Uses This

Who are you, and what do you do?

I'm Cory Schmitz! I'm a graphic designer & illustrator living in Chicago. I work with a variety of clients in the video game industry, but I do a lot of non-game related work, too! I've worked with Sony, VOX Media (The Verge, Polygon), Anamanaguchi, Double Fine, & many more. I'm probably best known for my work on Sound Shapes for PS Vita & PS3, & my logo work. I also love making posters & album covers!

What hardware do you use?

My primary setup is a 27" iMac (one of the fancy new thin ones). It's got 16GB RAM, a 1TB Fusion Drive, & a 3.4GHz Quad-core Intel Core i7 processor. I just got it like a month ago, it's really nice. I use the keyboard & Magic Trackpad that came with it. I like trackpads slightly more that mice. I use a Tursion 10" x 6.25" tablet for drawing. It's a generic brand (I think), but it's as good as any Wacom I've used. I don't draw very much at all, though. I have a little WD My Passport 1TB USB external hard drive for Time Machine backups. For seating, I use a Herman Miller SAYL chair (in all black). For headphones I use the Sony MDR-V6s.

I do most of my work at home. My on-the-go computer is a MacBook Air (from 2011). I also have an iPad Mini. Occasionally, I like to use the Paper app for sketching. I use the Pogo Connect pressure-sensitive stylus, which Paper supports. I rarely sketch on actual paper, but when I do, I like to use these simple ballpoint pens from Muji. I carry all this in either a big ol' Sag Life backpack or my normal-sized Herschel Heritage backpack. I have another WD My Passport 1TB USB external hard drive in there for the Macbook's Time Machine backups.

I also carry around a lot of non-work-related items, such as a PS Vita, 3DS XL, Karma 4G hotspot (crazy useful), a Hobonichi planner, & other miscellaneous items (like this thing). My phone is an iPhone 5 but I'm considering getting a Sony Xperia Z next. When I'm on-the-go I just use the Apple Earpod headphones.

I like to take pictures too. My favorite film camera is my Contax TVS. I got it for a steal on eBay & I love it. It feels luxurious. I usually use Fujifilm 400 film. I just got a bunch of expired Fujifilm 400 that I'm excited to use, too. For digital I use a Ricoh GR Digital IV (white), which I just got from eBay (it's amazing). I use a 4GB Eye-Fi card with my digital camera, & it's really cool & works really well.

And what software?

I do almost all my designing in Photoshop CS6 & Illustrator CS6. Occasionally I'll open InDesign CS6 if I need to lay out a book or PDF. If I ever need to quickly vectorize something, I use Cocoapotrace. I got these awesome Frenden Photoshop brushes, but I haven't gotten a chance to use them too much, yet. For notes & lists I use Evernote. I use Breaktime to remind myself to get up & stretch. For sharing lil' files quickly I use CloudApp. I keep all my design work synced between my two computers using Dropbox. I also use Dropbox for sharing large files (Although I might switch to Minbox). If I ever need to write something, I use iA Writer. Messages, Skype, Tweetbot (follow me), & iTunes are always open as well. I use Mail for email, but I'll switch to Mailbox when the OS X version is released. I keep my schedule with iCal.

What would be your dream setup?

I just want a bigger/nicer desk & then I'll be all set <3