My Favorite Things
These are the items I use on a regular basis and have direct information and experience with and therefore I recommend (or not recommend as the case may be) them to people.
Students of my courses will find lots of feedback about different products and their alternatives here.
This is going to be constantly updated and maintained, so check back often to see what other wonderful things I have tested and can share with you.
Any purchase links available on this page are via affiliate accounts. These do not cost you any more money, but they do give me a small return each purchase. All those pennies are being put towards future studio, website, and service upgrades. Thanks in advance for any purchases made through these links.
So take a peek at a few of my favorite things below.
Traditional Art Tools
Micron Pens
I am working on a review (will link when it is live) of the Micron Pen which shows you some useful information about the ink and it's compatibility with other materials like markers etc. You will be able to read the review on the blog, and/or you will be able to watch the review on my YouTube channel.
I always keep a supply (1-2 at minimum) of 005, 01, 02, 03, 05, 08, 1 (Graphic), and a Brush. This is purchasable as a pack via Amazon, and other suppliers.
My current supply consists of: 2x 005 (black), 1x 003 (black), 4x 01 (2x black, 1x light cool gray, 1x cool gray), 2x 02 (black), 2x 03 (black), 4x 05 (2x black, 1x light cool gray, 1x cool gray), 2x 08 (black), 4x 10 (2x black, 1x light cool gray, 1x cool gray), 1x 12 (black), 1x 1 (Graphic) (black), 3x Brush (1x black, 1x light cool gray, 1x cool gray), 1x PN (black)
I don’t currently have any “colors”, but I have in the past and I love to use them. They are available in (currently) 17 options including the 2 cool gray colors I have already and the ink is just as reliable as the black.
Prices will fluctuate, and shipping is different for everyone, so pick which one works best for you and your options for online accounts. Please make sure you are buying from trustworthy sources. There are a lot of fakes out there, and they will not give the good experience that everyone loves about Micron Pens. You can find trusted sales outlets on the Sakura website (currently question 4 of their FAQ), and I will have more information in my review about this.
Kooh-i-Noor Rapidograph Artist/Technical Pens
These are a wonderful tool, but they do require some special care in cleaning, storage, etc.
These are not the pens for new/inexperienced artists. Those users would be better suited to the Micron Pens noted above both for price and ease of use, however, these pens are refillable, amazing to use, and if well cared for can last you a lifetime. My mother has a set of Rapidograph pens she has been using for well over 40 years - the same set.
If you are upgrading from Micron pens to these pens, I would suggest the .18mm, .25mm, .50mm, and 1.20mm nibs for a basic set to get a good range of line weight. Additional pens can be purchased to fill in any extra holes on an as needed basis. This will give you an equivalent to the 005, 01, 08, and a 1 (Graphic) or larger for filling in areas.
Word of caution: Do not buy the used ones from Amazon or other sites. These pens are extremely sensitive, and if you can't be absolutely certain how they have been treated, cleaned, stored, and shipped they very possibly will be a failed investment. Only buy new on these!
Prices will fluctuate, and shipping is different for everyone, so pick which one works for you and your options for online accounts.
Digital Art Tools
Photoshop
Photoshop is my main software for doing digital art (though I do have others I really enjoy). I learned the basics of digital art on Photoshop, and I am just more comfortable with it. I am using currently Photoshop CC 2023 through the Creative Cloud.
Everything I do I keep on my computer (I don’t store on the cloud), and I manually transfer between computers if I am swapping to (for example) the computer in the living room instead of in the studio or the office. Therefore, I can’t attest to anything about the cloud factors of the software/app.
What I can attest to is - wow, it is so much better than even the pre-creative cloud version I was using because I didn’t want to upgrade. The 2019 version was lagging out when I was working on a large piece and streaming at the same time, and it was slow to process requests (like large pixel size smudge tool, deletions, copy/pastes, etc.)
On the exact same computer, 2023 is snappy quick, and runs really well. I’m extremely happy I went ahead and took the chance and upgraded.
It syncs really well with all my tools noted below.
The art created with the XP Pen Artist 22e display was done in Photoshop for reference of what I have created recently with it.
ArtRage Vitae
ArtRage Vitae is my second go to software for doing digital art. It comes the closest to digitally mimicking how traditional art reacts (such as blending, flow, etc.) Of course it is still a digital art form, and won’t be perfect, and there are a few things I wish were possible in ArtRage that are not - at least not at the time of writing this post.
What I wish ArtRage had/could do:
Multiple brush colors (like Photoshop can hold 2 colors, I would like the same or even better - more colors - in ArtRage.)
Clipping Masks
rethink the stencil/masking tools they have - they are really fussy and not very intuitive (to me).
Let me select completely smooth (toothless) surface if I want instead of having to use sliders to try to dial it in (it never gets 100% smooth)
Otherwise it’s great. I have included some art that I did in ArtRage Vitae for reference here.
Tourbox Neo
I have been using this with my Photoshop work since Christmas 2022.
This is awesome. It’s well built, feels good in your hand, and has a good weight so it doesn’t scoot around on your desktop. There are 3 dial/scrolling tools and more than enough button tools to work with what I need. It works well in sync with my XP Pen AC-19 remote and my Elgato Stream Deck, as well as the buttons on the screen as well.
You might wonder why I need so many tools for keyboard shortcuts. Well, my desk where I do digital art is by comparison to some, rather on the small end, and reaching around the monitor to use the keystrokes was awkward and sometimes downright clumsy. If I had a better arrangement for the screen etc. it might not be so necessary, but it has been a lifesaver.
There (of course) is a learning curve when you are switching from using keyboard shortcuts to having so many button options to replace them with, but it has also allowed me to do things like have a control for flipping my canvas which is not possible without multiple menu clicks otherwise.
Prices will fluctuate, and shipping is different for everyone, so pick which one works best for you and your options for online accounts.
XP Pen AC-19 Remote
I have been using this since I got my XP Pen Artist 22e Display (in 2020) so just about 3 years at the time of writing this. The only problem I have had with it aside from the same driver issue mentioned in the review of the screen below is not an issue with the remote - it was a failure on my part. I lost the dongle that connects it with the computer. I have no idea how or when it happened. It was during the move from the apartment to the house and we never found it. I had to buy another one, but all I needed was the dongle. I am still using the same remote - the “new” one was socked away in a drawer, and this one has been going great.
The buttons are large enough that I can (with previous experience with 10 key) feel comfortable knowing where my hand is even though it is the opposite hand. There is a small ridge on the center button to help you re-center if you loose your place. The dial is actually nice for feedback - it has a slight feel of a “tick” as you are rotating it, and the changes made with the related tool are comfortable with the amount you are rotating the the disk.
The battery lasts a impressive amount of time - enough that in 3 years I think I have replaced it 2 times, and one of those might not have been necessary, because I was having the aforementioned issues with the driver and that may have been the cause that I thought replacing the battery might fix.
There are two rubber strips at the back of the remote which help it stay stable while you are using it and in 3 years of daily use, it looks brand new.
XP Pen Artist 22e Display
I got this as an emergency tech replacement when I ran into an issue with my 22 HD Touch Wacom Display and use this daily for my digital artwork, streaming 5x per week, and as an extra monitor for working on involved projects when I need more “real estate”.
The screen is bright, the colors were clear until relatively recently.
However, the screen is not very durable. I do not press hard with my digital artwork, but some digital brushes are pressure sensitive, and so there is some range to the pressure I use. Just with normal use use, the screen has become very scratched (see screen image), and this causes issues with seeing details. I can temporarily find minimal relief from the issues by rubbing my ungloved finger over the area, but it is very short lived and incomplete.
Some other issues I have found are:
Though the specs say it is tilt sensitive, it is not. I am not sure if this is an issue with the pen or the screen.
The pen nibs wear down extremely fast. The scratches on the screen may be a factor to this, but I can say I have seen a brand new nib show marked wear after only one 3 hour session.
The driver for the screen prior to being forced to buy a new computer was fickle. It would go out in the middle of a drawing, and I would have to reboot everything, and it was a real hassle. The new computer is on Windows 11, so I am not sure if the issue is resolved because of Windows 11, the new hardware for the computer, or because of a driver upgrade. Therefore I can’t guarantee anyone using this on Windows 10 or earlier won’t have the same issues as I did. It really slowed down my workflow, but since I bought the new computer I haven’t had that happen again.
The pen battery - I charge the pen every time I end a stream, I have to. If I don’t, I will come back to a dead pen and unable to do work. My pens do not have a good battery life. I want to say they were better before, but that’s not really a positive - if they can’t hold a healthy battery life longer than 2 years on something (again) as expensive as this is.
The price (of course) is much better than that of a Wacom, but even for the price paid for it (I think I paid about $600, but the price has gone to around $400 down last time I checked) I would expect the screen to be more durable than it was.
With the current price it is certainly not a “disposable” item, but it is much easier to replace than the Wacom (which still sits in a box waiting for a repair/bulb replacement).
I have used this for about 3 years (purchased February 2020), and there is no noticeable difference in the brightness or the color quality in that length of time, but I would need to compare to a brand new screen to confirm 100% accuracy.
Prices will fluctuate, and shipping is different for everyone, so pick which one works for you and your options for online accounts.
Some of the art I produced using this screen is included as well.
Analog Tools
Rocketbook
I love, love, love, love this thing so much I have 5 different versions of it between the planners, the notebooks, the index cards and the tags for my whiteboard.
This is some serious magical stuff, but let me tell you, if I didn’t have this tool, I would singlehandedly wipe out the rainforest for the amount of paper I go through. Between my 2 businesses, sketching ideas, drafting plans, writing notes, and doing everything I need to do, it is amazing how much paper I would go through. Now that has been SIGNIFICANTLY reduced, and I don’t loose a thing.
One 34 (I think) page notebook allows me to do all of that. I will never run out of paper again for notes and things, and everyone including the rainforest can breathe a sigh of relief.
-All together now - IIIIIIIIIIINNNNNNNNnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn and OOOOOOOOOOUUUUUUUUUUuuuuuuuuuutttttttttttt!
I have 2 sizes of planners, for two different tracking needs, and they work great. I use the small one for one of my businesses which I have meetings on the regular, but don’t need a lot of notes and such (because I use my big notebook for that type stuff), and I have a big one for my art and content creation calendar where I need to be able to track lots of details, impromptu notes, and ideas.
The white board tags let me write notes about my novel/books, make lists, etc. and then scan it so it can go on my phone and up to the cloud and I can access it anywhere.
And let’s not forget the little treasure - the index cards. I use these things for planning out tutorials, scripts, writing and working on my novel, tracking anything that I need to be fluid with the information and the arrangement of. They work just the same as the notebooks and there are some great cases for them that make them as easy to carry in your bag as a wallet.