Pixel art a form of fun digital art drawn with graphics software in which color is applied to individual pixels to create an image.
If you would like to make pixel art you will need the right tools to create your pixel sprites.
When drawing Pixel Art, A lot of pixel artists work with a drawing tablet and others with a mouse.
Which one Is Better? Should you invest in a pen tablet, or stick with a mouse?
Generally, Both options have their advantages and disadvantages, depending on your style, needs and preferences.
In this article, I will compare the pros and cons of using a tablet vs a mouse for making pixel art, and recommend some good cheap drawing tablets for you to choose from.
8 Best Pixel Art Editors
There are many specifically graphic programs designed for creating pixel art, such as Aseprite, GraphicsGale, Pyxel Edit, etc. They allows you to draw on a computer will be your best ally for making pixel art.
These programs often have features that are specifically tailored for pixel art, such as the ability to zoom in for precise pixel-level control, and a limited color palette that can be used to ensure that the final image has a consistent, retro look.
Here’s a list of software commonly used for pixel art:
1. Aseprite: Great professional editor with many time-saving features and yet simple to use.
2. Graphics Gale: A free classic japanese pixel art tool, used in many games. Excels at animation with features such as onion skinning.
3. Piskel: A free and open source online pixel art editor with a user gallery.
4. Pyxel edit: a pixel art drawing app especially designed for working with tiles. pretty good, and the price tag is quite reasonable.
5. Photoshop: Powerful image editor not intended to make pixel art but you can set it up to use it.
6. Gimp: A multi-purpose image editor, designed to be a free replacement for photoshop. Can be configured to use for pixel art.
7. Paint.net: A free image editing program for windows, originally intended as a replacement for MSPaint. It supports making pixel art.
8. Krita: A free, open source graphics program. It is intended for digital painting and 2d animation but can be set up for pixel art.
What is a drawing tablet?
A graphics tablet, also known as a drawing tablet, is a type of computer input device that allows artists to creat their work in digital form with a stylus pen.
Some tablets come with a built-in screen, while others connect to your computer and use your computer screen. If your interest is more digital painting on the go, then standalone drawing tablets.
All of these tablets have a pressure sensitive surface on which artist do their drawing work, allowing for enhanced precision and creativity.
Drawing tablets have revolutionized the way artists and designers work, providing a versatile platform for digital artistry, design, and precise input.
Do I need a drawing tablet for pixel art?
Pixel art is doable with a simple mouse, because you actually don‘t „draw“, you just place the pixels. You don‘t have to draw dynamic and smooth lines and such.
Moreover, a mouse can be more precise and accurate than a tablet in some cases, such as when you need to make fine adjustments, edits, places or selections.
On the other hand, a drawing tablet with pen is also a valuable tool for making pixel art, providing you with greater control and precision when creating your art.
The drawing tablet is mostly useful to convey your pen-and-paper drawing skill to the computer. If you want to make a quick sketch and easily draw your pixel art’s form, especially curves, a graphic tablet helps. It allows you to get the right proportions and movements, before the pixel-by-pixel detail.
Also, The pen tablet is much easier, natural more comfortable to draw with stylus than mouse. It can reduce the risk of strain or injury on your wrist, hand, and arm, as you can adopt a more ergonomic posture and movement.
Different Types of Drawing Tablets Overview
When selecting a drawing tablet for pixel art, it’s important to consider what types you want. Currently, there are three major types of tablets in the market.
1. Screenless Graphics tablets
Graphics Pen tablets are the simplest and least expensive kind of drawing tablet. They Looks like a mouse pad with a pen and connect to a laptop or PC to work but do not have an integrated screen for drawing.
Artists use these tablets by drawing on the surface of the device with a stylus or pen, while the visuals appear on the computer monitor.
These tablets essentially act as an input device, translating hand movements into digital strokes on the computer screen.
Wacom Intuos, XPPen Deco, and Huion Inspiroy are the most popular options in this category.
2. Drawing Tablets with Screen
These work the same as a graphics pad but upgraded as it has a screen within the device so it’s amongst the closest to pen on paper action.
These display drawing tablets often come in various sizes, resolutions, and sensitivity levels, catering to different user preferences and professional requirements.
Wacom Cintiq, XPPen Artist, and Huion Kamvas are the most popular options in this category.
3. Standalone Drawing Tablets
The first two types of drawing tablets requires you to connect it to another device, laptop, desktop or android phone / tablet to work.
All-in-one standalone drawing tablets, like the Apple iPad, are like display tablets, but with a built-in computer and supports pen input. So they can be used without a computer, which makes it very portable.
However, they runs on android or ipad os, using their own suite of mobile apps, which may be restrictive for some people.
8 Good Cheap Drawing Tablets for Creating Pixel Art
Here are eight good cheap drawing tablets we’ve picked for you that are not only great for creating pixel art, but also for editing photos, sketching, and painting.
1. One By Wacom
one by wacom is a good drawing tablet to start on, especially since it was the most affordable Wacom tablet.
The One by Wacom is available in two sizes: small version with 6.0 x 3.7 inches of active area, and medium version with 8.3 x 5.7 inches of active area.
It come with a battery-free stylus with 2048 levels of pressure sensitivity. In supported drawing software, the harder you press, the thicker the line.
Compatible with Windows, Mac, Android, and Chrome OS devices, this tablet empowers you to unleash your creativity across multiple platforms.
This tablet is simple, well-designed, supremely portable, yet still very effective. It can slip into most laptop bags with ease and be readily available whenever the creative urge strikes.
2. XPPen Deco 01 V3
Wacom products are better in every way but these are so much expensive ! XP-Pen products are more than capable and sufficient for a hobbyist.
XPPen Deco 01 v3 is a slim light weight graphics tablet with a clean simple design. The best thing is that it gives a high value for its price segment.
It comes with a 10 x 6.25 inch working area so you have more space to create and get work done.
The Deco 01 V3 tablet also has 8 hot keys that can be program to do some of the common tasks you need.
The battery-free stylus supports 16,384 levels of pressure sensitivity and 60 degrees of tilt response! The lines and strokes come out smooth and looking natural.
It’s compatible with Windows, Mac OS, Android, Chrome OS and mainstraeam art applications.
3. Huion Inspiroy H640P
Huion is also a great option for those who are looking to save some money.
The Huion Inspiroy H640P doesn’t have as many features as its more expensive counterparts, but that doesn’t mean it can’t get the job done.
It features a compact 6.3 x 3.9-inches active area, six programmable hotkeys and an excellent PW100 battery-free stylus that supports 8192 levels of pressure sensitivity.
Its stylus tracking and drawing experience feel very similar to those of pricier models, But it carries an extremely low price tag without compromising on the most important features of a great drawing tablet.
If you are a beginner, Huion H640P is a very good tablet, and if you get serious about digital art you can always explore more expensive things later.
4. Wacom One 12
The Wacom One 12 is the most affordable drawing monitor in thei pen display tablet range.
While it lacks some of the power and premium features of its Cintiq Pro siblings, it will still get you into the game and is great for hobbyists and casual creators on a budget.
Whilst the 11.6-inch display is only FHD 1080p and covers 99% SRGB color gamut, it’s impressively crisp and vibrant, more than enough for most illustration duties.
The screen is fully laminated to reduce papallax, while the AG etched glass surface offers nature paper-like drawing expernence.
The wacom one pen offers great drawing feel, and incredible pen response, through 4096 levels of pressure sensitivity and 60 degree of tilt recognition.
Th tablet is compact and portable, and the best thing is you can connect it to your laptop or android phone to draw with a single USB-C Cable.
5. Huion Kamvas 13 (Gen 3)
The Huion Kamvas 13 (Gen 3) is a 13.3-inch pen display tablet, designed as an entry level tool for beginner unfamiliar with digital art.
The QLED screen looks sharp, vibrant and vivid with full HD (1920×1080 pixels) resolution and 99% sRGB colour gamut, great for drawing pixel art.
Its Full-laminated screen minimizes the parallax so that your cursor appears exactly where you expect. The etched glass surface is anti-glare and provide you with the slightest of resistance for that pen on paper feel.
The Kamvas 13 (gen 3) tablet includes five buttons and dual dials that can set up to be whatever shortcut you want.
The new PW600L stylus features s huion’s most advanced PenTech 4.0 Technology, suports 16,384 levels of pressure sensitivity, low 2g IAF, and 60° tilt recognition that provides you amazing precision and control.
This is a lightweight pen with a rubber grip, which makes it comfortable to hold and has two customisable shortcut buttons on its shaft.
6. XPPen Artist 15.6 Pro V2
The XPPen Artist 15.6 Pro V2 is a good low-cost and mid-range 15.4-inch drawing display tablet.
The IPS LCD screen is quite impressive, delivering clear, vibrant and realistic images through FHD 1080p resolution and 96% Adobe RGB color gamut. .
The display is fully laminated so there’s minimal gap between the line and the pen tip. Furthermore, The anti-glare matte finish provides a nice tactile drawing experience of pen-on-paper.
The X3 smart chip stylus feels light with excellent performance, no lag or latency at all while drawing. It supports 16384 levels of pressure sensitivity, tilt detection and low 3g initial activation force.
Fortunately the tablet also includes 8 shortcut keys and a red roller wheel, for instant access to the most commonly used tools in your chosen software.
You can use it with your Chromebook, Android, Mac, Windows, and Linux devices through a handy single USB-C to USB-C Cable Connection.
7. ipad (11th gen)
The standard iPad 11th gen (2025) is an excellent choice for the budget-conscious with its value and solid specs.
It comes with a 10.9-inch Retina display with True Tone, 2.3K ( 2360 x 1640 pixels) resolution, a maximum brightness of 500 nits, and 109% of the sRGB color space.
The display looks plenty sharp, detailed and color accurate. The two drawbacks are the non-laminated screen and 60Hz refresh rate, But it’s not much to say for the price.
The powerful A16 Bionic Chip and 6GB of RAM can offer impressive performance across apps.
This ipad only works with the Apple Pencil 1st gen (sold separately), but it’s still enough for sketching and drawing.
One of the standout features of any iPad is its battery life, and this generation is no exception. The 7,698 mAh battery provides up to 10 hours of battery life.
Pixel Artists love the iPad. It’s portable, versatile, super handy and easy to use.
8. Samsung Galaxy Tab S6 Lite
Samsung Galaxy Tab S6 Lite is a very good entry level android tablet for creating pixel art on the go.
The 10.4 inch TFT LCD screen looks plenty sharp, bright, vibrant and colorful with 2K (2,000 x 1,200 -pixel) resolution, and 98.4% sRGB color gamut.
Under the hood, it is powered by an Exynos 1280 octa-core processor, paired with 4GB of RAM, which can handle general daily tasks well.
The included S Pen is very responsive and precise with 4096 levels of pressure sensitivity, tilt support, and 2.8ms low latency, the palm rejection is also excellent.
It runs on android, so you can download any pixel art design and drawing apps from google play store.
You can carry it around like a book and sketch, draw, or paint on the go. It packs in a 7,040 mAh battery that should easily get you through a couple of hous of continuous use.
In Conclusion
You can get away with using a cheaper pen tablet when it comes to pixel art since you don’t really need a super accurate pressure sensor!
Most drawing tablets with a display will run you at least $150, which is not really worth it unless you’re super into it and really dislike not having a display on your tablet.
But really it’s up to you! Just use whatever you are most comfortable with and you should be fine.
The final result will depend on the skills and creativity of the artist, as well as the features and capabilities of the software being used.
