I’m often asked what tools I use to produce my work, so I created this page to reveal the answer in a way I can keep up-to-date.
Raster image editor, background painting, vector fx, sketching, thumbnailing, storyboarding, raster illustration. There are simpler tools, I’ve tried many of them (Pixelmator, Affinity Photo/Designer, GIMP, Procreate) but nothing beats Photoshop for these things in my opinion. In the toolkit since 2002.
Another raster image editor, but streamlines inking and tile work, as well as colouring. All-round great tool for illustrative work. A perpetual license means I 'own' my license for good. In the toolkit since 2022 (added to streamline illustration via Photoshop).
Storyboarding and animatics. This software is a great place to 'be'. I love how it enables me to flow from storyboarding to animatic, scripts in tow, and hand-over to Harmony in one continuous, smooth workflow. A perpetual license means I 'own' my license for good. In the toolkit since 2022 (previously, Adobe Photoshop & Bridge)
2D animation. This tool does things its own way, and I love the unique environment it provides. Organised, the deformations/rigging is fantastic, makes both cutout and paperless a dream. A perpetual license means I 'own' my license for good. In the toolkit since 2022 (previously, Adobe Animate/Flash since 2002)
2D animation compositing, promo reel vfx, video production, final animation composition, audio editing. In the toolkit since 2022 (previously: Adobe Premiere Pro, After Effects, Final Cut Pro since 2007)
Video compression. In the toolkit since 2009.
For general writing, web development, and animation screenplays. Used since 2014; it’s light, timeless, and endlessly powerful. Plus, keeping everything as txt/md means my writing is future-proofed. (Previously: ST2, Espresso, DW)
While VIM has fountain plugins, Slugline has automatic screenplay formatting and scene management that I adore. The fact it supports the fountain standard is also a huge win (John August’s work on Highland 2 is also fantastic). (Previously: iA Writer since 2010)
My game development engine of choice. I love the node system, and since I hop between game and toon all the time, jumping from Harmony’s node system to Godot’s node system feels like less of a mental shift. (Previously: Phaser, Vanilla JS, ActionScript3, GMS since 2001 back when it was with Overmars)
My terminal of choice. Great config out of the box. Used since 2014 (previously: Terminal.app)
Where all of my production code lives. In the toolkit since 2010.
Simple sites use this in combination with a GitHub Workflow to auto-deploy daily. This keeps media flowing on schedules, fast load times, and minimal moving parts. I can keep things simple, I can host this anywhere, and I have Ruby (and Liquid) at my disposal when I need simple templating. In the toolkit since 2011.
For web applications. Convention-heavy framework that brings some wonderful efficiencies to small teams, letting me focus on what’s unique, rather than what’s the same. In the toolkit since 2013.
I wish SSG site hosting had always been this easy and fast. Commit to a repo master branch and Netlify takes care of the rest. In the toolkit since 2019. DigitalOcean’s droplets are great for things that can’t be static, and require a virtual machine to take care of.
I’ve Gmail since around 2005, and I love it for its familiarity and customisation.
Where all of our teams manage projects, assets, and ourselves. In the toolkit since 2011.
How my teams manage time, projections, forecasts and budgets. In the toolkit since 2014 (previously: Freshbooks)
I tried so many CRMs over the years. I used to like Highrise when it was actively maintained, but since it discontinued, all of the options I found seemed to over-complicate CRM. So I built my own. It’s a simple web application that helps me keep notes on everyone, including when I need to connect with them next. Simple.
My teams try to avoid meetings as much as possible. But when they're required, we use Zoom. In the toolkit since 2017 (previously: Skype)
Bookkeeping and accounting. It’s great for those things, and easy to share with our accountants. In the toolkit since 2012.
The Studio is my main machine. The MBP is for on-the-go. Used Macs since 2005 since they give me a great development environment (like Ubuntu or OpenBSD) but they run Toon Boom and Adobe products (unlike Ubuntu or OpenBSD). I use macOS mostly like I did 20 years ago, preferring file systems and terminal access over new-fangled Stage Manager type stuff.
I love Wacom tablets. I’ve used loads of them over the years, for drawing and also as a mouse replacement since ~2008. I use a few tablets depending on whether I’m doing line work, painting, animating or I’m "on the go". My primary machine has both the Cintiq and Intuos Pro hooked up together, so I can draft linework upright then rest my arm while painting.