A little while back I received and reviewed a drawing tablet from Veikk. To say the Voila L by Veikk changed my art is an understatement. It is just so good to use. So when the lovely people at Veikk offered me a Pen and Display to try I immediately said yes. So let’s take a look at the Studio VK1200.
Note: Veikk sent the tablet to review. However, this is a completely independent review. All thoughts about this item are our own.
One of the biggest problems people seem to have with a drawing tablet is hand-eye coordination. Using a display tablet that allows you to draw directly onto the tablet can overcome this. Personally, I didn’t have a problem with that and found myself constantly looking at my monitor anyway.
Pros
- Straight out of the box, it is easy to use. Plug and play and the pen (or stylus) and tablet work a treat (It does require drivers to be loaded for programming buttons and dial), it does require a connection for the Display to work, but you can also use it without the display.
- Has programmable buttons on the tablet, is easy to set up and is very handy
- It has a smooth and comfortable matte surface to work on, actually, it’s quite dreamy
- Pressure sensitive pen, with tilt function
- Minimalist design and comfortable to use
- Small and compact, great for take-it-anywhere convenience
- The pen fits comfortably in your hand (battery free)
- Fully laminated and High Resolution (IPS FHD display features 16.7 million true-to-life colors and ultra-low reflectivity) 1920×1080
- Appears to be a solid build
- Good installation guide (once downloaded from the website)
- Can be set up for left or right-handed users
- Comes with spare nibs and a pen holder
- Non-slip feet
- The tablet can be used without turning the display on
Cons
- The user guide is quite small. Much better off to go straight the website and download the manual
- You need to close down all programs (Lightroom & Photoshop etc) to load the drivers successfully, then restart your PC to get it working properly, and then it’s easy to use. I know this is applicable to many programs and drivers as well.
- I found the buttons on the stylus (pen) a little clunky and not as fluid as the tablet controls
- I needed to buy a Display Port to HDMI adapter to get the display working as my graphic card did not have the correct connections, but it is getting a little old.
- No finger control via display, to zoom or rotate
Studio VK 1200 — Technical specifications
All of the technical specifications for the Studio VK1200 are from the Veikk website.
- Dimensions: 319mm x 190mm x 12mm
- Weight: 780 grams
- Working area: 10″ x 6”
- Report Rate: 290 PPS
- Resolution: 5080 LPI
- Pen: P05
- Pressure Sensitivity: 8192
- Reading Height: 10mm
- Port: USB-C & Mini HDMI
- Compatibility: Windows 11/10/8/7, MAC OS10.12 (or later), CHROME IS 88 (or later), Linux
- Color: Black
- Full Lamination: Yes
- Shortcut keys: 6
- Screen Resolution: 1920 x 1080
- Visual Angle: 178o
- Input Voltage: DC5V
Studio VK1200 — Endless creativity
Ergonomics are pretty good. It’s light and comfortable to work with. Nice, fluid smooth matte surface area and pen connection. Adjustable pressure sensitivity.
Build quality
The tablet feels solid in the hand, although it is pretty light, making it quite transportable. The stylus is also lightweight, solid and has a non-slip matte surface. Feels comfortable in the hand.
Out of the box
Out of the box, there are no batteries or anything, connect via the supplied USB-C & HDMI cable and the pen worked straight away (it comes with two pens and a pen holder). As mentioned above I had to get a Display Port to HDMI Adapter to plug the Mini HDMI into my graphics card to get the display working. In the Download section, there is a link for the User manual, this manual is quite good and once I shut down Lightroom and Photoshop the drivers were installed quickly and easily. A quick Restart and the Veikk software allowed me to program the pen and tablet with ease.
Two pens are supplied, a pen holder, 20 extra nibs, a nib extractor, a cleaning cloth and a handy drawing glove.
The other issue I had, which took a little fiddling around with is the display setup, as I already have two monitors connected. I had to go into Display (right-click on the Windows screen) and go to Settings. I needed to add a third screen and then duplicate my first screen onto the display or third screen). Not overly complicated, but it is something to be aware of. This would be much easier if I only had one screen (like on a laptop).
Studio — In use
Controls
You can program the buttons to whatever function you wish ie; Grab/Move, zoom in and out, increase/decrease the brush size. You can even program the buttons on the stylus.
Battery life
Refreshingly no batteries are required at all. No charging!
Connection
You simply connect the pen tablet to your computer with the included USB-C cable, and HDMI Cable (a display adapter may be required — not included).
Setup
Once I programmed my pen and tablet, it was super intuitive to use. The pen feels comfortable and the matte surface feels terrific to work with, it is dreamy and so nice for painting especially. Very precise.
Tip: Use some reusable tape and write what you have programmed the buttons for and stick on the buttons or attach a sticky note to your PC until you remember them all.
Final thoughts
The Studio is surprisingly good for only $149.95. Once installed and set up, it is super easy to use. Has nice solid fluid movement and details. The buttons are great, my biggest problem was the size. While it is brilliant to work on I found it was too small to read the text in Photoshop. I can increase the size of the image I am working on but not my Photoshop screen. I actually found if I turned the display feature off and used it as a basic drawing tablet and looked at my monitor it was better.
If you are a serious digital artist I would suggest looking at the 22″ version I would think as a display this might be a better option. However IF you are looking at something small and compact and travel-friendly then the VK1200 (11.6″ to be precise) may be the best option for you, available via Amazon.
