A drawing tablet is mainly used to create visual media such as digital drawings, graphics, comics, animations, and edited photos.
Drawing tablets can either come with a display/screen or without one.
For drawing tablets with a screen, you can draw directly on the screen using your stylus while simultaneously viewing your art on that screen.
For drawing tablets without a screen, your strokes on the drawing tablet will appear on the computer or laptop monitor you connect it with. You can read more about drawing tablets with or without a screen here.
No matter if your drawing tablet has a screen or not, you will need to connect it to a desktop or a laptop in order to function.
How Do You Use A Drawing Tablet?
A drawing tablet always comes with a stylus (a pen) that is used similarly to a regular pen, except that the strokes done on the drawing tablet are displayed digitally in real-time on the monitor connected to it.
Before anything else, you need to connect your drawing tablet to your laptop, desktop, or Chromebook as most drawing tablets will not function without connecting it to external devices.
The first time you use your drawing tablet, you should install the drivers on your computer to ensure that both the drawing tablet and stylus functions properly. The drivers may be provided in a CD, or the package might have a manual that instructs you where to download the drivers on their website.
After the drivers have been installed, test out your product, get used to it, and make some customizations you might want to have.
Then, you can proceed to open your drawing software, try out your brushes, and start drawing.
Pro Tip: press your stylus hard on the drawing tablet to figure the pressure sensitivity. The thicker the lines the higher sensitivity.
The pressure sensitivity in which most drawing tablets range from 2046 to 8192 levels. The higher the sensitivity, the more detailed your brushes can be.
Can You Use A Drawing Tablet Like A Normal Tablet?
Most drawing tablets are not standalone devices like your usual Android tablet or iPad that can be used by itself and recharged when its battery is low.
Most drawing tablets need to be connected to an external device such as a laptop, a desktop, or a Chromebook to work.
This is obvious when it comes to drawing tablets that are equipped with screens, however, the same goes even for drawing tablets with built-in displays.
The typical drawing tablets with built-in display will only act as a secondary monitor that displays the same as the laptop or desktop it is connected to.
The main purpose is so you can draw on the drawing tablet’s screen directly while observing your artwork.
There are certain “stand-alone” drawing tablets that do not require external devices, but these come at a much higher price.
Is a drawing tablet necessary?
If you are a visual artist of some sort, pursuing that hobby, or career, then my clear answer is:
Yes, it’s necessary for you!
A drawing tablet is necessary so that you can render drawings, illustrations, comics, animations, create graphics, and edit photos conveniently and at a much faster pace
Difference between a graphic tablet and a drawing tablet?
The terms:
- graphic tablet
- drawing tablet
are used interchangeably by most artists and drawing tablet brands and include both tablets with and without a screen.
Essentially, a graphic tablet and a drawing tablet are the same things and you can think of them as synonyms.
Who uses drawing/graphic tablets?
Anyone can use a graphic tablet or drawing tablet. But the common users are digital illustrators, graphic artists, comic illustrators, animators, photo editors, tattoo artists, etc.
Graphic tablets or drawing tablets are used by both professionals and amateurs, and there is no restriction on who can use them.
Buyer’s Guides Worth Your Time
Do you have a specific budget? then check these out:
Something else?
- Check this out if you need a beginner-friendly tablet with display
- Find out how the popular Wacom drawing tablets compare
