Hey. I'm wanting to make the transition from pen and paper to doing digital work on an art tablet. However, I don't know what to buy and I thought I would bring it up in the forum to see what you all think. Right now I've got my eye on a PicassoTab X Drawing Tablet. Mainly because it says it is a beginners tablet, it has tutorials installed and it can run ProCreate which they teach on Skill-Share. If you have a better device to reccomend, keep in mind I want to keep the price below $500. For those of you that take time to respond to this post, thank you!

Good luck.

I will be living and learning through your experience with a new tablet.

Over the years I have experimented with them and never could really get used to drawing on the glass screen.

Almost every artist I know - both amateur and professional - seem to go with Wacom . . . but those can be very, very pricey at nearly $4000.

J_Scarbrough wrote:
Almost every artist I know - both amateur and professional - seem to go with Wacom . . . but those can be very, very pricey at nearly $4000.

This was back in 2020, but I picked up my Wacom and a custom mount arm for about $2300.

I feel completely outclassed. I make everything with a little WacomONE. 50 euro.

Is the Wacom One what you use to make the comics you upload to this sight? If so it might be exactly what I'm looking for.

Tantz_Aerine wrote:
I feel completely outclassed. I make everything with a little WacomONE. 50 euro.

I have that. I'm no expert, but as long as it gets the job done, who cares?

I currently use a Huion Kamvas screen tablet which would be in your budget, but before that I had a non screen tablet and that worked just as well. I would start with something inexpensive and you've seen what Tantz-Aerine and InkyMoondrop can do with that.
For me, the software you're using is almost more important. Since switching to Clip Studio Paint I struggle to draw with anything else. Their adjustable stabilisation counters that feeling of drawing on glass and it's packed with features for making comics. The basic version is also cheap and has everything you need, plus countless features I'll never use.

sosradio wrote:
Is the Wacom One what you use to make the comics you upload to this sight? If so it might be exactly what I'm looking for.

Yep! Everything I make is with the WacomOne and Gimp.

Ironscarf wrote:
Since switching to Clip Studio Paint I struggle to draw with anything else. Their adjustable stabilisation counters that feeling of drawing on glass and it's packed with features for making comics. The basic version is also cheap and has everything you need, plus countless features I'll never use.

Hearing that makes me salivate for CSP not gonna lie. I'll definitely give it a whirl when I change my hardware at least. I have customized Gimp to suit my needs but I may just be like pre-industrial folk that were all right with oil lamps too XD

Tantz_Aerine wrote:
Hearing that makes me salivate for CSP not gonna lie. I'll definitely give it a whirl when I change my hardware at least. I have customized Gimp to suit my needs but I may just be like pre-industrial folk that were all right with oil lamps too XD

If what you have works that's certainly no problem. But if you decide to give CSP a try, I don't think you'll be disappointed.

Like everyone has said- whatever works for you is good and getting good software is very important. As long as the resolution and you work at is good and the thing doesn't lag you're ok!


I've had over 2 decades experience with tablets and I've used the highest end gear with the highest end software and hardware and it can ALL be buggy and crap.

Wacom has the status it does because it was the first good tablet for artists. It's always been pretty good but the brand is as prone to issues as any other.


Screen tablets and non-screen tablets each have benefits and disadvantages:

Screen tablets-
Are easier for first timers because you're drawing directly on the image like a piece of paper.
The disadvantages are that they're more expensive, they use up a screen, and the surface take getting used to.

Non-screen tablets-
These are cheaper, they don't use up a screen so you can use any screen you like for them AND your hand doesn't get in the way when you're doing stuff.
This is a huge advantage and they're way better for doing art with because they give they that distance at all times. The surface is also better to draw on.
The main disadvantage is that they take a lot more time to get use to.

Personally I use the Galaxy S tablet (if you decide to go that route, make sure it has S pen compatibility!) with Medibang, which is free but you have the option to add cloud storage for a monthly fee. (If you don't, you can still just save stuff to the device or upload it to your own cloud storage.) That whole deal is $350 for a 10" Tablet. Like others have pointed out, you're going to have an adjustment period no matter what hardware and software you choose, so don't get frustrated if your first bunch of sketches don't look up to par with your pencil-and-paper stuff!

I’ll say this. I have the cintiq 16. It took me 9 months to get use to drawing on the surface. But once I got it, it doesn’t bother me anymore. However, lugging around the cintiq was a pain for 3 reasons. It’s kind of heavy and lugging around the charger was a pain as well. Plus, the battery only lasted about 1 to 2 hours. Keep in mind, i spent $1200 for this thing. It took me a while to find a mobile light enough to carry and run an application that with give me what I wanted with my art.

I tried the Surface……… hated it because of the stylus. Wacom was way better. Which later lead me to an iPad.

The Apple Pencil worked and felt better that the Wacom stylus. But I was not convinced yet. Maybe a few months went by and I discovered Procreate. I bought an iPad and my wife bought the pencil for Christmas for me.

After a few weeks I purchased Procreate. So because I was use to draw on the glass surface, transitioning was a breeze for me. IPad made it so much easier to use, carry around, charge it if needed. iPad lasted about 5 hours. Later, I got an iPad Pro 11. Very happy with it.

Keep in mind, the iPad price is relatively to the gigs you will need when creating new documents for your art. I say this because it is a pain to deal with space on an iPad. Find an android tablet I guess would be easier, but personally like Apple products better.