Raspberry Pi with XPPen Artist 13 Display and Krita

[Stephen262619]

Running Krita on Raspberry Pi 5 (26 Dec 23)

When looking at reviews of the Raspberry Pi 5 it looked like it might be a lightweight, inexpensive platform adequate for running Krita.
I have set up up the system and am finding that it resets regularly (< half an hour), so am looking for some assistance.

Objective

I requested a Raspberry Pi for Christmas so that I could draw using inexpensive processing hardware with my XP-Pen drawing Display tablet as a monitor in the Lounge room where the rest of my family typically reside in the evening (rather than at my work desk).

Hardware

The existing hardware I used:

• XP Pen Deco LW Pen Tablet (USB and Bluetooth wireless display-less tablet)
• XP Pen Artist 13 Pen Display (USB and HDMI display tablet), with Samsung EP-TA200 5V/2A charger

The new hardware:

• Raspberry Pi 5 Kit , including:
  Raspberry Pi 5 board 8Gb RAM CE09786-KIT-ONLY,
  SD Card preloaded with Pi OS CE06486
  15W Plug pack CE06427,
  Official case with fan CE09789
• Raspberry Pi 4 kit leftover from a friend, including:
  Official Raspberry Pi 4 keyboard and mouse,

Bring-up Process

Connected up Pi in case with SD Card, Keyboard, Mouse per documentation with a HDMI Monitor.
Powered up and followed the predefined setup process to set up language, keyboard etc. Then moved on to Update Software.
Here the process failed with a message along the lines:

fails update unmet dependencies raspi-utils: breaks: libraspberrypi-bin.

I restarted the Pi. Got nothing but a black screen with a cursor.
I power cycled the Pi. It came up with the GUI desktop.
I tried using the software update through the GUI, but it failed with the same message.
Here I consulted this Forum post:
[SOLVED] RP5 installs then fails update unmet dependencies raspi-utils: breaks: libraspberrypi-bin - Raspberry Pi Forums
I used the following commands in CLI terminal:

sudo apt update
sudo apt full-upgrade
sudo apt autoremove

This updated the software and removed the unused dependencies.

On the menu I went to
Preferences → Add/Remove Software → Graphics
ticked the following items:

• Krita-1:5.1.5+dfsg-2
• Krita-data-1:5.1.5+dfsg-2
  Applied and OKed, which installed Krita.

I was quite happy at this point to see the familiar Krita Splash screen.

I ran Krita and controlled it with a mouse. It was a bit laggy and curves were a bit jerky.
Menu → Preferences → Right Mouse Button → Resolution
I changed resolution from 3840x2160 down to 1920x1280 which is the resolution of the Artist 13.

I connected Deco LW via USB and was able to control the cursor, buttons had an effect and pressure sensitivity worked (Cool!), but I couldn’t get connection via Bluetooth to work.

I connected Artist 13 via USB, to second Micro HDMI and a phone charger for extra power to the display. It didn’t output on the display immediately, and I power cycled and tried it with and without the monitor as well as changing display settings in the preferences. Eventually I was able to display on the tablet with and without the monitor. Probably mostly due to power cycling I think. I could draw with the pen on the display, but there was no pen hover cursor like there was with the Deco LW. I had both tablets running at the same time.

At this point I was getting what seemed like occasional reboots or power drop outs.

With the Artist 13 as display (1920x1080) and drawing using the Deco LW, with one layer on A5, 300 ppi, the performance of Krita was quite usable, good enough for relaxed drawing in the lounge. Not quite as good as my desktop (Intel Pentium G3440 @ 3.3 GHz 2 cores, 8 Gb RAM with Win10).

Using the system for a little while longer I experience many resets, it looks like it occurs when the temperature reaches 60 degrees C and the fan increases speed, as I can often hear it wind up just before the system returns to the login prompt after which the desktop is back to nothing open.

It is not feasible to use the system when it continually resets like this. The behaviour remains when removing the Deco LW tablet and just using the keyboard, Mouse, and Artist 13 display.
Just doing web browsing using Firefox the system is more reliable but I am monitoring the temperature with

watch -n 1 vcgencmd measure_temp

and it is not going above 60 degrees C.

Assistance welcome!

[Michael]

Thanks for your comprehensive writeup @Stephen262619 - when we were on chat about this I wouldn’t have come close to being able to capture this much troubleshooting information.

To address your initial (chat) concerns about the 15W power supply being underrated for the task:
have you encountered the low voltage warning? That link also contains information about reading historic low-voltage messages out of the message buffer which may confirm or ease any suspicion about power supply issues.

The display is my primary concern, whether it is being fully powered/charged from the Pi. In this case if you confirm that there is an under-voltage issue it would be prudent to move power-hungry accessories to a separate power supply if possible, or use a higher-rated PSU. While we’re waiting on the official supply there are plenty of other USB-PD supplies getting around.

---

apologies if the accessories are being powered by a separate power supply already, it’s a little tricky to trace the cables in the picture.

[Stephen262619]

@Michael

have you encountered the low voltage warning?

No, I haven’t seen that warning nor the lightning symbol.

@Michael

The display is my primary concern, whether it is being fully powered/charged from the Pi. In this case if you confirm that there is an under-voltage issue it would be prudent to move power-hungry accessories to a separate power supply if possible, or use a higher-rated PSU.

The Display is connected to the Pi by USB and also to a separate supply (phone charger Samsung EP-TA200 5V/2A) I am unsure whether all power draw is from the additional supply or not. There is a combining cable provided with the display that 3-way merges external power, USB and HDMI all into one USB-C connector connected to the display.
I have been trialling operating the Pi without the Artist 13 on an HDMI monitor for a period and haven’t had any resets, I have had the temperature up to 65C and heard the fan increase speed. So the Artist 13 does appear to be the culprit through some means. Unfortunately getting away from a monitor and using a drawing tablet is the intention!
If I had a powered Hub I would try using that between the Artist 13 USB and the Pi to see if providing USB power that way helps.

[Stephen262619]

I’ve been trialling a different power socket, different but same model plug pack for Artist 13 as display, and using the Deco LW via USB for pen control, and haven’t had a reset yet. It’s been up to 65C too.

[Michael]

That’s a great split test! Here’s hoping it’s that simple.

Perhaps power related events were too sudden to register as the Pi’s standard under voltage warning.

[Stephen262619]

Mini Wireless Keyboard

I lashed out (AU$35) and bought a mini 2.4GHz wireless (not Bluetooth) keyboard, VZTech XC4951 from Jaycar, the local electronics store. It came with a USB dongle and it worked straight off. It is also possible to remap the keys as described above.
Very conveniently it has a touch pad in the centre for cursor control.
It is unfortunate that I don’t have the Deco LW working over Bluetooth as that would really minimise cables.
This setup has been stable.

[Michael]

Nice work @Stephen262619 - Everything’s a prototype This setup looks very functional - the split lead for the display is a great option.

It’s curious that the drawing tablet doesn’t connect over Bluetooth - but that seems like a separately addressable problem. I’ve tried some light research on the topic to help out but it doesn’t seem like anybody has attempted this before. My guess would be the exotic driver that would be required, and whether this is available on linux or not.

In any case, well done so far.

[Stephen262619]

I’ve now created a number of Digital Art and Pixel Art pieces using this setup and Krita and am enjoying using it daily in my lounge room.
I also found that Aseprite which had a very slow reacting interface came good when I set the preferences for 100% scaling on the display rather than the default 200%.
The reset issue that I was experiencing seems to be whenever the USB device is removed. I am not sure how to do this properly on the Pi.

Here’s a Pixel Art I drew based on a trip to Himeji Gardens in Adelaide.

[Michael]

That’s rad @Stephen262619 what a gratifying result
It’s pretty rare that a maker project actually winds up getting used day-to-day - at least for mine. I’m stoked you reached an endpoint with a good enough experience that you’d consider using it daily.

I’m sure if you posted this as a project there would be a store cred in there for ya

[Pixmusix]

@Stephen262619

Here’s a Pixel Art I drew based on a trip to Himeji Gardens in Adelaide.

Love this!

[P275678]

This looks excellent ! I’d love to tackle something similar. I have a few questions :

1. Is the Artist13 tablet functional for input/drawing, or is it just being used as a display here ?

2. Do you perhaps have footage of the setup in action when painting, to get a feel for the amount of lag (if any) ?

Thanks !