It’s been a couple of months since I got back to sketching. Despite the sluggish pace, I learned that no matter how much I wanted to try and make it work, I’m ultimately not comfortable with a screenless drawing pad. To commit myself further to my journey as a hobby artist, I decided to invest in a drawing tablet with a screen. And I chose the Huion Kamvas 13 for the job.
The drawing tablet comes with eight keys — six customisable, three preset and one power button — a stylus, an adjustable angular stand and an artist glove, to ensure a smooth glide over the screen during your sketching sessions. The majority of the tablet’s make is plastic, and the laminated screen comes with a protective anti-glare film. To the touch, the buttons feel cheap and finicky, particularly the two middle ones. So it’s understandable why the drawing tablet comes with a reasonable price tag.
However, its versatility lies in its connectivity. You can pair it with virtually any relevant operating system, including Android, thanks to the USB Type-C port. (So long as the device you’re connecting to has a USB 3.1 Gen1 port, of course!) Linux users may have to watch out; it works well with Ubuntu, but not so with other distros [operating system].
My guess is it won’t be too difficult to make that happen, as the Kamvas 13 is technically a display tablet — a second monitor with touchscreen capabilities, if you will. While technically portable-friendly, it only operates if it’s connected to an operating system. So you’ll probably want the Wacom Mobile Studio Pro, or the Kamvas Studio 16 if you’re looking for self-starting drawing tablets.
When I first started using it, I had to overhaul the interface of my favourite sketching app. This is so I could maximise the use of the active area and find the right physical workflow for my sketching. It’s more of a software-side trouble than anything else, but watching a couple of YouTube videos to make that happen is enough to warrant me giving you a heads-up.
The stylus is the chunkiest I’ve ever held, being 5.5cm thick. Even so, you eventually enjoy sketching or writing with it once you get the hang of it. The tilt function is fairly accurate too, allowing up to 50 or 60-odd degrees without the cursor going haywire.
The tablet may prove troublesome when you look at its size, though. It takes
up a fair bit of space. You’ll need to plan out your placement such that you not
only feel comfortable while using it but also have some breathing room on your computer table.
VERDICT: The Huion Kamvas 13 is a great choice for digital art hobbyists who can’t do without screenless tablets. I rate it 8.5 out of 10.