PSA: I had to pick between a big tablet screen or a better pen, and I'm still not sure I got it right

I was saving up for a new drawing tablet for my digital painting, and my budget was tight, about $500. The choice came down to a Huion with a huge 16-inch screen or a smaller Wacom One with a way better feeling pen. I went with the big screen because I thought more space would help with details. After using it for a month, the drawing area is great, but the pen feels a bit cheap and laggy on fast strokes. Has anyone else faced this trade-off and found a good middle ground brand?

4 comments

4 Comments

mileslane1mo agoMost Upvoted

Yeah, that "pen feels a bit cheap and laggy" part is the worst... I made the same call a while back and totally regretted it. The big screen is nice at first, but you end up fighting the tool all day. Honestly, I sold mine and found a used older model Wacom with a smaller screen... the better pen made me actually want to draw again.

paige1661mo ago

But @mileslane, the big screen is worth the trade-off for me.

evan_davis3d ago

Got a buddy who went through the exact same thing as @mileslane described. He bought that big screen tablet for digital painting and was so excited about the canvas size. First couple weeks he kept telling me it was great, but then he started complaining about his hand cramps and how he had to redo strokes all the time. Eventually he admitted the lag was making him slower, not faster, because he'd try to draw a quick line and it'd wobble behind his stylus. He ended up selling it at a loss and went back to his old Intuos medium. The big screen just wasn't worth all the frustration for him.

adamt841mo ago

Wait, is the pen lag REALLY that bad? I used one at a friend's house and it just felt like a normal drawing tablet. Maybe some people are just super sensitive to that stuff.