design tools to create graphics

After getting to test the Wireless XP-Pen Star 05 tablet, I was curious about how good the more averagely priced XP-Pen tablets were so I bought this XP-Pen New DECO 02 when I saw it on sale on XP-Pen's website. The main reason why I chose this tablet is because of 6 expresskeys and 1 Touch Ring there were, and because I wanted to see how convenient hot keys are.

The XP-Pen DECO 02 Digital Painting Graphics Tablet, perfect for beginning digital artists looking for a reliable graphics tablet that will last for years. It is perfect by adobe illustrator for drawing and painting or Photoshop for photo editing, which makes it an exceptional value. It has a 10 x 5.63 inch area to draw on, and it's large enough to use on your desk or to throw in a backpack with your laptop and the lightweight pen to create artwork anywhere. The DECO 02 connects via USB-C .

You can get all of the detailed technical specs over on XP-Pen's website, but for the purposes of this review here are the specs that we find relevant:

14.2 x 8.3 x 0.3 inches
6 Express Keys
10 x 5.63 Drawing Area
Win10 & MAC OS Compatible
1 Touch Ring
P06 Passive Pen
Additionally, in terms of the responsiveness and usability XP-Pen says the DECO 02 is capable of:

8,192 levels of pressure
5,080 lines of resolution
266 pps recording
Again, if you are interested in the full tech spec rundown you can find that information over on XP-Pen's website,

A great, beautiful looking tablet with 6 hotkeys and touch ring capability. Brings new life to the DECO 02 by adding gestures and pop-up helper menus simply by hovering your finger above the keys on the tablet. Professional level sensitivity at 8192 levels with pressure. they make for a much smoother workflow so you don't have to snap out of creative mode to figure out the buttons.

This is a fantastic tablet for its price of 110 USD on official site : https://www.xp-pen.com/goods/show/id/324.html . It is half price or less compared to the Wacom Intuos Pro , except that this tablet has a much bigger active area which will give you better line control.

What's in the Box

The XP-Pen New DECO 02 comes in a slick and simple white box with a picture of the tablet on it.The things that come in the box:

A. DECO 02 Tablet
B. P06 Battery-free Wireless Stylus
C. Pen Holder (8 pen tips + 1 Remover pen-clipper included)
D. Drawing Glove
E. Green Stopper
F. USB Cable
G. Quick guide

The Tablet

The tablet has a nice overall design with a simple flat area for drawing. I was surprised at the overall size of the tablet at first, but it should fit easily into most backpacks or laptop bags.

The surface of this tablet has a smooth design with enough tooth to not feel like you're slipping while drawing. I think this is the best texture to prevent nib and tablet wear while giving you a decent amount of control over your lines.

The back of the tablet has the usual information sticker and 4 rubber feet. The rubber feet do a proper job of holding your tablet in place while drawing.

The expresskeys on this tablet are fantastic to use. They have enough resistance so that you don't accidentally press them, but not so much resistance that they're hard to press. They're also fairly quiet, only giving enough of a click to let you know that you've actually pressed it.

The XP-Pen DECO 02 Graphic Drawing Tablet is definitely one of the most affordable tablets out there. You can sometimes pick one up for under $110. Which is incredible compared to other graphic tablet prices. The size of the canvas is large as well. The drawing area 10 x 5.63 inches and has a nice elegant slim build. It's pretty big, but at the same time it doesn't take up your whole computer desk.

6 Hot Keys and 1 touch ring

You don't need to be the best drawer in the world to make good use of this graphics tablet, the pen feels fantastic in the hand, you have 6 user defined controls that allow you to set it up as you wish, maybe creating some back buttons, some special effects, who knows? It's totally up to you. If you take the pen you can see there are 2 more buttons on there which you can also customize to do whatever you want.

The express keys were easily pressed and were spaced far enough apart that you won't ever misclick a button accidentally while working.

the touch ring allows you to zoom in and out incrementally to check your work close up and far for stuff like details, value, composition, etc.

The main selling point of this tablet is apparently the Sliver touch ring. It spins really smoothly and clicks nicely every ~15 degrees of rotation. I have no complaints about its quality, but I was never a fan of wheel-type expresskeys so it only acts as an accessory for me.

The other reviews of the Deco 03 I have seen so far praise the Sliver touch ring for being the main reason they like the tablet, but I really cannot see it as a plus. In my opinion, the quality rubber grip pen is the real advantage here.

The buttons are located on the left side of the tablet, but do not fret my left-handed brethren! I had no problems with the buttons getting in the way even as a left-handed individual.

The Stylus

The Pen feels good when drawing, it's not too heavy compared to other pens. It has two buttons that can be customized and an eraser at the end .

As far as pens go, I have to say this is one of the nicest tablet pens I have used to date. A unique hexagonal design,It feels well-built and you can tell a lot of time and design effort went into it and how it would fit and feel in your hand for extended periods of time. These ergonomics will come into play when you are spending hours processing images and repeating similar movements over and over and over. If I had to choose a single highlight about the DECO 02 , this P06 Stylus may well be it.

The stylus that came with the XP-Pen DECO 02 came with 8192 levels of pressure allowing for a good variety of line weights.

The pen had a great non-slip & tack-free flexible glue grip which made it really easy to draw with for long periods of time.

I've mentioned this stylus' responsiveness already, but it's really where this stylus shines.

There's a lightness to this pen that I wasn't expecting and while it took a little while to get used to I now feel like this is a great pen for getting nice, smooth lines.

Just keep with the pen until you get used to the lightness and you'll find that it's fairly reliable for drawing.

It comes with a pretty nifty pen holder so that you're not just trying to lay the pen down on the tablet or trying to find a good place to store it. It does come with a hefty base you can put it into so you can have a good place to store the pen when you're not using the tablet.the DECO 02 comes with a bunch of spare transparent nibs, as located in the inkwell holder.

Installation

The tablet driver are extremely easy to install. You don't even need to have your tablet plugged in to install them! Just go download the latest version from https://www.xp-pen.com/download/index.html and remove all other tablet drivers you have on your computer before installing it.

While installing, you'll need a clean slate; that is, no other tablet drivers should be on the system at the time of installation. It's been noted that tablet companies do not like to play well with others and so you'll have tons of driver conflicts; whether that is true or just an issue caused by my older XP-Pens and Windows 10 Pens are uncertain, but just it's best to be safe and just nuke the other drivers.

How Compatible Is It?

The XP-Pen DECO 02 drawing tablet is compatible with the latest software including adobe illustrator, manga studio, and many more that are out there.

This tablet is compatible with both Windows & MAC software. The windows software has a very wide range of customization, allowing you to customize the buttons making it perfect for you.

However, for me the only major downfall with this tablet is this; When it comes to the MACs customization possibilities it lacks a completely customizable interface, so it doesn't allow you to create those buttons the same way that you can on the Windows compatible one. So if you are a MAC user just be aware of that problem before purchasing the product especially if you want to fully customize it.

If you have a Windows computer, like the majority of you do this is going to be perfect entry level tablet for you. It has a full software suite that comes with the tablet, to get the additional software and the drivers and to customize it so it only works on one screen, also to set the buttons exactly how you want them.

Drawing experience

This tablet gave me a fantastic drawing experience . In other words, it was extremely good! The smoothness of the tablet was great because it didn't feel like I was grinding the pen nib, and it has just enough texture to prevent me from slipping. For anyone who expects a paper texture, this is probably not what they want, but this smooth texture is so much better for making a graphic tablet last that much longer.

The stroke control for this tablet is very good and it tapers very well for both short and long strokes. As for drawing, there's no lag during this stage. None. XP-Pen's is swift and sure, and the cursor keeps up. For an artist, this is a must and is not merely a high bar to be set, it's an assurance of quality. XP-Pen meets this bar and exceeds it.

The expresskeys on this tablet feel absolutely fantastic, and I would surely recommend this tablet to someone who is looking to make use of the expresskeys on their tablet. The softkeys are a good idea, but unfortunately they are not very convenient. If someone can figure out a way to use them without having to look down, then they would be very worthwhile, but as they are right now, they are just decorations on the tablet.

The cord placement is very fitting for a right-handed artist, but it seems like it would get in the way for a left-handed artist. There is also the fact that the soft keys are along the bottom of the tablet if used in left-handed mode and I doubt that makes them any easier to use than in right-handed mode.
I am right-handed so this tablet is fantastic for me, but I have my doubts about its convenience of use in left-handed mode.

What I Liked

Real pen feel

Ambidextrious

Smooth controls and digitizing,

Priced realistically

Pen-to-tablet interaction is smooth, but well damped

Tablet reads strokes accurately and quickly

Powerful, but usable software interface

Conclusion

If a beginner digital artist has enough money to consider an DECO02 , I would suggest that they get this instead. The extra active area space is much more worthwhile than getting the XP-Pen brand name, especially since the quality of this xp-pen tablet is really good.

Overall the XP-Pen DECO 02 Drawing Pen Tablet worked fantastically and makes a great entry level drawing tablet. It's only a 10 x 5.63″ tablet which is actually a very good size for drawing, leaving you with enough room for being precise and not having to pick up your hand and change positions. It even has 6 completely programmable and great feeling expresskeys.

XP-Pen Deco 02 official store : https://www.storexppen.com/buy/deco-02.html

Visual drawing pads like the Artist 22E Pro creative pen display have, with various levels of success, done away with many downsides of traditional drawing pads.

It's a relief to skip the process of retraining your hand-eye coordination when you get a new tablet. A pen display has a screen where can see your work and draw directly on it, instead of having to look at a separate computer screen like you do with traditional pen tablets.

It feels more like drawing or painting “for real.” Minus the joys of sharpening, stray brush hairs, eraser fuzz, and grooves in the paper...This makes pen display tablets like the 22E Pro ideal if you're eager to get started without that disconnect and learning curve.

Note that the 22E Pro must be plugged into a computer to work. If you need a standalone pen display you should look at the Artist Companion instead.

Before you choose a pen display, you'll also want to think about these factors:

What You Will Use It For

Do you need powerful software? You will need a decent computer to run it, and a pen display that's compatible and strong enough. Budget options aren't always compatible with top software.

Your Budget

Artist pads are known for being pricey. The quality merits the price, but it can be out of many artists' financial reach.

There are products that cut the price tag by sacrificing quality, and there are greater Artists with an even higher price. The 22E Pro is cheaper than the typical Artist, but still delivers.

Where You Will Use It
Are you looking for something to use on train rides, or bring to work or school?

Weigh your needs for power and drawing space against the portability and price to find your best fit.

Build Quality

A lighter, cheaper tablet often means a weaker build that's more prone to damage, and less powerful machinery. However, reliable brands can balance this well.

Somewhere between minimalism and versatility, you'll find the sweet spot for your digital drawing needs.

XP-Pen a professional and reliable supplier of graphics tablets,pen display monitors,light pads,stylus pens and more digital graphical products. The new XP-Pen Artist 22E Pro sits somewhere in the middle ground. 21.5-inches graphics tablet that – like its Artist brothers – has an integrated display so you don't have to keep one eye on a separate computer monitor. It's about as close to real drawing you can get without getting out a pen and paper. the XP-Pen Artist 22E Pro HD Ips Digital Graphics Drawing Tablet Monitor provides easy access to shortcuts allowing comfortable experience, making it the perfect companion for your notebook, desktop or workstation.

Dimension: 517 x 321 x 30mm
Display Area: 476.64 x 268.11mm
Display Resolution: 1920x1080 pixels
Adobe Color Gamut Coverage: 77%-82%
Pressure Levels: 8192
Resolution: 5080 LPI
Report Rate: 266 reports per second
Questa è sicuramente la nostra tavoletta professionale di digitalizzazione consigliata.

The Artist 22E Pro driver supports 4k displays, now you can enjoy every sharp detail. The custom-designed anti-reflective coating reduces glare by 56 percent. Your screen will continue to look clear and beautiful, even if it's bright out. now XP-Pen Artist 22E Pro is available in Amazon Australia – for $769.99 https://www.amazon.com.au/XP-Pen-Artist-Graphics-Pressure... .

The Interactive HD Screen

The Interactive display is 21.5 inches and it's amazing! The resolution is great, the colors on this are incredible and when I see my labels or other design work it looks like a final color print. Photos and illustrations look great. The anti-glare coating is really good.

The main attraction on the Artist 22E Pro is easily the display panel. The screen measures 13.3 inches (338mm) with a resolution of 1,920 x 1,080 for full HD viewing at a smidge over 165 pixels per inch. Wrangling 77~82 percent of Adobe's RGB gamut, the panel sorts 16.7 million colors and offers 250 cd/m2 of brightness. Since it is an IPS screen, the viewing angle is nearly 180 degrees (178 to be exact) so colors are displayed accurately even when viewed from the side. "Semi-gloss" probably describes the surface best as it provides just the right amount of sheen without tossing back too many reflections from outside lighting. Viewing angles are also quite stellar . The screen was beautifully lit and I spotted no dead or damaged pixels in the display.

The drawing surface has a nice texture that simulates drawing on paper. It's smooth, but not slick, and has a slightly matte finish that has the added benefit of reducing glare, reflections and fingerprints. Pen strokes are fluid without any lag, even at the edges of the screen. The pressure varies smoothly and there is no noticeable parallax (the distortion effect that makes it feel like the pen tip is offset from the image due to the thickness of the glass).

I calibrate it with a Spyder2 rather doing it by eye since it gives you a more neutral result. The default color of the Artist 22E Pro is pretty good. I do this since I design mostly for print and consistent color is very important. Overall a superb quality display, way better than my older Artist 22HD.

In fact, the lack of touch-sensitivity is the one major disappointment I have with this entry from XP-Pen. but the 22E Pro was introduced as a screen only. While this was perhaps to keep its price at that magic $769.99 number, I think it hurts the device overall: We've gotten so trained at this point to interact with our screens that to limit it to just stylus and button input makes the 22E Pro seem crippled in a way. I can't tell you how many times I tried to pinch-to-zoom my canvas or tap on a window before I realized, sadly, that it just wouldn't work.

If you get the more expensive “touch” version you'll be able to use the multi-touch features of the tablet for easier shortcut access, which was pretty neat if you're the type of person who finds themselves using shortcuts a lot.

There were some reviews online that stated that the screen got a bit hot, but in my experience it doesn't have the problem of overheating, so you can safely use it.

A simple wipe-down every few days should be enough to keep your stand nice and clean.

The Stylus

XP-Pen's powerful new Pro Pen with 8192 levels of pressure sensitivity, tilt recognition, and a more comfortable, ergonomic design provides precise control and a better feel than ever. The new Pro Pen comes in a compact carrying case that includes storage for the extra nibs and color rings that help you easily personalize and identify your pen.

Like with their other high-end models, the stylus that comes with the XP-Pen Artist 22E Pro is fantastic. The rubberized grip of the pen along with its size gives the stylus a great feeling when held and feels even better when drawing on the screen.

The stylus actually felt like a regular pen in my hand, which I really liked. It doesn't exactly feel like pencil to paper, but the great texture on the tablet's screen and the ease with which you can control the pen really makes the XP-Pen Artist 22E Pro to closest thing to the real deal when creating digital artwork.

It also came with 8 extra nibs and some color rings to personalize your stylus, if that's something you wish to do. They were little additions, but it's the small things that XP-Pen does that really makes you feel valued as a customer.

Besides the usual pen holder, the Artist also comes with a surprisingly nice pen case to carry the Pro Pen and other included goodies — colored rings, nib extraction tool and and nine spare nibs.

Set Up

the XP-Pen Artist 22E Pro isn't truly portable. It's a display and digitiser interface, not a computer in itself, and it doesn't have an internal battery.

It needs to be hooked up to a laptop or desktop, and needs to be plugged-in. The XP-Pen Artist 22E Pro uses a clever tri-cable to make this as simple as possible. There's a proprietary socket on the side of the tablet, in which a cable plugs that splits off into three wires – one to hook up to an HDMI port, another to a USB and a third to the power.

Set up is easy, plug the adapter into the wall, plug the HDMI and USB to your computer and download the latest driver from XP-Pen.com. I didn't use the included CD, but it's nice of XP-Pen to include it though.

Install the drivers and you are ready to go (same on Windows and Mac). XP-Pen's drivers are solid and I haven't got any problems, again I don't really update the system to often. I use Windows 7 and Mac OS Mavericks, I prefer a stable computer than a new system with tons of problems.

The tablet's control panel is very customizable. You can customize the keys to your frequently used commands, circular command for even more shortcuts, adjust the pressure of the pen tip and the eraser. I'm an old school guy and I use the keyboard more than the Express keys and I leave the defaults alone unless I really need something different. I like the fact that you can add your apps and create customs sets for each of them.

Calibrating the pen is the most important thing to do in the set up process, you want to have the cursor as close as possible to the pen point. This is my third Artist and I have to say XP-Pen is improving the accuracy with each generation, the calibration is near perfect on this one!

Experience of using the Artist 22E Pro

If you haven't use a Artist, well it will be a revelation, everything you do, you do it faster and better (or at least it feels faster). The drawing surface is nice and has a little grip to it, like a very smooth paper. One thing I like about this Artist is that you don't use your shoulder-arm movement to draw and you don't get as tired as with a large Artist. Quick sketching is particularly nice on this one. This Artist is precise, very, very precise, the resolution of the screen and the near perfect calibration of the cursor makes it a great tool for detailed drawing or graphic design.

Using it with Photoshop

Using the tablet with Photoshop is great, selections and masking are fast and accurate, you really use those 8192 levels of pressure sensitivity and tilt recognition here. Also the colors are great, drivers work great with the latest version of PS and it's the best way to use Photoshop.

Using it with illustrator

Illustrator is my main tool for 80% of my everyday work, some people think that a Artist is not a tool for graphic design but I disagree. Using illustrator on the Artist is faster and way more accurate than the mouse or a regular tablet, it's so good to be able to hit those anchor points every time and move them around so precisely. I love it and I totally recommend it for graphic designers or vector illustrators. In this case the pressure sensitivity is not as crucial as the precision, good pen calibration is a must. Colors look great and the sharpness of type and graphic elements is fantastic.

With Painter

I love Painter, it's the best tool for digital painting and I've been using it for a long time. I love Painter's brushes, simply put there's nothing like it, I use Painter with Photoshop all the time, Photoshop's editing and color tools are better but Painter's brushes and simulation of real media are incredible. In Painter you take advantage of the pressure sensitivity of the Artist, also the pen tilt works great with some brushes and wet. Painter and a Artist are probably the best set of tools for illustration or digital painting.

Pros:
+ Bigger Drawing Area: If you like drawing big stuff and don't like zooming, this is your kind of tablet. There's more room for panels and references.
+ Really good color rendering: good for professional design, photo or illustration work
+ Great resolution: accurate precision and your designs or illustrations look so good
+ Anti-glare: I hate Apple's shinny screens this one is so much better
+ 8192 pressure levels: You really use them on Painter and Photoshop and your tablet lasts more since you use a lighter touch
+ Great customization: 16 express keys, rocker ring, radial menu and custom keys for each program
+ Durable: I've been using it my Artist 22E Pro for a year and it looks like new, it's build to last
+ Best tool around: XP-Pen is still the best when it comes to monitor-tablets
+ Great Pen with replacement nibs: Best pen for digital art, replacement nibs for a long time and a super cool case
+ Works great with a lot of digital software
+ Solid drivers for Win and Mac
+ Great design: is so good looking and works incredible well
+ Cool: this tablet looks cool and using a Artist is cool if you are a digital artist

Cons:

+ Not Portable: This is a full-size tablet and not meant for use on the go.

+ lack of Multi-Touch function

+ little expensive

+ No wireless option

Conclusion…

The long-awaited XP-Pen Artist 22E Pro Interactive Pen Display Tablet is really everything you'd want out of a tablet as a professional.Artist 22E Pro has met or exceeded our expectations in nearly every way.

The large display spoils you with the amount of room you have to draw with and the high 1920 x 1080p resolution allows you to spot even the tiniest mistakes without having to look up at the monitor.

Most importantly, the pen-on-screen functionality performs beautifully. Drawing directly on the screen feels completely natural, compared to the extra eye-hand coordination that a regular graphics tablet requires. The stylus also doesn't disappoint with its fantastic rubberized grip and balanced size that'll make you momentarily think you're trying to use a regular pen on a tablet display.

For beginners and casual users, the price tag of the Artist may be a barrier, but serious artists and creative professionals will immediately recognize the benefits in both workflow and productivity. the XP-Pen Artist 22E Pro is a great buy for an artist looking to upgrade and become a pro or a company looking to invest in a product that'll make their workers more efficient.

All in all, highly recommended.

XP-Pen Artist 22E Pro official site : https://www.xp-pen.com/product/63.html