Don't know if I ever mentioned it before, but my "office" is in my garage. I converted it after being inspired by visiting Deke McCelland's garage office (Deke lives in Boulder, CO). I thought that it would be cool to let you get a peek inside of where Real World Illustrator (both the book, and the blog) comes from...
This is my desk. Yes -- those are four different computers (not just monitors). On the left is a Dell Dimensions Desktop running WindowsXP, the Apple 20" display is attached to my main computer -- a 15" MacBook Pro (Intel Core Duo), and then a G4. Notice there's only one mouse and keyboard -- I use Synergy2, which is opensource code that allows me to simply move my mouse from computer screen to computer screen. Whichever monitor my mouse cursor is on, that's what my keyboard works on. I can even mouse over to the PC, copy, and then mouse over to the Mac and paste. Not only is it cool, I think it's the most incredible piece of software I've ever seen. My buddies Don, Christian, Ralph, and Alan over at the Mac IT department at the NY Times introduced me to this and it's simply amazing. The laptop on the far right is a Panasonic Toughbook -- a prize I just recently won from American Way magazine for being named a finalist in their Road Warrior MVP contest (look for the January 15, 2007 issue with ME on the cover!).
As for other assorted items on my desktop, there's a Wacom 6x8 Intuos3 tablet with a grip pen and their 6D art pen, a Logitech NuLOOQ Professional Series, my beloved 20GB iPod that the Illustrator team bought me as a parting gift when I left Adobe (the engraved message reminds me of them every day) and one of the new teeny shuffles, an Orange LaCie rugged FireWire drive, and a sharpie (of course -- who can possibly live without a sharpie?!?!).
Here's the bookcase that fills the back wall of the garage -- er, I mean "office"... Do I really read all of those books? Well, almost all of them -- just not the foreign language translated versions of my books... ;)
Oh, and did you notice the shelf full of tchotchkies? Can't get enough of those. Also, at the top are a few selections from my computer "museum" -- far left is my Quadra 700 -- the first computer I ever bought (we had an IBM PCjr. and a Commodore VIC20 prior to that, but those were bought by my dad and belonged to the family).
Here's a closer look at some of the tchotchkies. Some are treasured selections that I accumulated when I worked at Adobe. Others are either gifts, or toys I picked up at previous Macworlds (like the Intel bunny suit guys, which were later "set on fire" by Apple -- ironic how things come around, isn't it?). Of course, the Pets.com sock puppet keeps me company, and if you look real close, you'll see a special collection of Photoshop collector pins (far right) -- each pin depicting a different "era" of Photoshop icons. With the ongoing controversy around the CS3 icons, this collection could prove very valuable...
My bragging rights -- I actually collect all of my lanyards and badges from all of the conferences that I speak at. Over the years, I've accumulated quite a bit of them. My first speaking engagement? Macworld Boston, 1996 -- as a panelist of Wow! artists for Sharon Steuer's session on Illustrator. Ten years of speaking! I can hardly believe it.
Well, this concludes our tour of my "crib". Best wishes for a happy New Year and see you all online in '07!
10 comments:
where are the enlarged pics? ;)
nice office btw.
happy new year
Hi there, can you take a close up of the books on the bookshelf so we can get an idea of what computer graphics related books you actually read. Can you please post it. Thanks.
The reason I read this blog is because it's not like a blog. Please don't careen too far off the path of relevance into this ubiquitous rockstar mentality where you imagine people genuinely caring about what color the upholstery on your chair is or which hand you prefer to wipe with.
I was inspired by Mordy's repurposing of space, and tried to replicate his approach. But I found that it gets a bit airy in my carport this time of year :-)
BTW, "Anonymous" is overlooking the fact that Mordy *is* a rockstar. His contributions to conferences, publications, and online content are invaluable!
hey Claudia, you're a rockstar too. I bought your book and now, dare I say, I reference yours more than Mordy's.
Thanks to both of you. Happy new years
Way too neat and organized. It borders on obsession. Hmmm…while do all married men end up in the garage? I enjoy the balance of technical and personal topics.
Hmmm. Instead of simply enlarging the pics, I'll work on putting together a list of "suggested reading" -- and I'll try to find a way to keep it current.
While I certainly don't FEEL like a rock star (just the thought of trying to get into a pair of tight leather pants doesn't bode well), I certainly do appreciate all of your comments. I apologize if anyone thought I veered too far off the path, but then again, towards the end of the year, my mind was less focused on work and more on play :)
Oh, and JK -- I DID clean up the desk for the photo :)
Hey Mordy,
Do you use your Wacom also to cover multiple desktops? If so, whats the way you've set that up?
I'm on the look out for a dual monitor set-up, yet its unresolved how I'm going to manage that with my standard Wacom tablet (not wide-screen, which could allow for a better ratio).
Good question Jim :)
I actually have my Wacom attached directly to my Windows desktop (far left). Since my MacBook Pro is my main machine, Synergy only shares my main keyboard and mouse across all three screens. So the Wacom only works on the PC in my current setup. Of course, it's a simple task to unplug the cable from the PC and switch it over to the Mac if I need to, but more often than not, if I feel I need to use the Wacom, I work exclusively on the PC. For example, all of the eSeminars that I do are from the PC, using the tablet (I actually log in as an attendee on one of the other computers so that I can see what the user sees on one screen while I work on another. Kinda like a TV control room (almost)...
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