While a good ol’ keyboard usually works best, a nice shortcut remote for digital art can really neaten your setup, and be more comfortable. Many tablet brands have their own remotes that you can buy separately, but there are other options too.
Why get a shortcut remote for digital art?
A wireless keyboard is still a high-ranking option simply because of having all the possibilities there in front of you, and many of us having different keybinds already baked into our muscle memory. But depending on your space, it may be a bit awkward to reach all the keys you need. A shortcut remote or controller will bring all your most-used shortcuts right below your fingertips for easy access.
But not all shortcut controllers are made equally, and some are definitely more fun to use than others, or are more versatile. So I’ve gathered a few up at different types to see which digital art controller might be the best fit for you.
The options we’re looking at…
- Tourbox Lite
- Wacom EK Remote
- XPPEN ACK05
- a PS4 controller
- 8Bitdo Micro
The main considerations when choosing a shortcut remote are it’s comfort and design, software ease of use, level of customization, build quality, versatility, and price. These are all under $100.
Tourbox Lite – best functionality
The Tourbox Lite is, hands-down, my favourite shortcut controller for digital drawing and painting. It’s well designed in it’s button placement and how it fits under the hand.
The software to customize it gives you a huge range of programming possibilities while remaining easy to use. It’s one of the only controllers I’ve seen that allows you to combine it’s buttons for a single shortcut.
It does require a wired connection, but this is a small sacrifice towards a much more accessible price point than the Elite version. You can find my full review of the Tourbox Lite here.
The Tourbox Lite is $95 on AmazonUS.
Wacom ExpressKeys Remote
Though older, the Wacom ExpressKeys Remote is still a pretty decent device. The price might seem a bit on the high side when comparing with it’s competitors though. That said, Wacom hasn’t seen the need to update the design and definitely feel like it’s designed to last.
I’m not as fond of the touch ring in comparison to controllers that use a wheel or dial mechanism. It doesn’t feel as precise to me as physically turning something, and I frequently overshoot my zoom or brush size. This is probably more of an issue with familiarity, and over time, you probably adjust to the behaviour.
The other downside is giving up another USB slot for the wireless receiver. You cannot wirelessly connect directly to your computer.
The Wacom EK Remote is $92 AmazonUS.
XPPEN ACK05 wireless remote
The ACK05 shortcut remote is included with some of XPPEN’s newer tablets and is a more true wireless option if you have a newer computer thanks to Bluetooth 5. This remote has a nice design with a prominent wheel in the corner, and 10 buttons. It is much cheaper than some other options, and while the materials are lightweight, it doesn’t feel flimsy.
Customizing it is pretty straightforward and done within XPPEN’s standard driver. Even though my remote came with the Deco Pro Gen 2, no tablet from the brand is required for this to work.
Price of the ACK05 Remote is $50 on the XPPEN website.
PlayStation 4 controller – the impractical option
I’m a bit of a gamer, and I use a controller on PC. While setting up my controls, assigning various keyboard keys, I wondered about using my PlayStation 4 controller as a shortcut remote for my art apps. In short, it works. Is it practical though: not really.
The software to program it isn’t quite the most intuitive or fluid to setup. The other issue is that using it one-handed is a bit clunky. You can use the joysticks, but your fingers will likely be dancing around them a lot and you’ll get numerous accidental triggers depending on how you orientate it.
You can program a whole lot into a single profile though. If you’ve got one, it’s worth testing out for the fun of it.
8Bitdo Micro – best affordability and versatility
This little fella took me by surprise. Not only is it cheap and compact, but you can use the 8BitDo Micro with art apps on computer AND mobile devices, so long as they support keyboard shortcuts. It’s wireless and gives you 16 programmable buttons. These are set through the 8BitDo mobile app and the settings are stored on the controller.
What I like is that each set of 4 buttons is distinctly different, and it’s quite easy to tell which button you’re feeling under your finger.
If you have larger hands though, this controller may live up too well to the Micro name. Instead, you might want take a look at 8BitDo’s other mobile-compatible options.
For a beginner or more mobile digital artist that is also prone to a little bit of gaming, the 8BitDo Micro can make for a really versatile and affordable shortcut controller.
The 8BitDo Micro is $25 on AmazonUS.
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