Best Laptop For Artists 2022

Looking for the best laptop for artists?

Digital art is an industry that is growing very quickly every year. Apps like Photoshop, Illustration, Canva, Figma, Procreate, and many others are all making this possible. Professional artists can be quite picky, but fortunately, we have a lot of options to choose from these days.

The same thing applies to a laptop for artists. Companies realize that everyone is looking for a lightweight laptop that allows people to get work done without any hassle. This works out extremely well for digital art students and professional artists alike.

From the dozens of options to pick from, we reviewed the best laptops for artists. Let’s get right into it.

Check These:

• Best Laptop for Video Editing Under $1000
• Best Laptop For Watching Movies
• Best Laptop for DJing

Top 3 Laptops For Artists Comparison

How We Choose the Best Laptops for Artists

Like we said before, professional artists or artists, in general, can be quite picky when it comes to their equipment. However, as a hardware enthusiast who follows modern tech quite closely, it’s not that hard to imagine what artists are looking for.

This includes long battery life, processing power, a good screen for video editing, touch screens, and much more. With that in mind, here’s what we are looking out for when it comes to the best laptop for artists.

First off, we need to consider that a good screen size is important. People want something comfortable to work with, but maybe not something too heavy to carry around. As such, most of our choices have a screen size of under 15-inches. Let’s not forget that image quality is also important.

A 15-inch laptop for artists is a great choice. Artists like to move around while working, and a compact form factor is important.

On the other hand, a 13-15″ screen size is enough for artists to get their work done comfortably. Moving on, long battery life is vital. To no one’s surprise, a digital artist ends up putting more hours into their work than someone with a traditional 9-5 office job.

This means they are always surrounded by their art, and subsequently, by screens. Staying plugged in is fine while you are working from home, but long battery life is important for those moments while you are working on the go.

Someone who works in graphic design will also appreciate good build quality. This might surprise you, but you don’t need a premium laptop to get a good fit and finish, as we’ll see later on with some of our picks.

Performance might not be as important for creating digital art as it is for gaming or rendering, but you need something that will still allow you to get work done at least 3 years down the line. Preferably more.

Keeping all of that in mind, we scored all our picks based on performance, battery life, display, and value for money. With these factors taken into account, we ranked the best laptops for artists currently available. Let’s proceed with our first pick.

Top 10 Laptops For Artists

1. [Best Seller] MacBook Pro 14-inch (M1 Pro) – Editor’s Choice

Size: 14.2 inch | CPU: Apple M1 Pro SoC | GPU: Apple 14 Core | RAM: 16GB | Storage: 512GB SSD| Battery: 17 Hours | Resolution: 3024×1964 | Refresh Rate: 120Hz

Apple is currently dominating the game thanks to their new SoCs seen on the recent Macbooks and even some iPads. They are offering performance that we are yet to see from many Windows laptops with this level of battery life and sleek design, Because of this, the 14-inch MacBook Pro is hands down the best laptop for artists.

Before we move on, we know that some people prefer Windows over macOS operating system. As such, laptops such as the Dell XPS 17, HP Spectre X360, and the ASUS ProArt StudioBook are great choices. With that said, the Macbook Pro has that perfect blend of performance, battery life, and a gorgeous screen.

Let’s circle back to the design. Apple had some issues with thermals with the 2019 Macbook Pro that had the Core i9 chip inside of it. To combat that, both the 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro have a design similar to the older Powerbooks. They are less rounded, and the sides aren’t as flat.

Compared to the previous versions of the Macbook Pro, the 14-inch M1 Pro model brings us a new design, a better/faster screen, phenomenal battery life, and of course, major performance improvements.

The sharper angles are gone here, but the most interesting thing is that these Macbooks are thicker. This gives them better thermal performance and better battery life. Shape-wise, these Macbooks are more squared off than their predecessors.

More Laptops: Best Laptops For Surfing The Web

Let’s talk about the ports. Fortunately, we’re not just stuck with USB-C this time around. We get a full-sized HDMI port, an SD card slot, Thunderbolt 4 ports, a headphone jack, and the return of the magnetic MagSafe charging port.

This new design also brings us better screens. The panel is 10-bit, featuring Mini-LED, HDR, a 16:10 aspect ratio, and a 120Hz refresh rate. Needless to say, this screen is fantastic for high res digital art.

There is a quirk here, as is with many Apple products. This might be one of the first mainstream laptops to feature a notch at the top. Of course, not all laptops have this, and it takes some getting used to. It kind of fades away since the taskbar is also at the top, but we just know this will bother some people.

Now, let’s move on to processing power. The model we are talking about has the M1 Pro, with an 8-core CPU and a 14-core GPU. This thing plows through digital art apps like nothing. You might want more performance for stuff like 3D rendering, and that’s where the M1 Ultra steps in.

However, most digital artists will not feel the need to do say. This thing is already a bit overkill for a lot of people. As such, you won’t have any complaints about the performance. Battery life is fantastic, as it can handle all that processing power while being incredibly efficient. All-day battery life during regular use is a non-issue.

All in all, the 14-inch Macbook Pro is impressive. Not all laptops can hold a candle to the combination of performance, battery life, fit and finish, and that gorgeous display. Competitors are few and far between.

Rating:

• Performance: 9/10
• Battery: 9/10
• Display: 9/10
• Value for Money: 7.5/10
• Overall Rating: 9/10

2. ASUS Zenbook Pro Duo (UX582) – Best Premium Laptop For Artists

Size: 15.6 inch | CPU: Core i9 11900H | GPU: RTX 3060 | RAM: 32GB | Storage: 1TB SSD| Battery: 17 Hours | Resolution: 3840×2160 | Refresh Rate: 60Hz

The ASUS Zenbook Pro Duo is by far the best premium laptop for artists out there. Not because of its beastly performance, or because of its design. The star of the show here is the dual-display design, which is something we haven’t seen on many laptops out there.

Before we begin, let us get some of the boring stuff out of the way. The port selection here is quite good. You get a Type-A port, dual Thunderbolt 4 ports, and a headphone jack. A major thing missing here is a slot for SD cards, which is important for artists, photographers, and other creative professionals.

Performance is quite impressive thanks to the Core i9 11900H and the RTX 3060 inside of this thing. Rendering 4k video with this thing is no problem, so many digital artists should be quite happy with the performance. As you can imagine with those specs, it’s also a great laptop for gaming.

The ZenBook Pro Duo competes with laptops like the 16-inch MacBook Pro, Surface Laptop 4, and the Thinkpad X1 Carbon Gen 9. However, while all of those are great all-around options, the ZenBook Pro Duo is certainly the most unique laptop for artists.

As someone who prefers a clean and minimal design with most of their devices, the Zenbook Pro Duo is certainly interesting. This thing is nothing like the sleek Macbook Pro or even the Microsoft surface laptop. That much is evident with the secondary display.

That secondary display is a 14-inch IPS panel that has a 4k display. ASUS calls it the ScreenPad Plus, for whatever reason.

Both screens here are touch screens, and both are incredible. The main panel is also 4k and covers 100% of the DCI-P3 color gamut. It is color accurate, vivid, and overall fantastic to work on. Both are also OLED, and they get insanely bright.

Once you get into the flow of using the secondary display, it is hard to go back. You can have Spotify open on the bottom screen, or as a writer, maybe have some reference material open there. You can snap apps to full screen, use split-screen, and much more. The possibilities are endless here.

Overall, this laptop is certainly quite unique. There are many alternatives to the ZenBook Pro Duo, but none offer this level of versatility. It truly is the best premium laptop for artists.

Rating:

• Performance: 9/10
• Battery: 7/10
• Display: 9/10
• Value for Money: 6.5/10
• Overall Rating: 8.5/10

3. Lenovo Flex 5 – Best Budget Laptop For Artists

Size: 14 inch | CPU: AMD Ryzen 5500U | GPU: Radeon 7 graphics card | RAM: 16GB | Storage: 256GB SSD | Battery: 9 Hours | Resolution: 1920 x 1080 | Refresh Rate: 60Hz

For the third entry on our list, we are switching things up a bit from the premium laptops we just covered. Instead, we are going with a budget pick, and we can’t think of a better laptop than the Lenovo Flex 5.

The Flex 5 is a laptop that is just great all around. It doesn’t have any specific feature that stands out, but the overall experience is too good for the price. Others like Yoga 7i and the Acer Spin 3 come close in terms of price-to-performance, but the Flex 5 is still a better all-around performer.

Compared to the Flex 4 lineup, the Ideapad Flex 5 has a more rugged design, improvements in build quality, and significantly better performance.

Let us start things off by going over some of the specs. This thing features the AMD Ryzen 5 5500U, which is an efficient yet powerful processor with six cores. You get Radeon 7 graphics, 8 gigs of RAM, and 256 or 512 gigabytes of storage.

The port selection is quite decent, which may be beneficial to some of our photographers out there. The right side features two Type-A ports, while the left has an HDMI out and USB-C port. Thunderbolt would be nice, but that’s a tough ask for a budget laptop. Fortunately, we do get a full-sized SD card reader.

It’s hard to expect a good screen with a cheap laptop like this one, but the Flex 5 performs admirably here. The 1080p resolution is good enough for this screen size, and it does have a 10-point multi-touch as well. This is great for people who want a cheap touchscreen laptop.

The main display is good enough for viewing content and getting work done on the move. Unfortunately, it does not get bright enough to be comfortably visible outdoors, which is quite a shame.

This cheap 2-in-1 laptop has the convertible hinge design that we all know and love at this point. For the most part, it has a soft-touch feel to it along with a metallic coating. In terms of fit and finish, this thing feels incredible for its price.

Moving on, the Flex 5 is a device that is supposed to output consistent performance with long battery life. Fortunately, it delivers on both of those fronts. The Radeon 7 graphics is decent enough to handle light to medium workloads.

As for the battery life, the Flex 5 more than delivers on that front. You can easily get up to 8 hours of consistent screen on time with this thing, and on some days you might be able to push it past 9 hours.

Lastly, the keyboard here feels excellent. The layout is very similar to Lenovo’s Thinkpad lineup, and that enough is high praise for the Flex 5. The trackpad too feels phenomenal. This is something you don’t normally see with laptops at this price.

To conclude things, digital artists should get the Flex 5 if they are looking for powerful performance, all-day battery life, and a fantastic keyboard. This is by far one of the best budget laptops out there.

Rating:

• Performance: 7/10
• Battery: 8/10
• Display: 8/10
• Value for Money: 8.5/10
• Overall Rating: 8.5/10

4. Dell XPS 13 9310 – Best Versatile Laptop For Artists

Size: 13.4 inch | CPU: Intel Core i7 1185G7 | GPU: Radeon 7 graphics | RAM: 16GB | Storage: 512GB SSD | Battery: 8 Hours | Resolution: 3456×2160 | Refresh Rate: 60Hz

There’s not much to say about the XPS 13 that has not already been said. Consistently, this has been Dell’s best laptop for several years now. Even after all the revisions, Dell continues to tweak the already fantastic design/performance and make it even better. The XPS 13 is a laptop that everyone can appreciate.

The closest competitor is the Macbook Air, though the Surface Laptop 4 also comes close. The Macbook is great because of the M1 chip, but if it’s a sleek Windows laptop that you are after, it does not get better than the XPS 13.

Compared to the Surface Laptop 3, not much has changed. The Surface Laptop 4 has evolved in terms of performance, battery life, and configuration options, but there’s no radical change here.

There are a lot of configurations available for the XPS 13, spread across different budgets. The base model has an i3, 8 gigs of memory, and 256 gigs of RAM. You can pick between an OLED and IPS screen, and also between 1080p and 4K.

The model that we are mainly focusing on features the 4k OLED panel, along with an 11th Gen Core i7 processor inside of it. We think this is the best combination for digital artists, mainly because of that screen and great battery life.

Speaking of which, while the battery life is great here, keep in mind that the 1080p IPS panel or even the 1080p OLED panel will obviously perform better. You can easily get all-day battery life with this OLED version, but either of the two models we mentioned above will be even better.

Now, let’s talk about the design for a bit. The white version of the XPS 13 looks pristine. Everything from the interior to the exterior is white and that’s what gives it this minimal and clean look. The exterior has a carbon fiber finish, which feels very unique to the touch.

Apart from the good-looking design, this thing is also quite compact and lightweight. The XPS 13 is also available in a 2-in-1 form factor for those who need a touch screen laptop, and that is truly helped by the lightweight design here.

Of course, when you’re making a lightweight and compact laptop such as this one, it is bound to come with a few sacrifices. Unfortunately, that just so happens to be the port selection. We only get two Thunderbolt 4 ports and a microSD card slot, plus of course the audio jack.

Now, since Thunderbolt is so versatile, some may be a bit forgiving of the XPS 13 here. We can’t blame Dell, as fitting in an HDMI port, and a couple of USB-A ports would not be feasible here.

Both the keyboard and trackpad feel great, as is the custom with the XPS lineup. The keyboard feels comfortable to type on for longer sessions, so this should be helpful to those professional artists who are also busy writing design documents.

Finally, the OLED screen is the star of the show here. This 4k panel looks great and is color accurate. It’s a great screen for our digital artists and photographers out there. Performance is also up to par for working on art projects on this Core i7 processor.

The XPS 13 has other bells and whistles such as a fingerprint reader and Windows Hello recognition. It’s the most complete ultrabook out there, and a great choice for those looking for a well-balanced laptop to create digital art.

Rating:

• Performance: 8/10
• Battery: 8/10
• Display: 8.5/10
• Value for Money: 8/10
• Overall Rating: 8.25/10

5. M1 Macbook Air – Best Battery Life

Size: 13.3 inch | CPU: Apple M1 | GPU: Apple 7-core GPU | RAM: 8GB | Storage: 256GB SSD | Battery: 15-18 Hours | Resolution: 2560×1600 | Refresh Rate: 60Hz

The M1 Macbook Air is nearly two years old at this point, but it is still the best apple laptop on the market for the average consumer. Competitors are still struggling to compete with Apple at this price point, and much of that comes down to the excellent performance of the M1 chip inside.

Even the base model Macbook Air runs laps around almost any Windows laptop under $1000. The 8 gigs of RAM might seem a bit limiting, but the optimization on macOS is so good to the point that you won’t notice. People working on large codebases in big tech might disagree, but digital artists will have no problem with the 8GB of RAM.

Laptops such as the XPS 13, LG Gram 14, and Surface Laptop 4 are close competitors, but many people prefer macOS. Couple that with the powerful processor inside of this thing, and you can see why it is so hard to beat.

That’s not even the best part about this machine. It’s the stellar battery life. Apple claims you can get anywhere between 15-18 hours of battery life with regular usage. Of course, that will vary depending on the apps you use.

You won’t be getting 18 hours of battery life if you’re working in DaVinci Resolve for hours on end, and you could easily kill the Air in a matter of four to five hours. But that same logic applies to almost any laptop out there.

The Macbook truly shines when you compare it against Windows laptops. No other laptop at this price can compete in terms of battery life, and that’s saying something considering the XPS 13 lasts a long while.

Compared to the 2019 Macbook Air, the design is much of the same. The device essentially feels the same with the 2020 revision, but the M1 chip brings us performance unseen on a laptop like the Macbook Air.

Now, there are a few quirks here. Those include the fact that the Air is still using the same design. Sure, the laptop looks great in the space grey finish, and it’s thin and light. However, a design with smaller bezels and 120Hz would make this machine even harder to compete with.

Of course, the older design comes with its usual quirks. We still only have two USB-C ports with Thunderbolt support. While that may be enough to work with for digital art, having more ports is always helpful for professional artists who work with a lot of equipment.

Another downside is the fact that you can’t upgrade anything on this machine. Everything from the RAM to the SSD is soldered in place, making them impossible to upgrade for the average user.

Even with those downsides, the Macbook Air is still the best apple laptop for the average consumer. It’s also great for digital art students who are just starting out, yet powerful enough to help out the professionals.

Rating:

• Performance: 8.5/10
• Battery: 8.5/10
• Display: 8/10
• Value for Money: 8/10
• Overall Rating: 8/10

6. Microsoft Surface Pro 8 – Best Laptop For Digital Art Students

Size: 13 inch | CPU: Intel Core i5 1135G7 | GPU: Intel Iris XE Graphics | RAM: 8GB | Storage: 128GB SSD | Battery: 16 Hours | Resolution: 2880×1920 | Refresh Rate: 120Hz

The Microsoft Surface Pro line has always been impressive if you are interested in digital art. This is by far one of the best choices when it comes to the best touch screen model out there. Microsoft has combined the intuitive drawing experience of a tablet with the added functionality of a laptop.

Speaking of which, there might be many laptops that perform better than the Surface Pro 8. However, it’s not about performance, it’s more about the drawing experience as a whole. In that case, the closest competitors might be the Galaxy Tab S8 or the iPad Pro 11.

Still, the Surface Pro 8 is a better overall choice for those more comfortable with Windows, especially if you prefer full desktop apps. That’s why this thing is so versatile.

Compared to the Surface Pro 7 and 7+, the biggest changes here include the new 120Hz display, improvements to the Surface Pen, native Windows 11, and performance improvements thank to the new Intel chips.

The design of the Surface Pro 8 is impeccable. It is extremely thin and light, and the fan noise is not noticeable either. This is great for folks who need a laptop while working on the go. Furthermore, the built-in hinge is quite sturdy and works well in tablet and laptop mode.

This time around, Microsoft has updated the Surface Pro 8 with a 120Hz refresh rate. This makes the drawing experience smoother, and the pen lag is less noticeable. Of course, that 120Hz screen will chew through battery life quite quickly on Windows.

Microsoft claims you can get up to 16 hours of battery life out of this machine. However, while using the pen and drawing at 120Hz, that certainly is not the case. you’re looking at 4-5 hours at best. Still, you can easily get up to 10 hours of usage out of this machine with regular usage while not drawing.

Speaking of drawing, the Surface Pen is quite improved this time around. Previously, this pen had issues with jitter while drawing, which made straight lines a bit unstable. Fortunately, that issue is fixed. The combination of that screen and the excellent pen makes for a fantastic drawing experience.

So, what’s the catch? Well, most of the downsides come down to price. There are no real flaws with the machine, but the pricing is what makes it a bit harder to recommend. The base model is already expensive to start, and it only comes with 128 gigs of RAM.

On top of that, the Surface Pen and keyboard cover are both sold separately. This adds to the cost and makes an already pricey machine even more expensive. Let’s say you want 512GB of storage space, the pen, and the keyboard cover. At that point, we’re getting quite close to the $2000 mark.

Still, as we said before, artists can be a bit strange with their equipment choices. We can imagine that people would still prefer this laptop because of the hinge, form factor, and drawing experience. If the price doesn’t bother you, all of those are valid reasons to buy this machine.

Rating:

• Performance: 8/10
• Battery: 8/10
• Display: 9/10
• Value for Money: 7/10
• Overall Rating: 8/10

7. Galaxy Book 2 Pro – Best OLED Laptop For Artists

Size: 13.3 inch | CPU: Intel Core i7 1260P | GPU: Intel Iris XE Graphics | RAM: 8GB | Storage: 256GB SSD | Battery: 11 Hours | Resolution: 1920×1080 | Refresh Rate: 60Hz

The Samsung Galaxy Book 2 Pro is a strong contender for one of the best ultrabooks around the $1000 mark. Samsung has not been popular in this segment of the laptop market, so this is still relatively quite new for them. However, the Galaxy Book 2 Pro might just be a resounding success.

Before we start off keep in mind that there is a 360 version of this same laptop out there. The Book 2 Pro is more of your traditional laptop, while the Book 360 has that 2-in-1 design. It comes with an S-pen as well, which is great if you want to draw on your laptop.

The Book 2 Pro has not changed much since the original, the Galaxy Book Pro. We’re mainly looking at a spec bump here, but the excellent display, keyboard, and other elements are much of the same.

So, this Galaxy Book 2 Pro is in fact for those people who want to use a regular laptop. When you want to work on your art, you can plug in a drawing tablet. We know a lot of people prefer to use dedicated drawing tablets rather than a laptop for drawing, so the Book 2 Proworks well here.

The Book 2 Pro does have some stiff competition, however. This includes the Dell XPS 13 Plus, LG Gram, and the upcoming 2022 Apple Macbook Air. As of right now, you might buy the Book 2 Pro if you’re looking for something sleeker than the majority of its competitors.

Samsung has truly nailed the design here. This is one of those laptops that just looks spectacular in the white color. The keyboard is quite large, and so is the trackpad. This makes navigating through Windows and typing for long hours quite comfortable.

This laptop is using the new 12th Generation intel Core i5 or i7 processor, depending on the configuration. You can pick between 8, 16, or 32 gigs of DDR5 RAM, and get up to a terabyte of storage. The base model is a bit expensive, but not all that bad once you consider the specs and the performance.

The Book 2 Pro also brings updated speakers, a better webcam, and a full-sized HDMI port. That HDMI port is a surprise to see on such a thin and light machine and is certainly a welcome addition.

The screen is quite good here, apart from the 1080p resolution. Now, that’s not much of an issue, but considering laptops in this range are using even higher resolutions, it is something to consider.

Still, the AMOLED panel gets quite bright, and it is a joy to use while you are working on your digital art. There are little things that hold back the Galaxy Book 2 Pro, mainly those that revolve around pricing.

However, it’s a great laptop for artists if you’re looking for something sleek and lightweight to take into the office.

Rating:

• Performance: 8/10
• Battery: 7.5/10
• Display: 8/10
• Value for Money: 7/10
• Overall Rating: 7.5/10

8. Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio – Best Touch Screen Laptop

Size: 14.4 inch | CPU: Intel Core i7 11700 | GPU: GeForce RTX 3050 Ti | RAM: 16GB | Storage: 512GB SSD | Battery: 13 Hours | Resolution: 2400×1600 | Refresh Rate: 120Hz

The Surface Laptop Studio is certainly one of the most interesting laptops out there right now. That’s really saying something, considering ASUS just announced a laptop with a foldable screen, and we have other laptops that are starting to blur the line between gaming and productivity machines.

However, Microsoft decided to ditch the gimmicks with the Surface Studio. They have given the artists what they have been asking for years now: A laptop built entirely with digital art in mind.

Because of that, there are very few competitors to this machine. The Macbook Pro 14-inch, Dell XPS 15, and HP ZBook are close in price, but none of them are refined as the Surface Studio.

This is because, again, this one is built for the digital artists out there. It all starts with that fantastic hinge. Microsoft has designed this laptop in a way that the screen can be laid flat over the keyboard.

You can also angle the laptop’s screen in a way that it sits just beyond the keyboard, giving you a comfortable angle to draw from. Once you are done drawing, just tuck the screen back into the traditional laptop-style.

We were initially skeptical of how well this hinge would hold up, but Microsoft has done a fantastic job here with the sturdiness. Of course, this Studio laptop also comes with a pen, which is tucked away underneath the laptop with some very strong magnets.

Seriously, those magnets are quite sturdy. You don’t need to worry about ever losing your stylus, as that’s never going to happen here.

Apart from that, the 3:2 aspect ratio is perfect for productivity. The Studio squeezes in 14.4-inch screen into a very compact form factor. This form factor is the most unique out there, and it’s perfect if you are looking for a large laptop screen, but still want a highly portable experience.

Needless to say, the drawing experience is utterly phenomenal here. You can easily switch between laptop and tablet mode, and the entire experience will feel seamless for digital artists. it’s a testament to the engineering on this thing.

Apart from that, the Studio has a great webcam, good speakers, and great performance. Speaking of which, this thing is equipped with an RTX 3050 Ti. So, you can easily play games on this thing.

The pricing tiers are quite confusing, and none of the configurations are cheap. This laptop is certainly expensive for its specs, but it truly is a one-of-a-kind machine.

Rating:

• Performance: 8/10
• Battery: 7.5/10
• Display: 9/10
• Value for Money: 6/10
• Overall Rating: 7.5/10

9. Razer Blade 15 – Fastest Laptop For Artists

Size: 15 inch | CPU: Intel Core i7 12800H | GPU: GeForce RTX 3080 Ti | RAM: 16GB | Storage: 1TB SSD | Battery: 6 Hours | Resolution: 1920×1080 | Refresh Rate: 120Hz

The Razer Blade 15 has long been the holy grail of gaming laptops. However, you may ask why we’re including a gaming laptop in a guide for laptops for artists. Well, that’s because many people are working with CAD and other hardware intensive tasks.

So, if it’s a performance that you are after, it does not get better than the Razer Blade 15. Well, if you care about portability that is. A few laptops such as the Alienware M15 R6 come close, but that thing is heavy and not as portable at all.

The Razer Blade 15 is better now than ever. Design-wise, it’s mostly the same, but that does not change the fact that the performance improvements can’t be ignored. That RTX 3080 pulls a lot of the weight here.

The beauty of Razer laptops has always been the fact that they can fit in crazy fast performance into a thin and light chassis. The fact that they were able to fit in a 14-core i7 along with an RTX 3080 into this form factor is nothing short of incredible. It almost seems impossible, so credit where credit is due.

Of course, once you’re done working on your animation, 3D design, or whatever you’re doing as an artist, there’s no way you’re not gaming on Razer Blade. When you want to do so, the 1080p 360Hz screen is a joy to use.

The Razer Blade is also quite popular among game developers and people who are passionate about gaming as well as digital art.

It’s interesting because it has features that appeal to gamers, such as the RGB backlighting. On the other hand, Thunderbolt 4, an HDMI port, and other features allow you to get serious work done in an office environment.

It truly is an impressive machine. The keyboard and trackpad feel great as well, as is the custom with Razer laptops. A few downsides include the fact that it gets a bit warm, but not hot. The battery life is a bit underwhelming as well, but to be expected from those specs.

Rating:

• Performance: 9/10
• Battery: 6/10
• Display: 9/10
• Value for Money: 6/10
• Overall Rating: 7/10

10. Microsoft Surface Go 3 – Best Ultraportable Laptop For Artists

Size: 10.5 inch | CPU: Intel Pentium Gold | GPU: Intel Iris Plus Graphics | RAM: 8GB | Storage: 128GB SSD | Battery: 13 Hours | Resolution: 1920×1080 | Refresh Rate: 120Hz

To wrap things up, we have an ultraportable laptop computer that proves to be a great choice for artists on the move. The Surface Go 3 feels less like a laptop, and more like a tablet computer. Still, that doesn’t stop it from being one of the best small laptops out there.

Since the Go 3 falls into the tablet category more, the closest competitor is the iPad Air. The iPad is admittedly better for drawing, but the Surface Go 3 has the added flexibility of Windows. The one you end up with depends on your workload and what apps you want to use.

Design-wise, the Surface Go 3 is unlike anything out there. Not many companies are making ultraportable sub-11 inch devices these days, so the Surface Go 3 is certainly unique in that regard.

Microsoft is using the same excellent hinge as we have seen on devices such as the Surface Pro 8 and Surface Pro X. This works even better for a compact laptop such as the Surface Go 3.

The screen size here is 10.5 inches, and it is quite small. However, the panel itself is bright and vivid, and the resolution is high enough so that you can draw on it without much issue.

Unfortunately, the Surface Go 3 falls short a bit because of greed. Microsoft is again selling the type cover separately, which is a must-have if you want to take full advantage of the Go 3’s portable workflow.

The performance isn’t all that great, and this device is expensive to boot. In its defense, this is a niche product, and if you truly need a tiny laptop that you can draw on while on the go, this is the only good choice. It’s just sad that it costs this much.

Rating:

• Performance: 6.5/10
• Battery: 8/10
• Display: 8/10
• Value for Money: 6/10
• Overall Rating: 7/10

Best Laptop for Artists – Buyer’s Guide

It can be hard to figure out what exactly makes a good laptop for an artist. It turns out that many of the ultrabooks out there are great for digital art. The M1 Macbook Air, Dell XPS 13, and Galaxy Book 2 Pro are great examples of this.

However, as a digital artist, there are things that you need to look out for when buying a laptop. Your use case is different compared to the regular laptop user, so here are some tips on buying the best laptop for you.

Performance and Specs

Normally, we would separately talk about RAM, processors, and GPUs all day. However, the fact of the matter is that digital artists don’t require the latest and greatest specs. Of course, that can prove to be an exception with stuff like CAD design and animation, but that’s a different world of its own.

Let’s start with RAM, you want 8GB of memory at a minimum. If you can find a laptop that has 16 gigs of RAM within your budget, go for it. Those 16 gigs will boost the performance and will help down in the future when the processor starts to slow down a bit.

Having an SSD is also important. Fortunately, most laptops these days come with one, so transferring art files quickly is not as much of an issue as it once was.

Finally, you want to worry about the processor. Never buy a laptop that is using a two-year-old processor. If you’re buying a new laptop, check to see if has a processor from the current generation, whether that be Intel, AMD, or even Apple Silicon.

Performance is usually broken down well by laptop reviews and guides such as this one, so you don’t need to worry about numbers all that much. Just remember, if you skimp out on performance now, you might regret it in a year or two.

Battery Life

Like we said before, artists spend a lot of time on their screens. As such, they must get a laptop that has at least decent battery life.

Of course, this situation can become a bit difficult when you’re putting the laptop under full load. For example, Apple makes tall claims about the battery life of the M1 Macbook Air. However, if you’re constantly editing photos, and videos, and working on logos all day, you can kill that battery within 6 hours or so.

However, we expect digital artists to do a large chunk of their work while plugged into an outlet. Still, you want to have good to great battery life for those moments when you’re just lounging around or working while on the move.

Are Touch Screen Laptops Good For Digital Art?

2-in-1 and convertible laptops are all the rage these days. These laptops can be used in a tablet-style orientation, making them great for accurate drawing performance. However, we need to make a distinction between graphic design and drawing here.

If you are someone who uses apps like Corel Draw and Adobe Photoshop for sketching, designing, or creating characters, then a touch screen will largely help out. Of course, touch screens are great for digital art.

Then again, you might use a separate drawing tablet entirely. In that case, having a touch screen does not seem important. However, a lot of folks still like to have one for scrolling or ease of use.

In the end, it completely comes down to your type of workflow.

A Good Display

Obviously, this goes without saying, but having a great display is important for a laptop for artists. You want to look out for a high-resolution screen, higher than 1080p if that can fit into your budget.

Apart from that, you need something that is color accurate. Most artists already know this, but sometimes the colors can be different from your initial art when seen on a different screen. Having a color-accurate screen allows you to portray your art as you initially intend it to look.

Last but not least, you want to worry about the brightness. This is important since a lot of artists are constantly working in brightly lit spaces and studios. Having a bright screen helps in offsetting that, and allows you to work comfortably. It’s also helpful in those rare situations when you need to use your laptop outdoors.

Storage Space

Normally, you’d find creative folks such as Youtubers, filmmakers, animators, and digital artists with a lot of hard drives. This is because storing all of your art in the internal storage of a laptop just isn’t feasible.

Still, you want to have a decent amount of storage to house all of your apps, files you need to quickly access, and of course, reference material. Working through an external hard drive is not always feasible, so this is highly important.

Most laptops these days will have at least 256 gigs of storage space. Of course, you want to for a configuration with more storage space if that fits into your budget.

FAQs:

What Laptop Do Most Artists Use?

Oftentimes it is seen that most artists end up using a touch screen laptop, normally with a stylus. While many digital artists use a separate drawing tablet, having a touch screen is still convenient.

What Should I Look For In A Digital Art Laptop

Before you worry about specs and performance, the first thing to look out for is the display. You want a panel that has good color reproduction and is bright and vivid enough for you to work comfortably.

Which Laptop Is Best For Art Students

Most art students are studying in college, so something affordable is the best for them. Laptops such as the Surface Pro 8 and M1 Macbook Air are a good choice at fairly reasonable prices.

Are Macs Better For Artists?

Mac computers are still the best tools for many creative people. This includes artists as well. This is because a lot of people prefer the UI of macOS and the fact that there are some apps that work better on Mac.

How Much Ram Do You Need For Digital Art?

You would need anywhere between 8-16GB of RAM for digital art. 8 gigabytes is good enough for most people, but if you have a lot of apps and different workflows open, 16 gigs or more would boost your workflow.