>>347 (OP)
I've gone through a few tablets. IMO, it's better to spend a little more and get something nicer if you can. Huion tablets are a good middle ground of quality and price. If you spend $200-$300, you can get a nice entry level Huion with a decently big screen. If you buy a random budget brand for ~$100, my experience is that you'll end up replacing it in 1-2 years. I personally hate drawing tablets without their own built in screens, but you can get screenless tablets for $20-$50. If you can deal with their lack of a screen, I've never had one of those completely break on me. They tend to take a beating and keep working.
I avoid Gaomon tablets because I've had bad experiences with them. Their cables/ports have given out on me after just a few months. Wacom tablets are mid and I don't really like the feel of them. Also, when you switch to a new tablet there's always an adjustment period, so if it doesn't feel good to draw with a tablet right away, it might end up feeling fine after a few hours of use, once you've adjusted to the quirks. Doesn't matter how much time I spend with Wacom, it just doesn't feel good to draw on them, and I have difficulty quantifying why.
You should consider Paint.net as a free Photoshop alternative. Aseprite is good if you want something for pixel art (very cheap software, easy to pirate if you don't want to pay). Corel Painter is nice if you're autistic and Krita's paint simulations aren't good enough for you, but it's overpriced and the GUI could use some work.
>>352
>I recommend a basic tablet with no display It's better because once you are comfortable with it you can just look at the screen with the tablet in whatever comfy position.
I get that perspective, but I was trained on paper/canvases and I hate not looking directly at whatever I'm drawing on. I guess you could also set up a tablet with a screen to mirror the main PC screen if you wanted to use one in that manner.
>Make sure you get a tablet/pen with pressure sensitivity for stroke thickness/etc.
Very important, but almost ubiquitous now, thankfully.