Art Tools I Trust

Reliable Tools For Artists Who Mean Business

Here’s a list of the tools + resources I genuinely use and love—whether I’m illustrating a picture book, filming a video, or running my business.

Some links may be affiliate links, which means I may earn a small commission (at no extra cost to you!).

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Art Supplies

Gamblin Oil Colors

My primary set of colors for painting in oils. Great for creating realistic skin tones for portraits.

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Holbein Designer Gouache

My primary set of colors for painting in oils. Great for creating realistic skin tones for portraits.

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Prismacolor Pencils

Beautiful layering, buttery soft texture + vivid colors

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Posca Paint Markers

I use these for adding details to my paintings

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Posca Paint Markers

I use these for adding details to my paintings

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Faber-Castell Pitt Fine-liner Pens

My preferred pens; has a wide range of tip sizes and waterproof so they work well with Copics

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Arches Hot Press Watercolor Paper

Incredible paper; I use this for my book projects. I prefer hot-press for mixed media

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RENDR Hardbound Sketchbook

My daily sketchbook; great for ink with zero bleed

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Extreme Detail Paint Brushes

Perfect for painting details like hair and eyelashes. Expert detail tools.

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Faber-Castell Water Cup

Easy to clean, portable and ideal for travel or small spaces

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Synthetic Brush Set

My go to oil painting brushes.

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Paint Saver

Great tool to help with keeping paint fresh to use at a later time. I use this for my gouache and oil paints

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Liquitex BASICS Gesso Surface Prep Medium

I apply this to all my canvases to get a smooth surface before painting.

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Winsor & Newton Artisan Thinner

Great for cleaning oil paint out off of my brushes.

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Gamblin Galkyd Painting Medium

Makes my oil paint application super smooth and helps with the drying process.

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Grumbacher Picture Varnish for Oil & Acrylic Paintings

Beautiful finishing varnish, impressive luster and gives the final colors a deepened vivid tone.

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TECH

iPad Pro

Can’t live without it.

I use it for all of my digital art.

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Apple Pencil

Necessary for digital art

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iMac

My desktop computer!

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Tablet Stand

Portable, super adjustable and sturdy against drawing pressure.

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Lightbox

I use this to transfer my digital sketches onto my watercolor paper to paint over.

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Epson v600 Scanner

Perfect for digitizing artwork at high quality. Has software for editing and stitching together large art

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LaCie Hard Drive

Don’t forget to backup your files! I store all my video editing files on two of these

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Lumina Webcam

For zoom calls, virtual school visits, podcast interviews and more. 4K quality and great color/light control

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Studio

Painting Apron

I use this while im painting to keep my clothes stain free!

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Rolling Cart

I keep my oil painting supplies here.

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Easel

My favorite easel where I oil paint.

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Stool

The adjustable stool i use at my easel-

with a life saving back rest!

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Ikea Alex Drawers

I use the wide one to store my original art pieces, and the regular for my art supplies.

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Flexispot Standing Desk

I use this when I've been sitting down for hours at my desk

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Drafting Table

I use the slide out tabletop for sketching and, the little caddy, and drawers for material storage

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Branch Chair

A comfortable ergonomic office chair for my desk.

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Content Creation

Magic Arm Clamp

Clamps on to anything! use this for Reels/Tiktoks and overhead filming

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Sony a6400

I use this DSLR for my Youtube videos with two lenses (one for talking heads, and one wide lens)

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Key Light

Clamps to multiple surfaces, even an easel for late night filming or painting.

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Canon g7x ii

My vlogging camera. Lightweight, easy to use, and fits into my pocket!

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Neewer 72" Tripod

Super adjustable and sturdy tripod for my camera. It can also do overhead shots!

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Tripod for iPad

I use this to film my blogs and sometimes for a refrence image while painting

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Small Biz Essentials

Adobe Creative Suite

Photoshop for art creation, Lightroom for photo editing, & Premiere Pro for my Youtube videos

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Procreate

I have illustrated dozens of picture books and other projects on this affordable yet powerful app

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iCloud

My entire computer is stored on here as a backup! Also makes it super easy to access everything no matter what device I’m using

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Notion

I use Notion for planning everything—projects, to-do lists, content calendars, and more.

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WIX

My website builder

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Quickbooks Online

As someone who hates the math parts of running a business, QB has been a lifesaver. I do my bookkeeping and keep track of my finances here.

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Canva

Great for quick content creation—especially for social media graphics and quick photo editing.

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Curious how I actually use these tools in my process?

Check out Behind the Scenes: How I Illustrate My Books

Watch My Process