Guide to the graphics tablet size to get

One of the most frequently asked questions from my Wacom Intuos video review is that of the tablet size to get: "What tablet size should I get?"

Generally speaking, you'll want the graphic tablet size to be close to the size of your monitor.

A good size to get is the Medium. For Wacom, this is around 6 by 8 inches, or around A5 size. I personally find that to be a comfortable size to work with.

The tablet surface is mapped to the whole screen. That means if you have a small surface, everything you draw will be magnified much larger. 1cm on the tablet surface could translate to 4-5 cm on the screen. There's a mismatch because you expect your short stroke to appear short on the screen but it will come out much longer. It will certainly take time to get used to using a small tablet.

For medium size tablets, the difference of your tablet stroke and screen stroke is not as much, and hence it feels more natural to see your strokes come out the way they are on screen.

For large tablets, the difference is even less. However, I find that it can be quite tiring to use a large tablet because your hand has more distance to cover. When you're drawing in a sketchbook, usually your hands do not have to travel that far. With a large tablet, sometimes your hand has to travel further to reach the menus, palettes which are all over the screen.

Using large tablets with a small screen, e.g. laptop screens, can feel awkward at times and will take a while to get used to it.

My recommendation

Screens below 19-inches: Get the small tablet
Screens above 19-inches: Get the medium tablet
If you want really fine detail control, get the large tablet.

If you have the budget, the medium sized tablet is one that's the all rounder. I'm very comfortable with it even when used with a 27-inch screen.

You can check out the various Wacom and Huion tablet models and reviews on Amazon.

And check out my Wacom Intuos 2015 review.

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36 Comments

Hi I'm having trouble in

Hi I'm having trouble in deciding which size to get even though your guidelines are very helpful. My laptop screen size is around 15" so was thinking of getting the Huion H640p . But for more detailed work I was thinking the Huion 1060plus. Which one would you recommend? Any help will be greatly appreciated best hibah

Hi! I have read and watch you

Hi! I have read and watch you’re reviews on tablets and sizing but I am still unsure as to what size I would like to get. My monitor is 24 inches and I am unsure whether to get the Huion 20 inch pro or the Huion 16 inch pro tablet. Both the 2019 version. This is my first drawing tablet as I want to get into digital art and draw landscapes, people, and animals. I also would like to use the tablet for a couple of years as well. Which would you recommend?

Hi,

Hi,

I am struggling with making a decision in terms of what graphic tablet size to buy. I do have a 13 inches laptop.

it would be my first tablet and i would use it for online teaching, so mainly writing notes, drawing and labelling simple diagrams, etc.

What would you recommend? I am doubting between a small or medium Wacom Intuos.

Thanks for this advice. and

Thanks for this advice. and it ways it makes sense. with my old intous 2 i made the scale adjustment in my systems preference. Granted, the computer size was smaller than my 27" mac now. looking to upgrade, I can't figure out why the pro small is approx 11x7' with a drawing are of only 6x4, while the intuos medium is 11x7 with drawing 9x6" , and no explanation online Could you help me understand the difference? I get the increased quality of the pen... but what else?
thank you!!! (and yes i have limited desk space.)

Followup... the medium pro is

Followup... the medium pro is way too big for my desk space, so I am really trying to wrap my head around the benefits of Intuos Pro S over the slightly older Intuos Medium, other than the pen upgrade. Thank you so much for clarifications!!!!!
Ps My (likely bad) math says 4|5 x (6x4) is 24x13 = my 27" diagonal screen. No?

kk

I definitely want a Wacom

I definitely want a Wacom Intuos, either medium or large as you have finger gestures which can rotate (which most tablets lack except for Wacom). At the moment I use a first generation XP-Pen Artist 22 pro which cannot lay flat and has weak corners when using the stand which affect your lines. It definitely has size.

My first thought was a Wacom Intous Pro Large in replacing the 22". Maybe the medium is a better choice. Please tell me your opinion.

Hello, sir. All of my

Hello, sir. All of my computers range about 14-23 inches. So I'm thinking of getting a medium sized tablet. But aside from the 10"×6" (Deco 01 V2) I'm considering, what else can be called medium?
There are two other tablets I'm comparing: one is 9"×6" (Star G960S Plus) and the other is 9"×5" (Deco Pro S). Are these still considered medium?

What size would yo recommend

What size would you recommend for teaching physics or engineering online?

I would need to draw diagrams and write equations.

Does size really matter if the resolution of the graphics tablet is high?

@Teoh

@Teoh

Thank you for your reply.

I was wondering if even the middle-size tablet would suffice for solutions/proofs that are of multiple pages.

On the one hand, it would take some getting used to for writing equations on a small tablet.

Not only would I need to write rather small on the tablet, but also the 1:1 mapping would make the screen display (on a laptop/monitor) rather large.

On the other hand, a multiple-page solution would be hard to fit on a single page so even a medium- or large-size tablet would be inadequate by itself.

Some software would need to be used in order to be able to write on multiple pages and scroll back to a previous page.

I did see a YouTube video for creating a video with a tablet and some free software:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S3rYfgm0Asw

Actually, a small budget is initially imperative as I would be venturing into unknown territory (the price of a medium-size tablet is roughly twice that of a small tablet [6”x3.5”]).

If a software is a necessary part of the solution, then perhaps a small tablet could do the job.

I have several years of experience teaching on blackboards and whiteboards.

I am also accustomed to a large-scale magnification of mouse movement when using AutoCAD.

However, using a graphic tablet for real-time online teaching is new to me.

Hello, i'd like to get into

Hello, i'd like to get into digital artworking and never used a graphical tablet before. And i'd like ask what size should i get for a 38" monitor? I was looking around and found some tips and found that for this monitor i should get a 15" tablet. Luckily i found a tablet which is not pricey (xp-pen deco [gen 2]) which has an xl size (15").

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