best graphics tablet for illustrator?

Well, based on your requirements I think that the Wacom Intuos would be a better choice for you. I see people recommending tablets from Huion and Xp Pen, which is not really a bad choice but having used the tablets from all the three brands I can say that - Huion and Xp Pen tablets are more of a value for money tablets which have a ton of features at a lower price point. 

But I still choose Wacom Intuos over them any time of the day. After using the non-Wacom tablets for a while you will realize that their drawing surface is kind of bad. They lose their surface texture pretty fast and start to get scratches after a few months. 

Compared to that, my Wacom Intuos is holding up very well, I have been using it for one year and I still don't see any major damages to the drawing surface. 

You can see this for yourself - Just go to this page on EssentialPicks and scroll down towards the end and you will see the difference in the surface tear between Wacom and non Wacom tablets.

So overall with Wacom Intuos you are paying more and getting fewer features - but it is worth it in long term.

I definitely advocate graphics tablets over mice, once you learn that AI's pencil tool has settings (hit return with it selected and play around, the defaults are trash IMHO) you can combine that with a tablet for a very fast workflow that's really only limited by how well you can draw.

I don't do much drawing anymore, but the XP-PEN Deco line https://www.xp-pen.com/series/Deco-tablet.html suits most of my needs for Illustrator and did fine when I did do drawing .

Or you could spend more money on a screen tablet, I've been used to drawing in one place and seeing it in another for decades so I haven't bothered.

I have a Wacom Cintiq Companion 2 and Wacom MobileStudio Pro.  Both run Windows 10 and can run all Adobe software.

Being able to draw directly on the screen with pressure sensitivity is amazing.  The Intuos is great too... but it is not a full computer.

Huion and Parblo are other options.  But you pay for what you get.  Wacom has spent years creating devices specifically for creatives in all fields.  They pay attention to their community and put a lot of thought into their products.

But think about the future when making a purchase.  Example.... Had I bought a regular computer or an Apple computer... I would not have the options that I have with my Wacom devices.  So now if I want to start learning 3D graphics or ZBrush, I can.  Never think only about your current needs... imagine how you will grow and think about things you would like to experiment with.

That being said.... Vectornator is a free Vector creation tool for iPad and they are semi partnered with Adobe.  Thus, you can import to Adobe Illustrator or Export from Adobe Illustrator.  Currently Vectornator is free. 

Hi Lucy,

I use a Wacom Intuos Pro Medium: Wacom Intuos Pro: creative pen tablet | Wacom

I would highly recommend it in regards to accuracy and comfort. I have been using Wacom tablets for over 12 years now on a variety of projects from realistic illustration to logo identity projects.

Lucy,

I haven't had experience with the Huion Brand, but I've used several Wacom products and I know they are reliable. If you can't afford a Cintiq or you just want to get your feet wet, the Intous series is really nice. The tablets come in three sizes, but I would recommend the medium. Then, if you find you don't want to use all of the space on your tablet, you can redefine the active drawing area to a smaller space in the settings.

I hope this helps, but keep shopping, there are tons of good products and brands out there!

Fletcher

You can opt for Huion H420 Drawing tablet. The tablet comes with Pen and it is one of the best drawing tablet for beginners and Illustrator works well on it.

If you don't paint then I don't see the point in using a tablet.

If the Huion doesn't work, try and install a Wacom driver on top of the Huion driver. That is a hack and it might or might not work, but for most people it has worked.