Reddit reviews XP-PEN Artist15.6 Pro 15.6 Inch Drawing Pen Display Graphics Monitor Full-Laminated Technology Drawing Monitor with Tilt Function and Red Dial (8192 Levels Pen Pressure, 120% sRGB)
We found 3 Reddit comments about XP-PEN Artist15.6 Pro 15.6 Inch Drawing Pen Display Graphics Monitor Full-Laminated Technology Drawing Monitor with Tilt Function and Red Dial (8192 Levels Pen Pressure, 120% sRGB). Here are the top ones, ranked by their Reddit score.
XP-Pen Artist15.6 Pro adopting full-laminated technology, seamlessly combines the glass and the screen, to create a distraction-free working environment that's also easy on the eyes. Artist15.6 Pro pairs a superb color accuracy of 120% sRGB with 178 degrees of visual angle and delivers rich colors, vivid images, and dazzling details in a wider view. Simply connect the Artist 15.6 Pro to your computer with the included HDMI and two USB cables to start drawing without plugging into any wall plugArtist 15.6 Pro supports 60 degrees of tilt function, allowing it to easily and quickly sense the gesture movement of the stylus to ensure accurate imitation of a real tilting brush effect, delivering smoother and more natural transition between lines and strokes. 8192 levels of pressure sensitivity―providing increased accuracy, control, and fluidity to effortlessly for the finest sketches and lines. And enjoy smooth, enhanced performance with our P05R Battery-free StylusThe innovative Red Dial interface breaks through the traditional pen display design for optimal efficiency. It fits comfortably in your hand and can be programmed to zoom in and out on your canvas, scroll up and down, and more, giving you the power to create more. Artist 15.6 Pro features 8 fully customizable shortcut keys, puts more customization options at your fingertips, and allows you to optimize your workflow to capture and express your ideas faster and more easilyXP-Pen Artist 15.6 Pro features a slim 11mm profile and easily accessible brightness adjustment buttons, so you can easily adjust it to your preferred brightness for comfortable drawing. Included with the Artist 15.6Pro, the AC 41 easy-to-use stand is built to prevent shaking or sliding and relieve eye fatigue and hand stiffness. Artist 15.6 Pro comes with an anti-reflective coating and helps reduce glare to protect your eyes, so your screen continues to stay crisp and clear even in bright lightCompatible with Windows 10/8/7(32/64bit), Mac OS X version 10.10 or later, and major graphics software such as Photoshop, Painter, Illustrator, Clip Studio, and many more. Sketch, paint. XP-Pen provides a one-year warranty [warranty only valid under the situation that damage is not caused by man-made] and lifetime technical support for all our pen tablets/displays. [Warm Reminder: Artist15.6 Pro drawing pen display must be used with a computer]
2nd year Uni animation student here.
As for tablets, if you want one with a display:
XP-Pen is the best Wacom alternative (and one of the cheapest) as of now. I would suggest buying their Artist 15.6 PRO, Artist 22E Pro or, if you want an even cheaper one, Artist 12.
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Artist 15.6 Pro
Has a really good pen with tilt function, which needs charging, but last about forever on one charge. It's around 380-400$ US.
Amazon link
Official XP-Pen store on Aliexpress (bought from them 3 times, no problems at all) ALMOST EVERY PRODUCT IS CHEAPER HERE THAN ON AMAZON!!!
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Artist 22E Pro
If you want something bigger (and pricier), then the Artist 22E Pro is an amazing Graphic Display, comes with 2 pens and I can vouch for it, since both me and my girlfriend use it since last year, with no problems. No tilt function tho. Around 470-500$ USw.
Amazon link
Aliexpress link
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Artist 12
If you want something smaller and cheaper. Has a non-battery pen, small form factor and costs around 250$ US.
Amazon link
Aliexpress link
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Behind XP-Pen, Huion is a really close second best, so if non of these are to your liking, taking a look at their products is worth a shot as well.
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As for software. I'm assuming you are a relative beginner, so no need to get fancy. Professional grade animation software cost A LOT, like, a couple hundred dollars a month/ around a 1000$ up front lot. And they barely give any advantages to a beginner for that price.
You'll just need something to learn the basics with, and for that, pretty much any software will do.
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FREE
Krita is your best bet.
Although it lacks some functions, it is quickly improving and is constantly updated and worked on. it is also completely free to use and make works with.
Krita's Official Site
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PAID
Clip Studio Paint Ex is really good, if you are willing to pay some money.
It is constantly getting new animation functions, some Japanese studios use it and you can make pretty much professional grade stuff with it.
It's an illustration and comic software first and foremost (pretty much the best at that), so you're not only getting a good animation tool for your money, but also the best illustration and manga software money can buy. Many Japanese comic artist, DC, Marvel and Image Comics artists use it for their work.
It also has a material hub for all users, where you can get a lot of brushes, textures etc. that other users upload. Some of them are paid, but a good bunch of them are free, and really good.
Price
It costs 219$ at base price, but they have sales about 2-4 times a year (almost every season), when they have an AT LEAST 50% discount, so it's pretty easy to get it for 110$>. And getting a top notch illustration software with really good animation functions is a killer death for that price.
CPS Official Site
I also use Clip Studio for everything I do, with some very handy free add-ons to make it even simpler to use. Link to one of my things, fully animated in Clip Studio.
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!!DISCLAIMER!!
NEVER buy Clip Studio Paint PRO for animation! It limits your animation length to 24 frames per file, witch makes it useless for any real animation work!
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Blender also started somewhat focusing on 2D animation in their newest version (2.8, which is in Beta, as of now). It's very promising, but not good for real work or beginner practice yet. It's needlessly messy and complicated to learn and use, and lacks a lot of very basics 2D animation functions.
Since Blender is completely free, it's worth checking out, but don't bet on using it for anything major.
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You will also need video editing software, but there are tons of those. Adobe Premiere, Adobe After Effects and DaVinci Resovle are the best ones.
Adobe has a subscription system, meaning you'll have to pay monthly to use their software. The price changes depending on what you use, so it's best to check out their site.
Adobe's Pricing on their site
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DaVinci Resolve is completely free to use, but has a somewhat unusual, node based UI. It is every bit as powerful as Premiere Pro after learning it, though.
Davinci Resolve 15's site (The download button is on the very bottom of the loooong site.)
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Some other free options:
OpenShot
Natron
Shotcut
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Non of these free options are anywhere near as strong as DaVinci or Adobe's software, but are completely usable and have every basic (and some handy extra) functions you may need.
I did a bunch of research on budget tablets myself recently and ended up getting this:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B07M5X7MH1/
Highly recommend it. Some of the reviews mention driver issues that have since been fixed.
bummer :(
The xp-pen pro 16 (with the red dial) is only $400 on Amazon & it's getting pretty good Youtube reviews, looks a lot better than wacom's cheap Cintiq 16 at $650. (no parallax & actually has buttons built in)