Earlier today I was trying to snap a photo of my current nail polish for twitter... and I ended up doing a tiny video of my office in the process! It occurred to me that it has been ages since the last time I took photos of my working area (Last time was in 2008!) so it might be fun to share the video plus show photos explaining whats in my office.
For those who don't know, I work from home as a freelance illustrator - so I try to keep my office somewhat neat and filled with lots of inspirational things... however my office is kinda small which can make it a challenge! I have so many things in storage that I'd love to hang up or display on shelves, but until we have a larger house someday that stuff has to stay boxed so I can use my space for working, equipment storage and resources. (Someday I hope to have enough space to have a huge shelf for all my collectibles!! ;D A gal can dream.)
See below for an explanation of all the things in the video:
And a little explanation on my desk
My work area has to meet a lot of needs - I not only sketch on paper at it, but I also draw digitally on my Cintiq 21ux and use my iMac for design. On top of all of that, I have a pretty small space to work with! It took me about a year to figure out a setup I liked - but at the moment it is this: I use my Cintiq as the main monitor and the iMac as a secondary display to check colors against the Cintiq or hold other windows. The keyboard is on a usb extension cord and wraps around the back of the Cintiq with the mouse connected to it's side. When I'm typing I push the Cintiq to the back of the desk and pull the keyboard in front like pictured above. When I'm drawing, I move the Cintiq to the edge of the desk and the keyboard to the left so I can reach it if I need to...
I'm sure I'll move things again before the year is over - but for now I really like this set up! You can see a picture below of what it looks like when I have the Cintiq moved forward to draw on. It's not the most glamorous photo - no make up and working on a hot summer evening - but you get the idea!
Do you have an office or work area in your home? Do you like to keep it neat and decorated, or is it a place for creative messes and bursts of inspiration? (I try to find a balance between the two!)
