Graphics drawing tablet needed for artist

Who am I: An artist looking for tech
What do I want: XPen Artist 12
Why do I want it: To replace my Samsung Galaxy Tab 2012 edition

So, I've always been able to draw, and for the longest time that was with good old pencil and paper, but then I got access to a neat little program called the GNU Image Manipulation Program, or GIMP, for short...yes, yes I know.

Anywho, I tried using a mouse to colour hand drawn pics but it didn't work out too well, so instead I switched to using a drawing tablet, which conveyed my movements on the tablet into movements in the app.  However, I could never quite get the hang of it.  I constantly felt I was looking in the wrong place (the screen and not where my hand was), and I couldn't turn the 'paper', and there were compatibility issues, and it didn't get any better when I bought a bigger tablet, as I thought it would.

Jump to 2014, and I managed to get my hands on a Samsung Galaxy Tab 2012 edition, refurbished, for just £100 (I know, right?!), and it felt AMAZING to use.  I played around with a few different apps until I settled on Autodesk, which eventually got updated with copic markers!  This may not seem like a big deal, but I had a set of copics way back when, but they ran out way too fast and were so expensive to replace or refill.  So here I was with a tablet that could allow me to draw so many different ways and with so many brushes that I'd never had access to before.

And, for a time, it was great.

However, two years ago the apps I used for drawing began to get a little...glitchy, impeding my ability to work, as the apps were optimised for more current versions of the hardware.
Jump to today and the apps and even device are showing signs of imminent death; the device crashes and freezes at random, takes ages to update apps, often won't register input, and needs to be reset quite often.  The apps I use also crash frequently and even when they don't I often have to wait actual, real life minutes for it to register a brush stroke.

I might be able to get a couple of more pieces out of it, but I'm not holding my breath.

So, I began looking for a replacement, for a while I wanted another Samsung, but I think it would be better to get a dedicated drawing tablet, which is effectively a second monitor for your PC with touch controls and pressure sensitivity.  Being a less complicated device also means it will probably last longer than a standard tablet.

Now,  you may be wondering why I don't just pay for it myself, and you would be right to wonder.  Thing is, I'm disabled and can't work, so have to rely on benefits, which are fairly low.  Now, sure, I could save up, but this might legitimately take me a year to do, and in the meantime I'm creatively stifled, with so many ideas but lacking the tools to execute them.

Now, as worthy causes go...this isn't one, I suppose, and if you're deciding on me or that dog who needs an artificial leg, then yeah, the dog wins, go fund me at the dog, or the child who needs a new wheelchair, or the parent trying for experimental surgery for their cancer.
There are far more worthy causes than mine, but even a few £'s would contribute something, and reduce the time it takes me to save up.


For those that made it this far, thank you for reading my ramblings.

For those that donate, thank you so freaking much I love you!

For those interested, you can find my work at deviantart .  There's stuff on there from years and years ago, as well as stuff from just a month or so ago.

Oh, and if you can't afford to contribute but still want to help, please consider sharing this instead.

Thank you all ^^