up to 60 degrees. the pen tilt on the Deco Pro is quite smooth. The vast degree of pressure responsiveness in the Pen is something I really appreciated, The pen also has two buttons click on the side that gives users the ability to click, right-click, or double-click.

The pen has a great feel in the hand, and that it doesn't require batteries or need to be recharged has been a convenience for sure. Sensitivity levels are amazing, though I have found myself decreasing the range to accommodate my own pressure preferences. Its exceptional sensitivity and responsiveness gives me the control I need to take my work to the next level.

The drawing experience!

I prefer the Deco Pro Medium version because it has a better large drawing surface and I can rest my hand on other parts of the tablet when I am working. In addition, there are more express keys and the Double Wheel .

I'm using it mostly for Photoshop and Lighroom and other Drawing or Sketching apps and it's the perfect size for everything I need a tablet for. The sensitivity/pressure settings are amazing and it really does give a true feel for the pressure applied. I've experienced no lag while in the wired setting for work. In fact, for most applications I end up mapping a small area of the tablet to correspond to my full 27 inch monitor screen and it allows me to control my entire screen without moving my hand.

The Double wheel is responsive and a really distinct aspect of the table, it really gives it personality. The fully customizable buttons on the side are one of my favorite features of this tablet. I've set it to work in conjunction with my Photoshop key shortcuts, and it makes my life so much easier when editing photos, digitally painting and doing any touchups on any application.

I really like that it came with a drawing glove, I have never used one and now I see that it can really help to keep your tablet clean. The surface of the Deco Pro really likes to get dirty with fingerprints, so the glove helps it look pristine. Not to mention, this comes with a pen stand, and the pen stand optimizes storage space so well with a selection of different pen nibs inside the stand.



Conclusion

Highly recommended for anyone looking to get started in digital drawing tablets or those who've been it in for a while and just want a solid, affordable digital pen tablet to add to your workforce. It gets really close to the experience of using a $300 Wacom Intuos Pro for only a fraction of the price.

No CONS for now...and hopefully I wont have any in the future.

I will really recommend it to anyone looking to start drawing digitally. Especially if XP-PEN continues to improve and support this product in the near future.
I really appreciate what they have here and feel like its appropriate to support Wacom's competition so that we can all enjoy better products in the future.

There are a few main reasons why I chose this over other tablets in the same market.
1. Great price
2. Size of work area on tablet
3. 8000+ levels of for pressure sensitivity
4. battery-free stylus support pen tilt function
5. Slim and light weight
6. Pen is smaller than other models, closer to size of actual ink pens, not too bulky in hand
7. Back to price when factoring all of the above in compared to other models/competitors

Places to buy the tablet

XP-Pen Deco Pro official Store: (cliquez ici pour suivre le lien)

I've written here a number of times extolling the virtues of all things XP-Pen. Chances are if you're reading this, you're familiar with the XP-Pen line of products. I've been using XP-Pen Artist 15.6 (interactive pen displays) since 2017 or so, and frankly don't know how I'd finish the majority of ad or magazine jobs I do on time without them. If you're not familiar, Read more about them here...

XP-Pen release new products often. What I like about them is they release something new when the technology is there and they've perfected it. Case in point, I've had the Artist15.6 art tablet with screen for something like 2 years. It's been that long since a comparable device has been unveiled. They did release a 21.5" device Artist 22E Pro a few months ago, and I bought one to upgrade. This is a sturdy desktop device .

Now, they've just released the latest iteration of the product Artist 15.6 , the Artist 15.6 Pro . Eventually I'll get around to doing a video review of that, but in the meantime, I thought I'd write about a new review that goes along with this new drawing monitor .



XP-Pen Artist 15.6 Pro is the newer model of the Artist 15.6 , but with pen tilt Support , The tilt function ensures that the accuracy of the pen remains the same when tilted, offering a real and natural drawing experience.

Artist 15.6 Pro has been used 120% sRGB ( 85% adobe rgb color accuracy) in the device to give you more vivid, clear and sharp color quality that also enhances the accuracy of any image. the Artist 15.6 display tablet is 75% adobe rgb color accuracy .

It has greatly improved on parallax, New optical bonding process that greatly reduces parallax , becuse of new Technology their has No Air Gap.

Compared to the Artist 15.6,the Artist 15.6 Pro features 8 fully customizable shortcut keys and 1 Red Roller Wheel which puts more customization options at your fingertips to suit you preferred work style, allowing you to capture and express your ideas easier and faster for optimized workflow.

In case you don’t want Pen tilt function, or want to save few bucks and get the Screen drawing tablet for cheaper, it may worth it to check out the previous Artist 15.6 model. Which have similar features, like the 8192 level of pressure sensitivity, the HD screen, the 3-to-1 cable. And the pro pen with 8 replacement nibs.

Where can I buy a XP-Pen Artist 15.6 Pro

XP-Pen Artist 15.6 Pro is an ideal choice among professional artists who love drawing and painting. This device is the best way to step into the digital canvas world as it mainly focused the professionals and allow them to give their best in whichever environment they are. Now you don’t have to worry about colors, brushes, sheets, and pencil anymore, just pick this piece, keep it in your bag and move ahead to the world of art.

Artist 15.6 Pro Screen Drawing Tablet is available in XP-Pen Globe official Store (cliquez ici pour suivre le lien) on January 25, 2019. The sale starts from January 25 , you can use coupons & promo code SuperBowl (10% off) to get one till February 04, 2019 .



Notable specifications:

Display Size: 15.6″
Aspect Ratio: 16:9
Native Resolution: 1920 x 1080
Product Dimension: 443 x 280 x 12.6 mm
Active Area: 344.16 x 193.59 mm
Shortcutkeys: 8
Roller Wheel: 1
Color Gamut: 88% NTSC (covers 120% sRGB color gamut)
Display Colors: 16.7 Million
Viewing Angle: 178°
Pressure Levels : 8192
Report Rate: 266 RPS
Pen Tilt Sensitivity:- ±60
Supports Multitouch: no
Resolution: 5080 lpi
Response Rate: 25ms
More details: (cliquez ici pour suivre le lien)

What’s in the box?

The tablet comes in a nice looking white box with a unique design. There isn’t anything particularly important on the back of the box aside from a repeat of the specifications.

The things that come in the box:

XP-Pen Artist 15.6 Pro tablet
XP-Pen P06 battery-free pen
Pen case
Combined cable (USB type-C to USB type-A, HDMI, and USB type-A for power)
USB type-A extension cable (for power)
USB power adapter
Outlet adapters for international power outlets
HDMI to Mini-DisplayPort adapter
Pen nib replacements x8
Anti-fouling glove
Screen cleaning cloth
User manual
Warranty policy and warranty card
“Thank you” card
AC 41 Stand

Design

The tablet comes in a nice looking white box with a unique design. There isn’t anything particularly important on the back of the box aside from a repeat of the specifications.The XP-Pen Artist 15.6 Pro sports a fairly simple design overall.The tablet comes with a pre-applied screen protector which has a very minimal amount of texture.

This tablet has 3 buttons along the side which are for power, brightness up, and brightness down. The tablet itself does not have an OSD settings button, but you can change the screen colours through the XP-Pen driver software.

The power button will glow with a dark blue light to indicate that the tablet is powered on.

The IPS Screen

The new XP-Pen Artist 15.6 Pro has a 15.6-inch IPS display with full HD resolution (1,920 x 1,080) . It can produce 88 per cent of the NTSC colour palette (85% Adobe RGB colour gamut or 120% sRGB colour gamu ) with 16.7 million colors which means more colour accuracy, you can do photo or image-editing at a pro level, you’ll need this more pro version.

Virtually No Parallax : The display has been outfitted with full laminated technology that seamlessly mingles protective glass and screen glass, giving better picture quality.

The space between the glass and the screen (which was noticeable but manageable on earlier Cintiqs) is virtually nonexistent now. It no longer feels like I’m drawing on top of a monitor on top of my artwork. For the first time ever, there’s no separation between my pen and my artwork, and it’s an amazing feeling. I would say that it matches the iPad Pro’s accuracy in terms of pen-to-screen distance.

The screen is awesome, clarity and colors look nice. Using the default plastic nib works great on this new surface, and feels more like a traditional pencil on paper to me. I hope that XP-Pen sticks with this surface for their future products, it is brilliant.

The Stylus



XP-Pen is offering an ultimate pen with this device that enlightens the inner creativity of any individual. A very big thanks to the new elastic pen nib! This nib actually enhances your creativity by eliminating parallax of broken lines on the stunning display of the tablet.

With the pressure of 8192 levels, 5080 LPI and 10mm sensing height- the pen is very sleek and makes your drawing natural on the screen as it intensely senses and analyzes every movement.

The tilt by the P05R as it tilts 60 degrees ensuring better drawing quality and user experience. With smoothing drawing experience on this tablet enhances your productivity, skills and ensures that you stay ahead of your competitors.

What’s more, it’s a battery-free device and the lag, even with large complex Photoshop brushes or sculpting with high res stamps in 3D, is minimal to the point of non-existence.

Improved Pen Design : The pen P05R keeps all the great features of the P05, namely the rubber grip ( makes it more comfortable to hold ) , and the two toggle buttons, which I use constantly, and really find myself missing when I use the Apple Pencil.

Just like the XP-Pen Artist 15.6 , there is no lag or slow-down when you are drawing lines. A lot of this may be more dependent on your hardware (I’m using a iMac), but I think it’s worth mentioning. The rendering of the pixels themselves is incredibly sharp and smooth. It rendered the lines as fast as I could throw them .

To touch or not to touch?

IMHO, I would say no touch is better because of the additional cost. But if you have a child and want him/her to try drawing on your expensive Cintiq, you can consider getting a touch.
The Adjustable Stand

Well, XP-Pen Artist 15.6 Pro is also eliminating the pain of holding the tablet because holding it and drawing on it can make things complex. Therefore, it has introduced an adjustable stand that is viable and powerful. You can set your tablet on that stand and enjoy your drawing without worrying about holding, falling of device from your hand and a lot more.

The 3-to-1 Cable

The XP-Pen Artist 15.6 Pro has a USB type-C port on it to connect to the combined USB/HDMI/power cable. The included cable is a combined cable which goes from USB type-C on the tablet to USB type-A and HDMI on the computer. The tablet can be powered solely by the computer if the USB port can provide enough power, but if it can’t, the extra red USB type-A connector will need to be connected to another USB port on your computer, or a power outlet using the included power outlet to USB adapter.

The Roller wheel and 8 express buttons

There are 8 programmable buttons and a Roller wheel. which are magical. These are available at your fingertips enabling you to roll on, zoom in, and a lot more- saving your time to accomplish your delicate design in no time.
The buttons are amazing, as with all Artist series . the round ring in the middle, The scroll wheel can be programmed to control three different parameters (such as zoom, brush size, etc). And the customize-able physical buttons have nice tactile feel. You get spoiled with this buttons, and it's sometimes hard to go without them.

the buttons are completely customize-able to whatever hot key you want, and with the conjunction with custom on screen buttons, you'll be able to work comfortably without a keyboard..... at least with programs that are designed to be simple for tablets, like Sketchbook or Painter. Even with these keys, I don't think you can get away using Photoshop, or zbrush etc. I think some programs are just too frustrating without a keyboard.

Tablet drivers

The XP-Pen tablet drivers are extremely easy to install. Just go download the latest version directly from XP-Pen’s site and remove all other tablet drivers you have on your computer before installing it.

Once you’ve installed the driver and plugged in your tablet, the XP-Pen driver icon should appear in the system tray in the bottom right. You can access the tablet settings by clicking on that.

If the installer doesn’t prompt you to restart your computer after it finishes, I wholeheartedly suggest restarting your computer anyways to allow Windows to properly update the files necessary for the driver to run smoothly.

The XP-Pen driver is a simple one page driver with all the important settings in just one window. Here you can set the pen buttons and pen pressure, and choose which monitor the tablet maps to.

I did not need to change any of the default settings as the tablet worked very well with the defaults. I also did not need to calibrate the pen because the cursor properly appeared directly under the pen by default (which surprisingly isn’t the case for some tablets).

To date, the updated drivers have worked fine with the programs I use most: Adobe Photoshop and Clip Studio Paint. This was actually a pleasant surprise for a product this new – I hope this continues.

Drawing Experience



Artist 15.6 Pro was fantastic. It occupies less desk space and the colours were slightly closer to my macbook display. Although smaller, the screen had good resolution and good enough for Manga Studio EX (program that I use to draw comics). It was also very portable so I could bring it with me to libraries and give demonstrations. I was also very happy with it until I gradually suffered from stiff shoulders and neck.

The pen's sensitivity is buttery smooth . I'm not sure how many people noticed, care, or can justify the difference between 2048 levels of pressure vs 8192 levels, but I do. I particularly notice the low end levels of pressure. Don't get me wrong, 2048 levels is more than enough to work with, I'm just spoiled by 8192 of the Artist 15.6 Pro . It is mostly because I have a very light hand when it comes to sketching, and notice the ultra low end levels. Even at the lowest level of a 2048 level stylus, it just doesn't feel light enough, once you get used to a Artist 15.6 Pro . If you have a heavy hand, I don't think this level difference will make any difference to you. The differences are minor, and it's more of a "feel", maybe I'm the only person who care..... but it does make a difference for me.

On Photoshop , the program recognizes stylus tilt. This allowing you to vary opacity with pressure, but line thickness with pressure tilt. It took me a good hour to get used to using it, it's a bit different than using a real pencil, but I now love it. The line weights, and the look of the pencil lines, makes it feel more like traditional pencil and paper. In fact, as I was trying to get used to drawing with the Photoshop pencil, I would instinctively worry about smearing the pencil lines under my hand, before remembering that I was working digitally.



Conclusion
Finally, I’d like to talk about one of the main reasons behind switching to a smaller display: portability. The XP-Pen Artist 15.6 Pro is overall physical dimensions are 443 x 280 x 12.6 mm , which makes it ideal for being carried back and forth between company and my studio at home. It fits in a carry-on bag just fine, even with the machine zipped in its soft case. Although, keeping in mind the above-mentioned connectivity issues, I wouldn’t go as far as recommending taking it to the field.

it is a fair statement to make that the Artist 15.6 Pro is the best compromise in XP-Pen’s current display line regarding size and portability. While the price of the 16-inch Artist 15.6 Pro takes some serious commitment, you can be sure that your purchase will be a largely satisfying one, with the added confidence that you are acquiring a high-quality professional level tool that will be there with you for a long time coming.

What can be the most important conclusion for epigraphers/artists working on the Artist 15.6 Pro is that it removes most of the psychological barrier between artist and machine, resulting in a more natural drawing experience, the closest I’ve encountered to pencil on paper so far.

I highly recommend the Artist 15.6 Pro 15.6″Screen Drawing Tablet to any professional illustrator, animator, or graphic designer. It’s the best digital drawing tool I’ve used by far.

Many years ago the only options for digital painting I had were MS Paint, Adobe Photoshop and Corel Painter. Fast forward to 2018 and there is a bewildering choice of software and tablets.

These days getting into digital painting is easier and more affordable.

When I started out, prices of digital painting software were much more expensive, the only decent pressure sensitive drawing tablets available were by Wacom ( but now I changed to some affordable alternatives ) and there was no where near the amount of training support available. I will give a general overview of the software available. So you should pick the right software for your needs and preferences.

Graphic tablets can be split into two categories: those that have a screen (like the XP-Pen Artist Line ) and those that don’t (like the XP-Pen DECO Type). Almost any professional graphics software will work for XP-Pen tablets, XP-Pen Was a professional pressure sensitive Graphics Tablet manufacturer on the digitizer tablet market. they provide affordable Art Tablet fot Digital Artists , the driver is powerful and update quickly .

XP-Pen Offical Site : (cliquez ici pour suivre le lien)

XP-Pen Offical Store : (cliquez ici pour suivre le lien)



I’ll be mentioning software which tries to emulate natural artistic media but with digital painting you can pretty much get any effect you want.

Adobe Photoshop

Adobe Photoshop is well known as the industry standard of photo editing software. Photoshop is a popular and very versatile program specializes in photomanipulation that can be used for photo-manipulation, compositing, digital painting and illustration and even print and web design. all that was because it have a really good brush engine . to be honest it's brush engine is better than krita's in some places .

The term industry standard has no weight in why I choose which software to paint with though, I like to keep open minded and try software based on the features it offers. For this reason I will mention software that is not as well known. I’ll also list some mobile software options I’ve heard of as they are increasing in popularity. It’s up to you to do further research for what will work for you and there are always more options if you dig deep enough.
Open Source and free options

Krita
The Gimp
MyPaint
Speedy Painter
Fire Alpaca
Medibang Paint
Adobe Photoshop Sketch (mobile)
Tayasui Sketches (mobile)

Paid options

Here is a list of affordable software from cheapest to highest price:

Procreate (ipad)

Infinite Painter (mobile)
Paintstorm Studio
Mischief
Pixelmator
Autodesk Sketchbook
PD Artist
Jugi Paint
Leonardo
Artweaver 6
Affinity Designer and Affinity Photo
Black Ink
Expresii
ArtRage 5
Rebelle 2
Clipstudio Paint
Adobe CC
Corel Painter (current version Painter 2018)

My Thoughts

Over the years I’ve tried Paintstorm Studio, Mischief, Artweaver, Affinity Designer, Black Ink, Expresii, ArtRage, Rebelle, Clipstudio Paint, Krita, Affinity Photo, PaintTool SAI, Sketchbook Pro, Adobe CC and Corel Painter. Here are my thoughts on them so far.

Paintstorm Studio

Paintstorm Studio is created for professional digital painting. And a major role in this program play the brushes. We did our best so that you can easily and quickly .

Paintstorm Studio is a recent addition to my collection and I’m impressed by the brush engine. It is easy to use and nice to paint with.Of course, it may be be missing some tools and filters for image processing, and it has little drawbacks. Paintstorm, though, is all about brush drawing and they tried to make it the maximum quality. Besides, Paintstorm studio has several unique features you won’t find anywhere else.

Artweaver

The free version of Artweaver is something I tried years ago and I thought it was ok. Get creative with this impressive paint tool which boasts support for Photoshop files. It has brushes like Photoshop and blendy brushes like Corel Painter. The only reason I haven’t used it is because I’ve already got Photoshop and Corel Painter. The interface is a mix of Photoshop and Painter and it has similar brushes.

When choosing a graphics package it is important to select the right tool for the job. Opt for too basic a program and you may find that you do not have access to all of the tools you need, while opting for a program which is more advanced can mean a steep learning curve and great expense. Artweaver positions itself neatly between the two, being both powerful and instantly accessible for users of all levels of ability.

Full support for layers and a wide variety of brushes, along with a range of effects filters, means that Artweaver provides you with everything you need to get started on creative ventures. Brushes are highly configurable so they can be tailored to very specific tasks while support for transparency and the Photoshop PSD format means that it is not only possible to generate very impressive results, it is also possible to work with files that have been created in other programs.

A graphics tablet can be used with Artweaver to allow for greater control over the tools provided, and completed projects can be saved in a variety of popular formats. Upgrading to the paid for Plus version of the program adds support for Photoshop plugins, and the saving and playback of onscreen events - this can be used to demonstrate techniques to others. With the Artweaver Plus, large documents can be created and a great degree of control over brushes is available.

Affinity Designer
Affinity Designer is good for vector graphic creation and painting. It can mix both raster and vector artwork together which is interesting. There is free online support and tutorials which are great for beginners.It's a replacement for Illustrator.I was so happy when I found Designer. For me, Designer is way easier to draw with and manipulate drawings than Illustrator. The developers at Serif (the makers of Affinity Designer) are great. You can freely communicate with them on their forum asking questions, making requests, etc.

Black Ink

Black Ink is a digital painting software that uses your computer's rendering hardware to provide a perfectly responsive experience no matter your picture's size .

Black Ink impressed me with weird procedural brushes but I found it too technical for my general use. It’s great for someone who is already confident with digital art but I wouldn’t recommend it for beginners.

Make, download, or use the provided brushes to make amazing speed-sensitive designs. People with no talent can make interesting paintings in seconds, while those with skill can produce amazing picasso-esq poitraits in minutes. Black Ink has become my favorite drawing/painting application and I do recommend it, but you should be aware of some of its limitations before you decide if it's right for you.

The second limitation is that the selection of brushes is very limited and not entirely satisfactory. While the software is certainly able to handle them, it contains no traditional brush/knife/spatula effects, giving you instead a number of flashy, but not very useful "computery" ones.

The third limitation is that there are no geometric tools whatsoever: no lines, circles, arcs, rectangles, spline curves, etc. Their addition would make the program enormously more useful for certain types of illustrations, especially if they were given parametrizable "organic" effects (like random variations) in addition to being rendered with the current brush.

Also, keep in mind that you will need a drawing tablet and a pressure-sensitive stylus to get any decent results. Mice and track pads just won't cut it. This is true of all paint programs, but not everyone will think about it until they've tried and struggled with an inadequate input tool. I'm using it with a 10"x5.63" medium-sized XP-Pen DECO 02 sketch tablet and it works great. You might consider upgrading to a stylus with tilt sensors because some brushes are tilt-sensitive and you'll get even better, richer results. Because Black Ink works best on large drawings, I recommend a large writing surface as well, though that's largely a matter of personal taste; I prefer to have room to move my arm rather than just my wrist.

But even with these limitations, what it does, it does very well. I am particularly in love with its layering feature. In addition to letting you stack backgrounds, foregrounds, and various intermediate slides, it's also great for experimenting on one layer without damaging parts that you want to keep. Which brings up the fact that Black Ink's undo feature works very well. This seems like a trivial observation, but I've used programs that make you want to throw the computer out the window either because they undo too much at once or they can't undo enough.

So I certainly recommend this program to anyone who wants a pleasant sketching/drawing/painting program, but I also recommend to Bleank to add more conventional brushes (and why not some more unconventional ones, too?) and a small panoply of geometric tools to make this a more complete and satisfying product.

The first limitation is that it requires a powerful graphics card to operate. Don't expect to run this on your laptop, much less your Surface tablet. The lag will make it unusable and some brushes won't even render. If you're looking for something to take with you so you can paint under a tree by the lake, thi

Expresii

Expresii is not an ordinary paint app but one packed with innovations.
A few points to highlight:

3D brush done right. You can really create so much variations by simply wielding the brush like in real life.
Physics-based fluid sim. When other commercial paint apps claim to have ‘real’ watercolor, just compare with this one and decide which one feels more natural.
Hybrid vector-raster representation solving the low-res problem. Low-res digital painting are unsuitable for printouts or even viewing on a larger screen, but not for this one!

Expresii is one of a kind for it’s realistic Eastern watercolour painting brush engine. Artwork can be exported as PSD files. This software is very specialised, but if you are familiar with digital painting it is worth a go.

ArtRage

A simple but lovely natural media painting and sketching program. Art oriented, but capable of loading/saving photoshop files. A very cheap alternative to Painter,

ArtRage is a painting and illustration tool for various platforms and is developed by AmbientDesign Ltd.It is suited for beginner as well as experienced artists and the main features include painting symmetry,natural painting tools,special effect tools like cloner,gloop pen etc,sticker sprays,tracing images,creating scraps and views etc.The latest version ArtRage4 supports the Wacom stylus pen and adjusts the image by using Pressure,Tilt, Airbrush Wheel and Barrel Rotation of the stylus pen.It runs both on Windows and Mac OS.

it was excellent, lower-priced digital art software which replicate real-world media and painting techniques. Artrage was one of the first art programs to offer naturalistic squidgy paint blending, which is what made me settle on Artrage as my main software. Artrage features some interesting lighting effects which allows for metallic textures and glitter. Apart from that, Artrage has a simple, intuitive interface which lets you get straight to art without a huge software learning curve a la Photoshop. Advanced settings are behind the scenes, which means you might not ever find them, to be honest. Artrage was ahead of its time for a while. At $79, Artrage has always punched above its weight. I won’t hear a bad word about it.

If your computer is more than a few years old it won’t cope with Rebelle 3, in which case go with Artrage (which will run slowly, but it does run).

ArtRage 5 is the best I’ve tried for realistic digital oil painting and the interface is easy to learn. The way the paint seems to react to the canvas texture is the best out of all the software I’ve tried so far.

Rebelle 2

Rebelle 2 is another watercolour painting software and is easy to use. Editing options are limited but formats can be exported for use in other programs. Rebelle 2 lets you create realistic watercolor, acrylic and dry media artwork, using real-world color blending, wet diffusion, and drying!.

For anyone more accustomed to working with real pencils, pens, paintbrushes and paint, Rebelle 2 was the most naturally intuitive user experience and the results went way beyond my expectations. Photoshop-like options are more limited than some of the other apps, but nothing can compare to how realistic Rebelle 2 feels to work with and looks when you're done.

Painting in Rebelle is fun, but I would suggest using it along side something like Photoshop or Krita to give more editing options.

Clip studio Paint

Clipstudio Paint is a good all round alternative to Photoshop or Corel Painter and the inking brushes are fantastic. It also has animation tools.Clip Studio Paint, previously Manga Studio or ComicStudio in Japan, is a family of software applications for Mac OS X and Microsoft Windows used for the digital creation .

I've tried PS, Mediabang, Sai and Gimp and nothing has impressed me as much as CSP. In my opinion, CSP is better for drawing while PS is better for editing photos but I know others who prefer drawing in Photoshop.

CSP has all the tools you could need for drawing, it's a very extensive drawing software compared to other ones out there. CSP also has a stabilization setting for your brushes as well as a blending tool which my version of PS lacks (not sure if the newer subscription-based version has them though) however CSP lacks the liquify tool that PS has, it's really the only feature I miss from PS. The way you can organize your brushes in CSP blows photoshop and the other drawing programs I've tried out of the water. I also find CSP to be more user-friendly but keep in mind that's also because PS has a crazy amount of features, most of them you won't need for digital art.

If you like comic and manga there are really awesome features for it in CSP to speed up your workflow as the program was intended for manga/comic work, the original brushes the program comes with are therefore meant for a more "comic" style of drawing which not everyone's cup of tea. However the assets store (most things are free to download there) that CSP comes with lets you download so many different brushes that more realistic drawing and painting is no problem, I've drawn several real-life portraits in CSP using downloaded custom brushes that mimic real pencils. Another pro to CSP is that it's only a one-time payment (besides on the Ipad) and then the program is yours for life whereas PS now requires you to pay a monthly fee. I've also noticed that the touch functions work much better on my Cintiq in CSP than in PS where it's quite laggy, then again I'm using an older version of PS and the latest version of CSP.

This is just my individual opinion though, I'm by no means an expert at either program nor am I saying that CSP is necessarily a better program than PS, both are good softwares, it comes down to personal preference which one you like the most. Thankfully both PS and CSP have free trials so you can try out them both for yourself.
Krita

Krita is a complete creative sketching and painting application with advanced, commercial quality features. It's free, open-source . I used Krita last year and really liked it. I started using it more than Corel Painter because it has nice brushes and the layer support is much better. The latest version of Krita is a big improvement so far and now works with my XP-Pen Artist 22E Pro tablet Monitor (with the newest XP-Pen driver).

Krita has a LOT of realistic brushes, layers, vector shapes, the ability to rotate and mirror the canvas to spot errors...it has allowed me to work in layers, apply filters, use brushes and use colors.

I really like that it supports different formats such as RAW, PSD, PNG, JPEG and BMP, it is also possible to export the files in a large number of formats.

Krita has brushes for all tastes, and has a variety of filters and effects. allows easy color management ,It has an easy-to-use interface, so that our paintings are amazing

If you need a cheaper alternative for just digital painting, Krita is the program for you! Krita is a powerful tool for editing and designing images, it's free and with enough potential to create quality images.

The only important tools that Krita does not have is Clone with perspective.This is a software which feels like a lite Photoshop version for painters. Especially with the new update, promising new features can be found.
Adobe CC

Adobe CC has a solid offering of apps, my favorites being: XD, Photoshop, Illustrator, Audition, After Effects, and Acrobat.Adobe CC allows me to be affective at my work and provide a wide range of services.

I tried the Adobe CC last year but I still have Photoshop CS3 so I had no reason to upgrade and the subscription model puts me off.

Corel Painter

Corel Painter is one of the leading software for painting and illustration and is developed by Corel corporation . The most interesting feature in latest version Corel Painter 3 is the RealBristle™ technology which uses the angle and the pressure of the stylus pen for controlling the color and effects of the image. The other features are Brush Search engine,Stroke preview,Jitter brushes,Advanced Brush Controls,Brush tracking,Cloning workflow,transforming multiple layers at a time,Memory optimization,Flow Maps,Custom palettes,Customizable surface texturing etc.It runs on both Windows and Mac OS. It also has other softwares like CorelDraw,PaintShop,PhotoImpact etc.

Photoshop is not totally the industry standard for painting. Corel has a good reputation too. I know even Feng Zhu uses it.

Corel is more traditional and will have alot effect photoshop has, although a very poor selection tools set.

AD and AP share the same painting engine, but for "pure" artistry mood AP offers something more.

AP features the Colour Mixing Brush which offers different colour blending (RGB/RYB and CMYK models) and the Liquify Persona that is a terrific booster for digital painters.
Bristle and Watercolour models of Painter are almost "unbiased": this means that there is a physics model behind pigment/media/canvas interactions so results are "almost" real.

Anyway the cons are:
1) Speed

You need a super Mac to deal with pro-grade resolutions, and computations are heavy. This is one of the reasons why Painter cannot be defined a rock-solid software to rely on totally...

Do you want to paint on a 8000px canvas with the Real Bristle and Watercolours? Only 16GB od RAM and 2 cores? Pray... :

2) Complexity

Watercolour technique is probably the most complex to master, and this is the reason why Painter still offers the Digital Watercolour model aside the Real Watercolour one...
My experience tells me that painters are inclined to an analog approach, so unbiased models as ArtRage/Painter/FreshPaint fit best their user experience.

Illustrators and digital artists are more frequently in a rush, so do prefer "digital" approaches as the models offered by Affinity, Photoshop, MangaStudio, Sketchbook.
In this second scenario an "analog looking" tool is complex to achieve, but not impossible.
But in any rate, you can use anything you want to. No one cares as long as they have the files to work with or the final image is uploaded. You can use either, or both. If you just fear it, try it out. ALl of them have some sort of free trials.
I’ve used Corel Painter less and less in favor of Photoshop and other programs. There seems to be a paid update every year which is far too expensive for me to maintain and I don’t need more features than it already has. If anything I would like fewer features, more stability and no internal advert nags. Other than that it’s a great program and still has gorgeous and customisable brushes. I guess if you want to really simulate traditional medium in a computer, this might be it but for more quick stuff, i'd prefer other software. I find the layer system very frustrating but it is fine if you generally paint on the canvas layer. The version I use is the 2016 release. Layers may have been improved in future editions. What I do to overcome the layer problem is paint in Corel Painter on the Canvas layer only. I then go into Photoshop or Krita with the image if I need to do further work on other layers and editing.

Affinity Photo

I am trying Affinity Photo because the features rival Photoshop for editing. It supports the more recent file types and I want to try 360 Panoramic painting. I’ve tried out several brushes and they are great to paint with. There is also a mixer brush option for doing blendy painting techniques. So far it looks very promising.

There are some features that Affinity offers that are, in my opinion, better than what Photoshop offers. The video tutorials are great - short enough that they aren't overwhelming, but comprehensive enough that you get to understand how things work. Once you are familiar with the layout and what does what, it is easy enough to translate Photoshop and Elements tutorials to Affinity.

PaintTool SAI

PaintTool SAI is high quality and lightweight painting software, fully digitizer support, amazing anti-aliased paintings, provide easy and stable operation.

My favorite software, because the program file itself is super small, only 5MB, so it loads up very fast. It has all the basic tools you need to create art, so it is super simple to use. The stroke engine is just awesome, when you draw curves, it is just smooth, no jagged lines or anything. Also you can mix colors very nicely. The vector function is also very cool, because after you are done tracing and have the lines, you can go in and add line weight where you like it. The interface is easy and you get used to it very quickly. However, it doesn't have many blend modes and my version also doesn't allow to use text. For freeform drawings and paintings, this is it for me.

I can definitely recommend it. Said is lighter and less complicated than Photoshop, so although it may not be able to do everything Photoshop can do, its also easier to navigate and use.

Sai is really handy for line art, I always had trouble with it in Photoshop, but I'm much better with it in Sai, though it may just be because I'm used to it. One thing that Sai has that Photoshop doesn't is the ability to rotate the canvas to any angle at anytime. This has been a GODSEND for me, it makes it a lot easier to get precision lines down, ect.

Long story short, it's like Photoshop cut down and streamlined for drawing in painting. Easy to use and still capable of making great things!

Sketchbook Pro

Sketchbook pro is a product of the company Autodesk Inc and is a professional painting software for the artists.It has got more than 100 illustration tools which can be customized to our needs. It also has other features like Vibrant colors and Copic® Color System,Annotate and iterate quickly with layers etc.It runs on both Windows and Mac OS.Both personal and business version is available for this software.

I recently stumbled across this and i like it. also great for quick sketches. The pencil feels very similar to the pen in Paint Tool Sai, that's great. The marker tool is nice, it behaves like real markers and the airbrush is smooth. I'd use it for marker sketches.
Some features to look for in digital painting software :

A crucial rule for painting software is it should run well on your operating system and work with your choice of tablet.

Stability is important. Painting can take a long time to do and file sizes can get large, you don’t want to lose hours of work with crashes or bugs. How far it is in development is also a factor to consider.

The painting engine and what you can do with the brushes as well as photo editing capabilities are factors. Some of the software I’ve mentioned does not have photo editing features. Because of this file compatibility and PSD support is important. Being able to save and export your painting in the top supported formats is essential.

The interface is a consideration as well. The main questions I ask are is it easy to understand, does it look nice and can I customise it? If the interface is hard to use or looks old fashioned it puts me off no matter how good the program might be.

Community, documentation and training support available are also vital to consider as a beginner.


Conclusion

These software’s have their pros and cons, it depends what you want to achieve and what your budget is. Krita is great for a free all round option and it also has 2D animation tools.

For 2.5D painting and audio brushes you can use Corel Painter, but PD Artist also has these features.

For nice oil painting look at ArtRage and Paintstorm Studio. For realistic watercolour Rebelle and Expresii are both worth a look.

Affinity Designer and Affinity Photo look promising for cheaper and non-subscription alternatives to Adobe CC.

The more expensive software options are the Adobe Creative Cloud and Corel Painter. This reflects their brand equity and amount of features. I started with Corel Painter around 2012 and used it for years. I still use it from time to time. It is an impressive program for digital painting. However, Corel Painter has a high price and steep learning curve. If you can afford it I would recommend Photoshop over Corel Painter to learn the basics with. Clipstudio Paint is a great cheaper alternative to both when it’s on sale. I cannot fault Krita over these options for continuous improvement, community support and price (free).

My recommendation for beginners to digital painting is Krita because it has digital painting tools, editing tools, great community support, lots of online tutorials and it is free Open Source. It works with lots of tablets and its cross platform for Windows, Linux and Mac.

I hope this article has been useful to you for discussing some options available for digital painting. I advise you look at the software's websites and weigh up the options for yourself depending on what you need.

Anyone working on an image in Adobe Photoshop or on a drawing in Corel Painter realizes how nice it would be to just pick up a pen and "draw" rather than trying to use a mouse. This is why graphic artists have long turned to XP-Pen pen tablets for editing digital photography and digital art.

For photographers and graphic artists who haven’t already embraced the idea of a pen tablet or tablet PC, the appeal of the XP-Pen G640S is that it is a full-featured "graphics tablet." Tablet PCs offer a great deal of flexibility and a range of practical applications; leading to their popularity with artists and other creative professionals.

So recently I’ve purchased the XP-Pen G640S USB Pen Tablet. I’ve bought this nice piece of gear with the intention of being able to expand the way I use the cursor to select things on my computer. For some people, that may mean being able to draw more naturally, write digitally instead of using the keyboard, for playing OSU professionally; and/or acting as a mouse replacement for the ergonomic benefit, preventing/letting carpal tunnel to heal.

I also imagined that a graphics tablet would help me in video or photo editing. Video or photo editing can require an immense amount of time and concentration, and using a mouse in such a rigid fashion can lead to complications like strain, RSI, carpal tunnel, among other things. Whereas using a tool like a pen tablet feels more natural to use in the hand without putting strain on your wrist. And for this reason, there are many people who use a graphics tablet like the XP-Pen G640S as a total replacement to the common mouse.

The point at which I realized the true value of the tablet is simply when I started seeing how much faster I can edit faces with the pen tool. Because the tablet has a relative positioning attitude (so your tablet is mapped to your screen, and a specific point on the tablet will always be the same point on the screen) you tend to be able to move to exact locations on XP-Pen tablet surface image and edit out blemishes much faster than with a mouse. Also, changes made with a Photoshop tool that requires a natural flow along the lines of your object (like a face) is just so much easier to do well with a pen or stylus than with a mouse. I would not be over-exaggerating to say that it has cut editing time in half.

I absolutely love my XP-Pen G640S , and I'm ashamed that I didn't place a review for this superior product before now. I was helping a coworker select a XP-Pen tablet for her desk this morning when I decided to write this review for the Wacom tablet. Bottom line for the Star G640S: convenient size, excellent pressure sensitivity, durable construction, excellent value for the price. I would consider this a must-have for any serious digital illustrator or designer.it's price is $49.99 .you can get more information from (cliquez ici pour suivre le lien) .



What are the Specs for the XP-Pen G640S Pen Tablet?
The size is of the G640S tablet is 259mm wide by 160mm inch height . But the active area on the tablet is 6 x 3.75 inch .the Star G640S is small and light enough to pick up off the desk and work with right on your lap. With a thickness of just 9mm, it’s thinner than just about any device on your desk.
I mean the tablet works very smoothly, but the small area is a tad bit hard to use. If you plan to heavily use a drawing tablet, I would suggest looking at the XP-Pen DEC0 01 tablet if it fits your budget, as the increased drawing space is more ergonomic and comfortable to use.

The G640S tablet has a reporting rate of 266RPS, and in my experience moving the cursor from one end to other on the monitor was as smooth like with any other standard mouse. The G640S pen come with 8192 levels of pressure, which is more than enough for showing the density of a drawing stroke. Just make sure that you check the “Support TabletPC” checkbox on the XP-Pen Driver if the pressure sensitivity isn’t working with your Adobe Photoshop CC software.

The included grip pen is XP-Pen’s standard two-button unit.the new Intuos pens are much more comfortable to hold that the old plastic pens because of the rubber coated grip. I personally found the pen to be perfectly weighted and balanced. The contoured grip area is thick enough to promote good pen holding habits and reduce fatigue.

The tip on the pen seem much more "springy" and responsive. Pen tips are removable/replaceable, and XP-Pen supplies several different tips (also called nibs).

The resolution of the pen tablet is 8192 LPI, or Line per Inch.
The new Intuos features a USB connection that permits hot-swappable, on-the-go design. the G640S also have 6 Express keys that you can assign any keyboard shortcut that you’d like.

The XP-Pen G640S is compatible with many major graphics applications including Corel Painter, CorelDraw, Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Illustrator, Adobe Fireworks, Macromedia Flash, Comic Studio, GIMP, SAI, Infinite Stratos, 3D MAX, Autodesk MAYA, Pixologic ZBrush, USB interface. Note that you can perfectly use the G640S as a mouse.

The G640S pen tablet also supports Window’s Vista/7/8/10 and Mac OS 10.8.0+


What are the Pros of the XP-Pen G640S Pen Tablet?

Highly Portability

I find that the G640S tablet can be pretty useful. It’s extremely portable due to its extremely small notepad-like dimensions and extremely light weight; you’ll hardly notice a difference if you add the XP-Pen drawing tablet to your hand bag or backpack.

Customization & Programmable Keys

I mentioned before that there are 6 programmable keys to the side of the G640S tablet. These are great, because when you are in the middle of drawing something out, you can quickly perform a command inside the graphics program that you choose to use. There are also an additional 2 programmable buttons on the pen itself; you can either designate them as left & right mouse buttons or anything else if you wish. it is easy use by both right-handed and left-handed artists.

Along with programmable keys, there are many features that you can customize for the G640S drawing tablet. That includes the levels of pressure for the pen’s tip, the active area of the tablet, which monitor to select if you have multiple displays, and more. You also have the option of matching the active area size to match your display ratio.

The significance of G640S’s new ExpressKeys is that they greatly speed up workflow in graphics and other applications. The innovative ExpressKeys provide quick access to commonly used modifiers, mouse clicks, keystrokes, and other time-saving operations used by photo editors, graphic designers, and digital artists.



Pressure levels

The pressure sensitivity of the XP-Pen G640S is pretty amazing for such a cheap price. With the correct settings enabled, I found that I could smoothly ramp up the gradient of darkness & lightness depending on how hard or soft I pressed my pen against the tablet- given that the XP-Pen drawing tablet’s software is properly configured. The tablet’s surface was smooth enough to feel like I was using pen and paper, albeit with a tad bit more scratchy feedback than an actual graphite pencil on paper.

The pressure sensitivity is amazing and allows me the complete control over the virtual medium that I am handling (airbrush, pencil, ink, paint, etc). Photoshop, Illustrator, and Flash are all designed to work with the pressure sensitive pens, and the level of control is amazing. Photoshop's new custom brush palette, combined with the Wacom tablet, permit me to create custom brushes to simulate the appearance of color pencil, pastels, and chalk in such a realistic manner that it's difficult to discern what is real and what is digital.



Highly Responsive

With resolution and data rates (5,080 lpi, 200 pps) on par with XP-Pen’s other higher-end tablets, performance was predictably smooth and precise. The G640S tracks quickly, without any noticeable lag even when rapidly moving the pen back and forth. The G640S has 1024 levels of pressure sensitivity and pressure-sensitive functions in both Photoshop and Corel Painter performed exactly as expected. I particularly enjoyed the ability to use pressure sensitivity when applying Nik Color Efex filters to images in Photoshop.

Again, I would like to add that new tools requires a bit of time to become accustom to.


What are the Cons of the XP-Pen G640S Pen Tablet?

There are a few downsides or features that could have been improved upon the XP-Pen G640S drawing tablet.

Drawing Room

First of all, I feel that the drawing area is a tad bit too small. Sure, the tablet is exceptionally usable and smooth to the pen movements. But I feel that due to the small drawing area, it takes me longer to to accurately draw what I want with precision. Maybe with enough time I would get used to the small drawing space, but if I had the budget I would go for the spacious XP-Pen DECO 02 tablet, just for ease of use.

Wired

Maybe this is just nitpicking, but I really don’t want to add anymore wires to my desk. My keyboard has a wire. My mouse has a wire. My webcam has a wire. My desk lap has a wire. My microphone has a wire… I could go on. It’s no surprise people like going wireless. So ignore this nitpick if you don’t mind adding an extra wire to your desk. Or alternatively, you could look into a wireless solution, like the XP-Pen Wireless DECO 03 Drawing-Pad.

Requires Software Installation

The XP-Pen G640S tablet requires software installation. You can install the software by download it from their website. it opens a window with a list of drivers; you simply have to choose which tablet you have out of that list. Then the software installation begins. Again, this is nitpicking. But for people who have virtually zero computer skill, they’ll need someone a little more computer adept to help them given that this tablet isn’t plug & play (actually, many drawing tablets aren’t, because the custom software allows for better customization- like assigning which button on the tablet & pen does what).



Operating the XP-Pen G640S Graphics Tablet as a Mouse Replacement

So there are some people out there who choose to use a drawing tablet like the XP-Pen G640S as an alternative to a mouse. The primary reason would be for better ergonomics. The way that many people hold the standard mouse is not safe for long term usage. Even I find that if I keep using a regular computer mouse for an extended period of time, I start to feel cramps and strains in my wrist- all warning signs of RSI (Repetitive Strain Injury).

Whereas with graphic drawing tablets like the G640S, they require you to hold the “mouse” in the pen hand position. This greatly reduces the amount of strain that the wrist experiences, because the rotational angle of the hand is in a more natural position.

You’ll need to use the XP-Pen tablet drivers in order to configure the buttons on the pen and the express buttons on the tablet. A good configuration is to make the pen’s first button a right mouse button, and the pen’s second button as the middle mouse wheel button- which allows you to use the pen’s second button for auto-scrolling. Note that you’ll need to tap the pen twice on the tablet in order to perform a double-click.

The tablet also gives you 6 express buttons that you can are easily configurable to perform any hotkey combination like Ctrl, Alt, Shift, plus any letter, number, PF key, etc.

A good configuration option for those 6 express buttons are to save with Ctrl+S, to close an application with Alt+F4, and Home (no hotkey needed, predefined) or other functions.



Experience In Use

Most artists who use a pen tablet for awhile will tell you it’s impossible to go back to a mouse after using pen-based control. I am something of an oddity among the photographers and graphic designers I know in that I "like" pen tablets but I’ve never really "needed" pen tablets. That is, I never needed a pen tablet until I started using the G640S

I’m not sure what it is about using the G640S with my studio desktop that makes it like a match made in heaven, but I honestly have a hard time even entertaining the idea of not using this tablet on a daily basis. The setup on my Windows 10-based desktop was a breeze. Photoshop CS6 instantly responds to the pen, mouse, and ExpressKey inputs as if they’ve always been there. The 259 x 160mm footprint is perfect for my desk and the battery-free wireless pen mean that I don’t have to worry about cords and I don’t have to worry about charging/replacing batteries.this tablet have the 6x3.75 drawing surface, which I find to be an adequate size for me to accomplish all of my design-work and illustrations. It also is a convenient size to fit into my bag .

I spend about 10 hours a day working in Photoshop, Illustrator, Flash, and other design related programs including 3D Studio Max. I've been using a XP-Pen G640S tablet for about four months now, and I love it. It would be impossible for me to create the designs and illustrations that I do without my XP-Pen G640S . As an artist and designer, I used traditional mediums for years, and then spent another couple of years trying to figure out how to use a mouse in a way that would permit me to create quality images and designs on the computer quickly and in a way that resembled traditional methods.



Design for OSU

The biggest selling point of tablets for osu! is this absolute tracking. Every other parameter such as pressure levels, tilt sensitivity, barrel rotation, etc. will have no effect on your osu! gameplay. These features are for digital art, where the tablet can sense things such as the pressure you're applying to make a darker pencil mark, for example. The only specification which may affect your osu! gameplay is LPI (lines per inch).

This is essentially the "resolution" of the tablet surface, or how little you have to move for the tablet to detect it. If a tablet has 100 LPI, then you have to move at least 1/100th of an inch for it to register movement. However, even the lowest LPI should be far higher than any monitor that you're likely to play on, so higher numbers have a mostly unnoticeable effect on gameplay.

In short, tablets are an optional device to let you play the game in a different way. They were originally intended for digital art, but happen to work very well when playing osu!. Most specifications will make no difference in osu!.
For osu!, you'll probably be looking at getting one of the "small" sized tablets because it's a common strategy to reduce play area so that you don't have to move your arm when you play. However, it's personal preference as to whether or not you want a larger tablet area, and it's especially worth considering the "large" size if you are also into digital art; drawing is much more comfortable on a larger tablet.



I’m no master of the game Osu! since I only sit at around rank 100 000, only between the 5 digit and 6 digit ranks. However, I do think that I understand what is most important when it comes to shopping for an Osu! tablet after having tried Osu! on a bunch of these tablets

For context, I play Osu! with either mouse + keyboard or tablet + keyboard, depending on my mood. I map my active area to around 2.7×1.5 inches and use the hover “style” rather than dragging.
From what I’ve experienced, I feel that accuracy, cursor delay, active area configurability, and hover distance are the most important aspects of an Osu! tablet.
XP-Pen Star G640S OSU Tablet :
Accuracy: Really good.
Pen Type: Plastic stick pen. Battery-free pen (no-battery/no-recharge).
Hover Distance: ~10-11mm

Without tablet drivers installed
Cursor Delay: Good. No delay.
Active Area Configurability: Unavailable without drivers.

With tablet drivers installed
Cursor Delay: Good. No noticeable cursor delay unlike XP-Pen and XP-Pen.
Active Area Configurability: Available in drivers.

So far, this is the only Osu! tablet that I’ve run into which doesn’t have noticeable built-in cursor delay in the drivers. This is my recommendation for anyone who wants to get an Osu! tablet which they can draw on as well. It’s the exact same size as the XP-Pen Star G640S, except it’s good for both drawing and Osu! gameplay because it doesn’t have any noticeable built-in cursor delay whether you install the drivers or not.

The biggest con is the relatively small hover distance, so it might not be the best choice for you if you tend to hover too high a lot. I had no problems with the hover distance though, but that’s just me.

The reason why I recommend the XP-Pen Star G430S at the top of this post is because it uses the exact same drivers as the G640, therefore there should be no noticeable built-in cursor delay on the G430S either. However, the G430S is only recommended if you just intend to play Osu! on it because it’s slightly too small for comfortable drawing.



So should I buy the XP-Pen G640S Pen Tablet?

Yea, I could definitely recommend the XP-Pen G640S Signature Pad as a high quality entry level tablet. You may find it perfect as a mouse replacement, but the tiny active area leaves a lot to be desired. The strokes made by the XP-Pen G640S are very smooth, and the pressure levels allow for smooth gradient transitions from light to dark. But if you are well in the budget for it, I would also recommend the XP-Pen DECO 02 tablet over the G640S just for it’s bigger active drawing area.

The new Star G640S 2018 are a good entry-level graphics tablets for those willing to get into digital art. The small model with no Bluetooth is particularly good if you want to have an affordable XP-Pen tablet, its price is a bit close in price to the alternatives (although it’s smaller in size).

While the Star G640S are entry-level tablets, I dare say professionals could use them, as long as they don’t need some of the features exclusive to the higher-end Wacom Intuos pro, like the large size, tilt sensitivity.