Graphics Tablet Review – XP-PEN’s super slim Deco Pro

Alrighty, so you are thinking about getting into digital art, not sure if you’ll dig it and don’t want to destroy the bank to experiment, or maybe, like the case was with me, cash is tight but you long for an affordable upgrade… then here’s a product I recommend: the XP-Pen Deco Pro. I can’t say if it’s one of the best graphics tablets out there or not; this is only the second one I’ve own and had a chance to get familiar with, but I’ve had mine for about a year now, and though I do find myself looking lustfully as some of the recent additions to XP-Pen’s product range, I am still very, very happy with my Deco Pro, so I thought I’d do a little review.

My video review of the XP-Pen Deco Pro drawing tablet after two years of use.

Deco Pro Review

Firstly, here is what I was using for a few years before upgrading, the Wacom Graphire3 drawing tablet. This was passed on to me and is what I used to get started with figuring out how to colour some of my drawings digitally, and created my first few sticker packs using that. I have no real complaints about it… the working area was a bit on the small side, but that’s really a matter of personal preference. Also, no express keys or a spinny wheel, so those were definitely features I was looking forward to playing with, but I’m getting ahead of myself here.

For a while I just assumed that if you wanted to get into digital art with any sort of seriousness, you’d need a fancy Cintiq or something which, considering my “starving artist” status at the time, I figured I’d likely be ‘racing’ down corridors of a retirement facility with my stroller, desperately trying to move fast enough to feel wind moving through what wisps of grey hair remained, and still be putting coins aside for it. When a nice little paid gig came around though, and I started doing some research into upgrading, I found that Wacom now had some stiff competition coming from XP-Pen in particular. Both their graphics tablets and their pen displays (where you draw directly on the screen) where getting good reviews from artists I admired in the concept art industry, and priced in such a way that I wouldn’t be forced to eat nothing but cheap instant noodles for the rest of my days. At the time, I found that a local supplier was soon to get in the Red Dot Design Award winning Deco Pro, and for just over US$100 for the Small version (or rather around US$160 for me in South Africa), it was perfect. So let’s get into the details then…

What’s in the box:

The box contents. Includes graphics tablet, USB adapters, stylus and pen holder, USB cable, and a drawing glove

• The oh-so-slim Deco Pro
• Battery-free stylus, pen holder, and 8 extra pen nibs.
• USB to USB-C cable
• USB to USB-C and USB to Micro-USB adapters
• 1x drawing glove
• Quick guide, warranty and Thank You card

Some Specs:

• The dimensions for the Small are
  L: 35cm (13.8″) W: 20cm (7.85″) H: 1.7cm (0.65″),
  With an active area of: 23.1cm x 13cm (9″ X 5″)
  Weighing: 630g (1.39lbs)
• and for the Medium
  L: 40cm (15.74″) W: 23cm ( 8.94″) H: 1.7cm (0.65″)
  With an active area of: 28cm x 15.7cm (11 X 6″)
  and weighing: 812g (1.79lbs)
• The stylus contains two buttons. By default, one switches between eraser and brush mode, the other functions as a right-click. These can be switched to other actions from a set list as well. Weighs only 13.3 grams.
• Supports up to 60 degrees of tilt
• 8192 levels of pressure
• Report rate of 200 RPS
• 8 programmable express keys
• Double wheel: 1x Mechanical and 1x Virtual wheel/trackpad, total 50mm diameter
• LED lit wheel and corners of active area which can be switched off if preferred
• Suitable for right- or left-handed use.
• Compatible with Windows 7 upward, Mac OS 10.10 and above, and Android devices 6.0 and above.

Yes! Deco Pro connects to your Android phone

This is kind of nifty, though not a feature I’ve indulged in all that much. I tend to whip out a sketchbook when on a plane or waiting at a coffee shop, but you could just as easily pull out your phone, plug in your Deco Pro and do some quick sketches of your surroundings, or touch up on something more detailed you’ve been working on. It doesn’t work on ALL Android devices but just check on that HERE. Most drawing apps are laid out in vertical format only, while the Deco Draw app is laid out horizontally. Not a problem at all, just something to be mindful of. With the Deco Draw app, you have a small degree of customizability of your express keys, but I prefer using the Autodesk Sketchbook App.

Setting up your Deco Pro drawing tablet:

Before you get cracking on the drawing, you need to download the driver and just check those settings in the Pen Tablet tool that comes with it to make sure it’s all set appropriately for your workflow. You can adjust your pen pressure, set the button actions of your stylus, program your express keys, your wheel/trackpad actions and adjust the brightness of the LED lighting for the wheel and working area (Off, 50% or Full).

I didn’t really feel any need to change the default settings here; I was happy with things as they were. Maybe I was just too damn eager to get painting than to play with the settings, kind of like not bothering with the instruction manual when you got a new themed set of Lego. But I did actually find that the default settings were fine for how I work and I haven’t really changed anything since. If you do have particular functions you want set (and for different programs), once things are the way you like them, you can export those settings just in case you need to reset things or carry over to work on another computer.

My computer is running Windows 10, so I can’t speak for the Mac OS situation, but I found the setup really quick and easy.

The drawing experience…

Drawing on this was very comfortable, and with the surface having a very slight grain to it, it felt more paper-like to draw on as opposed to a more glassy surface. I didn’t experience any lag or jitter while making lines, the pressure sensitivity was perfect, and the spinny wheel…ah the spinny wheel. So. Damn. Nice! I tend to keep mine set to adjust the size of my brush, but you can also have one of your express keys set to switch the function of the wheel to, for example, zooming in or out of the canvas. And likewise for the trackpad or virtual wheel. So really, there’s a lot of room to customize things to best suit how you work.

Testing 1 – 2…testing

I played around with this in Photoshop and ClipStudio Paint and found everything responded well and as expected.

At the time of writing, my only other drawing tablet experience has been with the Graphire3 I mentioned, so I can’t say how the Deco Pro compares to Wacom products with a similar set of specs, but I think for anyone getting started, or that needs to upgrade from an older piece like I did, this is a really great option at a very accessible price.

*I have since reviewed a bunch of older Wacom devices over on my YouTube channel.

Some shots, including a couple of pieces I’ve created with it…

Mechanical and virtual wheel, and 8 programmable express keys

Thinner than the pen

Pen with two buttons and rubber grip.

Replacement nibs for the stylus

It works on most Android devices

My setup

A March Of Robots drawing that got updated, coloured, and used by Feral Brew Co for their Dribble DIPA limited edition beer.

Koala Fireman painted during the time of wildfires devastating parts of Australia in 2020

Part of a new series of portraits focused on humans, Nature, and the relationship between the two.

Buy it…

If you are interested to get your paws on one of these, you can find the Deco Pro Small on the XP-Pen’s website HERE or Amazon store HERE.

If you would rather grab yourself one of their pen displays, I recommend the newest addition to their product range, the Innovator 16.

Have a smaller budget? Then take a look at these Tablets For Under $50

If you are a beginner wondering about digital, where to find tutorials, what programs are out there etc, you might want to give this Digital Art For Beginners post a read.

*The are affiliate links in this post and so I might earn a little if you purchase through them. This doesn’t affect your price in any way but it does go right back into making more art and content for you. If you do happen to buy one of these, I’d dig to hear your thoughts on it and see what you create.*

Friends in South Africa who might want one of these can get it HERE

And if you have any questions, or feel like there is some other info you’d want included here, feel free to get in touch and I’ll do my best to assist.