Best Laptop For Sketching [2024]

Unleash your creativity with the best laptop for sketching.

Finding the ideal laptop for drawing and working as an artist might be like looking for a needle in a haystack. But picture a 2-in-1 laptop with a touch screen that feels exactly like your canvas! However, navigating the world of convertible drawing laptops is not simple. The alternatives can be daunting, and the technical jargon can be difficult to understand.

In this article, I hope to save you hours of research. Based on extensive study, hands-on testing, and feedback from fellow artists and designers, I’ll recommend the best 2-in-1 laptops for drawing.

Best Laptop for Sketching in 2024

These laptops all run Windows and include touch screens and pens with Wacom EMR or MPP technology, simulating the natural sensation of sketching on paper.

Pros and Cons of the Samsung Galaxy Book2 Pro 360 as a Drawing Laptop:

Pros	Cons
➕ New 2022 technology	➖Price:
➕ S Pen with Wacom EMR technology for a natural drawing experience	➖ The integrated graphics cards may not be powerful enough for pleasant 3D work, animation, and video editing.
➕ 100% sRGB and nearly 100% Adobe RGB colour gamut for accurate digital art and printing
➕ Excellent battery life for Adobe Photoshop.
➕ Lightweight and portable.

Samsung Galaxy Book 2 Pro 360 Specifications:

• 2-in-1 laptop with a 15.6″ Full HD AMOLED touchscreen display.
• Resolution: 1920×1080 pixels (16:9). Maximum refresh rate is 60Hz.
• Brightness: 400 nits – Colour gamut: 100% sRGB / 98% Adobe RGB
• High gloss level
• The included stylus pen employs Wacom EMR technology to provide a natural drawing experience on paper. For an even better drawing experience, consider the Wacom One Pen.
• Processor: 12-core 12th Gen Intel Core i7-1260P.Integrated Intel Iris Xe GPU
• Windows 11 operating system. The battery lasts approximately 5 hours when working with Adobe Photoshop.
• The hinges are sturdy but not robust enough to maintain a comfortable drawing angle. I recommend you use it with a drawing stand.
• Dimensions: 14″ x 9″ x 0.5″ (35 x 23 x 1.2 cm).
• Weight: 3.1 pounds (1.4 kilogrammes).

The Galaxy Book2 Pro 360 greatly upgrades the popular first-generation Book Pro 360. It includes cutting-edge technologies for creating digital art.Most crucially, it contains the very precise S Pen, which employs Wacom EMR technology to simulate the sensation of drawing on paper.

The 15.6″ version, which I prefer due to its larger screen, is slightly more expensive than the 13.3″ version. Overall, both models have an amazing price-to-value ratio.

Excellent 2-in-1 laptop for drawing, light 3D animation, and video editing!

What do artists think?

• Brand Colbow, a digital artist and illustrator, reviewed the Samsung Galaxy Book 2 360 Pro on his channel.
• He chose this model because it includes Samsung’s S Pen, which can be easily positioned for drawing thanks to its 360-degree rotating capability.
• Brad created the review illustrations using Photoshop, Clip Studio, and Krita. He enjoyed the drawing experience, which included clean and sensitive lines. Photoshop performed admirably, Clip Studio was adequate, and Krita had troubles, particularly with pen bobbing effects and poor palm rejection.
• He enjoys Samsung’s larger, more comfortable pens compared to prior generations. He also enjoys the pen’s rubbery tip, which increases screen drag. This makes it easier to control, but individuals who are used to a different feel may need time to adjust.
• Brad believes the laptop is suitably priced for its performance. He likes the Super AMOLED display, even though it prioritises contrast above colour accuracy. He appreciates the laptop’s light and small design and finds it powerful enough for high-resolution illustrations.
• The laptop offers affordable configurations, including RAM, storage, and screen size upgrades. He mentions that the laptop appears to be a decent alternative for artists, offering outstanding performance and useful features at a reasonable price.
• The laptop hinges may not be robust enough to retain the screen at specific angles for sketching, causing it to fall flat or shift when pressure is applied with the pen. When using it in a flat, tablet-like position, you lose access to keyboard shortcuts, which may necessitate additional peripherals such as a shortcut remote.

Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio as a Drawing Laptop

Pros & Cons of Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio as a Drawing Laptop:

Pros	Cons
➕ Beautiful design (I am a MacBook enthusiast, and Microsoft is stepping into Apple’s shoes!!)	➖ Price
➕ High resolution and aspect ratio display	➖Does not contain a stylus pen. Compatible with dramatically enhanced Surface Slim Pen 2
➕ Bright screen with accurate colour reproduction	➖ When drawing in Photoshop, the battery life is somewhat disappointing. All that processing power and refresh rate take a toll. Switching the refresh rate to 60Hz comes at the sacrifice of fluidity in the drawing.
➕ Dedicated graphics cards support demanding tasks such as 3D, animation, and video editing. Lightweight and portable.
➕ Beautiful design (I am a MacBook enthusiast and Microsoft is stepping into Apple’s shoes!!)

Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio Specifications:

• 2-in-1 touch screen laptop with 14.4″ QHD PixelSense Flow display.
• Resolution: 2400×1600 pixels (3:2).
• Maximum refresh rate: 120Hz – Brightness: 500 nits – Colour gamut: 100% sRGB / 81% Adobe RGB.
• High gloss.
• Stylus pen is not included. MPP 3.0 technology is used (which is comparable to Wacom EMR). Get the Surface Slim Pen 2 for the finest drawing experience!
• Processor: Quad-core 11th Gen Intel Core H35 i7-11370H.
• NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 Ti laptop GPU with 4GB GDDR6 memory.
• Windows 11 operating system.
• The battery lasts approximately 3 hours when working with Adobe Photoshop.
• Hinges are sturdy but not robust enough to maintain a comfortable drawing position. I recommend you use it with a drawing stand.
• The model will be released in late 2021 with the latest technology.
• The dimensions are 13″ x 9″ x 0.75″ (32 x 23 x 1.9 cm).
• Weight: 4 pounds (1.8 kilogrammes).

Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio includes a much upgraded Surface Slim Pen 2, which employs MPP 3.0 technology similar to Wacom EMR. I adore my MacBook Pro because I am a Mac enthusiast, but this 2-in-1 laptop is almost replacing it!! I enjoy the design, screen, pen, and drawing experience.

The dedicated graphics card makes working in Adobe Creative Suite and other creative tools, such as Blender and Unity, much easier, allowing me to concentrate solely on my work rather than computer concerns. If I could pick one flaw, it would be the battery life. It is quite brief while working with CPU and GPU-intensive tools like Adobe Photoshop. Overall, this is an excellent choice among 2-in-1 computers for drawing.

Samsung Galaxy Book 2 Alpha

I like it because I enjoy the Galaxy Book Flex2 Alpha for its affordability, weight, and portability. The latter two remind me of my 12.9-inch iPad Pro. It also works with the S Pen and other Wacom EMR pens, making drawing on it fun.

Pros & Cons of Samsung Galaxy Book Flex2 Alpha as a Drawing Laptop:

Pros	Cons
➕ Price:	➖ No stylus pen is included. Compatible with S Pen (Wacom EMR)
➕ Bright screen with a wide colour gamut.	➖The integrated graphics card is not powerful enough for demanding tasks.
➕ Long battery life for drawing in Photoshop.	➖Uses a bespoke charger instead of a USB-C charger.
➕ Very light and portable.

Samsung Galaxy Book Flex2 Alpha Specifications:

• 2-in-1 laptop with a 13.3″ Full HD QLED touchscreen display.
• Resolution: 1920×1080 pixels (16:9).
• Maximum refresh rate: 60Hz – Brightness: 400 nits (600 nits in outdoor mode)
• Colour gamut: 100% sRGB.
• High gloss.
• The stylus pen is not included. It uses Wacom EMR technology and is compatible with the S Pen. For an even better drawing experience, consider the Wacom One Pen.
• Quad-core 11th Gen Intel Core i7-1165G7 processor • Integrated Intel Iris Xe graphics • Windows 11 operating system.
• The battery lasts approximately 5 hours when working with Adobe Photoshop. • The hinges are sturdy but not robust enough to maintain a comfortable drawing angle. I propose using it with a drawing stand. 
• Dimensions: 12 x 8 x 0.5 inches (30 x 20 x 1.3 cm).
• Weight: 2.6 pounds (1.2 kilogrammes).

The Galaxy Book Flex2 Alpha is the only 2-in-1 laptop I found for under $1,000 that supports Wacom EMR technology and offers a satisfying drawing experience.

It is a lightweight laptop, which makes it even more pleasurable with the 600 nits outdoor brightness mode. It’s a wonderful option if you’re on a low budget.

HP Envy x 360

Why I appreciate it – This is a nice HP 2-in-1 laptop with many useful technologies and features for new digital artists. It requires some tinkering to achieve the best drawing experience, but it’s a nice deal at the price.

Pros & Cons of HP Envy x360 as a Drawing Laptop:

Pros	Cons
➕ Affordable price	➖ Supports older MPP (Microsoft Pen Protocol) technologies.
➕ High-quality colour reproduction	➖Dimensions and weight are on the higher side.
➕ Full DCI-PR colour gamut (greater than Adobe RGB)	➖ The integrated graphics card may not be powerful enough for intensive tasks such as 3D, animation, and video editing.
➕Good battery life when using Adobe Photoshop.

 HP Envy x360 Specifications:

• Computer type: 2-in-1 touch screen laptop.
• Display size: 15.6″ FHD OLED touch screen with 1920x1080px resolution (16:9).
• Features include a 60Hz refresh rate, 500 nit brightness, 100% DCI-P3 colour gamut, and high gloss.
• The stylus pen is not included. It utilizes MPP technology. For the best drawing experience, get the HP Rechargeable MPP 2.0 Tilt Pen.
• Processor: 8-core AMD Ryzen 7 5700U.
• GPU: Integrated AMD Radeon Graphics
• Operating system: Windows 11
• The battery lasts around 4 hours when working with Adobe Photoshop.
• The hinges are sturdy but not robust enough to maintain a comfortable drawing angle. I recommend using it with a drawing stand. Release date: Early 2021.
• The dimensions are 14″ x 9″ x 0.73″ (35.5 x 23 x 1.85 cm).
• Weight: 3.8 pounds (1.7 kg).

I would not choose a laptop for drawing unless it used Wacom EMR or the most recent MPP technology. However, if you are an HP fan or enjoy doing digital art as a hobby, the HP Envy x360 may be ideal for you. It has adequate capability to operate creative applications smoothly and can also assist with light 3D, animation, and video editing tasks. The colour fidelity is excellent, and the laptop has a long battery life when drawing in Adobe Photoshop. Overall, this is an excellent 2-in-1 laptop for drawing on a budget!