What are the best drawing tablet apps for PC?
Popular PC options
Krita is free and well suited to painting, with strong brush tools and good support for graphics tablets. Clip Studio Paint is popular with comic and manga artists, and it is sold with a subscription or a one-time license depending on the version. Adobe Photoshop is a common choice for painting and photo work, though it uses a monthly subscription.
Affinity and similar tools are also used for painting and design. Pricing and licensing for these programs have changed in recent years, so check the official site before buying. Your choice should follow the kind of art you make most often.
- Krita: free, good for painting
- Clip Studio Paint: comics and manga tools
- Photoshop: subscription, painting and photo work
- Check pen pressure support before buying
Setting up your tablet
Install the driver from your tablet maker, such as Wacom, Huion, or XP-Pen, before opening the drawing app. Many pen problems come from outdated or missing drivers. Restart the program after installing so it detects pressure settings correctly.
Set your pen buttons and mapping in the driver panel. If you use more than one monitor, map the tablet area to the screen you draw on. Adjust pressure curves until light strokes and heavy strokes feel right for your hand.
- Install the tablet driver first
- Restart the drawing program after setup
- Map the tablet to the correct monitor
- Adjust pressure curves for your style
Common mistakes
- Skipping the tablet driver and then blaming the drawing app for missing pressure.
- Buying a subscription before testing a free option.
- Forgetting to map the tablet to the correct screen when you use two monitors.
