I've been asked by many what tools I use to do what I do. Here's a short list, with notes. Of course, I used to read all sorts of interviews with my art heroes when I was younger hoping to discover the secret, magical "thing" that they used that would transform my work from starry-eyed wannabe to professional artist in the blink of an eye. I never discovered it. It doesn't exist. And you won't find it here either. But I do love to read what other people use to make their art.

This list may get continually updated and refined as the thought strikes. At the end of this entry there is a list of links to a lot of the software I mention. And please let me know if any of this is helpful at all. Thanks!


WRITING
I do all my writing in one of two places:

1). In my sketchbooks using all caps, like comic book lettering. If I write longhand, or cursive, I can barely read it. It really is chicken scratch. But if I force myself to write in block letters it's legible. My problem with writing by hand is that I can't keep up with my thoughts.

2). On my Powerbook. I'm a Mac junkie. I love my Apple computers and finagle as much time as I can to play around on them. Most of my work is done on my 17" Powerbook. I use Final Draft Screenwriting software to write my scripts for sequential work. If I'm writing on short stories and straight text I use Microsoft Word. This blog is written using Snippet Mind, though I also use for other web material iBlog and Dreamweaver. If I'm writing outlines or taking notes I use OmniOutliner Professional. I love that program.

The best thing I learned in high school was how to type. I can type practically as fast as I can think. I can actually keep up with myself and enjoy the act of writing immensely. As noted in earlier entries, I love to read and as a result I love to write, to make pictures with words.

Another program I rely on is LaunchBar, which allows me to do just about everything from launch programs, send emails, play tunes, etc. without leaving the keyboard.

TEACHING
I do quite a bit of my teaching with my Powerbook using Apple's Keynote presentation software and a digital projector. Keynote is deceptively simple, yet creates incredibly rich presentations that put Powerpoint to shame. For teaching drawing, composition, mood, lighting, etc. I use screen captures from great movies. I use Snapz Pro from Ambrosia software to capture and Keynote to present.

DRAWING
My studio has two drawing tables. One is the normal size drawing table and it's the one I use the most. The other is a monstrous thing I picked up for a song in Brooklyn, NY when I was living there. It's made of oak and is the most rock solid thing around. But I like the confines of the smaller table for some reason. Maybe it reminds me of all the fun I had as a kid with my first drawing table. I don't know. But it works for me.

PEN & INK
For pen and ink I use various nibs. I like to try all kinds of nibs, but my favorite right now is the 646 Esterbrook. It's got a nice bounce to it, yet isn't too flimsy. It holds just enough ink for me and allows me to draw fast and energetically without splattering all over the place. My ink of preference is Sumi ink. I like that it doesn't smell like ammonia, rather it has a nice earthy smell. I also like that it's not waterproof. I'm pretty lame about cleaning my brushes and pens. If this ink dries on either, I can wash it out and get back to work quickly.

BRUSHES
My favorite brushes for inking and for watercolor are Raphael Kolinsky sables with the orange tips. I use #'s 2, 3, 5, 8. These brushes cost a bit more but you really do get what you pay for. These guys last a long, long time, really take some abuse and continue to hold their point. Excellent brushes. I used to use Winsor & Newton Series 7 brushes but they changed the formula a number of years back and they just didn't hold up for me anymore.

For oil brushes I will sometimes buy nice ones, but more and more I find that the synthetics work just fine for me. I like filberts and flats. For detail I bring in my Kolinsky watercolor brushes.

My favorite pencil is just a plain Jane Ticonderoga #2. Cheap and good. It's a pencil, right?

PAPERS
My favorite paper these days for doing my sequential work is Canson Drawing pads. For watercolor I use Strathmore series 500 plate bristol. This is for straight watercolors, not for pen and ink and watercolor. For that I use the Canson paper mentioned above.

For printmaking I tend to go for Stonehenge and Rives BFK. Also any old antique papers I can find. I have a small stash of some Whatman 1958 paper that's a dream to print on.

PAINTING
The oil paint I use most is Winsor & Newton. I like the consistency of their colors and the quality. W&N's burnt sienna is the best. I do, however, use various other brands — Rembrandt, Holbein, Williamsburg, Old Holland, Bloxx and Gamblin, though not in order of preference. Holbein makes a great bunch of greys that are out of this world. Bloxx makes some of the best greens for landscapes.

I finally stopped using turpentine. I loved Winsor & Newton's Pure English Distilled Turpentine, but the fumes are powerful and I got tired of leaving the studio reeling. I now use Gamblin's Gamsol and am enjoying it quite a bit. No fumes, no headaches, but it cuts the paint fine, unlike so many other odorless turps which break up the pigment without truly thinning it.

For a medium I prefer Galkyd, also by Gamblin.

I use mostly Winsor & Newton watercolors, though I also throw in some Holbein's in there too.

PRINTMAKING
To print my monotypes I bought an etching press many years ago at Pearl Paint in New York. The press is an Etinger Press from California and will print a 22 X 30 sheet. I prefer copper or zinc plates, but have worked with plexiglas as well. I found that copper plates tend to keep my color cleaner. I think something happens to color when working on zinc plates, some kind of oxidation I guess.

I use both etching ink and oil paint for my monotypes. I do wet my paper before printing.

SEQUENTIAL ART
For my graphic novels and any sequential art I now do everything as separate images. Rather than work on a single page, drawing and painting each panel on one sheet, I work each panel as a separate piece. These are then all scanned into the computer and compiled into a page through Photoshop.

For scanning I use an Epson 1640 XL 12 x 17 inch flatbed scanner using Silverfast Ai scanning software by Lasersoft. Everything goes through my Powerbook and saved onto an external LaCie drive. Once the images have been compiled into pages in Photoshop I then bring everything into Quark for page layout and lettering, doing all my own production and design work. These files are then burned onto DVD's and sent to the publisher. I actually think InDesign is a much better program, but I learned on Quark and haven't had the time to make the switch to InDesign. I don't think the comic companies have switched yet either. Otherwise, I'll be making that switch and saying goodbye to Quark and their lousy customer service and support.

Apple also makes a good intermediate page layout program called Pages. I've used it to put together some reports for my teaching and it produces nice layout. It's still in its early stages, but I'm sure it will grow into a rich layout program in no time.

If I need to upload files for a client I use FileChute and load onto my .Mac site. FileChute's great because it creates the url for you and even password protects the image files it makes. For my website I use Dreamweaver.

FILM EDITING
Final Cut Pro and Motion by Apple Computers.

SHOOTING REFERENCE
I used to shoot all my reference with 35mm, a Pentax K-1000, shooting Ilford XP2 film. This is a nice black and white fast film (400ASA) for shooting in low light conditions and can be processed on a 1-hour color machine. Nothing beats regular film, but I did finally make the switch to digital shooting for my reference. I have a Canon Powershot G2 4 megapixel. It has saved me tons of money and I love being able to see what the shots look like immediately. I hardly even print the photos out anymore, just draw them off the monitor.

My blues photos for See You In Hell, Blind Boy were shot in 35mm (the Pentax) and a medium format 2 1/4 using a used Rolleiflex camera.

SOFTWARE LINKS

OmniOutliner Pro, OmniGraffle, OmniDiskSweeper
http://www.omnigroup.com/

Final Draft Screenwriting software
http://www.finaldraft.com/

Final Cut Pro, Keynote, iPhoto, Backup, Aperture, .Mac, Motion, Pages.
http://www.apple.com

FileChute
http://www.yellowmug.com/filechute/

Dreamweaver
http://www.macromedia.com/software/dreamweaver/

Epson scanners and printers
http://www.epson.com/

Silverfast Scanning software
http://www.lasersoft.com/

iBlog
http://www.lifli.com/Products/iBlog/main.htm

Snippet Mind
http://zykloid.com/index.html

Snapz Pro
http://www.ambrosiasw.com/utilities/snapzprox/

LaunchBar
http://www.obdev.com/index.html

Photoshop, InDesign
http://www.adobe.com/