XP-PEN Artist 12 (2nd Gen) Drawing Tablet with Screen, Graphics Pen Display with 11.6 Inches Full-laminated Screen, X3 Elite Stylus, Supports Windows, Mac OS, Android, Chrome OS and Linux (Pink)

Product Information

As usual, all the main creative software apps will work with this like Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Illustrator (actually all the Adobe CC apps!), SAI, Corel, GIMP, Krita, Blender 3D, Clip Studio and MediBang etc. While I found the Artist 12 (2nd Gen) to be a fully functional tool for creating digital art, its limited workspace was difficult to adjust down to after having spent so much time with a much larger pen display. However, for a beginner artist or a hobbyist who is just looking to dabble with digital art, the XP-Pen Artist 12 could be a perfect addition to their workflow. The pen display excels at providing on-the-go creativity that can connect to a myriad of devices from laptops to tablets and cellphones, as well as working well with a variety of digital art apps.

Artist 12 2nd Gen digital display drawing tablet | XP-PEN Artist 12 2nd Gen digital display drawing tablet | XP-PEN

Drawing time! The pen is very, very light – probably the lightest I’ve used. It may be the most ‘up-to-date’ technology-wise pen from XP-PEN, but I have to say I actually prefer the look and feel (and design) of the pen that came with their Innovator 16 Pen Display. Although it works perfectly as you’d expect, it isn’t the ’sexiest’ of pens (if that’s even a ‘thing’ 😊). It does the job and that’s all you can ask for! The anti-reflective coating greatly reduces glare for eyes protection. Making your screen look clear and beautiful, even if it’s bright out. The 2nd gen Artist 12 has some key improvements over the first. The display is better with a wider color gamut and contrast ratio. It also has a laminated display which means that the distance between the pen tip and the cursor is much less.Color temperature: The driver enables five modes, i.e., low blue light, 6500K (default), 7500K, 9300K, and USER. In the USER mode, color temperature can be customized by adjusting the R, G and B values. You can set a combination of multiple keys such as Ctrl+C and Ctrl+V. When you press the combination key, the set shortcut keys will all run once.

Artist 12 2nd Gen digital display drawing tablet | XP-Pen Artist 12 2nd Gen digital display drawing tablet | XP-Pen

The Artist 12 (2nd Gen) marks a big step for XP-Pen to catch up to what some of their competitors have been doing in the budget pen display market. Huion's KAMVAS line, for example, has had a couple of generations of pen displays featuring fully laminated screens, whereas XP-Pen has only just started to implement this feature properly among their Artist series pen displays. I didn’t experience any lagging, even when scribbling away quite fast. Drawing ever-so-sloooooooowly did produce a slight ‘wobble’ in straight lines, but to be fair, you’re going to get that on most tablets. The end of the lines also tapered very nicely.To get going, you need to connect the Artist 12 (2nd Gen) to your device of choice – mine being a Windows 10 laptop. Although, presumably, the tablet would work using a USB-C to USB-C cable, this isn’t supplied – I had to make do with the 3-in-1 cable provided.

Artist 12 (Gen 2) Pen Display User Manual | XPPen XPPen Artist 12 (Gen 2) Pen Display User Manual | XPPen

XP-Pen does market the stylus as having new technology in the form of the X3 chip, which is supposed to double the pen's lifetime and increase its sensitivity. Users who do not put a lot of pressure on the pen while drawing will need to use the settings to adjust the pressure curve of their own stylus. While testing this display, I did have issues with the driver UI not saving my preferred pressure curve between PC start-ups, requiring me to reload and adjust my curve before use every time. HD display resolution paired with 72% NTSC Color Gamut and 178° viewing angle, presenting vivid image, vibrant colors and extreme detail for a stunning visual of your artwork. The driver will run automatically after being installed. If it does not run automatically, go to the driver folder to run it manually.

If multiple monitors are used in extend mode, go to the monitor tabs to select one of the monitors that the work area of the device will be mapped to. XPPen drawing display is selected by default. Due to the latest product improvements, content may differ from the final product and is subject to change without prior notice.