Huion 420: Budget Graphics Drawing Tablet 

For years I’ve danced with the idea of drawing on my PC, however, drawing tablets such as the Wacom seems way beyond my budget. Don’t get me wrong, I believe most of the tablets out there are priced reasonably for professionals. Even so, I had to make sure it would be something I enjoyed doing before dishing out the pennies.

Luckily I came across the Huion 420 drawing tablet for just a fraction of the cost. Of course, it did not have all the features, but it was a way for me to dip my hands in the water. Here is a quick semi-boxing of what to expect when you purchase this budget-friendly tablet and a few specs:

Included in box

• Both tablet and pen come neatly packed in a plastic tray, which to be honest I wasn’t expecting much given the price.

• Besides the tablet and pen, the tray host’s a small plastic bag containing four extra replacement nibs (You also get a tool to help replace them).

• Below the tray is the USB cable, instruction manual, and driver installation CD. The cable is a USB 2.0 to mini which measures around 1.5m according to the box. These are very common cable types and shouldn’t be too hard to replace if needed.

• They are two instructions manual, one for Windows users and the other for Mac. Needless to say, the installation disc supports both of these major operating systems.

Price

At the time of purchase, I was lucky to get this tablet for just under $20. Even so, you can snag one of these tablets for about $25 on either Amazon or eBay. Given the difference, it is still a reasonable buy.

Although there are a few specs listed on the box, I will only be covering a couple. Those are the pressure levels and size of the tablet.

Size

The Huion 420 measures 176.6mm x 115mm x 7.5mm, making it light and portable. You could easily take this tablet wherever you go without having it take up too much space. The size may be on the smaller side, but you get used to the size. 

Pressure Levels

According to the manufacturer, this particular model has 2048 pressure levels, enough for the average beginner. Pressure levels basically allow you to mimic the drawing experience similar to using an actual pen. The more you press down on the pen the thicker the line gets and vice versa.

Driver

The installation process is very straightforward and user-friendly. After you are done with the installation, you will have access to a small icon in your system tray.

You can make adjustments to your tablet and pen by clicking on the icon. A menu comes up with a list of different settings like assigning different functions to buttons on your pen. You can also set the table to be either right or left-handed.

Drawing software support

The 420 tablet works with major brands such as Adobe. I also tested it out using other programs such as SketchBook and Affinity Photo. The drawing experience lags at times, but to be fair I’m using an older Latitude 6520.

The only other complaint I have about this tablet is that it would glitch from time to time. In many cases, I would have to unplug and reinsert the USB accord to solve this.

My guess is a driver compatibility issue or a reflection of my older laptop. Besides that, I believe this is a decent and budget-friendly tablet for any beginner venturing into digital art.