Nubby Twiglet

Shauna Haider, a.k.a. Nubby Twiglet, Artist/ Designer Portland, Oregon Nubbytwiglet.com This is where the magic happens. Actually, for most of my work, I sit on my floor to spread out clippings and make collages. I really only sit at my desk when I'm using my computer. I'm a typical Virgo in that I like things color coordinated, organized, and as orderly as possible. The shoes with heart piece is an experiment with creating lower-priced pieces for an upcoming art show. I normally work in a much larger scale on wood surfaces. This is my full desk area. I have my printer tucked underneath. It's organized chaos. Here, you can see some of my work. 'Mouth With Pill' is probably my best-known piece. To the left, there's another (much larger piece) called 'Modern vs. Organic.' I use it as a backdrop for photos pretty often. When I moved into my studio about a year ago, there were random nails sticking out of the wall, so I hung bright red plastic letters from them. No meaning, really. Here's a closer view from right above my desk; red plastic Barbie boot, plastic 'A,' and 'Mouth With Pill.' It's about 24 X 24 inches. This is what my desk looked like in December 2005. Really messy because I was planning out my first solo show. This is what my studio looks like right before a show. I usually store most of my art in the basement, so right before I pack up, I'm doing touch-ups and windexing the pieces to remove fingerprints. Cheers, Nubby

Ximena Maier

Ximena Maier, illustrator Madrid, Spain http://www.ximenamaier.com http://ximenitadibuja.blogspot.com http://lobstersquad.blogspot.com There's a picture of my drawing table. It's right by a big balcony, and just now in Madrid the shutters have to be closed, it's too sunny and baking hot. That's why everything looks a bit dark. Here's a shot of my pens and pencils and liquid watercolour bottles. They fit very snugly into an Ikea cutlery holder. I usually draw with dip pen, and then scan and colour stuff on photoshop. Here's the computer table, and a cork board where I pin random stuff I like. Finally, the rather crowded bookshelves.

Brett Hess

Brett Hess, Artist/Painter Southern California www.hess-art.com "Pics from my studio. Not quite as chaotic as Francis Bacon's, but crazy none the less!" "The tools of the trade" "There's never enough room when you're a painter" -BH

Collin David

Collin David, illustrator and meat-roboticist, Putnam Valley NY, ResonantFish & Studio Robotico While I find myself making art-things everywhere from my drawing table to the garage to the kitchen stove, here's where I spend most of my time. I don't have enough space to truly be organized and expressive at the same time, so I try to ride the chaos. The current project on the desk is a comic that I'm working on with my old college roommate (up to page twelve!), involving cephalopods and robots and big inky messes. I keep a box of bizarre references cut out from old encyclopedias and history books, mugs and mugs of paintbrushes (including the ugliest dollar store octopus mug known to man), some nesting dolls & a whole slew of toys on the desk. To the left is a large collection of dead bugs and bird skeletons, also for reference, which girls really don't like to be around for some reason. Pages and pages of semi-coherent notes and sketches litter everywhere else. Here's a closer look at the toys on the desk - a series of tiny figures called 'Demon's Chronicle' which I shipped over from Japan, because they're wonderfully surreal and inspiring. The big meaty robot is just that - something that I throw together out in the garage, full of hinges and love. Note that the shelves are made of old library card catalogue drawers stacked on old sci-fi paperbacks. Also note that I like to pretend that I'm in Ten-Forward on the Starship Enterprise while I paint. Not really. Here's the worst distraction and best tool that I've found - the lovely Mac Mini. All wired up to a VCR and a TV and a turntable for multimedia projects - but mostly to share out-of-context video clips with friends - with enough wires to snag and kill a small orca. Again, more toys everywhere, from Spider-Man to Darth Vader, dragons and Iron Man and Green Arrow. As long as I have room to move the mouse, I'm all good. From here, I run a few websites & freelance this 'n' that, both writing and visual arts. Stacks of comics and more toys keep me inspired & motivated. One day, I hope to create some kind of redefining Batman masterpiece, or get into a 24 Hour Comics Day anthology, or to even customize that Munny that I have stacked up there. I keep all of these things around me like an encyclopedia of awesomeness that I can refer to at any given time to re-frame whatever creative problem that I'm facing. And this, finally, is my little slice of heaven in the garage, Studio Robotico, necessitated by the pesky production of sawdust while making lots of wooden robots. Everything here is scavenged also - a set of metal cabinets that once stored filmstrips for a library makes for some amazing organizing cups for screws and metal oddments. Another chest of drawers was found roadside and is now used to store wooden shapes. There's no shame in recycling everything that you see into something maginally functional, folks! We're not fancy here.

Rick Lovell

Rick Lovell: Illustrator, Teacher Atlanta, USA My website The truth behind the immaculate studio... I posted these on another site and folks were appalled at how clean and organized it was. See? This is my drawing board area. It looked like this once, about 15 years ago. We had built the house a few years earlier, but for this photo we had just finished the studio and I got everything organized and perfect and shot these photos, knowing full well that it would never look like that again. I know, it looks like nobody has ever drawn a mark in here. That isn't far from the truth, but I had actually done a job or two at this point. A view from the other side of the room. We bought the lot for this house with the idea that the basement would be my studio, so we looked for one that graded downhill toward the back, giving me plenty of light for my working area. My wife designed the space, and it works great with lots of counter space and storage (but there's never enough). It still has a fireplace, but these days it's jammed with boxes of family photos and stuff from my parent's house; lost my dad a few years ago and can't seem to find a place to put his things. _________________________ Now for the truth... This is a working tabouret, complete with a fishbowl that the cats drink out of, even when it's opaque with acrylic paint. It's a wonder they're still alive. They have a knack for stepping in wet paint and tracking it all over the place. They really go for the cadmium red. What I see from my board. Not too bad today. More junk to find a place for. Most of this is out of my school office, and there's no room for it in my new space. The production counter in it's usual function as a catch-all for all manner of flotsam and jetsum, and artwork in various stages of incompletion. Books without a home. They'll soon be put to good use, however. My computer area complete with large, furry creature who likes nothing better than to shed all over everything all the time. And sleep. And crap. And shed some more. My ageing G4 and the regulation birdsnest of wires and gadgets under the counter and scattered here and there. It isn't cutting edge, but then, neither am I. Like me, it usually gets the job done nonetheless.

Eric Bostrom

Eric Bostrom, Artist/Network Admin/Marketing Coordinator, Santa Rosa, CA, USA, http://diversionmary.com My studio is one of my favorite places, so I have many photos. Here are a few: We're having a big party in a few days so I had to clean up my studio. This is the 'after', here is the before. There is a fireplace behind where I sit for wintertime. My weapons of choice, mostly ballpoint. I pin my stuff up on this wall, and collaborative drawings on the opposite wall. It all fades and falls down though. How I draw. I used to have a better drawing table, but a friend needed it. This is my favorite pic of my studio, I use it as my wallpaper @ work. Late night drawing, fire, tea and coast to coast am with George Noory.

Rik Catlow

Rik Catlow, Artist/Web Designer Charlotte, NC USA www.rikcat.com "Bobo taking residence in my desk." "My bulletin board filled with inspirational knickknacks." "My workspace. I do most of my work on that drawing table. I love it." "I recently bought a new Mac mini. It's great and it takes up a quarter of the space of my old G4 with 5 times the speed." -RC

Jeff Matz

Jeff Matz, Owner / Designer of Lure Design and L2 Design Collective. luredesigninc.com Orlando, Fl There's an unsanitized look at my messy desk. I didn't clean up a thing for this shot. The image is a bit dark, but so is our studio. Over my desk are a few of my screen printed posters.

Ben the Illustrator

ben the illustrator (aka ben o'brien), london ben the illustrator i work in a shared studio near Hoxton, bordering North and East London. We each have a desk and shelves, and it's generally a pretty cool place. There's graphic designers, illustrators, photographers, programmers and architectural types. Super mixed-up. I enjoy working here as there's always a relaxed, yet focused working atmosphere. That's my desk there, I try and keep it pretty tidy, most of the time. I use a Mac mini with a lovely Mac flatscreen and a nice comfortable Wacom tablet. Other stuff on my desk includes the essential teacup, a pot of pencil sharpenings, stationary (as far as stationary goes I generally use HB pencils for drawing and a black felt-tip for writing, I dont need much), mp3 player (must have music, must have music, must have music). Out of site there's also a scanner and a fan (gets quite hot in the summer I tell you) and a big stack of paper, lists, notes and letters (a stack that should be dealt with more often). Towering above my desk is my shelving, I try and keep all my work tidy and ordered in folders, plus numerous inspiring magazines and books, copies of my published work and a few of my scrapbooks. I'm a scrapbook obsessive, I have to keep most of them at home though, bah! You can see a bit of my wall-space there, generally where I stick that all-important 'stuff', postcards, lists, notes of huge importance and a list of paper dimensions, because I never remember anything the slightest bit technical, even down to paper. I hope you've enjoyed finding out about my desk. I do love my desk, I'm comfortable, I can focus on work, I find the right inspiration and my studio brings the right atmosphere to surround me. * special note! we have a few empty spaces in the studio, if you're interested then please do get in touch! hello@bentheillustrator.com * goodbye for now.

Joan M. Mas

Joan M. Mas, designer/painter/educator, Catalunya Typephases Design This composition shows my computer work studio. It's a bit busy place. A small room (9 sq m), but it's amazing how many things will fit in. Since this photo was taken I've even managed to add some more furniture. There's hardly white space on the walls but I really enjoy working here. There are two tables, one for drawing and handwriting, the other for computer-related work. And everything, music, books, notepads, stationery... is here, near at hand. Two large cork pasteboards cover a whole wall and they are filled with very diverse paper cuts, drawings, photos, reproductions of favourite paintings, and of course reminders of more mundane tasks like receipts, bills, to-do lists, grocery lists - even a traffic fine. I love being surrounded by colour. I always react positively to it. I do most of my creative work in sketchbooks. Four to six pages every day at the very least. I prefer large plain white paper notebooks, Moleskine-like. They are a mix of personal diary, scrapbook, idea collector, whimsy box and whatnot. I used to paint in a tiny space but my new painting studio is a blessing: it has nearly everything I need: lots of space, incredible light, plenty of storage space, a big garden in front with fruit trees and aromatic herbs... This pic shows the part of the studio where I work most of the time, taken in the early morning. I don't have to worry much about the mess here because the storage area is always tidy. I usually work on the bigger canvases and large papers on the ground. I use the tables and easels for smaller works and experimenting with materials. I like the place so much that I end up spending lots of time there, just reading, listening to music or talking with friends.

Junichi Tsuneoka

Junichi Tsuneoka, founder/designer/illustrator Seattle STUDIO STUBBORN SIDEBURN Welcome to STUDIO STUBBORN SIDEBURN, design and illustration studio. I run this studio by myself. my main desk. when I find something inspirational, I cut it out from magazines and post it on the wall. this is my drawing desk. my dog is usally hanging out under this desk. Things that I am working on. I use tracing paper to start. I use a few different sketch books to store ideas. during the draft stage, mechanical pencil and different kinds of erasers play the huge role. I use this small xerox machine a lot for figuring out the layout. this is my computer desk. I only use computer at the last stage of the projects. Most of the work is done before I use computer. so I just have one laptop.