To attain optimal results in graphic creation and animation, you will need a good quality configuration best laptop for drawing and animation. For you to have the ability to produce transformative graphics and animation imagery, you should get a drawing laptop that include specs with a powerful processor, one that has good storage, a high end graphics ​processor and plenty of RAM memory.  Especially for a power user.

Animators and graphic designers work best with advanced software like VFX works, Flash Anim8or, Coral Draw, Photoshop and Adobe Illustrator. As such, it is highly recommended that you get a laptop processor that has at least 8GB RAM memory, that it is at least Intel i5 processor and has a minimum of 2 GB of dedicated GPU.

Ready to sketch, draw or create animations?  Take a look at each top laptop for drawing and animation review in the best ​laptops list to view below:​

best laptop for drawing and graphics

Features to Look For in a Top Laptop For Drawing

The features ​artists will want in your laptop for drawing will be highly dependent on the particular programs you intend to use to draw. They will also depend on whether you are interested in 3D rendering or 2D art.

If your preference is a full Windows 10 laptop computer, you should not settle for anything under 16GB of RAM and a fast processor. Since laptop graphics and drawing software programs are typically highly memory and computer resource intensive, anything under that will lead to frustrating lag. If you will be rendering 3D scenes, the dedicated graphics card should not be forgotten.​  Laptops with a 2GB video card are typically best for digital artists to work in drawing, video editing and graphics.

For artists, your laptop screen resolution should be a priority. In the majority of cases, budget laptops that have 1366 x 768 resolution displays are simply not worth your time. Those kinds of laptops are ​best for typing up word documents or web browsing, not creating ​graphics, photo editing, art or drawing.

In addition, you should pay careful attention to the ports included. You might want to plug into an external display; therefore, an HDMI port is vital. For individuals who work in the field of digital photography, ensure you have either an integrated card reader or be prepared to purchase an external one for best results.

The reviews below should help you with your laptop choice.  Also, many of these comparison laptops come in different configurations.  Once you click on the Amazon links, there are usually options to choose different specs available.

Our Top Laptops For Drawing Recommendations & Reviews

Below is the top laptop for drawing and animation, with some falling into specific categories:

Top Pick For ​Artists - Best Laptop For Drawing - Microsoft Surface Book 2

Laptop

CPU - ​Intel Quad Core i7 Processor | RAM - ​16 GB RAM | Hard Drive - ​​512 GB of storage | Graphics Card - ​NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 discrete GPU w/6GB GDDR5 Graphics Memory | Screen - 1​5 inch display | OS - ​Windows 10 | Battery Life - Up to 1​7 hours | Weight - ​4.2 lbs

​Laptops Features

  • ​new USB-C port
  • ​​up to 17 hours of video playback
  • ​​touchscreen displays

​What We Liked - Pros

  • ​Long battery life
  • ​Powerful
  • ​Vibrant PixelSense Display

​Downside - Cons

  • ​​Price a little high but a lot of bang for your buck!

To get the best-in-class experience, the Surface Book 2 is among the best available laptops for drawing. This laptop can be used in four adaptable modes and that makes it stand out from among other best laptops for drawing.

The laptop is built using lightweight and premium materials, making it easily adaptable. Painting or drawing is made flexible and easy in Studio Mode when the Surface Dial and Surface Pen stylus features are used.

Additionally, the laptop has the capacity to handle heavy graphics and can deliver beautiful visuals. The Microsoft Surface Pen comes bundled with the laptop, however, the Surface ​Dial must be bought separately. Furthermore, it is available in 15-inch display and 13.5-inch PixelSense display and has multi-touch 10-point support. This makes it ideal for drawing and it delivers remarkable color gamut.  An overall great drawing experience.

You also have the option of selecting between 8th Generation Intel Core i7 or i5 quad-core processor and 7th Generation Intel Core i5 dual-core processor with as much as 1TB of SSD and 16GB of RAM. Additionally, if you opt for the 15-inch model, you will receive a powerful Nvidia GeForce GTX 1060 GPU and with the 13 inch i7 processor model, you will get GTX 1050.

This is definitely one of our artists favorites and best picks for laptop for drawing!


Cheap & Budget Option Friendly - Lenovo Yoga 710-15 Drawing Laptop

Laptop

CPU - ​7th Gen Intel Core i5-7200U processor | RAM - ​8 GB DDR4 RAM | Hard Drive - ​256 GB Solid State Drive | Graphics Card - ​​Intel HD Graphics 620 | Screen - ​15.6" Full HD 1920 x 1080 10-point multitouch screen | OS - ​Windows 10 Home | Battery Life - Up to ​8 hours | Weight - ​4.5 ​lbs

​Laptops Features

  • ​10-point multitouch screen
  • ​​360-degree flip-and-fold design
  • ​JBL stereo speakers with Dolby Audio Premium

​What We Liked - Pros

  • ​​Excellent sound
  • ​Reasonable Price
  • ​Super thin

​​​Downside - Cons

  • ​A little under powered but can be upgraded.

​Finding a premium drawing 2-in-1 laptop for less than $1,000 ​used to be virtually impossible. However, ​less than this artists price and budget, the Lenovo Yoga 710 15-inch laptop stands as proof of how fast things are changing. This ​convertible laptop ​has a lot of bang for your buck, competing with higher end 2-in-1s. The strong performance, responsive keyboard and beautiful display of this laptop make it a ​best value and an amazing large-screen device.

With its all-black aluminum body, it has a minimalist aesthetic. On the laptop lid is the Lenovo seal in gray and a shiny silver Yoga logo; however, it is otherwise plain. The hinges on the 14-inch and 11-inch models are an obscure gunmetal gray. Upon opening the lid, you will find the 15.6-inch 1080p display with its island-style trackpad and keyboard.

​The laptop measures 14.1 x 9.6 x 0.7 inches and weighs in at 4.2 pounds, placing it among the lighter and smaller canvas 15-inch-convertible laptops. The weight of the HP Spectre x 360 15t is the same as the Yoga; however, the HP measures 14.8 x 9.8 x 0.6 inches. The size of the Yoga is similar to the Samsung Notebook 7 Spin PC but the latter is heavier.  Great for college students in graphics arts programs.

Want more Lenovo laptop ideas?  Take a look at our article on the best Lenovo laptops.


​For Art Students - LG Gram 17

Laptop

CPU - ​Intel 8th Generation Intel Core i7 8565u Processor | RAM - ​16GB RAM | Hard Drive - ​​512GB SSD | Graphics Card - ​integrated graphics | Screen Size - 1​7 inch WQXGA (2560 x 1600) | OS - ​Windows home 10 | Battery Life - Up to 1​9.5 hours | Weight - ​2.95 lbs

​Laptops Features

  • ​Thunderbolt 3
  • ​​Mil std 810g durability standard
  • ​Fingerprint reader

​What We Liked - Pros

  • ​Super long battery life
  • ​Lightweight
  • ​Warranty

​​​Downside - Cons

  • ​SSD is a little slow but still fine.

The LG Gram is currently the lightest 17-inch laptop in the world, which the manufacturers have managed to create without sacrificing overall performance with drawing, display graphics. Combine the best portability with its stunning 17-inch laptop display, you will find that you have one of the most remarkable laptops now available on the artists market.

This laptop is sleek and stylish and has a sturdy build quality and a remarkably lightweight body. While some of the areas feel a tad flimsy, the laptop chassis is highly functional and exquisitely designed.

While the looks and portability does its premium cost, that does not mean ​that there is skimping on high-end laptop internals. Additionally, LG has put a laptop computer package together in the Gram that is ideal for artists and drawing.

With a 512GB SSD, 16GB of RAM and running on 8th Gen Intel Core i7 8565u processor, this laptop is great for most software. Whether you want to run Premiere, Lightroom or Photoshop, this laptop has sufficient horsepower to handle all of them.

The display is the most remarkable and best feature of the whole laptop. In its 17-inch glory canvas, it has a 2560 × 1600 resolution. The laptop also delivers spectacular, clear and vibrant images.


For Digital Art - Microsoft Surface Pro 6

Laptop

CPU - ​1.3 GHz Core i5 8400T processor | RAM - ​8 GB LPDDR3 1866 MHz RAM | Hard Drive - ​​128GB ​SSD | Graphics Card - ​Intel® UHD Graphics 620 (i5) | Screen Size - 1​2.3 inch display | OS - ​Windows 10 | Battery Life - Up to 1​3.5 hours | Weight - ​3.53 pounds

​Laptops Features

  • ​Lightweight
  • ​​Multiple work modes
  • ​Long battery life

​What We Liked - Pros

  • ​Battery will last a full day!
  • ​Awesome price

​​​Downside - Cons

  • ​Some users reported ​tablet mode to be a bit cumbersome.

This is among the best selling drawing laptops and most versatile 2-in-1 laptops currently available. Not only is this laptop powerful from its insides, but it is also well-built for a variety of uses. You have the option of pairing it with a detachable keyboard and this makes it comfortable for use as both a laptop and a tablets.

When used for drawing, the laptop is compatible with Surface Pen, with its 4096 pressure sensitivity levels. Surface Pen is currently among the best digital pens for any gadget. Compact and available with exceptional ergonomics for ease of use, the Surface Pro 6 is remarkable. However, both the Type Cover and the Surface Pen cost extra, which adds $200 to the cost.

Where the artists specifications are concerned, this ​laptop is run on an Intel Core i5 processor combined with 256GB of SSD storage and 8GB of RAM. Additionally, the Surface Pro 6 can be purchased with 16GB of RAM, Core i7 processor and as much as 1TB ​SSD. This makes it a stand out in the category of powerful convertibles. Furthermore, the ​laptop PC comes with a stunning 12.3-inch PixelSense display canvas that delivers true-to-life color reproduction.


Lenovo Yoga C930 Laptops

Laptop

CPU - ​8th Gen Intel Core i7-8550U processor | RAM - ​16GB DDR4 2400 MHz RAM memory| Hard Drive - ​​1TB PCIe solid-state drive (SSD) | Graphics Card - ​​Intel UHD Graphics 620 | Screen Size - ​13.9" 4k Ultra HD touch screen display | OS - ​Windows 10 | Battery Life - Up to 1​0 hours | Weight - 3 lbs

​Laptops Features

  • ​Two Thunderbolt 3
  • ​Made from premium aluminum
  • ​Rotating sound bar with Dolby Atmos speaker system

​What We Liked - Pros

  • ​Excellent audio
  • ​Great power for the price
  • ​​Lightweight

​​​Downside - Cons

  • ​Some users reported issues with the laptop battery at times.

This 3-in-one laptop is designed with a 360-degree hinge that makes it possible to reposition the product in different modes for drawing and graphics. This means tablets, stand, tent and laptop modes. In addition to this increasingly common multi-positional design format, the Lenovo Yoga C930 is chock full of features. In addition, it had ditched the overly elaborate hinge mechanism of older Yoga versions and has replaced it with a Dolby 'soundbar.' Furthermore, there is Dolby Vision included to take advantage of the bright high dynamic range (HDR) display screen.

The Yoga C930 laptop is also equipped with a fingerprint scanner to enable rapid logins and there is a stylus integrated into its body, tucked around the back. This stylus is quite handy for interacting with the touchscreen displays. If this is not your style or it is not commonly used in your line of work, it can just be left back there as it is totally out of the way and won’t be bothersome.

There is also a backlit keyboard that works supremely well for artists and best for night time use. Lenovo laptops uses keys that clack (but thankfully not too much) and delivers real travel to make for a comfortable typing experience. You will not miss a key and the trackpad is awesome.  Prices are good too!


Dell XPS 13 2-in-1 Laptop

Laptop

CPU - ​Intel i7-7Y75 Processor 1.3Ghz | RAM -​ 16gb DDR4 RAM | Hard Drive - ​​512GB SSD | Graphics Card - ​Intel HD Integrated Graphics | Screen - 13.3" FHD LED display; 1920 x 1080 Touch Display  | OS - ​Windows 10 | Battery Life - Up to 1​0 hours | Weight - ​1.76 pounds

​Laptops Features

  • ​fingerprint reader
  • ​touchscreen
  • ​backlit keyboard

​What We Liked - Pros

  • ​Efficient
  • ​Small and powerful
  • ​Great all purpose laptop

​​​Downside - Cons

  • ​Some users reported issues with the ​power at times.

This ​laptop for drawing is among the most attractive convertible 2-in-1 laptops and it can be used in several modes based on the preference of the user. The laptop is renowned globally for being among the smallest 13-inch 2-in-1 laptop in the world that has an InfinityEdge touchscreen display. With its super-sharp QHD+ resolution, this display delivers a practically borderless and best viewing experience.

The laptop is available in several variants and it can be customized as per the requirements of the user. There is also an option to select from Intel Core i7 and i5 processors with as much as 16GB of RAM. Where storage is concerned, the user gets an option to choose as much as 1TB of SSD storage; this delivers faster and more superior storage.

Graphics are backed by Intel HD graphics display and they are sufficiently powerful to deal with the drawing applications for laptops. The Dell XPS 13 is available with a first-class 360-degree hinge for 4 flexible positions - laptop, tent, graphics tablet and stand mode. Therefore, so you can surf, work or watch how you prefer. Its long-lasting battery runs for 15 hours on just one charge; this places it among the best artist laptops.  It can be a great gaming laptop too!

Want something slightly bigger and more convenience?  Take a look at another artists contender - the Dell XPS 15 or Dell Inspiron 15 5567 laptops for creating drawings ​for good prices.

We also put together an article on the best Dell laptops.  Take a look!


HP Spectre X360 15-inch Convertible Laptop

Laptop

CPU - ​Intel Core i7 8565U Processor | RAM - ​16 GB RAM | Hard Drive - ​​512 GB SSD | Graphics Card - ​​Intel UHD Graphics 620 | Screen - 13.3 inch display | OS - ​Windows 10 | Battery Life - Up to 11.5 hours | Weight - ​2.8 pounds

​Laptops ​Features

  • ​Full size backlit keyboard
  • ​​WLED-backlit multitouch-enabled edge-to-edge glass
  • ​Long battery life

​What We Liked - Pros

  • ​Display screen
  • ​Excellent audio
  • ​Excellent trackpad

​​​Downside - Cons

  • ​No issues so far.

This is arguably among the most attractive laptops in its category and it comes with remarkable aesthetics and impressive build quality for drawing and graphics. The device redefines its craftsmanship and ensures that it remains stunning.

The Spectre X360 is a 15-inch convertible device that is available with 360-degree hinges. Therefore it can operate in 4 different modes, which includes the graphics tablet mode that most artists and designers prefer to draw in.

Furthermore, it comes with incredible Nvidia GeForce GTX 1050 Ti graphics card that delivers outstanding visuals in its almost borderless UHD display. Additionally, the included HP Active Pen fosters a smooth, practically seamless drawing experience. The larger the display, the better will be the area on which you will work. This clearly highlights how this device perfectly serves the best needs of the artist.

Out of the box, it runs Windows 10 and an 8th Gen 6-core Intel Core i7 processor is used to power it; combined with either 16 or 8 GB of RAM based on needs and personal preference. The laptop has diverse storage options and can be customized for user requirements. It delivers impeccable performance, without compromising form-factor and looks.

For something smaller, there is also an HP Spectre x360 13 laptop option.

More of the best HP laptops available here.


Samsung Notebook 9 Pro (Includes S Pen)

Laptop

CPU - ​1.8 GHz Intel Core i7 processor | RAM - ​16 GB LPDDR3 RAM | Hard Drive - ​512 GB Flash Memory Solid State | Graphics Card -​ Intel UHD Graphics 620 | Screen - 1​5 inch display | OS -​ Windows 10 | Battery Life - Up to 15 hours | Weight - 3 lbs

​Laptops Features

  • ​S Pen included for drawing
  • ​Fast-charging Battery
  • ​​Convertible design

​What We Liked - Pros

  • ​Efficient
  • ​Price for what you get
  • ​Super fast

​​​Downside - Cons

  • ​Some users reported ​being slightly annoyed with port placement.

This Samsung laptop is among the newest convertible laptops from the manufacturer. It was exclusively designed to serve drawing, graphics designers and artists who want to use their device as a slate for designing and drawing.

The laptop comes with an innovative, pressure sensitive (as much as 4,000 levels), and automatically responsive S Pen. This gives the artists the ability to draw with precision like never before. The laptop has an integrated pen and an always paired mode for easy navigation, while completing your designing and drawing work. The laptop also delivers many other features like quick select, palm detection, gesture support, note creation, which compliments device productivity.

Besides all the previously-mentioned features, this laptop has robust and innovative innards. These include a 15-inch, 1920 x 1080 screen resolution LED display; 16GB RAM; an Intel Core i7-8550U processor; dedicated AMD Radeon 540 2GB graphics and 256GB SSD. Better resolution is the best indication of crisper output and sharper images. Without a doubt, the screen of this laptop is a deal maker for artists as it relates to selecting a laptop for drawing. The Samsung NoteBook 9 Pro provides users with a brilliant display.

Looking for other options?  We put together a best Samsung laptop page as well.


Apple Macbook Pro

Laptop

CPU -​ 9Th-generation 8-Core Intel Core i9 Processor | RAM - ​up to 32 GB RAM | Hard Drive - ​512 GB | Graphics Card - ​​Radeon Pro 560x Graphics display with 4GB of video Memory | Screen - 15 inches | OS - ​Mac OS | Battery Life - Up to 1​0 hours | Weight - ​4 lbs

​Laptops Features

  • ​Touch Bar and Touch ID 
  • ​Brilliant Retina Display with True Tone technology
  • ​​Force touch trackpad

​What We Liked - Pros

  • ​Easy to use
  • ​Awesome screen
  • ​Reliable

​​​Downside - Cons

  • ​Some users reported issues with the laptop battery at times.

Similar to other Apple laptops, this laptop is ideal for drawing, animations and graphics. Its streamlined performance and sleek design makes it perfect for any professional animator or designer. Outfitted with blazing fast SSD storage, an i7 Quad core processor and remarkable Radeon Pro discrete GPU, this device delivers incredible performance for all processes like huge file transfers, rendering 3D models and encoding.

With super-fast graphics and being among the latest gen i7 processors, the Apple Macbook delivers quality to animation experts and designers. Slim, light and thin, working with this device provides an all-together smooth experience that delivers speedy responsiveness and superior comfort.

It has remarkable screen resolution providing the brightest clarity and display with LED backlighting display, wide color grading and high-end contrast ratio. Its battery life averages 1o hours, which enables users to keep editing, best designing, best gaming, watching and encoding from anywhere for as long as you want.

Its impressive sound system accommodates several Wi-Fi standards and features state-of-the-art fast speakers. If you want top laptop performance that delivers the highest quality graphics, digital art and animation, the Apple MacBook is among those  laptops you should consider. Its long battery life, blazing speed and power are all super impressive.

More best Apple laptops options available here.


Good Laptop For Drawing 2019 Conclusion

drawing laptops

When you have made the decision to purchase a best laptop, carrying out extensive research into the specifications and features is tremendously crucial. This is especially true if when you want the machine to carry out certain specific tasks. Finding the ​top laptop for drawing and animation deals can be achieved by going through the features of each of the laptop you are considering. However, in addition to the features, it is very important to take the cost of the laptop into consideration and not just the review and specs above. For an expert animator, art creator or graphic designer, the quality of the laptop should not be compromised for a cheaper cost in ​comparison.  Your drawing ability may even improve!

Hope you liked this drawing laptop recommendation guide!

​Quick Graphics & Laptop​ Drawing FAQ

What is the best laptop brand for drawing?
The brand of the laptop probably doesn't matter as much as the features and specs that it has.  We would recommend taking a look at each laptop individually to make sure that it has the features you need.  The guide on this page shows the choices that we recommend.

How does a laptop compare to a tablet for drawing?
This really depends on the laptop you choose.  There are actually options that we reviewed that are convertible 2-in-1 laptops that can convert into a tablet as well.

What laptop are you using for digital drawing?
Take a look at our recommendations here and see for yourself.  We like laptops that have a stylus pen included, plenty of graphics power, a nice screen and lots of storage.