Creative devices and apps review

Today tattoos are everywhere, and it's an expression of art, and anyone can have it by their own choice.

Tattoo artists are always in need of the most modern technology so that they can create their artwork. Creating digitally has become more and more popular among them.

While pencil and paper is always an option for designing your tattoos, there are tons of digital drawing tablets out there that can save you time and help you create complete designs to show potential clients.

You can enjoy the convenience of security and backup, a wide range of softwares and tools, the option of portability, etc.

Additionly, With the undo button on tablet, mistakes can always be easily erased. with clever use of layers in the art software you can change composition on the fly.

It's 2023 and whether you want to accept it or not, smart devices like iPads, Wacoms, samsung tablets, and more have become a huge asset to tattoo artists.

For artists who want to draw tattoo sketches, such tablets offer a practical and easy route. With some brilliant drawing softwares and tools provided by these tablets, the only other thing you will need is your imagination.

In this article, We will review some of the finest dirawing tablets for you to create tattoo design on. Each of the tablets reviewed in this article has its own benefits.

An important thing to keep in mind when you are considering these tablets is their diversity and variation in features and how they may match your specific artwork requirements.

What is a drawing tablet?

A drawing tablet, also known as a graphics tablet, is a device that allows artists to draw and create digital art using a stylus pen and a touch-sensitive surface.

Beginner drawing tablets behave as an input device for desktops and laptop computers in order to digitize strokes and lines drawn by a stylus pen.

With ergonomic design, pressure-sensitivity, and advanced productivity features, drawing tablet enable you to unleash your creativity and enhance your artistic skills.

Nothing can really top the natural feel and control over using a tablet vs. using a mouse to draw freehand.

What kind of drawing tablets do tattoo artists use?

You can buy a tablet with or without a screen for drawing, like the Wacom, Huion or XP-Pen, which need to be connected to a computer to work.

A graphic tablet without screen is cheapest, but eye-hand coordination can be a problem, because it depend on a computer screen for visualization.

On the other hand, a drawing tablet with a built-in screen allows you to draw directly on with a stylus. This can make the drawing experience feel more intuitive and natural.

However, they are quite large, and often have usually 2 more cables to connect to a PC, making it harder to move around.

Wacom tablets are considered a standard equipment for designers and illustrators around the world, but it'll cost you.

If you are a beginner and want to spend less money. We'd suggest something from XP-Pen or Huion, as they're much cheaper than Wacom but are still quality products.

In addition, you can also buy a standalone tablet supports pen input, Like the Apple iPad, Samsung galaxy tab, or Microsoft Surface, which works as a drawing tablet and won't be needed to connect to any computers.

These tablets are self contained and portable, plus you can get your email, chat, listen to music, watch movies, and do all kinds of things with it. The only drawback is they are more expensive in general.

You can trust in these brands mentioned here. These brands produce the best drawing tablets, the design and build quality are awesome.

10 Best Drawing Tablets for Tattoo Artists

Here is the list of our best drawing tablets for tattoo artists, all of these tablets had great physical aspects and beneficial performance with exceptional comfort to the users.

1. Apple iPad Pro

2. Samsung Galaxy Tab S9

3. Surface Pro 9

4. Wacom Intuos

5. XP-Pen Deco 01 v2

6. Huion Kamvas 13

7. XP-Pen Artist 10 (2nd gen)

8. Wacom Cintiq 16

9. Huion Kamvas 22 Plus

10. XP-Pen Artist 24 Pro

10 Best tattoo design and drawing apps

These 10 drawing apps allow you to create and refine tattoo designs with precision and flexibility before inking them onto your clients' skin.

1. Procreate

Procreate has become the essential tool for digital illustration on the iPad due to its intuitive interface and the variety of resources and artistic styles for which it can be used.

Procreate is also an excellent tool for tattoo artists. Its diverse range of brushes and customizable features allow them to create highly detailed and precise tattoo art.

Procreate is only available on the iPad OS at an one-time payment of $12.99 USD.

2. Adobe Photoshop CC

Adobe Photoshop CC is a software program that allows users to manipulate images and create digital artwork.

It is often used by graphic designers and photographers to edit photos or create new designs. However, it can also be used to create tattoo designs.

It is available for Windows and Mac OS. With $20.99 monthly subscription, Adobe's pricing model is good for short-term users and those who want constant upgrades.

3. Adobe Illustrator CC

Adobe Illustrator CC is a vector-based graphics software and one of the most intuitive tattoo drawing apps.

It is easy to use and allows you to draw lines, shapes, and text to create intricate designs.

Illustrator is available for Windows and Mac OS. you can get it together with photoshop as part of the Creative Cloud All Apps plan.

4. Clip Studio Paint

Clip Studio Paint is used for the digital creation of comics, general illustration, and 2D animation.

It has tools powerful enough for professional work while being intuitive enough for anyone! Many artists use it to create perfect line art for tattoo stencils.

Prices begin at $4.49 per month or $49.99 for a perpetual license. The software is available in versions for macOS, Windows, iPadOS, Android, and ChromeOS.

5. Adobe Fresco

Adobe Fresco is an excellent drawing program that offers numerous tools and a great variety of brushes to help you be as creative as you like.

There are watercolors, oils, vectors, and raster brushes that you can use when working on the same canvas. Besides, when creating sketches you can benefit from Adobe Sensei live brushes that perform like real tools.

The app is available on iPad and Windows tablets. You can use it for free, and have access to a limited number of features, but if you want the full experience, you'll need the $10 a year subscription.

6. Sketchbook Pro

SketchBook is an easy to use drawing app for doodlers, tattoo artists, and designers looking to rapidly capture their inspiration and design ideas.

The app includes an intuitive interface with a wide range of natural-media painting tools aimed at artists and makes full use of layers to create artwork.

Sketchbook is available for Windows, Mac, android and iPad OS. licences of Windows and macOS cost $19.99, but still free for mobile devices.

7. Medibang Paint Pro

Medibang Paint Pro is a free digital painting and comic creation software. It's available for Windows, Mac, Android and iPad OS.

With over 800 brushes and hundreds of materials, Medibang Paint is an easy and intuitive way to make tattoo art.

It also saves your artwork to the cloud so that you can seamlessly move from one device to the other.

8. Krita

Krita is a free and powerful program for sketching, painting and illustration, It has a very good selection of brushes and tools.

Krita is available on Android, Mac, Windows, and Linux. It is suitable for amateur and professional tattoo artists.

9. Affinity Designer

Affinity Designer is an impressive, low-budget alternative to Adobe Illustrator.

One of the great features of Affinity Designer is that it allows us to use vector and raster techniques in a single image.

It's Perfect for creating vintage tattoo style artwork for t-shirts, poster art, packaging and web graphics.

You can get Affinity Designer with one-time purchase of $69.99 for Windows and Mac, beginning at $19.99 for the iPad version.

10. ibis Paint X

Ibis Paint X is a free, powerful mobile painting app that offers a wide range of features, including layers, brushes, filters, and more.

With its intuitive interface, it is easy to use and navigate, making it a great choice for both beginners and more experienced artists.

It's available for Android and iPad OS. The free version contains a few ads, But you can pay $9.99 one-time to remove the ads permanently .

If you want to access more features of ibis Paint X, you can choose the monthly ($2.99 USD per month) or yearly ($27.99 USD per year) subscription plan.