review – I loved art in school, but after graduating I didn’t do much more. I still have my sketchbook and everything, but I haven’t delved into drawing on my tablet.Since the Simbans PicassoTab XL is marketed for beginners, I thought it would be a great way to start making art again. I was.
what is that?
Simbans Picassotab XL is an all-in-one Android drawing tablet with all the accessories beginners need to unleash their creativity.
what’s in the box?
- Simbans Picasso Tab XL
- picasso pen 2
- USB-C charging cable
- charging brick
- US, UK, and European plug adapters
- drawing glove
- tablet case
- pre-installed screen protector
hardware specs
- 11.6 inch IPS HD screen
- 64 GB storage with expandable Micro SD card slot
- Quad-core PTK8175 2 GHz processor
- 4GB of DDR4 RAM
- Android 11/Google Play Store
- 5 MP front, 8 MP rear camera
- WiFi, Bluetooth and GPS enabled
- Micro HDMI & USB-C Ports
design and function
After unpacking everything, you pop your Simbans PicassoTab XL graphics tablet into its case (unlike mine, it’s incredibly easy if you get it right) and you’re ready to rock and roll.
First, I fully charged the tablet using the included USB-C cable and power brick. It didn’t take long to charge. When left to sit, it seemed to take weeks to fully discharge while running in standby mode.
Powering up the Simbans PicassoTab XL drawing tablet is the power button next to the volume up and down buttons. Setup was easy using a Google account. I decided to use one that I had never associated with Google Play before and had no problems.
The Simbans PicassoTab XL drawing tablet comes with basic Android apps installed and the only additional app is Sketchbook. This app had everything I needed as a newbie to digital art. With adjustable layers, sketching pencils, tracing pens, fills, blurs, erasers, and more, I could do pretty much anything I wanted. As long as I know how to do it.
I downloaded YouTube first so I could view some tutorials. Simbans himself has published some tutorials using his Sketchbook, so he tried one. I failed miserably due to my own incompetence and the photos looked terrible compared to theirs.
The sound quality of the tablet was similar to most tablets I’ve used in the past. I connected my AirPods and they worked fine. The video didn’t stutter even in full screen, and the screen quality was on par with the PicassoTab XL’s price point.
The Picasso Pen felt great in my hand and was very responsive on screen. I could not only see it visually on the screen, but also feel the pressure sensitivity. Very cool! Drawing gloves were absolutely necessary. Without it, dots appeared on the screen from my wrist and palm.
After coming back to mind one of the Simbans tutorials I watched later, I took a selfie using the Simbans PicassoTab XL and imported it into Sketchbook. I made a cartoon version of myself by tracing around the face. I tried a little shading and voila, art! I did notice that the app rattled a bit when smudged, but it wasn’t so much that it felt offensive, just enough to notice.
I’m talking about selfies, but the Simbans PicassoTab XL’s front and rear cameras are nothing to write home about. It can be used for video calls and the quality isn’t bad, but it won’t win any awards. , became brighter. Need a quick snapshot to draw inspiration from?
I definitely wanted to try out more manga-type, anime-style art in the future.With the tips in the tutorials, I feel I have a solid foundation.
In the meantime, when you’re not practicing your art, Simbans PicassoTab XL can be used as a media screen to watch videos or play games. The touch screen works as intended, but using the case as a stand didn’t work. It took a lot of effort to lock the case into ‘stand mode’. Again, not a game breaker, but definitely notable.
my favorite thing
- affordable
- generous screen size
- Save time with the included gloves
- the pen works very well
what i want to change
- Slightly slower when dirty
- The stand is a little hard to use on top of the case
final thoughts
All in all, the Simbans PicassoTab XL Drawing Tablet definitely fits the bill as an entry-level tablet, although it’s mostly due to the pen and accessories. The versatility of sketching, watching videos, and playing games is a plus. If you don’t already own a tablet of any kind, the Simbans PicassoTab XL can be a great entry-level graphics tablet for those looking to get started with digital artwork casually.
price: $259.95
where to buy: Amazon or Simbans website
sauce: This product sample was provided by Simbans.
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