design tools to create graphics

One of the most popular brands in drawing tablets, XP-Pen has officially launched its flagship product Deco Pro Small and Deco Pro Medium on 17nd May 2019. These smart tablets captured the market in no time as both the tablets are highly compatible with Android OS, which has never been seen before in the entire tablet industry.

XP-Pen Deco Pro Creative Pen Tablet is an amazing device special made for professional sketchers, drawers and illustrators. The XP-Pen Deco Pro Series graphic tablet is a brand new product that can be connected not only to a PC / laptop but also to an Android phone / tablet to use. Besides, OTG connection is another feature of Deco Pro that will further facilitate drawing outdoors.

The XP-Pen Deco Pro Drawing tablet works with most graphics software like Windows Paint 3D, Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator, Corel Painter, Autodesk Sketchbook, Manga Studio, Clip Studio, Zbrush. It’s also compatible with the Sketckbook ,MediBang Paint , Deco Draw Android Drawing App Since it’s a tablet aimed at those who draw digitally, it has a pretty good variety of hotkeys – 8 of them: undo, change brush size, pan, zoom, erase and many more. Deco Pro offers one Virtual wheel ( touch ring ) and one Mechanic wheel that allows you to zoom in and out, use brushers, and scroll up and down. Double Wheel Design helps a lot to improve your working efficiency and save your time.

Deco Pro is equipped with the battery-free pen, which sets you free from the charging issues. Together with 8192 levels of pen pressure sensitivity and ±60° tilt support, you can enjoy more accurate and natural strokes, bringing you a more real paper-like drawing experience.

Because the work area of a PC/laptop is different from a phone/tablet, so the work area of the Deco Pro graphic tablet will be different according to the different connection way you choose.

266PPS helps to sense the pen movement agilely, with almost no delay lines. 5080 LPI high pen resolution makes the pen stroke more delicate and natural, which can easily achieve pixel-level painting display. Thanks to these configurations, your working flow is greatly improved.

It is compatible with Windows 7 or later, macOS 10.12 or later, and Android 6.0 or later (OTG supported devices).

XP-Pen Deco Pro Creative Pen Tablet Specs

Model: Deco Pro Small / Deco Pro Medium
Application： illustration / animation / graphic design / industry design / image retouching / anime gaming, etc.
Express Keys: 8 Customized Press Keys and Double Wheel
Technology: Battery-Free Electromagnetic Resonance
Active Area: 9 x 5 inch / 11x 6 inch
Resolution: 5080 LPI
Report Rate: 266PPS
Pen Pressure: 8192 Levels
Pen Tilt : 60 Degrees
Reading Height: 10mm
Interface Support: USB-C
OS Support: Windows 7 or later， macOS 10.10 or later Android 6.0 or later
Compliance: CE / FCC / CCC
Color: Black
Official site: https://www.xp-pen.com/product/432.html

I have been professionally retouching photos for 8 years, full time. I have been using a Wacom intuos tablet (non-display) for that long. The hardware is great. I just replaced an indestructible old tablet that didn't keep up with modern technology. But thanks to that I found myself in the situation of needing a new tablet and I learned about the XP-Pen Deco thanks to various reviews on YouTube.

XP-Pen has established itself as a good drawing tablet manufacturer over the years. It has a good list of options for beginners and professionals alike. I'd like to introduce you to the Deco Pro Medium. their most advanced graphics tablet . Let's see if it's worth getting.

Design

The design of the tablet is very eye-catching, The tablet is very lightweight and beautiful, which I really like. The XP-Pen Deco Pro tablet is thinner and lighter than its predecessor, The back and the top of the tablet made of aluminum as it is cold to the touch,This is one of the few screen-less tablets on the market which uses a metal back, so it was most certainly built to last.

XP-Pen Deco Pro is built using premium materials . The result is a pen tablet that feels reassuringly strong but is a mere 7mm thick.

The surface sheet is smooth texture . On one side of the tablet you will find eight customizable express keys and the roller Wheel , offer the perfect amount of custom functionality .

The tablet comes with the latest generation pressure pen, which feels and looks nice; and a housing for the pen which also hides about 10 replacement nibs which is very cool.

The Tablet Itself

The physical machine Deco Pro Android Drawing Tablet is nice and sturdy. It uses a USB-C to connect, and the USB-C cable detaches from the other end, which is useful if you need to transport it so you don't have to coil the cord around it like some older xp-pen star tablets.

It seemed to work on my Dell PC just fine, I use it on a wired connection, and it seems to pick that up just fine anyway. the active drawing area is adequate yet still compact and portable. the smooth surface will allow the nibs to last longer.

Interaction With The Computer

The port itself is a standard USB type-C port with no tunnel in front of it. The use of USB type-C is really good here as it allows for the user to plug in the L-shaped cable whichever direction they need to, depending on whether they are right or left-handed.

Once you've gotten it plugged into your computer you'll need to spend a bit of time with the drivers to get it to work on your computer. I'm installing it on a Windows 10 desktop. It was extremely easy to setup, download and install drivers from XP-PEN's website,

The driver is packed with features. You can set sensitivity for pressure. Any of the buttons with any keystroke you want. You can set for different programs so when you're in that program, the keys automatically start functioning differently depending what software you're using. It has absolute or relative options and you can set for use with two screens or just one of the two that you have, and on and on. TIP-eliminate all other drivers, restart computer and then install this tablet's driver otherwise you'll have glitches.

First up, driver I must say instantly even before any tweaking I could feel just how smooth, and responsive this tablet was, with an unprecedented depth in pressure sensitivity, there is a nice curve editor right in there driver so you can fine tune and find the sweet spot you desire. It took me about 30 seconds to get the feel of a 2b pencil. A left-hand right-hand configuration switch, my self, being left-handed is a must, as well as aspect ratio and drawing field changes. You can also set up the dial, express keys all with user-defined commands.

I then ran the gambit software test, Adobe Photoshop, Clip Studio Paint, Zbrush, Maya, and Blender. It all registered and performed beautifully across the board. The Express keys and wheel are responsive and have a home key registration so you know where your hand is with out looking. I must same I am very happy with this purchase and believe XP Pen will have a long future with me and my graphical needs I hope to be able to try out one of there Artist Series Pen Displays in the future as soon as I can save up the money to invest in a new one, and review that as well.

The pen support pen tilt and pressure

Another great feature is the pressure-sensitive pen tip, that is designed to recognize 8192 levels of pressure and detect tilt up to 60 degrees. the pen tilt on the Deco Pro is quite smooth. The vast degree of pressure responsiveness in the Pen is something I really appreciated, The pen also has two buttons click on the side that gives users the ability to click, right-click, or double-click.

The pen has a great feel in the hand, and that it doesn't require batteries or need to be recharged has been a convenience for sure. Sensitivity levels are amazing, though I have found myself decreasing the range to accommodate my own pressure preferences. Its exceptional sensitivity and responsiveness gives me the control I need to take my work to the next level.

The drawing experience!

I prefer the Deco Pro Medium version because it has a better large drawing surface and I can rest my hand on other parts of the tablet when I am working. In addition, there are more express keys and the Double Wheel .

I'm using it mostly for Photoshop and Lighroom and other Drawing or Sketching apps and it's the perfect size for everything I need a tablet for. The sensitivity/pressure settings are amazing and it really does give a true feel for the pressure applied. I've experienced no lag while in the wired setting for work. In fact, for most applications I end up mapping a small area of the tablet to correspond to my full 27 inch monitor screen and it allows me to control my entire screen without moving my hand.

The Double wheel is responsive and a really distinct aspect of the table, it really gives it personality. The fully customizable buttons on the side are one of my favorite features of this tablet. I've set it to work in conjunction with my Photoshop key shortcuts, and it makes my life so much easier when editing photos, digitally painting and doing any touchups on any application.

I really like that it came with a drawing glove, I have never used one and now I see that it can really help to keep your tablet clean. The surface of the Deco Pro really likes to get dirty with fingerprints, so the glove helps it look pristine. Not to mention, this comes with a pen stand, and the pen stand optimizes storage space so well with a selection of different pen nibs inside the stand.

Conclusion

Highly recommended for anyone looking to get started in digital drawing tablets or those who've been it in for a while and just want a solid, affordable digital pen tablet to add to your workforce. It gets really close to the experience of using a $300 Wacom Intuos Pro for only a fraction of the price.

No CONS for now...and hopefully I wont have any in the future.

I will really recommend it to anyone looking to start drawing digitally. Especially if XP-PEN continues to improve and support this product in the near future.
I really appreciate what they have here and feel like its appropriate to support Wacom's competition so that we can all enjoy better products in the future.

There are a few main reasons why I chose this over other tablets in the same market.
1. Great price
2. Size of work area on tablet
3. 8000+ levels of for pressure sensitivity
4. battery-free stylus support pen tilt function
5. Slim and light weight
6. Pen is smaller than other models, closer to size of actual ink pens, not too bulky in hand
7. Back to price when factoring all of the above in compared to other models/competitors

Places to buy the tablet

XP-Pen Deco Pro official Store: https://www.storexppen.com/buy/deco-pro.html

I own a XP-Pen Artist 15.6 Pro Drawing Tablet With Screen . I recently bought a Surface Pro 6 to use as a laptop / e-book reader / sketchbook. For what I can tell, I am happy with both devices (I'm only going to be comparing the Surface Pro to the 15.6" XP-Pen Artist 15.6 Pro) .

The Microsoft Surface Pro 6 is one of the most popular 2-in-1s on the market. XP-Pen is a professional drawing tablet brand and is pretty ok, ok price plus stable driver (I'm using XP-Pen tablet), no problem software-wise so far. Color display right out of the box is good. XP-Pen Artist 15.6 Pro is their most advanced pen display product, if you want to get into digital drawing , xp-pen provides drawing tablet for beginners ,professionals of artists , their products are friendly and of good quality , you can have a look at them .

Lets compare specs first:

Surface Pro 6 Tablet Computer:

Up to 1 TB of HDD

Up to 16GB of RAM

Integrated Graphics

12.3" screen

Mini Display port for external

1 Full size USB for USB things

N-Trig digitizers

XP-Pen Artist 15.6 Pro Drawing Tablet Monitor:

88% NTSC Color Gamut

1920x1080 FHD Resolution

Has 60 degrees tilt and 8K pressure sensitivity

Uses electromagnetic resonance

15.6" bigger screen size

Has an fully laminated IPS screen

USB C

General Comparison

The advantages of the Surface Pro are portability, and more usability outside of art stuff. Surface Pro can be used both as a laptop and a tablet. Being that it can be used as either makes it extremely convenient to those that want power on the go.

The screen looks better and I believe gets brighter. The stand also has way more variation in angle, but it also doesn't lock into any specific angle so if you push really hard it can sink lower. Most people are saying that you would have to be very heavy handed for that to matter though. With this device you're going to need to buy a keyboard and mouse separately.

N-trig pen feels like a real pen and is natural to hold. There is a top button on the pen that allows for an eraser function as well as use for a wake up function.

XP-Pen Artist 15.6 Pro is just a monitor with drawing capabilities , But you'll like the feel of working directly on your computer screen. I was never able to get fully used to using the XP-Pen Deco 03 Wireless Drawing Tablet without a screen. I could definitely get by with it alright, but I never felt like my drawing on it came naturally. The advantages of the 15.6" XP-Pen Artist 15.6 Pro are slightly bigger screen real estate, side buttons, and a textured screen. The edges are also thicker, so you can rest your hand on the edges a little better as well. But I believe the screen is pretty susceptible to glare, and the device is larger and significantly heavier.

The XP-Pen Artist 15.6 Pro's 16.7m color screen is capable of rendering vivid life-like images. This combines with an excellent resolution of 1920 x 1080 and 88% NTSC Color Space to make it a tool more than capable of handling the delicate and precise needs of illustrative work.

This XP-Pen Artist 15.6 Pro device's screen has 8192 levels of pressure and 60 Degrees tilt sensitivity. The Artist 15.6 Pro is easy to use and intuitive. Its pen feels comfortable and using it is fluid.

Drawing Experience Comparison

N-Trig has historically been less accurate then EMR. Unless they've done something about this (Which Im going to doubt they have) it doesn't matter.

NTrig digitizers are not very good compared to EMR ; even the surface studio has the problem with "hooks" at the beginning and end of a stroke because the screen detects the pen and starts the stroke before it touches the screen. Be wary of that.

The only thing that matters is accuracy, which has been always worse on N-trig. The surface is as much as a competitor as it was with the surface 2, 3 and 4. Most artist will prefer EMR .

Photoshop on mobile still sucks, the UI is not conducive to small screens or designed with touch in mind. I much prefer using procreate on the iPad that's photoshop on the surface.

With the Surface Pro you're going to get the new pen, which only has one side button, but comes with an eraser (which I believe also has a button). You'll get less pressure stages (I have heard no one can tell the difference between 4k vs 8k at this point), but less lag with this pen (the lag for both pens doesn't seem to be a big deal to artists either). But this pen requires a little more activation force than the XP-Pen Artist 15.6 Pro pen (although it is considered much improved compared to the last Surface Pro pen). This pen also has a rubbery tip to give it a bit more resistance to make up for the fact that the Surface Pro does not have a textured surface.

The XP-Pen Artist 15.6 Pro Stylus has a lower activation force, and more pressure levels, but it has no eraser. I using this device for serious art work. Normally I work on a Artist 15.6 Pro and am very picky with pen accuracy. I am able to draw smooth line art without having to enable a stabilizer .

However, one thing you will not get with a regular Artist 15.6 Pro is portability. A surface Pro is not only a drawing tablet but also a pretty great laptop. I've seen a lot of great art from people who use surface products. It's ultimately up to you and how you plan to use it. I think the surface is absolute great as a Portable drawing tablet . Just keep in mind that if you want to work on your XP-Pen Artist 15.6 Pro, you'll have to bring your Laptop along.

Neither device has parallaxing and both seem to have slight jitter issues when drawing slowly. Both have tilt support. But surface Pro have an issue with the palm rejection and the pen tilt that makes the pen cursor go offset , but I was able to kinda work around that. It's a notable minus for the drawing experience either way.

Keyboard randomly freezes once in a while, but always unfreezes eventually. Surface Pro Touch screen can interfere with stylus drawing (solution: disable driver in device manager when drawing). I recommend getting an external keyboard for photoshop hotkeys and a real mouse.

The XP-Pen Artist 15.6 Pro feels more natural to draw on. I'm not sure if surface Pro is like this, but the surface book doesn't feel as smooth to draw on. Which is a shame because the surface prowas great to draw on. surface Pro has a bit of resistance and I can never get the pressure quite right. I still enjoy it, just a bit of an inconvenience, and a little unfair as I'm comparing it to a XP-Pen , I suppose.

This is a Art Work I made by xp-pen Artist 15.6 Pro Screen Drawing Tablet -

Conclusion

From everything I can gather, it sounds like the drawing experiences are pretty similar. Both are professional quality, portable devices, but with the XP-Pen Artist 15.6 Pro you'll get a slightly larger screen with a slightly better feel (and built in keys). And with the Surface Pro you'll get much more portability at a higher price with the option to expand with more accessories.

The Surface Pro 6 has good battery life especially compared to prior models. Do you travel a lot? Or commute on a bus/subway? Then a surface is definitely nice to have. If you stay more at home but like to have the freedom to move around, it's a great tablet for that. If you already have a Painting Tablet , and you just need something for quick sketching, then the Surface Pro is more practical.

XP-Pen Artist 15.6 Pro has a much better interaction with the stylus and screen. It has less parallax (lag or gap) with the stylus contact on the tablet surface because of fully laminated display . That you can run Photoshop, Lightroom, Illustrator, Corel, Krita, everything work with a powerful pc ...run games...do so much more - makes it much better value imo.

Since I do 3D work, The integrated Intel GPU's in the history of Surface Tablets have been okay for basic art needs but not powerful enough for a bit more dense/complex 3D work. Photoshop will definitely see an improvement with layers, fx, and anything using the GPU features especially with the newer Adobe products...not to mention 3D products Autodesk, Modo, Blender, etc. I also use Zbrush a lot which tends to use more of the CPU.

The new XP-Pen Artist 15.6 Pro is the best Wacom Cintiq alternative yet. It's a full step up from the Artist 15.6 , which was already considered a top competitor. you can get more details about this product from XP-Pen Artist 15.6 Pro official site ： https://www.xp-pen.com/product/65.html