After numerous tables and animations of various kinds, we are ready to bring you our review on the XP Pen Artist 13.3 Pro graphics tablet
Whether you are an illustrator, a 3D artist or, more generally, a lover of graphic arts, you know: in this vast field a good graphics tablet it can radically change the experience. For those who have come across this review dedicated to XP Pen Artist 13.3 Pro, without knowing anything about the type of device in question, we will explain it to you.
Born to obviate far less playful purposes than modern ones, the graphic tablet is a device that can be equipped or not with a screen, which represents a real rib of our PC. An “extension” that allows us to operate in dedicated programs, such as Photoshop, Illustrator, Blender and so on, accurately managing touches, pressure levels and various types of commands.
In this review we will analyze the XP Pen Artist 13.3 Pro model with the help of an enthusiast and designer, who will express his opinions on the tablet in question. Let’s get started right away!
Data sheet
- Technology: electromagnetic
- Dimensioni: 390.4mm(L)*249.98mm(W)*12.9mm(H)
- Screen Area: 293.76mm (H) x 165.24mm (V)
- Screen resolution: 1920 × 1080 pixels
- Color Gamut: 88% NTSC, Adobe RGB ≧ 91% ， sRGB ≧ 123%
- Hotkeys: 8
- Rotating slider: 1
- Stylus detection distance: 10mm
- Response time: 14ms
- Pixel Pitch: 0.153*0.153mm
- Display colors: 16.7M
- Contrast Rate: 1000: 1
- Viewing angle: 178 °
- Pressure levels: 8192
- Tilt: 60 °
- Report rate: ≧ 220
- Resolution: 5080 LPI
- Accuracy: ± 0.01inch (center)
- Reading height: 10mm
- Voltage: DC 5V
- USB interface: USB C
- Current consumption: 2A
- Power Consumption: 10W
- Compatibility: Windows 10/8/7, Mac OS X 10.10 and above.
Unboxing – XP Pen Artist 13.3 Pro Review
The packaging really minimal and winks at those used for Apple products, both as regards the fonts used and for the arrangement of the images. In fact, on the front side we find an illustration of the tablet, with the XP Pen logo and the words “Artist 13.3 Pro”. On the sides we find the name of the model, while on the back there is some technical specification.
Once the box is opened, we will immediately find ourselves in front of ours graphic tablet covered with a plastic protection. Let’s put it aside, however, for a moment and discover all the contents of the package. Removed the cardboard bulkhead, the bottom reserves various accessories. While on the right we will find it plastic stand to hold the tablet, on the left we have ben 4 adapters for electrical outlets (including the European one).
Lifting the stand, there is a small package with inside: the guarantee, a quick guide, a drawing glove it’s a microfiber patch time to clean the screen. Below we will then find the wiring that is divided into a 3 in 1 cable it’s a adapter ranging from USB-A female to USB-A male. The main cable connects to XP Pen Artist 13.3 Pro via the USB-C standard, and then splits into two USB Type A and one Type C outputs.
On the right we finally find the digital pen in his cylindrical houses. The opening of the latter takes place by unscrewing the bottom. We will then find the pen in front, ready to be extracted and used. By removing the top cover, we will also have ben 8 spare leads. This pen holder, in addition to being a travel package, allows, by unscrewing the cap, to have a base for our device without having to put it back in the case every time.
Design and Build – XP Pen Artist 13.3 Pro Review
XP Pen Artist 13.3 Pro boasts one length of about 38,8cm, a depth from 24,8cm is one thickness from 0.7cm. The wording “13.3” in the model name essentially indicates its screen size. The diagonal of the display measure indeed 13.3 in and, more specifically, the latter is length 29cm e 16.5cm deep. Display that has a resolution of 1920×1080 pixels with a full laminated IPS type panel.
With a 16.7M color gamut, the latter are truly faithful thanks to a 88% NTSC color accuracy and, comparing this model to an older XP Pen tablet, we have noticed the step forward made in this area. Clearly, being an IPS, it tends to change tones when viewed sideways. However, given the type of product, this problem will practically never occur to you when it comes to yours 178 degree viewing angle: more than enough during use.
The frame presents well 8 fully mappable keys on the left side, in addition to red colored cursor which can be rotated. On the right side, however, we have the buttons to adjust the brightness of the screen in addition to the key from on / off and to aUSB-C input: the only entrance on the tablet. The back is equipped with two large ones rubber bands so that the device does not slip when placed on the surface or on a stand.
Overall, the XP Pen Artist 13.3 Pro’s design convinced us and while it may seem quite bulky, both the weight and thickness will make you think again. Of course it remains, in our opinion, a study tablet and for this reason its transport is not exactly simple. Aesthetically, then, she’s really pretty. The company logo on the right, the keys and above all the circular cursor undoubtedly improve its appearance and make it distinct from other models. Also the construction is done precisely. The plastic shell has no brittle spots or errors of any kind, making the product appear solid.
The Experience of an Enthusiast – XP Pen Artist 13.3 Pro Review
Let’s now pass to the thoughts of Nicolò, one of our collaborators who has edited numerous videos on our YouTube channel:
I have been drawing digitally since 2014, always looking for new ways to improve the quality of my works. Over the years I have tried and purchased several graphics tablets, such as the Wacom One Medium, XP-Pen Artist 10s and, even if it’s not a tablet, a 10.5-inch iPad Air. This XP-Pen Artist 13.3 Pro pleasantly surprised me.
I state that I am not the most experienced person in this field, but as a designer and enthusiast I realize that I am in front of an excellent product. Let’s talk a little about my experience with this tablet. We can say that I was amazed by the size of the operational area being used to small tablets.
The buttons
On the left we can see the otto tasti Shortcut it’s a wheel cursor, technically created to simplify our jobs. Why am I saying this? In the work of the graphic designer or illustrator, speed is of fundamental importance. In any self-respecting graphic program, each command corresponds to a keyboard button. For example, in Photoshop, to select the brush you have to press “B”, for the eraser “E”, and so on. Thanks to the Shortcuts, which are completely customizable, we can make our work much faster because we will have the commands that interest us and that we use the most at hand. The circular cursor was a real surprise. The latter is also customizable and allows us, by default, to zoom, scroll and, above all, rotate the workspace. This may seem nonsense but, at least for me, it is of fundamental importance because, by reconnecting to the previous speech, it speeds up and simplifies work times by far.
The wiring
On the right we find the Type-C entrance to connect the tablet to our computer, in addition to the power button and the buttons to adjust the brightness. This Artist 13.3 Pro has, as mentioned above, of a USB-C cable that branches into two USB-A’s (one red for power and one black for pen operation) as well as an HDMI, exactly like my old XP-Pen Artist 10s. In my opinion, this is a negative point, because it creates a clutter of cables not just. Having a section to hide the latter, or being able to manage the outputs individually would have been, from my point of view, more comfortable. The positive side is that at least the red USB cable can be connected to a power outlet thanks to the supplied adapters, in case you do not have a computer powerful enough to power the device in complete autonomy.
Lo stand
Together with the tablet, one is also given to us stand to hold it up. Really a very nice idea for those like me who prefer to draw with the tablet slightly tilted. It must be said, however, that it can only be positioned at an angle of 20 °, so in case you are looking for something more versatile, it would be better to buy one separately.
The pen
Let’s now turn to the pen. It is presented to us in a cylindrical case whose cap can become a nice pen holder once removed from its packaging. In addition, we are supplied with 8 spare mines. What to say, I love its design, far better than that of the Artist 10s model which, in my opinion, was anonymous and without “character”. The supplied pen is really light and handy, which is no small feat. It is a device, just saying, “passive“, that is to say which does not have a battery and does not need to be recharged in order to function. This is a point in favor of XP-Pen because, for example, the Apple Pencil of my iPad, once unloaded, needs to be recharged and does not allow me to continue working smoothly as it is connected to the power outlet.
Obviously it is also equipped with two customizable buttons, which allow us to operate more comfortably. It has a 60 ° tilt capability and allows us to design thicker and more interesting strokes and has 8,192 levels of pressure.
Tests in Drawing – XP Pen Artist 13.3 Pro Review
Nicolò continues, explaining his experience in the actual illustrations:
Well, we’ve talked a little bit about everything, but I haven’t told you yet what it’s like to draw with this XP-PEN Artist 13.3 Pro. What can I say, it is very pleasant indeed. This is not so much because it has a nice big screen (in truth it is also for that), but above all for the total (almost) no parallax and no delay between the pen and the actual input. Obviously the delay is due to the power of your computer, in my case we are talking about a Macbook Pro. Among other things, I also had the opportunity to try it on an old PC and actually I found myself quite badly due to the poor hardware equipment of the latter.
What surprised me was the functionality as well. For example, the Artist 10s had a couple of issues at the bottom of the screen that didn’t allow me to make the most of the pen and had a slight parallax that with a bit of habit was negligible. However, I realize that many may turn up their noses.
I did a small comparison to my 10.5-inch iPad Air and there isn’t much to say. Obviously the iPad has a distinctly display quality …