Tools & Resources

A descriptive list of the digital, traditional, and web tools Kris Black uses to write and draw children’s books and comics.

Digital Tools

Any writing, drawing, or designing I do begins or will eventually end up on a device. Here is a list of hardware and software tools I use in my day-to-day work.

Computers & Devices

Software & Apps

Affinity Suite for creativity and design—I switched away from Adobe Creative Cloud
Procreate and Clip Studio Paint for drawing and illustrating
Nova by Panic to write code for websites
Drafts, Scrivener, and Ulysses for writing children’s books and posts for my blog
Todoist and Apple Reminders for capturing tasks, organizing projects, and generally just getting things done
OmniOutliner, Mindnode, and DEVONThink for capturing and organizing my thoughts and information
I have a subscription to SetApp which gives me access to a whole suite of apps on the Mac

I like evaluating new apps to see if I can streamline my productivity or enhance my workflows. Sometimes I discuss how I use these apps on episodes of my podcast, Driven Creatively Mad.

Traditional Tools

As an artist, it’s near impossible to get away from writing, sketching, and creating finalized art on paper. Here is an assortment of art supplies I use on a day-to-day basis.

Notebook

Leuchtturm1917 for drawing and sketching
Moleskine Legendary Notebooks for drawing and sketching

Lines & Colors

Ever since I started using an iPad Pro in late 2016 I’ve cut back on my use of traditional media. I almost exclusively rely on creating my artwork digitally. I’m not sure if this has made me a better artist, but I do like the convenience an iPad Pro and the XP-Pen display affords me with drawing tools in various apps.

Web Tools

I use a variety of web services and applications to publish and share my products, artwork, and writing. Also listed are financial services and apps I use to run my business.

Communication

G Suite for email, calendar, and online file storage

Domain Names

Cloudflare for managing my domain names

Financials

You Need a Budget, known as YNAB, for managing day-to-day finances and expenses
PayPal, Square, and Stripe for accepting payments
Zipbooks for invoicing clients

Publishing

I created this website with WordPress.