TOOLS - Reagan Lodge Art

SOFTWARE

CLIP STUDIO PAINT EX - The program I do all of my digital drawing in. Great for illustrators, essential for comic artists. Its file management system for keeping track of huge numbers of comic pages has saved me hundreds of work hours.

BLAMBOT FONTS - My favorite source for fonts. I mainly use "Might Makes Right BB" for my comic dialog font.

FRENDEN’S CLIP STUDIO BRUSHES - I used to love making my own custom brushes, but it got so time-consuming. Thankfully Mr. Frenden made a few hundred of them. Future updates are included for free. I use the "Ran's Axe" brush for everything.

QUICKBOOKS SELF-EMPLOYED - A lifesaver for freelancers or self-employed creators of any income level. Makes it easy to categorize your tax-deductible business expenses and track your budget.

PENCILS & PENS

ZEBRA Del Guard Type-LX Mechanical Pencil 0.3mm - My current favorite for graphite drawing. I usually use it with Uni Hi-Density Lead - B

Uni Kuru Toga Advance Mechanical Pencil - 0.5mm - Been using these for years. The Kuru Toga has a lead-rotating engine that gives you a perfectly consistent line quality with each stroke. I use it with Pilot Neox Lead - 2B.

Uni-Ball Signo Gel Pens .38mm - My #1 everyday inkstick. I use it for everything, whether it's journaling, notes, or sketching.

Pentel Pocket Brush Pen - Everyone needs one in their field-sketch kit. Takes a bit of getting used to, but with a few subtle movements it produces truly remarkable line variation and texture. Try dabbing the brushtip in a bit of water for some really interesting inkwash effects.

SKETCH BOOKS

Leuchtturm1917 - Medium A5 Hardcover Sketchbook - Currently what I'm using for graphite sketching. Excellent size for travel, but has enough space for detailed drawing. The paper is a little bit more toothy than I normally prefer, but it's smooth enough for me to give it a solid recommendation.

Leuchtturm1917 - Medium A5 Hardcover Red Dot-Grid Notebook - My favorite for rough ink sketches, written story notes and personal journaling. The paper isn't as "gallery quality" thick as the Hardcover Sketchbook, so I use it for really lose, sloppy visual mindquesting. The subtle dot grid is great for more graphic design-oriented sketching or practicing hand-lettering.

Leuchtturm1917 - Pocket A6 Hardcover Notebook- Dotted - Similar to the one above, just in pocket size and with a gray dot-grid instead of red. I take this with me EVERYWHERE; the gym, church, restaurants, anywhere. It's small enough to be discrete for any social situation. Keep one on you and you'll never have an excuse to forget a great idea again!

LEARNING MATERIALS

HOW TO THINK WHEN YOU DRAW - My favorite all-around source for how to draw anything and everything. The Etherington Bros put most of the tutorials are available online for free, but if you’re like me and prefer the physical books sign up for their newsletter to grab the next Kickstarter print run.

INVISIBLE INK - If there’s one book you get on how to write good stories, make it this one. Brian is a story consultant for Pixar and dissects why your favorite films and books make us feel the way we do, and how to achieve that in your own work. Really easy read. If you're not sold, listen to some of his Youtube episodes about storycraft.

PERSPECTIVE! FOR COMIC BOOK ARTISTS - The only book on perspective I own, and probably the only one I’ll ever need. Makes a lot of complicated stuff really easy and fun to understand.

COMICS & SEQUENTIAL ART - By the master Will Eisner himself. Also takes the seemingly complicated math of sequential storytelling and breaks it down into easily understood bites anyone can learn from.

HELLBOY COMICS - Anytime I’m stuck on how to handle a certain comic page, I just open up anything by Mike Mignola. Learn from the masters! I linked to the 2nd volume in the omnibus series because it's my favorite, but you can't go wrong with any of them.

HARDWARE

Logitech C920x HD Pro Webcam + LitraGlow Light - Does everything you need a webcam and soft light to do. I have been told by very many people I look exquisite on livestream, so I believe this setup is suitable for most.

Clip Studio Tabmate - A Bluetooth controller specifically made for Clip Studio Paint. Within a day of use it felt like second nature despite the tons of commands it can use with so few buttons. If you feel strain after using keyboard hotkeys while drawing for hours, consider giving one of these a try.

Wacom Stylus Ergo+ Grip - If you've got any kind of wrist injury or repetitive-stress/tendonitis that inhibits your drawing, these things are great. Also just really comfortable to draw with.

Wacom Cintiq 22HD (DTK2200 Model) - What I draw on digitally. Most people don’t need a display this huge, but I have some old arm injuries that flare up if I draw too small or too tight. Working on a large surface helps me stay looser. Got my Cintiq in 2017 and it still runs perfectly.

Ergotron - LX Premium Single Monitor Arm - I have my Cintiq mounted on this. Another really useful aid if you have wrist/arm injuries that need extra ergonomic help while drawing. This thing is TOUGH. Doesn’t wobble when I draw on it, even with my huge heavy tablet.

Audio-Technica ATH-M40x Headphones - Closed-back headphones with excellent noise isolation. Unfortunately they've doubled in price since I bought mine, but you can find refurb/used pairs pretty easily.

Massdrop X Sennheiser HD 58X Jubilee Headphones - Open-back headphones with superb sound, while letting you be able to hear what's going on around you.

Blue Yeti Condenser USB Microphone - The mic I use for all my voice/video media. Excellent sound quality, and I like the classic Atomic Era design. If you're on a tight budget, try the Blue Snowball Mic which is also pretty great.