Lifting the veil on my setup, hardware, gear, and tools used when I create for the web, Artistic Outlaw, and its contents.
Table of Contents
Computing Power
My home office setup consists of the following gear and accessories. If I link an item I recommend it, otherwise...
- Desk: IDÅSEN sit/stand (160x80cm)
- Computer: 16in MacBook Pro (2019)
- 2.4 8-core i9
- 64GB DDR RAM
- 4TB Storage
- 8GB AMD Radeon Pro
- Incase Nylon Flight Sleeve
- Tablet: 12.9in iPad Pro (G3)
- 512GB Storage
- Apple Pencil (G2)
- Keyboard Cover
- Matte Screen Protector
- Phone: iPhone 13 Pro
- 512GB Storage
- Pela Case
- Watch: Watch Series 5
- 27GB Storage
- Pride Edition Sport Loop
- External: Seagate 5TB USB 3
- Monitor: DELL U3818DW, 38-inch curved
- Keyboard: Keychron K1 Wireless, Gateron blue
- Mouse: Magic Trackpad 2, Black
- Speakers: Logitech Z623 with THX
- Headphones: Sennheiser HD 599, & AirPods Pro
- Desk mat: Steel Series QcK XXL
Podcasting
My partner and I started podcasting in 2020, below is the current setup we use to record weekly episodes of the Lu & Me show. If I link an item I recommend it, otherwise...
- Microphone: Samson Q2U x2
- Headphones: Audio-Technica ATH-M20x
- Interface: Focusrite Scarlett 4i4
- Software: Adobe Audition
Drawing
I created my first piece in 1976 with a black Crayola crayon on yellow ledger paper, it was a portrait of “Jesus flying home to the angels”...
Or so the legend goes.
In high school I carried BiC mechanical pencils, and pens (in black and blue). I drew in monotone exclusively on Medium ruled binder paper. More rarely I would draw on a friend's denim binders with a sharpie. I spent most of my time doodling in class and drawing caricatures of famous basketball players, Michael Jordan being the most common request. I infamously spent three days drawing and iterating a picture of Micheal Jackson, doing his infamous crotch grab, in which I misspelled his name.
Around 2005 I moved to a process of pencil sketching, Micron inking, then scanning into Photoshop to color digitally.
In 2010 I discovered Copic markers and started experimenting with those—the experiments were mostly failures.
2019 brought a lot of changes in my life, one of the most impactful was buying an iPad Pro and Apple Pencil switching to a fully digital work-flow. I still doodle with pen and paper occasionally, but the results I get with the iPad make it hard to consider doing traditional work professionally.
All that to say I primarily use Procreate to create art these days. Adobe's Photoshop and Illustrator are used for work that Procreate can't accomplish to my liking. In terms of brushes I'm forever a minimalist and use only around 3 or 4 of the out of the box brushes shipped with Procreate, Dry Ink being my favorite at the moment.
As of September 2022 I'm once again experimenting with Copic markers and analog art. This time I have the full kit, and I'm going to make a serious effort to practice with these markers.
Writing
My imagination rampages through my logic centers and I release the beast in a feeble attempt to grant my brain pan short respites from the horrors restrained within.
Short and sweet. I write everything in VS code, print it, read it out loud, apply corrections. Rinse and repeat.
Design
I'm a designer by nature, a Sr. Staff Designer by title, and a hopeless believer in the fact that everything can be improved.
I use Figma for UI, Photoshop for graphics and photography, and Illustrator for advanced vector work.
I specialize in Design Systems and Ops. which means I write a lot of technical, practical, and theoretical documentation on how to Design and build products at scale.
Code
VS Code and GitHub. I run Fira Code Light at 20px, and the Mariana Midnight color scheme. I prefer tabs.
I practice in HTML, CSS, and Javascript. I also use jQuery for prototyping.