10 Must have tools for the professional scribe
Foam boards all set up for drawing in a hard to access central London location
People often ask me what my top ten tools for a professional scribe are… actually they don’t at all. But here is a listicle that it would have been really helpful for me to read about 10years ago.
Pens - Nueland pens are the go to pen for visualisers and graphic recorders the world over. Posca pens are a close second. And all illustrators will have their favourite pen anyway - if I had to choose a Techpoint V-Sign would be mine.
Paper - Picasso famously used cheap materials and paper is very useful to use in conjunction with pens. I tend to buy20m rolls of paper.
Portable Tripods & Foam Boards - getting a massive drawing wall (also from Nueland) into a central london location these days is virtually impossible. So carrying a highly portable set up is necessary.
Address Labels - when you are live illustrating you will make a mistake. A roll of address labels can cover many criminal bits of drawing and terribly typos.
Good Lighting - I have often set up all my equipment with pen in hand ready to record and just before the CEO bounds on stage to do his bit - the lights go off. You need to be able to see the paper to draw on it.
Good Position - sometimes you have to throw your weight around and say things like ‘ I cannot possibly work in these conditions’ You need to be able to SEE the action and the punters need to be able to see you!
An iPad - neatly sidestepping points 1 to 5 you could just use an iPad to draw everything instead. The pix are instantly available and you can make loads of mistakes and instantly correct them! Buy the most expensive one you possibly can (but a data one is overkill).
Apple AV connector - with one of these babies you can plug into AV systems and wow audiences with your images projected on massive screens rather than a big board.
A Camlink 4k - these little dongles favoured by streamers allow you to route your iPad into streaming platforms, video calls, Zoom, Teams etc - essential kit
An enquiring mind, ability to draw and broad depth of knowledge - Not equipment per-se but you also need to be able to look beyond literal interpretations of content, understanding the nuances of business, government and other institutions and actually be interested in it. And then able to instantaneously visualise it in a light cartoony style to the highest possible standard.
This image is pre-covid and really the iPad should have equal billing…
