Huion Kamvas 13 Gen 3 Drawing Tablet Review + Artist Demo
The Huion Kamvas 13 Gen 3 is the latest pen display I’ve tested in my 15+ years of creating digital art on devices like the Wacom Cintiq 27QHD, Cintiq Pro 24 and iPad Pro (alongside decades of working with traditional media such as paints, colored pencils, and alcohol markers). After two disappointing experiences with expensive Wacom tablets that died way too soon, I was eager to see how Huion’s more affordable pen displays compare. With impeccable timing, Huion reached out and kindly sent me the Kamvas 13 Gen 3 (affiliate link) to review. Read on to learn what I enjoyed most about the Kamvas 13, how it compares to drawing on the Cintiq and iPad, and how it stacks up against traditional media in terms of feel, workflow, and results!
Art by Thaneeya McArdle, created on Huion Kamvas 13 Gen 3
🌟 Kamvas 13 Gen 3 GIVEAWAY! 🌟
But first: Huion is kindly giving away one free Kamvas 13 Gen 3 pen display to my readers!
To enter, simply download my free Hedgehog Butterfly coloring page, color it in, submit your entry!
All entries must be submitted by September 15, 2025. and this giveaway is open to everyone in the world!
So grab your coloring supplies and have fun bringing my Hedgehog Butterfly to life! I can’t wait to see how you color it! 😍
Table of Contents
Top 5 Things I Love About the Kamvas 13 Gen 3
How Kamvas 13 Gen 3 compares to Wacom and iPad
The Huion Kamvas 13 Gen 3 fits quite comfortably on my desk!
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Top 5 Things I Love About the Huion Kamvas 13 Gen 3
1. Perfect Size for Portability and Convenience
Size comparison of the Kamvas 13 Gen 3 next to the iPad Pro 11”. The Kamvas 13 Gen 3 is a little wider, but the usable screen area is not quite as tall as the iPad Pro 11”.
At first, when I unboxed the Kamvas 13 Gen 3, I worried the screen might feel too small, especially compared to my iPad, and definitely compared to the large 24” and 27” Cintiqs I used in the past. But as soon as I set up the Kamvas 13 Gen 3 and started using it, I was pleasantly surprised at how comfortable the screen size felt. Working on it was just fine!
The small size of the Kamvas 13 Gen 3 means that it’s lightweight and extremely portable. The model I received came with its own stand (unlike the Wacom Cintiq, where you have to pay extra for a heavy, expensive stand that’s too awkward and heavy to move around). I love that I can set the Kamvas on my desk, plug it in, start drawing right away, then easily unplug it and tuck it away when I’m done. The smaller footprint also means I can still see my monitor behind it, which is ultra-handy when using reference images.
The Kamvas 13 Gen 3 is the most portable size in Huion’s Gen 3 lineup, so if you’re looking for a bigger screen, you might prefer the Kamvas 16 Gen 3.
The foldable stand that’s included with some models of the Kamvas 13 Gen 3
2. Feels So Natural
One major thing that traditional artists usually take for granted is how it feels to use pencils or markers on paper. There’s a certain drag or subtle resistance that we’re not consciously aware of it because it’s just baked into the traditional art-making experience. But if you try digital art for the first time on your iPad, one of the first things you notice is how your Apple pencil slides around on the hard, slick surface. This slippery feeling can be one of the biggest obstacles for traditional artists making the switch to digital.
I love the paperlike feel of the Kamvas 13 Gen 3. Combined with the pen sensitivity, it makes for a fantastic digital art-making experience!
The great news is you don’t have to worry about that with the Kamvas 13 Gen 3. The pen glides with just the right amount of resistance, giving it a satisfying “paper-like” feel that’s close to drawing with a pencil or marker on paper. It feels so natural, I love it! It definitely compares well with the paper-like feeling of the much more expensive Cintiq.
I was also impressed by how sensitive the pen technology is. It easily registered light touches, and the pressure sensitivity was excellent, making it easy to create shading and variable line widths that felt organic, like a natural part of the drawing experience.
3. Can Use Full Desktop Software
With size, touch and feel out of the way, my absolute favorite thing about the Kamvas 13 Gen is that it runs full desktop versions of the art-making software I’ve been using for over 25 years: Adobe Photoshop and Adobe Illustrator. On the iPad, you can only run pared-down “mobile” versions of these apps because of the iPad’s lower processing power compared to a desktop computer. While the iPad versions are convenient, they do come with less features and (in my experience) more bugs and crashes than the desktop versions.
Hand-drawing my hedgehog butterfly coloring page in Adobe Illustrator using the pen tool. This is the outline view, showing only the vector paths (outlines) without any fills, strokes, or effects.
When my 2nd Cintiq died (RIP - and more on that later) I used my iPad as my sole digital art-making device for a few years, until I got this Kamvas 13 Gen 3. Let me tell you, being able to once again use the full versions of Photoshop and Illustrator with a drawing tablet was a huge breath of fresh air!!
Side note: if you don’t like Adobe and want to stick to free programs, Krita is a popular choice for raster art and Inkscape is a common go-to for vector art. ClipStudioPaint is another popular option that is way cheaper than Photoshop.
4. Customizable Buttons and Pen Design
Pentech 4.0 is the latest generation of Huion’s digital pen technology
I love the pen. It’s very lightweight and comfortable to hold, feeling very natural in the hand. It has a soft texture, and the shape and size feels very ergonomic. The customizable buttons are very handy, allowing you to seamlessly integrate certain tools or commands into your workflow (like Undo, Eraser, etc). Speaking of buttons, the pen display itself also has a row of customizable buttons to the left of the screen. These are all features I miss when creating digital art on my iPad.
The Huion pen also comes with 10 replacement nibs, which I expect will last me a long time!
5. Matte, No-Glare Surface
Notice how the iPad has a highly reflective surface, while the Kamvas 13 Gen 3 has a matte surface with subtle diffuse reflections
This is also a comparison to the iPad screen, which is shiny and reflective. Like the Cintiq, the Kamvas 13 Gen 3 has a matte surface that eliminates glare and reduces eye strain. Unlike the iPad, there’s no need to apply a “paper-like” screen protector to mimic texture. I tried one of those paper-like screens years ago, but I didn’t like how it can dull the iPad’s vibrant colors, because colors are so important in my style of art. The iPad is an elegantly-designed device in and of itself, so applying a screen protector to it felt like a downgrade. (I know some artists love the paper-like screens but I’m not one of them.)
So with the Kamvas 13 Gen 3, you get the paper-like texture right out of the box, without compromising vibrancy! I love that.
How the Kamvas 13 Gen 3 Compares to Wacom and iPad
After 15+ years of creating professional art on both Wacom and iPad, I was curious to see if the Kamvas 13 Gen 3 could match their performance, especially since it’s a much cheaper device (and way smaller than the Cintiqs). And in many ways, the Kamvas 13 totally surprised me!
Kamvas vs. Wacom Cintiq 24/27
Vector artwork I hand-drew on the Cintiq for my series of It’s All Good Calendars
NOTE: Skip past the next few paragraphs if you don’t want to read about my abysmal experience with Wacom! But since Wacom is a huge competitor to Huion, it might be worth reading if you want context surrounding my opinion of my new Kamvas 13 Gen 3.
I bought my first Wacom in 2015 - a Cintiq 27QHD that cost over $2500 when you include the added costs of the stand and sales tax. At the time, Wacom was the go-to brand for digital pen displays, the professional industry standard (at least here in the US). I used the Cintiq lightly for 2-3 years, mostly to create the B+W line art for my coloring books, and to create colorful art for licensing and publishing.
I was never rough with it, and because it’s so heavy, the Cintiq sat in the same place on my desk, so I didn’t move it around at all after installing it… so I was completely blindsided when one day, it didn’t turn on, and never turned on again. My husband (who is much better with tech than I am) tried a million troubleshooting fixes, but nothing brought the Cintiq back to life. He even went back-and-forth with Wacom Support for a couple weeks and they couldn’t do anything… but they suggested we ship the Cintiq back to them and pay them $1117.80 and they would “try” to fix it!! The cost to attempt repair was so high that we just “retired” that Cintiq and bought me a new one a couple years later, a Cintiq Pro 24.
Well, I must have bad luck with Cintiqs, because in less than a year of minimal use (I was busy with other projects), the on/off button stopped working. My husband figured out a workaround involving the power cords, but after awhile that stopped working too. This time, the Cintiq was still under the year warranty, but they wanted me to pay over $400 to ship it to them, and they said there was no guarantee they could fix it. So I decided to wash my hands of Wacom and never use them again. Given the high price of Wacom displays, I’m no longer willing to risk getting a dud.
So, in those short years when my $2000+ Wacoms actually did work, I enjoyed using them to create professional-quality art for licensing and publishing projects, like the puzzles shown above. When Cintiqs actually work, they tend to work really well.
One of the coloring pages I hand-drew using my Wacom Cintiq, from my set of printable Enchanted Faces Coloring Pages
Cintiqs are large, sturdy pen displays, but they’re also heavy, bulky, and take up a huge amount of desk space. The Kamvas 13 Gen 3, by contrast, is lightweight, portable, and easy to move around. I can put it on my desk, plug it in, start drawing, and then easily unplug and store it when I’m done. That kind of flexibility simply isn’t possible with a 24- or 27-inch Cintiq.
The pen/display feel of the Kamvas is very comparable to Wacom’s, and at a much more affordable price point. And as I mentioned earlier, if you do want a larger Huion pen display, Huion does offer models that come in comparable sizes to the Cintiqs, and for less cost (like the Huion Kamvas Pro 24).
And to be clear, you can’t really make a fair comparison between Cintiqs and a beginner-friendly pen display like the Kamvas 13 Gen 3, because they are in totally separate ballparks in terms of specs, target market and use cases. They’re simply built for different purposes. Cintiqs cater to studios and professionals for heavy-duty, all-day work, while the Kamvas 13 Gen 3 is aimed at beginners, hobbyists, or anyone trying digital art for the first time. But given my years of Wacom experience, I think it’s fair to point out that the extremely expensive pen displays aren’t necessarily better in terms of reliability and longevity.
As for the longevity of the Huion Kamvas 13 Gen 3, I haven’t had it long enough to tell if it will last years and years, but I will definitely update this review in the future to let you know how it goes!
Kamvas vs. iPad
Here’s a WIP (work-in-progress) as I drew this De Brazza’s monkey in the Procreate app on my iPad
I’ve also used the iPad Pro for years to create professional art for licensing and publishing. It’s hard to beat the iPad’s portability, because it’s an all-in-one machine, which means you can curl up on the couch and draw without being tethered to a computer (whereas the Kamvas needs to be connected to a computer to work).
That said, the iPad drawing experience feels noticeably different from the Kamvas. As I mentioned earlier, the iPad’s glass screen makes the Apple Pencil feel slippery, with no texture or “give.” On the other hand, the Kamvas 13 Gen 3 has a textured matte surface that feels more like paper, which I find way more satisfying and natural.
Another big difference is software. On the iPad, you can only use pared-down “mobile” versions of programs like Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop due to its lower processing power compared to a desktop computer. With the Kamvas, because it’s plugged into your computer, you can run the full desktop versions of these apps. Since the Kamvas has to be plugged into a computer or laptop, it’s not as portable or couch-friendly as an iPad. But for me, the tradeoff is worth it for the improved pen/surface feel and the ability to work in the exact same software environment I use for all my professional projects.
Artwork I drew in the Procreate iPad app for my Sugar Skulls Calendar
In my opinion, the iPad is actually a really good entry-level device for creating digital art, especially if you already have an iPad for other reasons.
Tons of people use the Procreate app to create professional-quality art. Part of why Procreate works so well for making art is because it was designed for the iPad from Day One, while the other art-making software had to scramble to catch up.
The iPad is more versatile than the Kamvas because you can also check your emails, read the news, watch videos, browse your socials, etc. But that said, it is a completely different device than a dedicated pen display like the Kamvas 13 Gen 3, so which is better is really up to you and your needs.
Huion also makes standalone digital drawing tablets, the Kamvas Slate 10 and Kamvas Slate 11. I haven’t tried them (yet), but you could check them out if you like the idea of making art on a dedicated device without being tethered to a computer.
How Digital Coloring Compares to Traditional
In the past 10 years I’ve sold over 4 million coloring books, which means that many of my followers are into traditional coloring with markers, colored pencils, gel pens and paint pens. A lot of colorists have expressed interest in how I make my digital art, so I’ve written this section with you in mind!
Here are 3 of the 30+ coloring books I’ve published over the years 😊
If you’re used to making art with traditional “analog” art supplies, switching to digital can feel strange and disorienting:
The tools behave extremely differently, and you don’t have the same physical connection to the materials.
Even basic digital drawing software can feel confusing at first if you’ve never used it before.
However, making digital art opens up a whole world of creative possibilities that traditional art can never match. Traditional art is more limited, in a sense, compared to what artists can achieve digitally. That can be a good and bad thing, so let me unpack that.
Here’s me next to a display of my coloring book at Michaels
DIGITAL: The “bad” part of having too many options when making digital art, is that thanks to the Undo button and near-infinite layers, you can really nitpick your digital art, get lost in the details and get stuck in a perfectionistic mindset, endlessly tweaking and fretting over minute details. This is definitely something I suffer from when making digital art! 🤣
TRADITIONAL: On the other hand, with traditional art, there are limits, such as paper that can only hold so many layers of colored pencils, or how having only a certain amount of alcohol markers limits your color range. That’s what I mean by traditional art-making tools being “limited”, just in the materials themselves. And to be fair, sometimes limitations can be liberating, because it reduces decision fatigue. Sometimes all the choices you get when making digital art can be paralyzing!
I colored in this snake using only the supplies you see here: 3 markers, 4 colored pencils, 5 gel pens and 1 paint pen. This is an example of how limiting yourself can still yield fun and creative results!
So I mentioned the “bad” part of having the Undo button and near-infinite layers, but both are also definitely “good” features that I really appreciate when making digital art!! They both allow you to experiment without fear of “ruining” your art. I totally wish there was an UNDO button when using real-life paints and markers!! 🤣
Below is an example of how digital art lets you experiment in quick and convenient ways. I tried out a bunch of different background colors and narrowed it down to these three. I still can’t decide which one I like best! But that’s okay, because I can use all 3 versions if I want to. Whereas with paints, markers or colored pencils, you can only choose one background for the physical artwork (though you can change the background color digitally if you scan or photograph your artwork).
Another great thing about digital art is that all the supplies you use are inside the software - the brushes, pens, textures, etc. So you don’t need physical storage space like you do with traditional art supplies… AND you don’t have to go out and buy more paints, markers and pencils in the colors you need. With digital, your color choices are almost unlimited.
Digital art makes it easy to experiment with different levels of “finish” in your art. First I did flat coloring and nearly called it done, then decided to add some dimension by incorporating highlights and shadows.
Plus, in real life, your paintbrushes will get worn out, your markers will run dry, and you’ll use your pencils down to the nibs. But with digital art, your drawing and painting materials are as pristine as ever, ready for you whenever you want to make art! (Though of course, all tech devices will eventually wear out too! 😊).
In short, both physical and digital media provide challenges and opportunities. You use them in very different ways. Some people try digital and hate it, while others try digital and never go back to making traditional art because they love digital so much. You never really know how you’ll feel about it unless you try it for yourself. And given the relatively low cost of the Kamvas 13 Gen 3, I think it’s an excellent entry-level device for artists and colorists who want to try digital art.
Then if you fall in love with the experience of making digital art, someday you might consider upgrading to a larger device!
The Kamvas 13 Gen 3 is really convenient for quickly sketching ideas!
Is the Kamvas 13 Gen 3 right for you?
The Kamvas 13 Gen 3 is a great fit if you’re:
A traditional artist or colorist curious about digital, especially if you want a tablet that feels closer to drawing on paper than a slippery glass screen.
New to digital art and looking for an entry-level option that still delivers a professional drawing experience.
A working artist who wants a portable, affordable secondary tablet for travel or to complement a larger pen display.
A budget-conscious buyer who wants Wacom-like performance without the Wacom price tag.
Someone who works in full desktop programs like Photoshop, Illustrator, Krita, or Inkscape and wants the flexibility to use them on a pen display.
It might not be the best choice if you’re:
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- Looking for a fully standalone tablet you can use on the couch or on the go, since the Kamvas 13 Gen 3 needs to be plugged into a computer or laptop to work. Huion does offer standalone pen displays, the Kamvas Slate 10 and Kamvas Slate 11, so they’re worth considering if you want a couch-friendly drawing tablet that doesn’t require a computer to function.
- Not tech-savvy at all. Although the Kamvas 13 Gen 3 is fairly easy to set up and use, it’s not as intuitive as simply opening up Procreate on your iPad to make art.
- Wanting a larger drawing surface like a 22-inch or larger display (in that case you may want to look at Huion’s bigger models), such as the Huion Kamvas 22 or Huion Kamvas 24 Plus.
- In need of more professional-level features. Although I can make the Kamvas 13 Gen 3 work for my professional purposes, you might require a more powerful pen display with better features, depending on the type of work you do. In that case, you should look into the the Huion Kamvas Pro 19, Huion Kamvas Pro 24 or the Huion Kamvas Pro 27.
Conclusion
For me, the Kamvas 13 Gen 3 hits a sweet spot: it’s lightweight, comfortable to draw on, easy to set up on my desk and remove when I’m not using it, and it’s far more affordable than Wacom.
In short, I would say that the Kamvas 13 Gen 3 gives you a professional drawing experience at an entry-level price, making it a great option for artists who want quality without overspending. The price also makes it a great gift for any artist who wants to make the transition from traditional to digital! I think it make be a fantastic Christmas present for any teenager, art student, or adult hobbyist who wants to explore digital art-making! 😍
Enter for a chance to win a free Kamvas 13 Gen 3!
If you enjoy my whimsical art, check out more of my art on my website!
You can also watch my art process on YouTube, or sign up to get my FREE printable coloring pages! 💖
If you love the cute colorful art I’ve posted in this review and want to learn some of my favorite “analog” art techniques, check out my videos below! 🎨
