{"id":9511,"date":"2021-06-17T23:07:16","date_gmt":"2021-06-18T06:07:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/community.wacom.com\/en-us\/us\/?p=9511"},"modified":"2026-06-05T13:38:12","modified_gmt":"2026-06-05T20:38:12","slug":"the-mobilestudio-pro-why-is-it-worth-it","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/community.wacom.com\/en-us\/the-mobilestudio-pro-why-is-it-worth-it\/","title":{"rendered":"The MobileStudio Pro: Why Is It Worth It?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><em>\u201cThe MobileStudio does what it needs to do exceptionally well, and there is no product like it on the marketplace in either form or function.\u201d \u2014\u00a0<\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/Xx2uE9L5hFM\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><em>Jazza<\/em><\/a><\/p>\nWacom makes a tablet at every price point, from the entry-level One by Wacom, to the mid-level Intuos tablets and Cintiq displays, to the top-of-the-line MobileStudio Pro.\u00a0 But what makes the latter arguably the highest-end digital art machine ever made, and what value does it bring to artists?\u00a0 I talked to two professionals about what they get from it:\n\nAnimator\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/emoneelarussa.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Emonee LaRussa<\/a>\u00a0is responsible for the videos for\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/BeiouJGHeE8\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Ty Dolla $ign\u2019s Ego Death<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=hUE2DuMP9y8\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">the Chowder version of Lil\u2019 Nas X\u2019s Panini<\/a>\u00a0music videos, as well as many more artist-commissioned lyric videos.\u00a0 She\u2019s won two Emmys.\u00a0 Her dazzling animations are created in After Effects and\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/community.wacom.com\/en-us\/us\/select-wacom-professional-products-now-come-with-3-months-of-complimentary-access-to-award-winning-boris-fx-and-sculptron-software\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Boris FX Suite<\/a>, on Wacom tablets.\u00a0 She has the 16-inch,\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/u__5K-pvyK4\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">which you can see her review of here<\/a>.\n\n<iframe title=\"Demo Reel 2020 - Emonee LaRussa (Directing &amp; Animation)\" width=\"1080\" height=\"608\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/VOGST__0q_w?feature=oembed\"  allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n\n<a href=\"https:\/\/www.jasonmay.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Jason May<\/a> is an illustrator, cartoonist, livestreamer, and host of the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/c\/JasonMayDraw\/videos\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Jason May Draw Club<\/a> podcast.\u00a0 \u201cI mostly work on comics, kids\u2019 books, indie, comics, and things like that,\u201d he says, which includes a six-year stint with LEGO Club magazine.\u00a0 \u201cBut I also do publication design for books, coffee labels, and whatever else I get hired for.\u201d\n\nHe started drawing with Wacom tablets back in the nineties, eventually graduating to a Cintiq 22\u201d, and most recently, the MobileStudio Pro, a major step forward for his productivity.\u00a0 He has the 13-inch.\n\n<iframe title=\"Helmights! The Comic Book Trailer - New From Creator Jason May\" width=\"1080\" height=\"608\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/-CKXs_CsTmI?feature=oembed\"  allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">\u2014<\/p>\n\n<h2 style=\"text-align: center;\">Why <em>this<\/em> drawing monitor?<\/h2>\nFor those of us who just want a digital sketchbook for the road, yes, there are cheaper ones.\u00a0 Some artists suggest an iPad and Procreate: That\u2019s a valid alternative if all you\u2019re going to be doing is static drawing or simple animations.\u00a0\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.wacom.com\/sg-mx\/discovery\/draw\/art-on-your-ipad\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">We even make four pens compatible with it.<\/a>\n\nBut the iPad is still a tablet, where the MobileStudio Pro is a full-featured computer.\u00a0 A pretty beefy one as well, comparable to a gaming laptop, with a top-of-the-line i7-8559U processor, a 4k screen, and an SSD hard drive.\u00a0 That means you can run full-featured programs on it, without lag, instead of being stuck with the truncated versions they offer for tablets.\n\n\u201cI am not fond of the Photoshop and Illustrator that are available on an iPad,\u201d says LaRussa.\u00a0 \u201c[There are] a lot of different functionalities that I feel are missed from the desktop version of those programs.\u00a0 Having those programs on a tablet is essential, but if it\u2019s not user-friendly, it\u2019s almost pointless.\u00a0 The [MobileStudio] allows you the ability to work in those programs outside of your normal space.\u201d\n\nFor professionals who are looking at a new computer anyway, it might not be such a heavy investment.\u00a0 Especially those whose work involves a lot of resource-demanding tasks like animation or 3D rendering, where it\u2019s common to pay to have the best equipment, and would like the bonus of being able to take it outside the house.\n\nThis was LaRussa\u2019s case:\u00a0 \u201cI spent $5,000 on my laptop that I only really use when I\u2019m on the go.\u00a0 So it\u2019s [actually] cheaper having this tablet, because it\u2019s an all-in-one.\u201d\n\n<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-9541\" src=\"https:\/\/community.wacom.com\/en-us\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/40\/2021\/06\/DTHW1620_FlatView_Front_v3_RGB-copy.png\" alt=\"Wacom MobileStudio Pro 16\" width=\"900\" height=\"573\" title=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/community.wacom.com\/en-us\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/40\/2021\/06\/DTHW1620_FlatView_Front_v3_RGB-copy.png 900w, https:\/\/community.wacom.com\/en-us\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/40\/2021\/06\/DTHW1620_FlatView_Front_v3_RGB-copy-300x191.png 300w, https:\/\/community.wacom.com\/en-us\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/40\/2021\/06\/DTHW1620_FlatView_Front_v3_RGB-copy-768x489.png 768w, https:\/\/community.wacom.com\/en-us\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/40\/2021\/06\/DTHW1620_FlatView_Front_v3_RGB-copy-480x306.png 480w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 900px) 100vw, 900px\" \/>\n\nThat laptop is a MacBook Pro 16\u201d, but there are also tasks the MSP can handle that even that can\u2019t.\u00a0 The counterpart 16-inch version of the MobileStudio comes with a Nvidia Quadro P1000 graphics card, which is the crux of its appeal for her.\n\n\u201cWhat\u2019s cool is that it has an NVIDIA graphics card, where my Mac does not: so I can run\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/home.otoy.com\/render\/octane-render\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Octane Render<\/a>\u00a0for Cinema 4D on it, and there are certain Red Giant plugins\u2014like\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.maxon.net\/en\/red-giant-complete\/trapcode-suite\/mir\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">[Trapcode] Mir<\/a>\u2014that only allow an NVIDIA.\u201d\n\n(She hasn\u2019t had her MobileStudio Pro long enough to run those programs on it yet, but is looking forward to it.)\n\nThe graphics card\u2014which the Surface Pro doesn\u2019t have\u2014makes it one of the few tablet computers that can edit 4K video, so it\u2019s perfect for people who record or stream their process.\u00a0 It also makes it the only tablet PC that can run ZBrush 2021 and other newer 3D sculpting programs, making it great for concept artists and others who regularly integrate 2d and 3D art.\n\nIn fact, the 16-inch also comes with an Intel RealSense 3D camera, meaning you can fully scan and input objects, or even rooms, directly into your program of choice.\u00a0 \u201cThe potential of the 3D camera is massive\u2014the ability to scan direct to ZBrush while out of the studio on an all-in-one tablet is revolutionary,\u201d\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.creativebloq.com\/features\/the-incredible-wacom-tablet-thats-also-a-3d-scanner\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">says Creative Bloq<\/a>.\n\n<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-9542\" src=\"https:\/\/community.wacom.com\/en-us\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/40\/2021\/06\/DTHW1620_FlatView_Front_v3_RGB-copy-1.png\" alt=\"Wacom MobileStudio Pro 16 back view\" width=\"900\" height=\"573\" title=\"\">\n\nThe MobileStudio Pro is designed to be a complete creative suite in one package.\u00a0 As\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/lzjolFiKwh4\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Youtuber Brad Colbow puts it<\/a>: \u201cI think it\u2019s cool that there\u2019s a computer out there that says, \u2018I am for creating and only for creating, and if you don\u2019t like it, you can go home!\u2019\u00a0 I suggested to Wacom that that should be the new slogan; I\u2019m still waiting to hear back.\u201d\n\nAnd unlike other tablets that have drawing as a tertiary feature, the MobileStudio is made for it, offering what Colbow calls \u201cthe best Windows tablet drawing experience I have ever had, anywhere.\u201d\u00a0 Which is what it\u2019s made to be, with the same laminated textured screen, and the same 8192 levels of pen pressure, as a Cintiq.\n\nBut, he adds, \u201cit is for a very specific audience, which is someone who\u2019s already in tune with the Wacom style of editing.\u201d\n\nGranted, there are even cheaper ways to get the Wacom style of editing in a more portable format.\u00a0 For those who just want a screen tablet to take out of town without space concerns\u2014who want to draw at family\u2019s house during the holidays, or on an extended hotel stay\u2014 there\u2019s the combination of a laptop and a\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.wacom.com\/en-us\/products\/pen-displays\/wacom-one\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Wacom One<\/a>.\n\nBut the MobileStudio is, in Jazza\u2019s words, \u201cwafer thin,\u201d and twice as portable as a laptop, with half as many segments. Anywhere you can use a notebook, you can use an MSP.\u00a0 In fact, you can plug it into another computer to use it as a Cintiq.\u00a0 And the 16\u201d is the biggest portable screen tablet on the market, offering plenty of room for a comfortable drawing experience.\n<h2 style=\"text-align: center;\">How will you get your money\u2019s worth?<\/h2>\n\u201cI actually plan my travels around the use of this thing.\u00a0 I get to airports early so I can sit there for two hours before the flight and get work done; I travel to Melbourne by train rather than by car so that I can use this thing.\u00a0 I get more done with this tablet and it makes my business function.\u201d\n\nThe MobileStudio Pro has something to offer people of all skill levels, but it\u2019s ideal for people who draw professionally and draw often<em>.\u00a0\u00a0<\/em>Like full-time freelancers, video makers, livestreamers, and in-house designers who need a quick way to take their work home, or\u2014as quarantine rolls back\u2014to take it anywhere else.\n\n<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-9543\" src=\"https:\/\/community.wacom.com\/en-us\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/40\/2021\/06\/DTHW1620_in-use.png\" alt=\"Wacom MobileStudio Pro 16\" width=\"900\" height=\"573\" title=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/community.wacom.com\/en-us\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/40\/2021\/06\/DTHW1620_in-use.png 900w, https:\/\/community.wacom.com\/en-us\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/40\/2021\/06\/DTHW1620_in-use-300x191.png 300w, https:\/\/community.wacom.com\/en-us\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/40\/2021\/06\/DTHW1620_in-use-768x489.png 768w, https:\/\/community.wacom.com\/en-us\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/40\/2021\/06\/DTHW1620_in-use-480x306.png 480w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 900px) 100vw, 900px\" \/>\n\nIt\u2019s also useful for creatives on tight schedules who want to fit more art time into their existing day without the hassle of setting up and disassembling a laptop-tablet combo everywhere they go.\u00a0 Both LaRussa and May lauded its ability to let them work in places they normally wouldn\u2019t be able to.\n\n\u201cWhat\u2019s cool is that it allows me to work outside of my office, which is huge for me,\u201d says LaRussa.\n\nMay uses it to integrate his professional illustration into his workday.\u00a0 \u201cAny breaks I get, anytime kids are being good, I get work done.\u201d\u00a0 As well as to get out of his windowless working area.\u00a0 \u201cMy studio\u2019s in my basement, which isn\u2019t super-fun.\u00a0 So I'll grab it and I\u2019ll go outside onto the deck and get a bunch of work done.\u201d\u00a0 He\u2019ll do full comic pages while relaxing outside, he says.\n\nIts portable size and ease of startup also makes it a quick, convenient, professional, and impressive way to present your work at client meetings.\u00a0 \u201cNow that quarantine is over, I want to meet with everybody in person,\u201d says LaRussa.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019ve had meetings where I needed to show my renders:\u00a0 It would take me hours to render it out at home, so I would just record it on my phone and show it to them.\u00a0 But it seemed super unprofessional to do that, so having this, I can just move my files over and just open it right there and render it out so they can see it in full-res.\u201d\n\nJust from me to you: If you\u2019re a new artist who aspires to own a MobileStudio Pro but is disheartened by the price tag\u2026\u00a0 Be patient.\u00a0 Start smaller, then work up to one.\u00a0 No individual tablet will do the work of improving your art for you: only years of practice and getting intimately familiar with your chosen tool.\u00a0\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/community.wacom.com\/en-us\/us\/the-one-thing-you-need-in-a-tablet\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">You choose a tablet for the specific features it offers<\/a>, and in the case of the MobileStudio Pro, that\u2019s the full computer attached to it; its portability, its versatility, and its unparalleled drawing experience.\u00a0 It\u2019s the ultimate creation machine.\u00a0 And if you use it wisely, it\u2019ll pay for itself.\n\nIt\u2019s just a bonus that it\u2019s incredibly cool.\n\n<iframe title=\"Wacom MobileStudio Pro 2021\" width=\"1080\" height=\"608\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/6_0o1i9r0pc?feature=oembed\"  allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">\u2014<\/p>\n\n<h4 style=\"text-align: center;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.wacom.com\/en-us\/products\/pen-computers\/wacom-mobilestudio-pro\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">If you\u2019re ready, check out the MobileStudio Pro\u2019s page to learn more.<\/a><\/h4>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">\u2014<\/p>\n\n<div class=\"post__body\">\n<div class=\"entry editor-content\">\n<h3>About the Author<\/h3>\n<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-1841 size-thumbnail alignleft\" src=\"https:\/\/community.wacom.com\/en-us\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/40\/2019\/07\/CS_Jones_avatar-150x150.png\" alt=\"CS Jones\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" title=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/community.wacom.com\/en-us\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/40\/2019\/07\/CS_Jones_avatar-150x150.png 150w, https:\/\/community.wacom.com\/en-us\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/40\/2019\/07\/CS_Jones_avatar-300x300.png 300w, https:\/\/community.wacom.com\/en-us\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/40\/2019\/07\/CS_Jones_avatar-480x482.png 480w, https:\/\/community.wacom.com\/en-us\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/40\/2019\/07\/CS_Jones_avatar.png 595w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px\" \/>\n\nCS Jones is a Philly-suburbs-based writer and illustrator. You can see more of his work, including most of his contributions to this blog, at <a href=\"https:\/\/thecsjones.com\/writing\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">thecsjones.com<\/a>, or follow him at @thecsjones on\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/thecsjones\/?hl=en\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Instagram<\/a>\u00a0or\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/thecsjones?lang=en\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Twitter<\/a>.\n\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"post__tags\"><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":9512,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2320],"tags":[1197,1198,7],"class_list":["post-9511","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-mobile-studio-pro","tag-emonee-larussa","tag-jason-may","tag-mobilestudio-pro"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/community.wacom.com\/en-us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9511","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/community.wacom.com\/en-us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/community.wacom.com\/en-us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/community.wacom.com\/en-us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/9"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/community.wacom.com\/en-us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9511"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/community.wacom.com\/en-us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9511\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/community.wacom.com\/en-us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/9512"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/community.wacom.com\/en-us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9511"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/community.wacom.com\/en-us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9511"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/community.wacom.com\/en-us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9511"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}