10 of the Best Light Tables for Artists Everywhere Reviewed

Every architect, animator, calligrapher or so on, knows the importance of a light table. It’s a great tool to help draw and sketch precise diagrams.

So, today, in this list we will be helping professionals who are in the market for one of these by mentioning the 10 best light tables that are currently available in the market.

We have mentioned light tables coming from a range of price with some pros and cons listed for each. So, go ahead and pick the one that fits your budget and your needs.

Best Light Tables for Artists 

1. US Art Supply Lightmaster Jumbo 32.5″ Light Table

US Art Supply brings this amazing entry for a little hefty price at first sight. But this light table is absolutely huge and provides so many perks that justify its price.

The light table is ultra thin and feels premium in quality – well designed keeping portability in mind. And to top it all off it has a 1-year warranty as well.

Experience

We had a great time using this table. Our artists love the fact how light it is and how easy it is to move on a table surface while drawing something on it. Also, the working surface is extremely huge – 17”x24” – which made using bigger paper on it possible.

The lights are incredibly well designed as well. Marketing of it says that it has flicker-free lights which we tested using a camera and we found the claim to be true. Other than that, the lights are also super bright but if you want to work on something that’s dimmer, then you can easily dim it using the touch button on the table.

Our professional calligraphers and animators loved how handy it is and they easily got into the groove of working on it as if it was their regular gear.

2. LitEnergy A4 Ultra-Thin Portable Light Table

LitEnergy A4 Ultra-Thin is an inexpensive portable light table that works absolutely fine. The value proposition for the quality you get is excellent. You can fetch this one for around $25 everywhere.

The price proposition is not rare. In fact, many light tables come for a similar price – as will be on this list – but the design and the quality of the product are more than satisfying.

Experience

It doesn’t get as bright as the previous one but we didn’t complain much about it given you can get 5 of these for the price of one of the previous entry.

Apart from the minute thing, we loved that the light has 3 adjustable levels of brightness which can be simply changed by pressing the touch switch for several seconds. You can also just touch the pad to toggle the lights, which our professionals found to be pretty intuitive.

It can be powered by a standard USB cable which makes powering it pretty effortless as you can fetch a USB cable almost anywhere nowadays. It also has a smart Memory feature which keeps your last used settings the next time you turn it on.

3. Artograph A950 LED Light Table

Artograph drops the most expensive entry on this list with A950. It is a marvel of design which is intuitive and durable. And it comes with a durable storage bag as well.

It has a massive 17”x24” workspace. And the LED light surface is amazing, to say the least.

Experience

We loved its absolutely sleek profile which felt so versatile and flexible to use while drawing. Carrying, storing or even moving it feels effortless and it especially counts when working because we could tilt it any way we wanted with ease.

The massive drawing space was really amazing to work on and it was an absolute treat. Unlike our first entry, there are some added bonuses.

First, the lights are absolutely fantastic. It tops even our first entry. The LED lights are super bright and they run so much cooler. The thermal management and energy management are marvelously engineered. And the intuitive light controls were a treat to use.

Second, the design feels really premium. The corners, edges and the overall body feels sturdy and has absolutely zero flex. And the fact that it is so light and sturdy at the same time gives the feeling as if you are drawing on a good board.

4. A4 Ultra-thin Portable LED Light Table

This light table has a slim profile design that feels amazing to use and comes at a very low price of around $25. It’s a quality product that feels more sturdy than expected from it.

But more importantly, at this budget, the lights are more than just impressive. And the control you have over it is sure a pleasant surprise.

Experience

First, the table is just 5mm thick and it feels amazing. It legit feels like a board to use. It’s so handy and portable that our artists loved it. And for the slim profile, you don’t even lose a lot of sturdiness. Moreover, at this price point, we have no complaints either.

The lights as well are amazing. Flicker-free and super bright. The one thing we loved the most though was the continuous preference setting for the lights. There are no levels or specific settings to choose from. The control is entirely fluid.

It also has touch control for turning on/off and brightness control which feel pretty good – especially for the price. We deem it ideal for any use-case.

5. Picture Perfect Ultra Thin Portable LED  Light Table

Picture Perfect light table is a slim profile device that comes for cheap as well like the last entry.

It has 21 built-in super bright lights which are energy efficient and flicker-free. It has advanced filters that block light that can cause eye-strain and soreness.

And it comes in a small, 9”x13” profile which is ideal for carrying in backpacks.

Experience

The design choices made by Picture perfect were a pleasant surprise for us. One of the most noticeable for us was the removal of the power/dimmer button to the side – away from the workspace. Yes, touch interactions are great but this significantly reduced the accidental dimming and toggling of light for us.

The advanced filters weren’t so effective as it was advertised. But some of us really felt a lot better after having long sessions and reported likewise. It may be a placebo because the lights on light tables are already soft and even. They don’t have enough blue or bright light to cause eye strain. But anyway, it’s a welcome feature.

Talking about the lights, some of our testers complained about the unevenness of the lights. Although they did say that’s a very subtle difference, it did come to their notice.

6. JUNLON A3 Aluminum LED Light Table

JUNLON offers this slim – only 0.67” – light table for only $60 providing extreme comfort and portability even with a bigger workspace profile – A3.

It comes with flicker-free LED surface that has light-diffusion technology – not particularly sure what that technology exactly is. Overall, the lights work just fine.

Experience

There’s nothing that stands out for this table than any other of our other entries. It does everything right in our opinion and offers a great value for the price it asks for. It’s the one to go for if you A3 sheets of paper and that’s the only reason to prefer this over any of the other entries.

The aluminum frame is extremely rigid and feels nice to work on. Even with a bigger size, it’s very easy to move around and work on given its light weight and thin profile. The soft edges and round corners don’t poke while being the flow of work. Hence, there’s no room for complaint in the design of the body.

The lights work absolutely fine. It has soft light which spreads evenly underneath the paper and feels nice to work on. The only gripe is that it doesn’t go as bright as some of our other entries.

7. Litup A3 [18″ × 14″] Light Table

Lit up provides another A3 size entry on this list at a higher price point – about $110 – but for the extra, you get better design and more importantly, a wireless experience.

This light table gives 5 hours of continuous use after being fully charged for 1.5 hours. It also has an 18-month warranty.

Experience

Talking about the battery powering feature, it is a welcome feature, even though it takes a big hit in brightness. But honestly, most of our professionals work on their desk where there’s no need for being wireless and more brightness for a wire is a trade we are willing to make. Especially when the USB cable is 2 meters long.

Other than that, the lights are pretty amazing. It reaches a brightness of 2280 Lux when powered and it is even and soft. The adjustable brightness is to be expected for the money and the touch controls are responsive and accurate.

The huge working space is the biggest selling point here and for the extra dollars, you get better design and a slimmer profile. It moved around easily and it was hassle-free to work on it even with the cable plugged in.

8. Huion L4S 17.7″ Ultra Thin 5mm LED Light Table

Huion is already popular in the design industry for providing quality drawing products and tables and L4S is one remarkable product as well. It’s extremely light – 1.3 pounds – and thin – 0.2”.

It is USB powered which can be even plugged from a power bank as well. The lights are bright and at its dimmest setting you can see through 4 layers of regular paper.

Experience

We think that the capability to run at full capacity with a power bank is a better implementation of a wireless experience than fitting it with a battery. Especially, because there is no downtime for when you need to charge it.

The lights are super bright and even and it makes it easy to work with regular paper. It also helps that the workspace is huge – 17.7” – and the thin and light profile helps moving it around effortlessly while working.

The heat management is very well implemented. Even during long sessions of work, we could barely feel any rise in temperature and overall, the design and engineering feel really well implemented.

The light control works fantastic and the included drawing glove and 2 4B pencils are a welcome addition.

9. Huion 26.8” Ultra Slim Adjustable LED Light Table

Like the last entry, Huion just achieves the same quality and marvelous design for a bigger workspace – 26.8”.

It has the same light and thin design which feels hassle-free to work on. But since it has a bigger space to light up, you need to plug it to a wall.

Experience

There’s nothing to complain about again. The Huion light table again achieves the impeccable quality like our last entry, even for a bigger profile. The only thing we miss is that it can’t be powered by a power bank, which, honestly, is understandable given that it has to light up a bigger surface.

Talking about the lights, again, it is superb. It lights up evenly and is very bright and you can adjust it effotrlessly with the button. We, personally, believe that the button implementation of control makes much more sense than the touch one, even though touch is supposed to be more intuitive because it causes way less accidental bumps.

The heat management is excellently engineered. It also has a print scale for easy measurements which we found to be extremely useful rather than a stupid gimmick.

10. Litup 15″ x 11″ Light Table

Litup provides another excellent light table for a bigger size – 15”x11”. It is ideal for working on B4 sheets.

It comes with a long 2 meter USB cable which can be powered from the wall, a desktop, a laptop or a power bank which provides immense versatility.

The lighting is impeccable as well.

Experience

We loved the thin profile and lightweight – 0.2” and 1.6 lb – like all of the other entries on this list.

It made it very easy and hassle-free to maneuver and use, even during long sessions of work.

Working with bigger sheets was a treat on it as well. It’s rare to see a device profiled for B4 size and it works absolutely fine on this light table.

The lights are great although not very bright. It has no eye strain technology like the Picture Perfect entry which is a nice addition but we didn’t feel much of a difference. But other than that, the lights are soft and spreads evenly across the surface and we have no gripes with it.

Another thing that stole our hearts was the versatility of powering it up. Like we said already, we believe that powering it with power bank is a better implementation of wireless experience.

Best Light Tables Buyer’s Guide

While buying a light table there are certain things to keep in mind. It may seem obvious to some of you, but to make sure that you don’t miss any of it I am going to mention them.

1. Size

Always make sure that the size is enough for you. Sort out your work and make a note of all the sheet size you can use. Don’t go for a smaller size if you work on bigger sheets. It becomes tedious and problematic to use a table smaller than your project size.

2. Heat and energy management

A lot of people don’t realize that cheaper tables skimp on heat and energy efficiency to lower the cost. So read the reviews online to make sure that it doesn’t have heating issues or consumes a lot of power.

3. Rigidity

Sturdier frames are not only important for the durability of the table but it is essential for properly working on it. Make sure that your table comes from a reputable brand or it has a rigid aluminum frame. Reviews online will also help to judge whether it is sturdy or not.

Final Words

With that, we hope this article was helpful in making a worth it purchase and we wish you well in your endeavors!