The Best Drawing Tablets for Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator

If you're thinking about getting a drawing tablet to use with Adobe Photoshop or Illustrator, it's important to do some research on what's available. Should you go for a large display area or a medium-sized display? Do you need a specific number of shortcut keys to improve your productivity? Are you looking for a tablet with a screen or do you use an external screen and just want the tablet as an interface device? The best drawing tablets will depend on your specific requirements.

In this article we are focussed on tablets that will connect to your PC or Mac for use with Photoshop or Illustrator. We share our picks for the best tablets and provide guidance on how you can make the right choice for your specific needs.

The 5 Best Drawing Tablets for working with Photoshop & Illustrator

There are a ton of drawing tablets on the market. However, here are some that stand out, whether you're a graphic designer, sketcher, cartoonist, or illustrator.

Key feature comparison of the 5 best drawing tablets

Studio VK1200 V2

Sleek and Portable: Travel with ease with the compact, stylish and durable all-metal body design boasting an all-screen display, anti-slip back, and easy-to-carry size. Get more value with the package that includes not one, but two pens.

Easy to Setup: The VK1200 V2 drawing display connects easily to your device via a new update USB-C cable or a HDMI&USB cable on different devices, compatible with Chromebook, Mac, Windows, Linux and Android (USB3.1 DP1.2) .

Enhanced Color Accuracy: The New AG glass on VK1200 V2 is specifically engineered to maintain color accuracy, preserving the integrity of your artwork and offering superior resistance to scratches and smudges. 

Full-Laminated Technology: Experience precision and accuracy with full-laminated technology, seamlessly combining the glass and screen for the lowest parallax and real paper-like drawing on an 11.6-inch anti-glare FHD IPS screen with 1920x1080 resolution and 72% NTSC.

Battery-free pen and Customized Shortcuts: Enjoy uninterrupted, battery-free drawing with an 8192 levels pressure pen that supports up to 60 degree tilt function on VK1200 V2. Enhance efficiency and convenience with 6 customizable shortcut keys that cater to your unique drawing habits across different software.

More accessories: Get more value with the package that includes not one, but two pens, 28 extra pen nibs, an artist glove, a pen holder, and a clean cloth.

Voila L

Ultra Fluid Mechanical Typing: Compared to other tablets, the Voila L drawing tablet features 4 customized matte shortcut keys that are much more like the key on your keyboard, which delivers a familiar merchanical, comfortable and ultra-precise typing feel.

Replaceable Cool New Shortcuts: Your fingers glide effortlessly across the matte surface of the keys – and the colorful replaceable keycap makes it easy to set up the most common function such as Ctrl+Z or others. Unleash personality onto your deskspace and Own both the keycap color with Lively Orange and Classic Black. With the Dial alongside, you are able to rapidly adjust brush size, hardness, flow, and opacity, as well as perform actions like zooming in and out and dragging an image.

Unleash Your Hand: Voila L increased an extra ergonomic space alongside the 10 x 6 inch active area to improve hand and wrist posture, avoid joint and wrist problems and release your elbows and shoulder stress for long hours of use on the tablet. The Matte Surface is designed to fits your hand better and smoother than you think.

Natural and Precise: The P05 stylus of Voila L offers 8192 levels of pressure sensitivity, allows you to draw precise lines of any weight and opacity according to the pressure you apply to the pen, sharper line with light pressure and thick line with hard pressure, perfect for artistry design or unique brush effect for photo retouching; 290 PPS and 60° tilt delivers smoother and more natural lines and strokes, while also giving you the ability to add shading to your creation. With P05 Battery-free stylus , you have no need to charge or replace battery which can help to focus on the things that really matter, and support an environmental world.

Creator A30

Enjoy the ultimate Touch experience with 4 Touch keys and 1 Touchpad, 8192 levels pressure sensitive, battery-free stylus, 290 PPS reporting rate and 5080LPI resolution allows you to express yourself freely on a 10x6 inch working area.

Natural and Precise: 8192 levels of pressure sensitivity provide exquisite strokes and make the lines smoother and natural. The battery-free pen allows you to create without interruption, without the need to replace batteries and recharge.

Large Size, Feel Better : With a sizeable 10x6 inch drawing area, the A30 drawing tablet offers more space for artistic creation. In addition, the matte surface facilitates increased friction and makes your writing feel closer to the paper, so you can draw as you wish.

Supports Left and Right handed: The A30 design tablet comes with a type-c port design which allows to plug in and out in either direction, making it more convenient and stable. It supports both right and left-hander. The A30 digital drawing tablet comes with an additional 8 pen tips, 1 drawing tablet film, and an artist's glove. You don't need to buy extra accessories, saving your time and making drawing more convenient.

Widely Used: Designed for drawing, design, online education, E-signature, as well as photo/video editing. It is compatible with Windows, Mac, Android, Chrome OS and Linux. You can start your artwork with A30 in most software like Adobe Photoshop, SAI, Adobe Illustrator, Corel Painter, Clip Studio, SketchBook, MediBang, Zbrush, Krita, Gimp, etc.

Creator VK1060Pro

2 Quick Dials and 6 Customizable Shortcuts meet your productivity needs. 8192 levels of pressure sensitivity and a battery-free pen that supports ±60° tilt capability allow you to create whatever you want in a 10x6-inch working area.     

Super Efficient and Productive: 2 newly designed Quick Dials and 6 customized shortcut keys. With its blind spot reduction design, you can find the position of your shortcut keys efficiently. You can program for your favorite keyboard shortcuts, like zoom in/out, brush size +/-, undo, etc., which can improve efficiency and create a highly ergonomic and convenient work platform.

Big Size, Big Experience: Features a 10x6-inch large active drawing area with a papery texture surface, provides smooth and natural drawing experience for your digital artwork creation. The USB-C port allows plug in and out with either direction, which is more convenient and stable.

Natural and Precise: The drawing tablet features 8192 levels of pressure sensitivity pen, which makes the lines transition from thin to thick will be fluid and precisely under your control. ±60°Tilt makes a digital stylus draw as natural as a real pencil. It is suitable for sketching, shading as well as creating stylized paintings. The battery-free pen does not need to charge or replace the battery. Create fluently at any time and no need to worry about whether the battery will run out. 

To the platform your love: Compatible with Windows 10/8/7 and macOS 10.12 or later, Linux, Chrome OS 88 or later and Android 6.0 or above phone (except Samsung) with the OTG connector. You can use it on most creating programs, such as Photoshop, Krita, Illustrator, SAI, SketchBook Pro, Fire Alpaca, Open Canvas, Manga Studio, ibisPaint, Medibang and so on.

Write, Draw, Clip, Sign: Designed for drawing, painting, designing, sketching, E-signatures, gameplay etc. It is also an ideal tool for Online Teaching & Learning and Web conferences & Live broadcasts.

Key Features to Consider When Buying a Drawing Tablet for Photoshop or Illustrator

Once you've been drawing or illustrating digitally for a while, you'll start to get a feel for the features that are most important to you. Here are some key features that should be a priority when you're searching for the best tablet for photoshop or Illustrator.

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