HUION Kamvas 22 Plus Drawing Tablet

Honestly, this is the most fun I've had with a PC since like forever. Thank you Huion. And Amazon for getting it here so quickly. I've never used a drawing tablet before. I've never used Photoshop. Having said all that, I've been studying computer programming since the mid-80's. Ran a professional recording studio for 20 year using desktop PC's for music production. I'm not a novice but I'm only mediocre as an artist and have zero experience with these tablets or pretty much anything related to digital art. Since getting this tablet 3 months ago I have learned a lot. I spent a lot of time getting used to the tablet itself but mostly getting used to the drawing software (I'm using Krita). I read through some of the reviews. The ones that are even-tempered and professional all made great comments and observations. I agreed with almost all of it. Good job on the reviews guys. Actually those same reviews helped me decide on this product. I do have a couple of observations based on only a few months of experience. 1) I had a bit of a hard time grappling through the installation. The instructions are similar to those Ikea style assembly instructions: slightly confusing diagrams with little, if any, written instructions or tips. I'm usually ok with that though because there's always YouTube lol However, here's where my very limited expertise in the digital graphic arts initially came roaring into focus. The connections, that 3-1 connector... I spent a few days trying to sort things out. It wasn't clear to me at first that both the HDMI and the USB cables had to be connected at the same time. Which obviously means you need one of each of those available on the PC. My recording PC (which is fairly new) didn't have a single HDMI port anywhere. The graphics card is an older dual-head with DVI-D outputs. So that business threw me for a loop. Luckily my laptop had all the right I/O, so connecting it, and getting it running, took only a few minutes. Note: both the HDMI and the USB ports must be connected at the same time. Which means you will need one of each of those available on the PC side. Another issue was the length of the bundled cables. Plenty long if you're sitting right next to your PC, but not long enough for a PC in an equipment rack a few feet from the desktop. I had to source some additional extension cabling. I found out (luckily) that a simple DVI-D to HDMI adapter would work. And let me tell you: this tablet is AWESOME as a second monitor in a dual-monitor setup. If you're running a dual-monitor setup with the Huion, you have to go into the Huion setup app to select which monitor is the tablet (in order for the pen to work) 2) This is going to consume some desk space and necessitate the setting up of cables and outlets and such. I'm having to make some profound changes to the way I had things configured for recording. It's weird how similar are the learning curves for art vs music production. Different senses but similar learning curves. Similar challenges. I wouldn't classify this as a mobile option unless you don't mind getting a suitcase for it. I wouldn't be hauling this all over the place without a good travel case. But I understand there are many who have to. Maybe this could be an accessory (hint hint). We use custom foam-lined road cases all the time in the music industry. You can find some nice ones here on Amazon. They come in different sizes with foam inserts that have already been die-cut so you just remove the exact amount of foam needed to secure the device inside the case when it's closed. They're not expensive. 3) Speaking of options, I also bought that mini-keypad. It wasn't until just recently that I set that up and started using it. It's cool. I dig it. The only issue is remembering the key positions. There's nothing printed on the keys themselves. There is a pop-up diagram that is accessed by keypad key #1. That key can not be reprogrammed. It is always a reference to the key assignments. I've used it often. I got so used to the qwerty keyboard I wasn't sure I needed the mini-keypad. But it will come in handy. When my muscle memory kicks in. I think someone mentioned they liked not having keys on the drawing tablet itself. I agree. 4) The parallax thing. I'm not sure if this is just me, because of my lack of experience. But if this is an improvement on the problem, then it must have been pretty bad before. There is distinct parallax if you move your head off axis. Even just a little bit. I found myself lazy-drawing late at night with my head in my left hand, staring at the screen from an angle. It didn't even sink in until days or weeks later. I was so focused on learning the basics I guess I ignored it. I would love to read some feedback on this. This is one of the major problems I think in regards to digital vs paper or canvas. With the digital pen there is a little gap between the nib and the digital "canvas". Your posture makes a difference. Sit up straight and head directly above the screen and it shouldn't pose a problem. 5) That "paper feel" feature. Um... it seemed cool at first but over time I forgot about it. Didn't care. In fact I think I thought to believe it would be better if the surface was smooth - pulling lines seems like it would be easier without the added drag. I bought a drawing glove but haven't used it more than a couple times. I didn't like the way it felt on my hand when I was drawing and painting. No thanks. Truth be told I don't miss it. Yes I have to clean the screen more often... I guess. 6) The pen. I have nothing to compare it to other than a real pen or brush. The only issue I have with it is I tend to press that rocker switch a lot by accident. I have to constantly rotate the switch away from my fingers. I know it can be turned off and it will be, probably, when I get the hang of the mini-keypad. Doesn't need recharging. That's cool. I love the little donut stand for it. I've dropped the pen a few times. Still works lol. Don't care that there's no eraser on the other end (like a normal pencil). Much easier to just press a key on the keyboard/mini-pad to engage "erase" in Krita. I use erase a lot lol. 7) The packaging presentation is first rate. Best I've seen. Someone spent a lot of time on the packaging of the product for distribution and sale. The tablet is heavy enough to say: I'm here and I'm staying right here till you move me. The adjustable stand is awesome too. Really easy to adjust the tilt. That little mini-keypad even came impressively boxed. It needs another USB port for the transmitter. The keypad can run remotely, or tethered through the included USB cable (which is required to charge the internal lithium battery every once in a while). You know what? None of these quirks ruined the enjoyment of the product at all. It's awesome man. Get one! Oh by the way: the size is perfect. 22" is perfect. Anything larger and you'll need more desk space and a bigger road case lol. 22" is plenty of room, especially when you want to "pin" reference images to the side of the canvas layer you're working on. I was running the tablet (and Krita) on a low-endy 7 year old laptop with 8GB memory. Worked well enough to get through the initial learning curve. My studio PC is a multi-core intel/asus with 32 GB memory and it works great. Snappy. No bugs or issues at all.