The graphic tablet is an indispensable tool for those who love to draw or paint for a living using the PC. With it we can make the sketches of the drawings that we are going to make below but also draw comics, manga or anything else directly on the screen, since they offer a rendering to the touch very similar to the pen and pencil, with a level of precision comparable to the classic freehand drawing.
In the guide that follows we will show you free drawing programs that can be used for free on a PC together with the graphic tablet. The recommended applications are all free and are perfectly compatible with the latest generation graphics tablets, such as the Wacom OneByWacom, sold on Amazon for € 42.
READ ALSO -> Use the pen tablet to sign documents and PDFs
Microsoft Whiteboard
The first app we recommend you try with your graphics tablet is Microsoft Whiteboardintegrated in Windows 11 and Windows 10 but can also be downloaded for free from the Microsoft Store.
With this app we can begin to become familiar with the graphics tablet and the included stylus by drawing very simple lines, shapes and subjects. Despite the simplicity, this app provides, in the lower part of the window, a whole series of tips, pencils and pens to use for coloring and drawing, as well as other useful tools in drawing such as eraser, ruler, selection with lasso and add text or images. .
GIMP
Among the traditional photo editing programs that are also useful for drawing we find GIMP, one of the best alternatives to Photoshop; this application can be downloaded for free from the official website.
Although not born for drawing, it has all the tools you need to draw anything, including brushes (with various types of tips), pencils of all kinds and even an effective filling tool. The best tool to start drawing with GIMP and the graphic tablet is certainly the brush, but we can also make more refined drawings with the pencil, with the airbrush with the stylus.
Inkscape
If we want to start drawing seriously we have to use professional software, preferably free and open source. The best we can install on PC is definitely Inkscapedownloadable from the official website.
Inkscape is a program designed for vector graphics and it provides a lot of brushes and tools to draw whatever we can think of. After connecting the graphics tablet, it will be our task to start drawing the lines and outlines of the drawing, also making changes to the vector lines and points, so as to maintain the correct proportions of the lines and shapes that we are going to draw. It is currently the best PC program for drawing with a graphic tablet.
Krita
Those who want to try their hand at making a comic or a manga can draw with the graphic tablet together with a professional program such as Kritaavailable for free from the official website.
Krita offers a lot of tools for drawing, so you can make sketches of comics, color comics and create images inspired by Japanese manga. The peculiarity of this application is the presence of numerous templates to be used as a basis for your design: so we can choose whether to start completely from scratch or be inspired by one of the models present.
Pencil2D Animation
Another very interesting app for drawing animated comics is Pencil2D Animationwhich we can download for free from the official website.
With Pencil2D Animation we can quickly create comics or manga and animate them directly within the app, without having to use a dedicated rendering program. This program works particularly well with the graphic tablet recommended in the introduction and will allow you to create any type of drawing, comic or manga.
App for children
Do we want to stimulate the imagination of our children? The graphic tablet gives them their chance, since it is possible to use it from an early age to draw and thus acquire flair and creativity. The first app that we can let children use together with the graphics tablet is Paintalready included in many versions of Windows but downloadable for free (in case we have uninstalled it) from the Microsot Store.
With this app, children can draw easily, using the simple tools on the top bar of the program (pencil, brush and eraser, all of various sizes and colors). At the end of the drawing it is possible to export it in JPG or BMP, so as to be able to print it easily.
Another drawing program designed for children is Tux Paintfreely downloadable from the official website.
In a really simple interface we can find a whole series of brushes, pencils, watercolors and many other drawing tools for children, so that they can have fun drawing anything using the graphics tablet within the drawing area.
Conclusions
The graphic tablet was born as a professional drawing tool but we can also use it in the home environment (also considering the very affordable cost) for to make children draw on the PCto make small drawings or personal sketches, to test our skills with brushes or to try to draw comics or manga (always if we have the famous “touch”).
If we want to use the graphics tablet to draw on online drawing sites, we suggest you read our guides on how paint online, color and freehand draw with artistic effects and how create abstract images online and drawings with brushes, paints, shapes and texts.