I run a graphic design business built on the notion of delivering top-quality work, quickly and efficiently, so having access to good tools is always important to me. Here’s what I use to create art, graphic design, and for web/game development:

Art & illustration

When I need to jot something down, make a quick sketch, or do some math, I prefer a mid-sized (5.5″ x 8.5″) sketchpad and a ballpoint gel pen.

On the digital side of things, I’ve long since ditched my old Surface Book and replaced it with an iPad Pro. I was sad to abandon the Book, but the speed, accuracy, and fluidity of the Apple Pencil is tough to beat, and having access to software like Procreate is awesome. I’m not always a fan of how Apple does things, but they’ve managed to turn the iPad into a competent creation tool for artists, and at this point in time I’d have a hard time getting any digital drawing done without it.

Computer hardware & office

For work (and gaming), I use a custom Windows PC. The hardware in this computer changes from time to time, but I always try to make sure it remains a modern, powerful machine that can do what I need it to. Here’s a snapshot of my current desktop and office setup:

Thanks to various computer repairs/upgrades over the years, I also usually have a lesser machine ready to work as my own personal render buddy. I also occasionally use an old DSLR camera, though mostly I just use my phone now for pictures.

Finally, a quick shoutout to my Allsop Metal Art mouse pad. I know it’s a little ridiculous to use a mouse pad in this day and age, but I love this thing and will use it until there’s a hole worn through.

Software

My most-used software these days is Blender and Procreate. Blender is, of course, an incredible piece of software that I use to do all manner of 3D work, and Procreate is what I use for making digital drawings.

Although I’ve grown a bit apprehensive of Adobe and their embrace of AI technology, the software suite available in Creative Cloud is still my go-to for just about everything outside of 3D.

Office 365 is another great suite of software. It’s nice to have all my work documents sync up between devices, and 1TB of space on OneDrive is excellent for sharing work and making sure important project files are available to clients.

In addition to Office 365, I also use Azure for archiving larger projects (after creating a local backup of course) and GitHub for version tracking.

I still recommend GameMaker as a game-creation tool. It’s easy to learn, grows well with you as you become a better game designer, and has turned into something really nice over the years. Spine is a nice addition to GameMaker.

For all other coding, I usually find myself in Visual Studio Code, which is a nice environment for Python, as well as my web development work.

Last updated 12/2/2024