The Best Drawing Tablets for Beginners

Drawing on pen and paper is simple, but scanning and uploading a physical sketch takes effort and involves a lot of hassle. Drawing tablets are a great way to make your creative work digital from the start, but the best models can be too expensive for novices, while cheap options are often a huge pain to set up and use. After interviewing five professional artists, researching 64 drawing tablets, and testing eight tablets, we’ve found the Wacom Intuos to be the best drawing tablet for beginners. The Intuos is easy to install on Windows and macOS, and it offers the most precision and control for the least amount of cash.

The Wacom Intuos is the company’s second most expensive entry-level tablet, and we believe its extra features are worth the price for a tablet that will last for years. The Intuos comes with Corel Painter Essentials 8 for drawing and painting and Corel AfterShot Pro 3 for photo editing, which together make it an exceptional value. Its 6-by-3.7-inch drawing area is accurate and responsive, and it’s compact enough to use on your desk or to throw in a backpack with your laptop. The Intuos connects via USB; if you’d prefer a Bluetooth connection, we recommend the Wacom Intuos Wireless, which typically costs around $10 more, although we don’t think most beginners need that.

The One by Wacom is the company’s least expensive entry-level option, and it’s perfect for students looking for a reliable graphics tablet. It’s easy to set up, and the 6-by-3.7-inch textured drawing surface has the feel of paper, which makes for a seamless transition from analog to digital. Though the One is less expensive than the Intuos, our top pick, it has the same-size drawing area.