Illustration Business Tools

tools of the (illustration) trade

My illustration work is all digital at the moment because I live illustrate at online events. Here’s what I use.

• iPad 12.9” - I went for one with 256GB of storage and 2 years in, I’ve still got plenty of storage space. I do also back up important stuff onto Dropbox.

• Apple Pencil - it’s right nice. Pricey but worth it. Also easily dropped/lost and I’ve had to replace the nibs once in two years of owning this, but I do spend a LOT of time drawing with it. I got mine engraved with my name because:
  A: It felt fancy
  B: If I misplace it at an event, hopefully, somebody will return it to me and I’ll save £££ on a replacement.

• MacBook Pro 13” - 2019 model I regret getting one with a 121GB flash drive but OH WELL. Go bigger if you can. I’m always having to delete big files and applications, and shift stuff over to Dropbox to make space.

• iMac 27” - I bought this in 2020 and it is glorious. The big screen makes my eyes feel nice.

• Laptop (iPad) stand I use this one and it stops my back/neck hurting when I draw for long stretches of time. It also doubles up as a laptop stand which is handy for Zoom calls.

• Paperlike The Paperlike screen protector makes the screen feel less like an ice rink, and more like an actual bit of paper. Makes SUUUCH a difference to how drawing feels on the iPad. Also, don’t make the same mistake that I made - the Paperlike one is the best. The cheaper alternatives wear out faster and don’t feel as good.

• Epson Scanner - I never bloody use my scanner but inside Good Ship, there’s often scanner chat which is why I’m including it here. I got this absolute beast second hand off eBay for about £400. It’s an Epson GT-15000 scanner. I got the A3 size one, and really he needs his own bedroom. IT IS HUGE. The quality is lovely, but yeah… I never use it!

idea generation & Storage

• Dropbox - everything EVERYTHIIIING is backed up onto Dropbox. Very handy when I’m working between home and the studio/on a train/wherever. As long as I have internet, I can access all of my files without clogging up my device storage. Here’s a nice link that gives you some free Dropbox storage to try out.

• Evernote - Evernote is a reeeeally nice note-taking app. It makes my brain feel tidier. Also saves me from muddling personal brain stuff with business brain stuff (I do the business brain stuff inside Google Docs). I use the pro version because I’m fancy and I like being able to access Evernote across all of my devices.

• Google Docs (freeee!) - I love this for collaborating when we’re making stuff together inside The Good Ship Illustration courses. I also use it every day to write blog posts, captions, everythiiiing. I haven’t needed Microsoft Word in years.

• Google Workspace - I get my email addresses through this, and it also works beautifully with Squarespace, which is what I use to build/design my website.

Online business tools for illustrators

• Squarespace - My Squarespace website is really easy to look after, it looks nice and profesh, and the Search Engine Optimisation works really well. Squarespace, I luv u.
  I DIY’d my website stuff for years on Wix, then a platform called Virb, and finally Squarespace. I’m not a web designer, but those tools all worked brilliantly, even though I was fumbling along figuring it out myself. In 2020 I hired the incredible Rachel Davis Humphries, Squarespace design extraordinaire to redesign my site. She’s brilliant! Let her know I sent you if you get in touch!

• Dubsado - Dubsado is a CRM (client relationship manager) software that I have just started using in my business. It has automated the shiz out of everything and streamlined the whole business. Now, when a client emails me about a job, we can send them a fancy proposal, get all of the contracts signed, follow up with them automatically and book everything into my calendar without having to faff about. MAGIC. Click here to try Dubsado’s really generous free trial - you can try it out and see if you like it first. p.s. I did hire a Dubsado Pro to set mine up for me, because I didn’t have the time to figure out how it worked! I did, however, do most of Rae Targos’ course Dubsado Rockstars and found it SO helpful. I paid thousands of £££ to have a pro set this up for me, so doing Rae’s course will save you a chunk o’ money. If I hadn’t been wading through first trimester pregnancy exhaustion, I would have persevered with Rae’s course.

• Kajabi - I use Kajabi (click for a nice long free trial) to host my online courses + The Good Ship Illustration courses, and to send newsletters. Before I had my email newsletter stuff on Kajabi, I did use MailerLite, which was free and brilliant so I recommend that if you’re just starting out and want a free option!

Software an’ that

• Procreate - drawing on the iPad is great because Procreate is great.

• Ecamm Live - Ecamm is essential for sharing my iPad drawings on Zoom. You can do loads of fancy stuff with this. It’s great if you do any online videos. I have the pro version. I use it every single workday.

Banking and Money Stuff

• Monzo Bank - MONZO FANGIRL OVER HERE. I went full Monzo in 2021 and never looked back. My old high street bank used to charge me £££ for doing international payments. Monzo doesn’t charge me anything extra. It has pots, it’s easy to split bills with friends and send money, and the app just looks nice. I also like getting immediate notifications about payments. The debit card is bright orange. The app makes a KER CHING noise when you receive money. 😆 Use this link to sign up and you’ll get a fiver. Monzo is free but I use the Pro version (it’s £5 a month) and I also use Monzo Business for all my business banking. I recently had my Etsy account hacked and Monzo were on it immediately (stopped the fraudulent payments + refunded my money) with the live chat function in the app. Monzo, if you’re reading this… I love you.

• Xero - I don’t LOVE accounting, but my lovely accountant put all my bookkeeping/accounting stuff into Xero in 2019 and I do like being able to see reports an’ that. The invoices also have a virtual “pay now” button which is very handy. Automatic invoice reminders also mean that I have a lot fewer late-paying clients now. Nice nice.

Courses

I am an online course junkie. Learning makes me happy.
Here are some of my faves:

• The InstaRetreat with Sara Tasker.

• Anything by Leonie Dawson.

• I’m also a big fan of Lizzie Goddard’s online courses and I’m a member of her Profitable Playground.

• The Good Ship Illustration - it’d be a bit silly if I talked about courses and didn’t mention The Good Ship!