I finally gave up the hustle and bustle of the New York City studio lifestyle. I made the move to lazy California about five years ago and have never looked back. My primary workstation is in a small bedroom. Most of my work is digital these days, so the setup is fairly simple: two monitors, a desk, and proper lighting is all I really need to get working. I live a pretty sedentary life, so the standing desk is extremely important for blood flow!
My average month consists of a healthy balance of client work, personal work, and comic convention travel. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a luxury to be able to work from home, but it also forces me to be disciplined or else the bills don’t get paid. Remaining motivated is a skill you have to learn if you’re working from home in any capacity. I also have to learn when to put down the pen and enjoy personal time with my wife and friends.
“My extra-wide monitor is great for having two browsers up. Now I don’t need to choose between reference images and YouTube videos” says Edwin. (Image credit: Edwin Huang)
My partner and I are toy concept artists, so the rest of the house is filled with figurines and statues. We love surrounding ourselves with toys, and call them reference material as an excuse for our childish behaviour. What’s not pictured are the millions of toy boxes in our garage and closets. Though we have our own studios, we spend a lot of downtime together in the loft area and enjoy gaming and binge-watching cartoons. Finding the right co-op game is the hard part!
“This is the loft area where me and my wife spend most of our time when either gaming or generally slacking off,” Edwin says. (Image credit: Edwin Huang)
Fighting game enthusiast
My hobbies include fighting games, toy collecting, cars and working out. All of my interests tend to blend and define what I like to draw. If it’s not obvious, Street Fighter and video games have truly infested my daily life. I try to convince myself that gaming for six hours straight is part of the work process, but we all know that’s a sham. The slow downfall of my career will be downloading Steam onto my work computer.
I’m lucky to be able to quit my studio-based jobs back in New York and work from home. My time in New York built the foundation of my career, but I was also burning the candle at both ends. The quieter lifestyle here in California truly has its health benefits.
“My Copic marker collection. They’re primarily used for comic convention sketches. Having these around definitely keeps my traditional skills from atrophy,” Edwin says. (Image credit: Edwin Huang)
This content originally appeared in ImagineFX magazine, the world’s leading digital art and fantasy art magazine. ImagineFX is on sale in the UK, Europe, United States, Canada, Australia and more. Limited numbers of ImagineFX print editions are available for delivery from our online store (the shipping costs are included in all prices).
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