Xencelabs: Empowering Creatives With A New Tablet & The Quick Keys Remote
Are you a professional or aspiring digital artist? Are you looking for the right pen tablet that will empower you and take your creativity to the next level? Well, let me introduce you Xencelabs.
Xencelabs is a newcomer to the creative industry, but it is already making waves. As a brand of Hanvon Ugee USA, Inc., it is dedicated to producing intuitive digital drawing, painting and sculpting tools. In fact, Xencelabs has formed partnerships with artists and creatives in order to bring new technology to market that will level up your creative workflow.
Recently, Xencelabs sent me their Pen Tablet Medium Bundle and I think you will see in the following video that I fell completely in love within seconds.
As you can see, I completely nerded out… and I still am every day I use it!
If you are interested in learning visit the Xencelabs shop on Amazon.
Amazon US — https://amzn.to/3jEjydg
Amazon Germany — https://amzn.to/3DCKP7U
I believe it is important to talk about the Pen Tablet and Quick Keys Remote separately in this article as both are quite amazing.
Xencelabs Medium Pen Tablet
If you are looking for an affordable and professional tablet then you can not go wrong with this.
The tablet itself has a 16:9 native aspect ratio and is roughly 8mm thick. It has three customizable buttons at the top. One thing that I loved about the design of the tablet is has curved palm rest and two indentions on the backside in case you want to hold your tablet. What does this mean? COMFORTABILITY! If you are like me it easy in to get into the zone and draw for hours. Just ask my live stream viewers on Behance… sometimes I will stream for up to 5 hours at a time. Thus, I need to be able to have a device that does not stress out my hands or wrists. Trust, me I am not a young pup anymore and it is important to use well-designed devices early on in your career. I have to thank Xencelabs for including these ergonomic features as it really makes all the difference.
The active area of the tablet can be seen clearly because of the four LED lights. What I loved about these lights is that you can easily customize them. I found this fun, as I could set the colors to match the logos of each of my Adobe Applications. Example… blue for Photoshop.
The tablet can be used with USB-C to USB cable or wirelessly with a dongle. Naturally, I chose to use the USB dongle. The bundle also includes USB-A to USB-C dongle in case you are using a computer with USB-C ports. That was super nice of Xencelabs to include for those using Apple Macbooks.
The tablet is incredibly lightweight… 1.57 lbs to be exact. Thus it is highly portable. And what is super nice, it comes with a stylish soft carrying case! So if you want to move about the office or agency you can… or if you want to head out to coffee shop you can…. or you want to set your laptop on a stand and cuddle up to your wife and dog on the sofa you can. Wait did I just admit to being a couch cuddler?
I actually really like the carrying case. In fact, some companies (cough cough)that produce tablets no longer provide cases. You have to buy them separately. So it is great that Xencelabs includes it!
Ok, I talked about the tablet… let’s move on to the pens (styluses).
Not One But Two Pens Are Included
You read that correctly, Xencelabs provides you not only with one pen but two! Not all brands do this. And to make things cooler, one is thick and one is thin! Now you have options when creating your artwork.
The thick pen has three buttons + eraser ad the thin has two buttons + eraser. And before you ask… yet the buttons are customizable.
Xencelabs also provides you with 6 extra plastic nibs and four soft ones. This is where I got smart or at least I think I did. I kept the hard nib in the thick pen and put the soft nib in the thin pen. Now, my options got even cooler. Hmmm… my mom always said I was clever.
The pen case is really nice as well. Shaped like a rectangle so it does not roll off your desk! It also holds the dongle and USB adapter as well as the circular metal nib remover.
Since we are on the topic of what is going in your hand… let me mention what Xencelabs provides to go on your hand. They give you a smudge glove. Any digital artist will tell you how handy these are. And since I always misplace my other ones it is nice to have an additional one handy! I also like the fact that the glove is two-fingered instead of one.
The pens and smudge glove work well with the grain or tooth of the tablet. It gives a paper-like texture while gliding your pen across the tablet. Now this is why I prefer tablets over iPads. See iPads have this glassy texture that is all slippery. Why because iPads are built for the Average Joe and not for artists. even the Apple Pencil is built for the ordinary consumer and not for artists. Trust me I would rather have creative tech that is built to match the needs of artists… and Xencelabs has your back in that arena!
The Quick Keys Remote
I had to save the best for last! The Quick Keys Remote will simply ROCK YOUR WORLD!
This little bad boy is an innovative new design on remotes. The size and weight are just right. Also, it two indents on the back so it fits directly in your hand all snug. On the back, it has a rubber pad so that it does not slide of your desk.
Now you are probably going to ask what makes this remote so special? Well and this is my favorite thing of all time. It has a programmable OLED display. May creatives forget their short cut keys or hot keys that program into things… but with this OLED screen you will never forget.
The Quick Keys remote has 8 programmable buttons and an adjustment dial. You can program up to 40 different shortcuts, then cycle through a max of 5 sets of 8 shortcuts by simply pressing the button at the top of the remote. Now that is pretty sexy if you ask me!
The other great thing is it does not matter if you are right- or left-handed. You have four options for orientation. Now I might be right-handed, but I have several friends who are left-handed… and I have heard them complain that devices and software are not set up for left handed people. So this remote was very well thought out.
I actually just got the Elgato Stream Deck. Combine that with the Quick Keys Remote and I can tell you that I am going to rock my home studio in so many new ways!
Software/Drivers
The software and drivers were easy to download. Literally, it took me just a couple of minutes… BOOM, I was off and running! I was playing around with the settings and exploring. The user interface of the software is very easy to understand. Literally you will be able to figure it out so quickly that you will have time setting things up.
Cost???
Now to me, the bundle is the way to go because all of what is included. You simply can not find a deal like this. To me the Quick Keys Remote makes the price worth it alone. So in the US on Amazon it will run you $359 and in Germany 399€. Which is not bad for a professional tablet and state of the art remote. Plus two pens…. cables and a wireless dongle… USB-A to USB-C adapter… smudge glove… 12 nibs in total… and case.
But there is more…
Over the past few weeks, I have seen Xencelabs feature several creatives in online workshops. Now that is giving back to the community. Sharing inspiration is something the followers of my live streams on Behance know I love. Thus, I am excited that Xencelabs is stimulating the creativity of its community.
Oh and a big surprise…
The other day, Xencelabs sent me a message to tell me that they are launching a smaller version of their tablet. That’s right the Pen Tablet Medium is getting a baby sister!
Coming at 2/3 the size of the Medium… the Small could be exciting for those who are used to working with small tablets. Hey, flexibility is what Xencelabs provides!
“Our approach in developing Pen Tablet Small was the same as it’s been since the day our company launched,” said Jean-Marc Blondel, Head of EMEA at Xencelabs. “We will continue to design tablets that creatives can adapt to their needs and physical preferences. Artists all have their unique preferences and physical characteristics. Pen Tablet Small is all about choice and flexibility.”
My guess is you will be able to find it on their Amazon shop in the next few weeks (do not quote me on that… I am just guessing).
WRAP
Xencelabs is truly empowering creatives with its new tablets. I expect and hope to see their product line continue to grow. In fact, I am super excited to see what they release in the future.
The Medium Tablet (and now the Small Tablet) are the perfect professional alternative for professional artists and aspiring artists that want more bang for their buck.
And if you go for the bundle… then I can tell you then you are going to have super duper experience with the Quick Keys Remote. Those three words, I have been dreaming about every night since I got mine… ok that is an exaggeration… but I do love the little guy!
So check them out and if you do buy one, let me know in the comments what you think. Also, feel free to ask me questions in the comments as well!
And as always HAPPY CREATING!
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