Since a nice Wacom tablet is a bit pricey, especially for someone like me who doesn't do much graphic editing, I was wondering if it is possible to use a tablet (i.e. My Nexus 7) as a Wacom-esque drawing tablet when connected to a Linux computer? I did a bit of searching, however most of the info I found is for using a Wacom tablet on an Android device. I've never used a Wacom device, however I have been doing some graphic editing in Gimp, and think it would be much easier than just using a mouse. And since I have a Nexus 7, it seemed like the logical place to start.

I would have to use the Nexus as a USB peripheral for the computer, and I don't know if it is possible to transmit the touch screen coordinates to the PC. If anyone can point me in the right direction, I'd appreciate it! A touchscreen tablet is not like a Wacom tablet. Drawing tablets use a stylus with one or two pressure-sensitive tips and several buttons.

The stylus is also sensitive to the angle you hold it at, and the tablet can detect when the stylus is hovering above the tablet, even with no contact. A drawing tablet has a resolution of a fraction of a millimetre.

You can wield the stylus like a calligraphy pen, an airbrush, or anything in between. A capacitive touchscreen such as you get on a Nexus 7 is designed to detect fat blobs like finger tips. It can't react to you hovering over it, to the natural pressure changes you get over the course of a stroke, or to the angle. Samsung's Note series has a pretty advanced stylus, and it makes a nice drawing tool, but it still lacks the advanced features like angle sensitivity. Sure, you can use a touchscreen to draw and to create artwork, but asking it to replace a Wacom tablet is like asking finger-painting to replace the whole range of artists' paintbrushes. You'll never be satisfied with the results.

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