XP-Pen Artist 22R Pro Review

Unleashing your imagination's full potential requires you to have the best tools at your disposal. Graphic designers need a good drawing tablet, and that's what we're after today. XP-Pen has many interesting alternatives available, so we decided to look through their higher-end stuff. In our XP-Pen Artist 22R Pro review, we'll see what this handsome piece of hardware has to offer.

Choosing a Professional Drawing Tablet

Graphic tablets, also known as drawing pads or tablets, are easy to understand. Selecting the most adequate for the kind of performance you'll need boils down to:

Display

Undoubtedly, drawing pads with big LCD displays are more expensive. Regardless, whether you pick one of those fancy tablets or an old-fashioned plain pad, precision is the most pressing matter. The resolution, sensitivity, and accuracy need to be professional-grade to be worth something. The colorful screens will make things easier for you, but they're entirely optional.

Smooth response

Your tablet's tracking needs to keep up with your strokes. If you don't invest in quality, you'll lose the natural flow of the handmade lines, which is something to avoid. Higher resolutions, response and report rates, adequate sensitivity, and a gentle stylus will do wonders to capture those nuances. Similarly, pads that register pen tilt will yield better results.

The right proportions

Your desktop is your workshop, and cluttering it with more stuff can easily become problematic. Pick your drawing tablet knowing your workspace's limitations. However, a big tablet with a display can double as a monitor to save space. Still, if you're keeping a small pad alongside your keyboard, then you might have to compromise.

Hassle-free set up

Some drawing pads are known for being a nightmare to install and use. Nonetheless, those are mostly off-brand and outdated pads, and nearly all professional-level alternatives are significantly better in that regard. Still, make sure to check the owner's site beforehand to know if your tablet works with your system and software.

XP-Pen Artist 22R Pro Review

When we stumbled upon this tablet, we knew we'd had to give try it and we finally had the chance. It was quite the experience, and now we'll share our XP-Pen Artist 22R Pro review:

A beautiful display

Whooping a massive 21.5 inches high-definition display, the Artist offers a surprisingly accurate and vivid color representation. With a color gamut up to 120% in sRGB, the 16.7M colors get their time to shine. Additionally, the adjustable brightness is always on point to make things look even better.

Furthermore, the package also includes a textured protective sheet for your Artist 22R Pro. Besides protection, it also gives it a characteristic touch that'll make you feel like your drawing on a natural surface.

Outstanding responsiveness

This Artist Pro tablet takes digital drawing to the next level. The IPS panel has 8,192 levels of sensitivity, and 60° degrees of tilt track. However, it's the 200 RPS report rate and 14ms response that sets it apart from the lesser alternatives.

With the screen's pleasant texture and the seamless tracking, you'll almost forget you are working on a computer. In our opinion, that was the best part of our XP-Pen Artist 22R review. Its nearly flawless accuracy only made things even better.

The neat design

The Artist looks great, but it takes a bit of space on your desktop. Fortunately, it doubles as a monitor, and you can even charge your phone through the USB port. The required cables are well-disguised and stay out of the way at all times.

We had it plugged through an HDMI cable and our workspace, our inner sanctum, still felt tidy and welcoming. And we kept the old monitor as a secondary screen, which worked even better than we envisioned.

Pros

• Big 21.5 display

• Smooth drawing experience

• 20 programmable hot-keys

• Easy installation

Cons

• Slightly pricey

• Cords are a bit short

Frequently Asked Questions

What is compatible with XP-Pen?

The XP Pen Artist 22R Pro is compatible with multiple systems and creative tools. Windows versions from 7 through 10 are supported, as well as Mac OS X 10.10 and higher. Similarly, it works great with most professional design software, and particularly well with Adobe products.

Is XP-Pen any good?

XP-Pen is a Japanese brand that's been making consumer-grade and professional graphic tablets for over a decade. Their products are often among the top-selling alternatives in low, middle, and high price ranges. Although their cheaper stuff isn't impressive, their top models are outstanding, yet still fairly priced.

Final Thoughts

All things considered, this tablet should be considered one of the best for graphic design in general. Packed with many professional-level features at a mid-range price point, it's a solid choice for anyone. With a big screen, smooth response, and uncomplicated setup, you can hardly go wrong with the Artist 22R Pro.

Although it's still an investment, you'll get more in return with this tablet. As made evident in our XP-Pen Artist 22R Pro review, you'll be hard-pressed to find a better deal.