Cheap Cintiq alternatives - XP-Pen Artist 12HD Monitor display Tablet?

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#1

Most of us would love to work with a cintiq-like tablet, but very few could afford one, especially if they are not professionals.

There have been questions about this, ideas to try to use an Wacom Cintiq tablet for such purposes.

I didnt give up on my pursuit and found solutions that fit in a 200-500$ price range. it would be XP-Pen Artist 12HD,you can check this product on XP-Pen official site https://www.xp-pen.com/goods/show/id/380.html .

I mean - its wacom technology. Sure, in the soon-to-be-mine XP-Pen Artist 12HD model there are 8192 pressure levels, the same like in cintiq devices, but I am not a pro and I probably couldnt feel any difference between the two. These drawing tablet monitors have reasonable specs and should do fine. Photoshop should run fine, at least for typical digital painting tools, and there is always GIMP (pretty lightweight compared to PS) or using the entire laptop as a remote desktop display for a stationary PC with decent hardware. All this in a price range below one third of the smallest cintiq 13HD!

Why wouldnt an amateur use such laptops for drawing, designing, digital painting etc? Is there something i need to know before making the purchase?

edit a bit more info about what im looking for: Im mostly interested in sketching, drawing and digital painting with the tablet. I dont like the pen-picture detachment when using regular graphic tablets, also i dont like it how i cant turn them to get comfortable drawing angles, and thats why im seeking a cintiq-like solution. I tried using Ipad Pro tablet, but the lack of ANY pressure sensitivity makes painting very cumbersome - maiking a smooth colour transition is a lot of work, while with pressure sensitivity it would only take a few swipes. I dont really do any photo work. Also, Im just an amateur and do drawing/painting as a hobby, not a job.

So, any reasons why a graphics tablet monitor like the one I mentioned wouldnt satisfy my needs?

#2

Good day @lichai,

I can’t tell about the XP-Pen, but I recently bought a Huion tablet, not the monitor one, and works without issues on Linux. The only thing that does not work are the buttons the tablet has. Other than that, all pressure levels are there, and can use in any software (I tried with Gimp, MyPaint, Blender…).

I’ve seen people using the Huion touch monitors too online without issues, XP-Pen should be the same, but not sure. Usually would need two ports, one for video, and other for USB, which is the one used for pressure sensitivity.

Check on Youtube for the model you are thinking about buying and linux, and you may find what you need to know.

I may update to such a display later. For now I must pay off the investment, though I did the research for that kind of touch display before deciding for the standard pen tablet.

Regards,
RR

#3

Here is a good article that I found - https://essentialpicks.com/wacom-cintiq-and-cintiq-pro-alternatives/

#4

Hi ! I'm using XP-PEN G640 for some basic gimp drawing and it works plug & play on ubuntu mate. You have a driver provided by the brand that let you invert buttons ext ... but im not using it.

#5

Huion kamvas and xp-pen artist line seems to be the best wacom cintiq alternatives.

I replaced my old Wacom Cintiq with a Huion Kamvas Pro 22". I have no complaints about it. For less than the price of the 13" Wacom Cintiq I had previously, I was able to get a huge Huion which is a big deal for me because I like to draw in blender with my shoulder and elbow so I draw big. I chose my tablet because it had all of the features I wanted, the specs were comparable to Wacom, and I had watched a ton of people review it.

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#6

Welcome @Tang_Yan to the community!

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