The best laptops for drawing with solid performance.
Digital technologies have been developing very fast recently, and a lot of professionals mastered them well to carry out their daily work. Today, you can easily find high-resolution laptops for digital art, which deliver amazing precision comparable to graphics tablets paired with the best foldable keyboards.
The majority of artists use a graphics tablet by connecting it to a PC or laptop. However, would you like to draw on a laptop with just a digital pen? Such models have become very popular among painters, illustrators, artists, animators, etc.
CPU: Intel Core i7 10th Gen | GPU: Intel UHD Graphics 620 | RAM: 16 GB | Storage: 512 GB | Display: 13.5-inch | Weight: 2.65 lbs
This is the best laptop for drawing as it’s ultra-slim and can be transformed into a tablet or used in a tent and display mode for better comfort thanks to the 360-degree hinge. Besides, this laptop has a rechargeable stylus that can be connected straight to your PC. This model offers good performance and has a durable battery.
CPU: Intel Core i5-8250U | GPU: Intel UHD Graphics 620 | RAM: 8 GB | Storage: 128 GB | Display: 13.5-inch | Weight: 3.5 pound
This is one of the top laptops for artists that has a 13.5-inch display, features an 8th Gen Intel processor and has a 3:2 aspect ratio for more convenient browsing and working with documents.
It’s very convenient to use as you can easily transform it into a tablet, notebook, display, use as a replacement for a dual screen laptop, or take advantage of a tent-mode thanks to the 360-degree hinge. This model provides stable performance, has a firm aluminum body for extra durability, features a high-resolution IPS display and comes with a handy keyboard.
CPU: Intel Pentium Gold 4415Y | GPU: Intel HD Graphics 615 | RAM: 16 GB | Storage: 256 GB | Display: 12.3-inch | Weight: 1.7 pound
This is the best laptop for drawing as it easily transforms into a tablet, comes with a bright Surface Type Cover and a pen for a better drawing experience. No matter where you are and what you do, this model will help you with all the necessary tasks in the best way possible.
It boasts the Intel Core processor, durable battery and the Instant On feature, due to which you can keep working on your project whenever you like. Also, this model comes with a USB-C port, which allows for connecting headphones, external 4K monitors and an Ethernet adaptor. You can also use it to charge different devices.
CPU: Intel Core i7 | GPU: Intel Iris Plus | RAM: 12 GB | Storage: 512 GB | Display: 15.6-inch | Weight: 4.34 pound
This is a great 2 in 1 laptop for drawing, which has a 15.6-inch display and boasts the Intel Core i7 processor, 12GB of RAM and a 360-degree hinge for a better user experience. This device is perfect for those who are looking for a lightweight, portable and foldable laptop. It has a sophisticated design, colorful touchscreen display, loud audio output. The laptop comes with an Active Pen.
CPU: Intel Core i7-9750H | GPU: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 | RAM: 16 GB | Storage: 256 GB | Display: 15.6-inch | Weight: 5.51 pound
This is the best laptop for drawing as it offers modern technology, robust hardware and software with an amazing dynamic range. This is a very powerful model that boasts 9th gen Intel Core i7-9750H processor and offers amazing gaming and drawing experience.
The self-lighting pixels of the OLED display can be fully black, which accounts for a higher contrast (100,000:1). In this way, you can create stunning drawings with an excellent level of detail, especially in dim areas.
CPU: Intel 10th Gen Core i7 | GPU: Iris Plus | RAM: 8 GB | Storage: 256 GB | Display: 15.6-inch | Weight: 2.5 pound
This laptop for drawing represents a new era of ultra-slim devices. It’s can cope with any type of task and offers great portability. You can play games, work with documents, edit photos and videos thanks to the advanced Intel processor, decent RAM and durable battery.
This is a robust laptop with powerful performance, a lightweight and sleek body. It’s an ideal option for those who are looking for a perfect device for trips.
CPU: Intel Core i7-10510U | GPU: Integrated | RAM: 16 GB | Storage: 512 GB | Display: 14-inch | Weight: 4.39 pound
This laptop for drawing boasts a long-lasting 72Wh battery (20.5 hours), which lets you perform tasks wherever you are. This is the most powerful battery that LG Gram laptops have. This model is robust and offers stable performance.
It’s not the fastest model on this list, however, due to its Intel Core i7 Comet Lake CPU, it provides great operation. Besides its 2-in-1 design, it features a colorful full-HD display with nice viewing angles.
CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 3500U | GPU: AMD Radeon Vega 8 | RAM: 8 GB | Storage: 256 GB | Display: 14-inch | Weight: 3.3 pound
This laptop for drawing delivers a very clear sound. Its 14-inch FHD screen and narrow bezels provide you with wide viewing angles. Thanks to the Q-Control feature, it’s very fast and silent. You can choose between speedy performance and a battery saving mode.
This device is suitable not only for working but for entertaining purposes as well. The 14-inch full HD screen with a 1920 x 1080 resolution provides gorgeous image quality. Besides, narrow side bezels provide an amazing immersive effect.
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Acer Spin 5
Our Choice
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Acer Chromebook Spin
Convertible
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Microsoft Surface Pro 7
Touch-Screen
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When choosing the best laptop for drawing, you have to take into consideration a lot of various features necessary for digital artists. First of all, create a list of software that you are going to use. All the models in the review are compatible with over 35 types of drawing software. Also, you should remember that touch-screen laptops aren’t very suitable for drawing if they come without a pen or stylus.
The first aspect to take into consideration when selecting the best laptop for drawing is the screen resolution. Usually, inexpensive models with 1366 x 768 resolution displays can’t give what you need. They are more suitable for browsing the Internet or working with documents. Also, pay attention to the ports. You might want to connect an external display, so an HDMI port is significant here. If you deal with digital photography, choose a model with an in-built card reader so that you won’t have to buy it separately.
You need to clearly see all the details of your designs. When picking the best laptop for drawing, remember that the larger its screen is, the better performance it will provide. This is definitely an advantage for all artists. A large screen accounts for a better user experience. Models with 12-inch or larger displays will do for animators, but 14-inch laptops will be the best option for artists. In this review, 9 out of 10 laptops have screens larger than 12 inches.
Even though you can buy as many stylus pens as you wish, the best high-performance laptops for designers and artists usually have them included. Such models are more comfortable to use, and a native stylus will work more smoothly.
Currently, you can find such types of styluses:
Active Electrostatic Stylus that uses an electric field to detect and interact with the laptop's touchscreen.
Active Electro Magnetic Resonance (EMR) Stylus that is known for its high precision and accuracy, and is very popular among professional artists.
Bluetooth Stylus connects wirelessly to the laptop using Bluetooth technology. They often feature pressure sensitivity, tilt recognition, and programmable buttons.
Capacitive Stylus is designed for laptops with capacitive touchscreens, which are the most common type of touchscreens found on consumer laptops.
Hybrid Stylus is made to work with both touchscreen devices, including laptops, and traditional paper.
Pressure-Sensitive Stylus Pen can mimic the feel and functionality of a traditional pen. They typically feature a fine, replaceable nib and provide varying levels of pressure sensitivity.
Universal Stylus is aimed at working across various touchscreen devices, including laptops, tablets, and smartphones. They often feature a capacitive tip that works on any capacitive touchscreen.
If you are going to buy a large or small laptop online, before doing it, go to a store to look at the device of your choice. When you create a drawing, every touch counts. A display must respond well to every movement and tap you make with an S-Pen or stylus.
Usually, such devices are connected to a PC via a USB port. If your tablet has a USB port, you can easily connect it to your lightweight laptop.
For this, you need a Graphics tablet and special drawing software, such as Photoshop. You can also use Krita if you are looking for a free program. With them, you will feel like you are drawing on paper.
4GB of RAM will be enough for basic graphics tasks if you are not using many graphics programs simultaneously. 8GB of RAM is better for regular graphics tasks. The best laptops for video editing should have 16GB as minimum. Remember that RAM is also used by other programs and your operating system.
Basically, Photoshop and Illustrator are not supposed to be used with a mouse. Even if you use the best pocket pen mouse when working with them, you will achieve one-tenth of possible quality and it will take you 10 times longer to solve any task. Keep in mind, that you can’t use a Wacom tablet for drawing.
