Review: Ugee G3 Graphics Drawing Tablet
There are lots of cheap drawing tablets on the market and few are high-quality items.
But there is one gem in the coalmine called the Ugee G3 tablet.
It comes with a large drawing area of 9” wide by 6” tall. This basically fits into a mid-sized tablet class and offers all the best functionality that you’d expect from a digital drawing tablet. The G3 can work for new artists and experienced artists alike.
The G3 also supports all your favorite programs including Photoshop, Corel, SAI, and Manga Studio(among others). Although it is rather cheap in price it definitely doesn’t feel cheap in behavior.
Let’s delve into the G3 tablet and see how it fares as a heavy duty drawing pad.
Overview
For the price and quality there’s not much that can compete with the Ugee G3. It’s a fairly large tablet spanning 17” wide by 10” tall. The actual drawing area is only 9” x 6” but there’s a fair amount of extra space used as a border.
The drawing area is very smooth but also lightly textured to avoid sliding around with the pen. You can draw and get solid traction without feeling too much resistance.
You’ll get a generic Ugee pen with eight replacement nibs and a charging port. The pen works well and since it’s battery-free you won’t ever need to worry about buying replacements.
The pen has a couple buttons on it which act as hotkeys. The top button toggles between drawing mode and erasing mode which is a nice little feature. But it’s tough to get used to if your current pen has an eraser on the other end.
The other stylus button can be programmed to behave like a hotkey for anything you wish. Button configs are saved in the tablet’s settings menu which you can access once the tablet is fully installed.
In the box you get the tablet along with a bunch of accessories. Here’s a full list.
- Ugee G3 tablet
- Ugee P50S pen
- Extra pen nibs(x8)
- Pen holder
- USB cable
- Charging cable
- User manual
- Drivers CD
The best part of having a battery-free pen is the lighter weight and easier handling. Performance feels dramatically improved and it’s super easy to let the pen charge overnight so it’s ready for the next day. Battery life also holds for a while and you could easily go days without charging.
While there is a lot to say about the G3 tablet, I have to admit I’m just as impressed by the pen.
Drawing on the actual tablet feels so freeing and natural. It comes with 2048 levels of pressure sensitivity and a report rate of 220 RPS(Revolutions Per Second). This unit measures how many times the tablet checks and reports your pen’s location back to the computer. Anything above 200 is typically standard for modern tablets.
Also since this tablet doesn’t have any hotkeys you can move it around however you like. It’s completely ambidextrous so it functions the same for right-handed and left-handed artists.
Pros
- Extremely affordable
- Very quick setup process
- Helpful support staff
- Comes with everything you need to get started
Cons
- Takes up a lot of desk space
- High sensitivity levels by default
- Somewhat tricky pen configuration
Device Setup
This is one of the easiest tablets I’ve had in regards to configuration and setup. You just run the drivers CD and plug in the tablet when required. It’ll ask you to restart the computer and on reboot the tablet should be ready for configuration.
If the CD drivers aren’t working check the Ugee downloads page since they do release updates for newer OS’.
Ugee’s support staff is also available to help if you have any questions along the way.
One thing to note is that right out of the box the Ugee G3 has very sensitive pressure levels. You can barely press on the tablet and still get a decently sized mark on the screen.
These pressure values can be changed in the settings menu. Based on my drawing habits this was a mandatory task to actually use the G3. But once you adjust the sensitivity level you never need to do it again.
I wouldn’t really say this is a big issue with the tablet. But it’s something to remember when first setting up the device.
Top Features
Everything about the Ugee G3 feels incredibly natural for working digitally. The tablet is thin but sturdy. It’s not too heavy and gives a bit of push against your hand while drawing.
The active drawing area is large enough to do anything you want. For the price this tablet is unbelievably high-quality and certainly a great tablet for newer artists jumping into digital art.
The G3 is small enough to operate solely on power from your USB port. It’s super easy to use and really one of the best options if you want to avoid too many wires. It is a larger device so it may not be an easy squeeze when it comes to portability. But it is possible to bring this with you and use it on-the-go if you have a large enough carrying bag.
The pen comes with options for pen mode and mouse mode which are both easy to switch between while drawing. If you like to access other programs without touching your mouse this is a big pro for the G3.
Outer edges of the tablet seem to respond well to pressure which can be a common problem among cheaper graphics tablets. The G3 really holds up with touch sensitivity and recognition of pen mode and eraser mode.
Another big positive for Ugee is their customer support. Similar tablet companies like Parblo and Huion are not known for their customer support. In fact sometimes it’s almost impossible to get a helpful answer out of customer support for these lesser-known tablets.
But Ugee is very responsive and always available. You can chat with representatives for any reason whether it be setup, order concerns, or configuration issues.
You can rest easy knowing that if you buy a Ugee tablet you’ll be in good hands.
Downsides
There’s actually not much I can complain about for this tablet. Some customers have left reviews reporting issues with their tablet upon delivery, but none of these issues are consistent with my experience.
Ugee holds their devices to a very high standard. It’s incredible to even find a tablet like this at such a reasonable price.
I do feel like the side buttons on the stylus are a little clunky to get used to. It’s a bit difficult clicking them to switch between pen/eraser mode and between pen/mouse mode. But after a few days of use it becomes habitual and much easier to perform without thinking.
If you have tight desk space then this might be the biggest problem with the G3. It’s a great tablet but it does take up a lot of room, with the product’s width spanning 16.6” wide. This is actually wider than the Parblo B960 which comes with the exact same drawing space(9” by 6”).
So if you’re looking for a small portable tablet the G3 may not be the right choice.
One other minor complaint is the default pressure sensitivity. When you first install the tablet it’s very sensitive to any amount of pressure. This means you almost certainly have to fiddle with the settings to reach a sensitivity level that’s useable.
I have no problem with this because I like to customize settings and toy around with features. But some artists would rather not waste their time and want something that just works right out of the box.
If you can put up with the high sensitivity then you’ll be thrilled with the G3.
But all these issues aside I cannot believe how great this tablet performs. It seems to get a little worn as you use it, but it never feels like it’s gonna break under pressure.
Getting around the tablet’s large size, lack of hotkeys, and default sensitivity will be easy once you see the price and everything you get with it.
And if you run into any issues at any time you should definitely reach out to Ugee support for advice. They have a telephone number, e-mail address, Skype account, and physical mailing address for customer support.
If you’re looking for a tablet outside the Wacom brand this G3 is one of the best choices. You can nab this tablet for a real bargain and still expect quality features.
To Summarize
There’s no getting around it: the Ugee G3 tablet is an absolute godsend for new artists getting into digital art.
It’s super easy to setup, quick to customize, and very affordable. Not to mention it comes with a 1 year manufacturer’s warranty and a very helpful support staff. The only thing I would’ve liked to see would be hotkey buttons on the tablet itself.
But for the price this is an incredible device.
The G3 is comparable to other similar tablets but comes with a much larger drawing space. It’s perfect for artists of any skill level and it’s easy to pick up once you start drawing on it frequently.
