There were four equally important parts to successfully designing my studio space.
Creativity, technology, functionality and harmony.
Today, I want to share with you how each part plays its role in
creating the most effective and harmonious workspace possible.
I also want to give a quick shout out to Flexispot and Grovemade,
whose contributions ( that I'll talk about later on in the video)
significantly added to the function and zen aspects of the space.
I decided to make a change in my workspace during a recent pivot in my career.
Getting back to the basics and my first loves with art from 2017.
It started with an interest in comics and manga and eventually animation.
After doing tons of research,
I found myself longing for a much more cozy, familiar environment to work in.
Compared to my previous space in my living room.
So in addition to moving back to a room not much bigger than the one
from my second studio tour back in 2019,
I decided to make my art bookshelf the centerpiece of my studio.
Here, I gathered my new Japanese books that show examples and tips on how to quickly draw
different characters and poses.
In contrast, I have a couple more detailed anatomy books to help me
when it's time to study.
There are also several
art books from independent creators and films that I really love.
Once my interest became more serious.
I purchased some new books on the fundamentals of animation as well.
These are some of the most important ones out there, which I found
thanks to the recommendation of one of my patrons.
By the way, please consider checking out my Patreon
if you're interested in learning with me.
I recently released a 38 minute lesson on how to use references properly
so that you don't have to rely on them as heavily in the future. Anyways,
if your only source of art is Instagram or Twitter,
I highly recommend you start looking at getting books like these.
My appreciation for art has skyrocketed, and some of the most
amazing artists out there are either hidden in these books
or in film credits and have little to no presence online.
I also recommend these bookstands that I learned about from Laura Price
to keep different books open, and visible throughout your space for inspiration.
One of the most important parts of my practice
now is drawing from my imagination as much as I can.
And this figurine is extremely helpful in jogging my memory when I do so.
I often do this on stream as well, to challenge myself under pressure. As I draw,
many people actually ask me which is the best tablet to use.
And if someone who has access to many different tablets,
I find that some are just better for different tasks than others.
Personally, I work mostly on my Cintiq.
However, I will often spend weeks without touching it, only to draw on my iPad pro.
I would never give up one for the other because I can get an incredibly fast
workflow and access
to several different software packages on my Cintiq and Razor Tartarus Pro.
However, I can also do the same by placing my iPad inside of my Sketchboard Pro,
laying it on top of my Cintiq, and then using my AZERON
keypad for shortcuts as well when I want to move around.
I have a selection of stands as well as the Apple magic
keyboard to take with me when I'm on the go with my Apple pencil.
As far as small accessories go, I really only have three must haves.
My drawing glove, which keeps my hand gliding easily
on the surface of the screen.
My various pencil grips which helped me save my fingers when working
long durations with both my Wacom Pro Pen and Apple pencil.
And then also my Paperlike screen protector that I have on my iPad,
which does give it that extra edge over my Cintiq for creating, in my opinion,
a natural drawing experience unmatched by anything else I've tried so far.
Now, as a digital artist, technology is
just as important to the creation process when you look at drawing tablets alone.
However, I have a second category for it because it's the foundation
for how I create content and support myself as an artist.
At the literal cornerstone of my room, I have my custom
built Windows PC along with my M1 MacBook Pro.
Everything I create is powered between these two devices
below my MacBook is an Elgato Thunderbolt dock,
which lets me connect multiple devices to the only two pitiful ports
that this MacBook Air has. When what I'm sharing can be captured on screen.
I rely on my Sony A73 & A7S3 cameras.
Downsizing to two cameras has really simplified my workflow
since I can record all of my high resolution
files directly to two separate Atomos Ninja recorders.
Speaking of recorders, when I speak, the audio is usually carried
by my Sennheiser MKH-416 to my Mixpre-3 II
which then splits the audio to my atomos recorder and my PC
at the same time. My Mixpre-3 is great because it also powers
my Sennheiser HD 660s and my Mezze 99 classic's headphones.
The Sennheiser is an open back design and
is better quality and great for content consumption in general.
But I use the classics for zoom in Discord calls,
as well as for mixing audio. On my main desk,
I have what might seem
like a crazy monitor setup, but it's absolutely perfect for me.
Other than the 24" Cintiq pro that I currently draw on on the table,
I have a 32" Wacom display sandwiched in between two
32" BenQ displays. As a streamer and content creator,
having three large high quality monitors side by side allows me to view references,
chat, Streamlabs OBS, Twitch, and have a couple browsers open
for music and miscellaneous stuff, all at the same time.
Streaming for hours on end can be tedious, so whatever you can do to make it
easier is worth it.
Below the left monitor, I have the Elgato Streamdeck XL,
which lets me control not only my stream, but also launch
programs, change music and control some lights in my room.
Now, with all of this stuff, I'm sure you are imagining what my power bill must be.
And to be honest with you, I think air conditioning,
the heat that all this tech puts out cost me more than the energy. (75F in my room, 68F outside the door!)
The tech consumes itself.
What's more important, though, is making sure that all this tech
doesn't get fried when there's a storm or power outage.
This is why, in addition to my many power strips,
I have an APC ups under my desk.
UPS is short for uninterruptible power supply,
which means that this 100 pound battery power is everything I connect to it for up to an hour
even after all the power is out in my apartment.
You can get them in many different sizes, though,
and I highly recommend them to anyone who works from home.
In order for there to be harmony, there needs to be order. (Function)
Many of the objects and product choices I made for this space are simply
to facilitate a seamless interaction between work, play and creativity.
I was very excited when Flexispot reached out to ask me
if I wanted to try their new desk.
The Flexispot Kana Pro Bamboo.
Standing Desk is the perfect edition of function to my space.
Not only is the white and bamboo combo perfect for my aesthetic,
but I can quickly and easily switch between standing and sitting as I work.
It moves very quietly, despite holding so much weight without wobbling around.
The desktop is made
from an environmentally friendly and sustainable bamboo material.
It also comes in multiple sizes,
so I purchased the 72 by 30 inch top,
which provides more than enough space for my setup needs.
Even though every part of the desk is smooth to the touch,
the bamboo is very hard and robust.
So it can easily handle the tight grip of my many monitor clamps.
But most importantly, above all else that they didn't even ask me to mention
in the video, is that this tabletop came without a SINGLE scratch.
I have order from three separate standing desk companies over the past
two years, and every single one of them had damages to the desktop.
Flexispot did a terrific job packaging this table, and I can easily recommend them
to anyone who wants a quality desk to last them years on end.
Now, no matter how pretty or expensive your setup is,
if you're a content creator like me, cables will ruin everything in an instant.
This is why I took the time to do
extensive cable management under each desk, as well as hide any cords
where I could behind my bookshelf, storage or even my door.
Unfortunately, it was impossible to get the perfect fit in
the far left corner because everything is either coming to
or leaving this corner for power or data transfer.
So I did the best I could to keep the jungle of cables contained.
Oct 20 will mark the fourth year I have been creating seriously as Ergo Josh.
So it's obvious I've collected a lot of stuff in the meantime.
I recently purchased Husky storage cabinet to take care of the extra supplies
I have, but still use regularly the top drawer.
It just has random stuff, including cables and screws.
The second drawer, it's like a mini toolshed with pliers, scissors and nails.
Oh, and also allen wrenches, lots and lots of allen wrenches.
The third drawer has all the camera setup gear that I frequently change out,
while the fourth drawer
has the more delicate but larger things like cameras , tablets, etc.
and the last or it just has the really big and clunky stuff.
The top of the cabinet also functions as a battery charging station
and as a catch all surface, including my five foot wide whiteboard.
At a certain point, I realized that the easiest way for me
to stay organized was to get my ideas out as fast as I could.
Traditionally, I use a whiteboard to list out daily
and weekly tasks, as well as large future plans and ideas
like how I would reapproach my YouTube channel once I came back from my break.
Nowadays, I'm trying to get more used to using online planning
apps like Asana as well, in addition to my Husky cabinet.
I have a closet in this room that I keep not only boxes and other random stuff in,
but it's also a perfect spot to tuck away my flexible LED panel light.
For the rest of my storage,
I just throw things into the 2 fabric benches along the window wall,
as well as use some golden metal storage units that I purchased from West Elm (actually CB2).
Like I mentioned before, this room can get pretty hot.
So it's great to have my own Dyson fan in between my desks.
This way I can have it oscillate and face me regardless of where I'm sitting.
However, most of the time I'm sitting at the Flexispot bamboo desk,
so I often keep it static, facing in the same direction as my
A73 camera is facing. Staying comfortable and having easy access
to things that I need to stay off camera is a necessary thing to make
the most of any of my business or collaboration calls
that I have - work smoothly In order to stay functional.
I'm always making modifications to my space as I see fit.
This means screws, a lot of screws.
I am slowly building up an array of clear cases of different sizes
to keep different screws organized so that I don't have to worry about them
when I need to reassemble something later or when I eventually need to move.
However, if I can, I prefer to use tool-less
assemblies like grip's and clamps to hold up my lights and cameras.
In fact, if I can clamp it to my desk, it also saves me a ton of space.
This is especially notable
with a large diffuser that I have behind my Samsung Space Monitor.
It is held up with four clamps in a really unique way that attach
to the desk, which leaves the area behind my desk, completely free to walk in.
This particular lighting setup is key to having
beautifully soft lighting for my top down shots.
Top down views are basically how I got this channel started.
And so I've been tweaking the perspective in view and details for years.
I finally settled on a simple eight foot steel pipe that is held up
by two light stands.
It can hold my camera, monitor, audio interface and more if I needed to.
Usually I also have my Edelkrone slider hooked up to it
too, that I'm using to film a lot of this video's B-roll.
I use it there so I can pan my camera to the perfect location so I don't have to.
We get so many times to get it lined up properly
as the perfect segway into the Zen/ Harmony component of my space,
I want to mention some of the products that Grovemade has sent to me.
I have a walnut stand for my headphones, iPad and MacBook,
that not only add function and utility to my desks,
but support the sharp, classic, grounded aesthetic that I have as well.
My favorite things, however, are the felt desk pad and the iPhone charger.
It encourages me to put my phone down just to see the animation
and feel the satisfying magnetic alignment on top of the solid metal cast base.
The gelt desk pad is such a comfy complement to the bamboo,
and it keeps it from showing wear and tear.
Zen often comes to
mind when I think of how I try to achieve harmony and balance in my space.
I believe the natural way is the right way for many things in life,
and I'm learning not to fight against it. During architecture school.
I learned that I'm attracted to grounding materials and colors.
Ideally, my space would comprise only of wood, stone,
concrete, structural steel and glass.
I try to mirror these materials by focusing my color
palette on walnut, black, white and gold.
I never really knew it before, but I was always tailoring my space
to complement my higher sensitivity to things such as light, energy and sound.
As for the cherry on top, I'm slowly building a collection
of plants to add to my space, but I won't lie to you.
They're all fake right now, but I'm still planning to add
a medium sized terrarium with living plants inside later on.
I've always been interested in the vibe the Japanese architecture and culture
seem to convey to me with the tatami mats, recessed flooring and Shoji panels.
I think the vibe from Studio Ghibli's My Little Totoro
has had a permanent impact on me since childhood.
So I thought, why not bring some of that stuff into my space?
I purchased a few shoji panels
to rest against the wall and diffuse some of the harsh light entering the room.
The effect they have for me is almost like turning down the volume
of everything in the outside world down a little bit
so that I can focus on my work. When I design my spaces -
I'm always interested in creating a little microcosm, (a little space
that seems like its own little world and universe and environment).
If you've ever experienced these panels, then, you know, the best
part of them is the orange glow that different rooms have at night.
This is why I have a large assortment
of LEDs, strips and lights to change the mood and vibe of my room.
Even the large led light for my filming desk can be dimmed to a rich tungsten
color, which can get the entire room bathed in a soft orange glow at night.
It's great to have Alexa here to aid in that process as well,
because I can ask her to quickly
set the mood for all of the lights in the apartment to set the mood even further.
I have a pair of Kanto speakers placed the best I could
in order to bathe the room and music and relaxing sounds .
Sometimes it's intense and exciting music to set the vibe for a project
or just to push through a deadline.
But also sometimes it's just extremely peaceful or ambient music
to help me take a quick mental break or 20 minute nap in the afternoon.
Speaking of afternoons, I always plan a solid lunch break hour or more,
where I often put on a movie or watch a couple of anime episodes on my TV.
Currently, my favorite anime right now is Mrs.
Kobayashi's Dragon Maid.
All I do is move back my chair and use a storage cube as a footstool.
At the end of the day, this process will continue on my PS5,
,or I'll just play video games on one of my BenQ monitors -
since they support HDR. I believe play & relaxation is incredibly important
and should be scheduled just as seriously as your work time.
It's way too easy to let burnout catch up to you
and then suddenly realize you can't work for an entire week.
I wanted to say another
thanks to Grovemade and Flexispot so much for helping me set up my studio.
Be sure to check out the links in the description for any of the products
that I mentioned.
And you can also save 30 bucks on the new Flexispot
Kana Pro bamboo standing desk when you use the coupon code:
KANAPRO30
I'll also add detailed links to everything else featured in the video
in the description as well.
Please feel free to leave any questions or even ideas or suggestions
for me in the comments,
and I will try to answer as many as I can to help you guys out.
I hope the studio tour has been helpful or even inspirational to you,
and I'm looking forward to making a lot more content in the future.
~ Thanks so much for watching ~ Keep drawing and stay positive.