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My digital lettering faves

My iPad gear and accessories (see this blog post for an in-depth review)

iPad Pro (12.9 inch) | I’m currently using this model and simply love the larger screen size! It’s about the same size as a letter-size sheet of paper.
Apple pencil (second generation) | A must-have for the iPad Pro for digital lettering! I’ve tried other styluses and the pressure sensitivity is hard to beat.
Paperlike screen protector | I really hated the slippery feeling of drawing on glass when I first got my iPad. I love the papery texture and have found it gives me better control than drawing on glass. Extra points for the nice ASMR paper sound!
Otterbox iPad Pro Case | I have this case in gray. The flap that goes around the pencil is a nice feature to keep your pencil secure when storing BUT it won’t close if you’ve got a grip or sleeve on your pencil.
NimbleSleeve for Apple pencil | Comes in pretty colors and adds better grip to the pencil! I have it in mint and pink.
NimbleGrip for Apple pencil | Works great when you’re using your pencil for a long period of time. I’ll switch out of the sleeve to this grip when I notice my hand cramping.

My favorite Procreate brushes

Procreate has some great default brushes included in their app! Ones I use all the time are: 6B pencil brush, HB pencil brush, studio ink, ink bleed, and noise
The Grid Builder brush set | They’re like digital rulers and save you time setting up guides
Ink and grain liners set | Great texture line brushes by Cynlopink! My fave is the small ripper liner
Rough & Raw brush set | For the texture lover! I like to add extra texture to my final pieces with brush 05: random crumbles.
On the Road brush set | Another brush set packed with delicious texture brushes.
Gouache Shader brush set | I love using a mix of these brushes with the other brush sets to create some lovely texture combos on my final pieces. Check out my 36 Days of Sweet Type project to see them in action.
Grain shaders brush set | Lots of yummy grainy textures that I’ll use to add dimension to objects and some texture in the background.

Photoshop mockups

Book cover mockup (flat and side angles) | I generally like to create my own mockups, but dimensional objects are tricky to pull off. This book cover mockup made it very easy for me to showcase my designs in my Hungrily Ever After series.
Book cover mockup (Standing) | I also use these book cover mockups for a different angle
Stationary mockup scene creator | I love that you can use this to customize your own mockup so it doesn’t look the same every time! Lots of objects, lighting, shadows, and different greeting card sizes in this pack. See it in action in the second image here (this design was also licensed by Trader Joe’s a few months later)

My drawing apps

Procreate | My go-to drawing app. (see a more in-depth review on my blog here)

Adobe Fresco | Similar to Procreate. I love love love that I can work on my iPad and open it up in Photoshop on my desktop when it’s synced to the cloud. Also, unlimited layers and vector features! I often use it for animation or to quickly vector an organically drawn illustrative element.

My business apps

Drawing & Design

Procreate | My go-to drawing app. It’s deceptively robust! (see a more in-depth review on my blog here)
Adobe Fresco | Very similar to Procreate and there’s a FREE version. It's great if you already used other Adobe products and the cloud file syncing across devices is a huge time saver. Also, unlimited layers and vector features!
Adobe Creative Cloud | It may be because I used to be a designer, but I can’t live without Adobe! From most used: Photoshop, Lightroom, InDesign, Illustrator (see a more in-depth review on my blog here)

Photo Editing

Snapseed | Photo editing app for my phone if I still need to make adjustments after using my iPhone photo editing.
Lightroom | I use this to edit any photos from photoshoots
Photoshop | I use this for photo retouching and generating my assets for social media

Video editing (Phone Apps)

InShot | Free app that lets you edit your videos and add voice-over and text right on your phone. Perfect for reels and TikToks and easy to learn!
Adobe Premiere Rush | Works on mobile AND desktop! You get more control and options with editing in Rush compared to InShot. I use this for longer videos outside of reels and TikToks.

Video editing (Desktop Apps)

Adobe Premiere Rush | If you’re used to InShot but ready to move to desktop editing, this is a great program to start with. Way less overwhelming than Premiere and also works on mobile!
Adobe Premiere Pro | I usually only use this for long-form videos, otherwise Rush and InShot are so easy and fast for social media.

Social media planning

Notion | I use their linked databases and kanban boards to plan content.
Preview | Easy-to-use app to plan out your Instagram posts .

Organization / Productivity

Notion | When my husband asks what I’ve got planned for the day, my response is always “let me check my Notion.” Aka my second brain! I store all to-do’s, brain dumps, creative ideas, and links to where I squirreled away that one Google doc in this aesthetic hub. Big fan, been less scatterbrained since I started using it!

Website

Squarespace | What I use for this website! I like that you don’t need to code but there are still enough custom options for you to personalize. The biggest selling point is it’s easy to update and maintain.

Newsletter

ConvertKit | Love their customer service. Intuitive newsletter segmentation with visual automation that makes planning sequences a lot easier. I used to use Mailchimp, which involved a lot of yelling and confusion 😆, and was happy once I switched over. It gets pricey once you have a large subscriber base, though, so something to consider (I still think it’s worth it).

Photography & video

My tripods

Gooseneck tripod for phone | Great for overhead shots and attaches to tables and other flat surfaces.
Mini tripod for phone with flexible legs | Useful for side angle shots with helpful flexible legs that can attach to many more objects.
Selfie stick tripod for phone (extendable to 51 inches) | This is a lightweight, portable tripod that makes recording videos for TikToks, IG Reels, and process videos super easy! You can even rotate your phone from portrait to landscape.
Manfrotto tripod with ball head | This is a newer version of what I use. The ball head offers much more flexibility in camera positioning than a pan and tilt.
ALZO horizontal camera mount | Budget friendly mount to attach to a camera tripod for overhead product photography. Easy to use!
Mobile phone tripod adapter | Adjustable adaptor to mount your phone onto your tripod. I use this with the horizontal mount to record overhead videos.

My lights

Square Type-A soft boxes (2) | Comes with a travel case and helpful if you don’t have natural light to work with.
Ring light kit | Comes with a travel case, stand, phone holder and wireless remote. Works great as a third light to balance out the soft boxes, and also for portrait photos and video.

My camera and accessories

Apple iPhone 13 Pro | Your phone is the perfect tool for making videos for social media! I use this the most, and would not recommend looking at anything more until you’re in a situation where you will need it.
Sony a6000 mirrorless digital camera (body only) | Mirrorless allows you to shoot RAW but doesn’t have the bulk of a DSLR.
Sony a6000 mirrorless digital camera with kit lens | If you don’t know what lens to get, this comes with a good starter lens.
Sony SEL35F 18 35mm f/1.8 prime fixed lens | Produces some nice shallow depth of field images (aka hides that messy bg 😂)
Sony screen protector | Extra protection from scratches.
Sony rechargeable battery | A must-have if you use a camera a lot, don’t want to waste time charging your battery!

Favorite wireless remotes

Bluetooth remote for iOS and Android smart phones | Super easy to use and very small. Prevent camera shake when you press record.

Wireless remote for Sony cameras | Also helpful to prevent camera shake.

Favorite editing apps

InShot | Free, simple-to-use app that lets you edit your videos and add voice over and text right on your phone. Perfect for reels and TikToks.

Books in my library

Hand lettering

In Progress by Jessica Hische | Very helpful to get you started on the basics of lettering and vector lettering.
The Golden Secrets of Lettering by Martina Flor | Learn the fundamentals of lettering and a guide to digitizing with this beautifully illustrated book.
House Industries Lettering Manual by Ken Barber | A pretty comprehensive book filled with techniques, tips, rules, case studies, and lots of visual goodies.
Scripts: Elegant Lettering from Design’s Golden Age by Steven Heller & Louise Fili | Ample script reference material.
Shadow Type by Steven Heller & Louise Fili | Ample shadow type reference material.
The Little Book of Lettering by Emily Gregory | A cute little book that contains loads of talented work from various artists.
Vintage Hand Lettering: Create Beautiful Fonts with Old Time Flourish by Lisa Quine | It’s filled with lots of different vintage styles and step-by-step breakdowns on how to letter them

Creative marketing

Show Your Work! by Austin Kleon | Super quick read but very helpful tips on sharing your work.
This is Marketing by Seth Godin | Still reading through this, but loads of good material.

General creativity

Steal Like an Artist by Austin Kleon | Easy read with hard hitting points.
Keep Going by Austin Kleon | Easy read and provides great tips on how to stay creative.

Community

Superfans by Pat Flynn | Easy to read and lots of quick tip info nuggets for how to genuinely serve your community.
Tribes by Seth Godin | A quick read that offers great points on leadership for anyone.

Freelance & business

The Pricing and Ethical Guidelines Handbook | Omg get this book if you do any commercial freelance work! You will find better pricing comparisons here than what you’d find frantically searching the internet.
Freelance, Business and Stuff by Amy Hood & Jennifer Hood of Hoodzpah | Also an amazingly helpful book for freelancers
Pocket Full of Do by Chris Do | Insightful advice covering creativity, mindset, pricing, marketing, relationships, and more condensed down into bite-sized pieces and bold graphics.

Productivity

Atomic Habits by James Clear | I swear it’s one of those books you can read over and over again. Practical tips to apply to your life and great for creatives to establish sustainable habits. If you hate books but you’re intrigued, subscribe to his newsletter!
Essentialism by Greg McKeown | I had a problem wanting to say yes to every freelance inquiry in the beginning. It was great for experience, until it became bad for my mental health and family responsibilities. I read this book during the pandemic and it helped shaped my mindset around saying “no” and develop a practical list for when to say “yes” to the projects that light me up.

Online learning

Skillshare | I love checking out classes here to learn new skills and refine old ones. It covers a huge variety of topics like creativity, business, and lifestyle, and access to classes is unlimited with a subscription. Use this link to get a free one month trial of Skillshare Premium Membership.

Sketching & drawing

Pencils

Pilot Dr. Grip 0.5mm mechanical pencil | Great for thumbnail sketches.
Palomino Blackwing pencils | Produces really rich, dark lines. Looks nice, too. ;)

Pens & Markers

Sharpie fine point pen | Handy for taking notes.
Micron pens | For fine line work.
Staedtler pens | For fine line work and comes with a handy case.
Uniball Signo white pen | Works well over dark ink and paper.
Tombow fudenosuke brush pen (soft and hard tip) | Great for calligraphy.

Sharpie fine point marker | Great for calligraphy.
Tombow dual brush marker | Great for calligraphy.

Erasers

Staedtler eraser (soft) | Helpful to erase light sketches without wearing down paper.

Staedtler refillable eraser holder | For finer tuned erasing.

Pencil sharpener

Staedtler pencil sharpener | Simple lil’ thing that sharpens nicely.

Sketchbooks

Moleskin Art Hardcover (5” x 8.25”) | I’m a sucker for these nice hardcover books. Love the smaller size for easy portability.

Paper (Note: I no longer use these papers myself, but these were the first materials I tried as a lettering newbie!)

Canson XL Series marker paper | Smooth, slightly translucent paper that is great for brush pens.
Strathmore tracing paper | More transparent than marker paper, works great for brush pens and sketching.
HP Premium 32 printer paper | Super-smooth paper that is recommended for brush pens.
Rhodia notepads (dot sheet) | A super smooth paper for brush pens that also has a helpful dot grid to follow.