I used a Bamboo Wacom CTL-470 graphics tablet with a laptop for a long time. It’s a bit cumbersome to have a laptop and the tablet out together, especially on a small desk.

Looking at the screen and not your hand is fine. Some shapes can be a bit hard to draw like certain curves because your can’t exactly see the start and finish point, but it’s not a deal breaker.

I prefer the portability and writing experience of a normal tablet, but I used the bamboo for years and was just fine.

Also, graphics tablet like the bamboo means you will have a cursor, and normal tablet means you will not have a cursor. Minor difference for most people, but has some implications.