Computers and digital gear
Computer and tablets are absolutely essential to how I work. Here’s a few things that I use and love!
Laptop or tablet?
When I started out designing, tablets weren’t really a thing. Today there are many options for what to buy. You can check out this video I did comparing some popular tablets a few years back that I think still applies today. Ultimately, when I’m picking a tablet, it comes down to how I work. I certainly use a laptop as well. That’s what I’m typing this on right now.
Laptop
I’m a Mac guy, and I have been for about 15 years or so. I currently use a MacBook Pro, but I also use a Mac Pro. More on that in the studio gear section. I always try to buy refurbished, or on sale. Pro tip: refurbished items are usually just returns that fall within the return window for a product with a manufacturer, so they’re good as new and you can save hundreds while having the warranty as well.
Currently, I’m using a 2019 MacBook Pro in silver. I went for the i9 configuration and it seems to be able to handle pretty much everything I throw at it.
iPad Pro
Like I said, I’m a Mac guy, and I love the ecosystem. For example, it’s easy for me to manage files and copy and paste from one device to the other. LITERALLY. Copy on my Mac, paste on my phone or iPad Pro. Since Im on social media, producing content, and also working as a designer, being able to work interchangeably between devices saves me SO MUCH TIME.
Currently, I use a 12.9 inch 3rd generation iPad Pro with the Apple Pencil and keyboard stand. I’m ALMOST to the point were I really don’t need my laptop, save video editing in premiere pro and some use of photoshop as well.
Other Tablets
If you prefer windows, I’ve heard good things about the Wacom mobile studio pro as well as the Microsoft Surface Pro
Storage
Long term storage
I use a NAS locally at home as well as cloud backup services for critical files. I’ve also recently made the move to flash storage for my working drives. USB C means faster transfer rates, and this is especially important for video editing and large file transfers.
My NAS is an old Synology disk station. you could load this up with SSDs or Regular old hard drives. I have about 20TB of storage available. I have had some bad fortune with the raid configuration in the drives in the past. This is actually my second server, but so far so good. It’s more like a mini computer than just a hard drive and there are tons of features for apps that you can install to manage your files, as well as being able to remotely access the drive. You can even set these up for automatic backups of your computers.
The cheapest solution I’ve found is buying a case separately from an SSD. I buy a 1TB drive and place it in an enclosure. you can find these relatively cheap on amazon. I also try to buy the drives refurbished or used.
For cloud services, I use google drive and iCloud storage for sharing between my apple devices.
Scanners
Even though cameras are awesome nowadays, I still scan sketches when I’m working on paper and want to archive them digitally. There’s just something different and better about the images I get from my scanner. plus, I don’t have to worry about lighting conditions and all that.
I have two scanners. I use a small canon single sheet scanner for quick things, or if I’m scanning something big. I’d really love a large format epson, but I need to save up for that one! they can be thousands of dollars!
The other is a Fujitsu sheet scanner the ix-500. That’s the one I use for scanning my 500 sketches challenges when I do them. It’s also wireless and when setup correctly, I have the ability to one button push and scan a stack of documents at a high resolution. I do prefer the single sheet scanner when I’m not doing a ton, or would like greater control of the process.