Sebastian Abboud is a designer and illustrator living on Vancouver Island, British Columbia. He spends his days freelancing and also teaching design and illustration courses at Vancouver Island University. While his workspace may be small, it’s filled with Sebastian’s essentials for living the life he’s set out to live as a creative. Read further to learn more about Sebastian and why he has a huge appreciation for the space and tools he has.
Where do you work? Tell us about your space.
I work from my home office/studio. It’s a cozy little space, but it works! My wife (who also works remotely) and I live in a hundred-year-old miner’s home five minutes from the ocean here on Vancouver Island in a city called Nanaimo. Nanaimo was a mining town so this whole area is built on a snaking network of mine shafts, which is half cool and half panic-inducing. My studio is pretty mellow, but really has everything I need to do what I do.
What hardware and software do you use to create your designs?
I do most things on a 21.5” iMac and for design work, I just use a mouse in Illustrator, Photoshop, and InDesign. For more hand-drawn illustration work I use an iPad Pro and the Procreate/Apple Pencil combo. Lately, I’ve been playing around with True Grit textures and WWOWLY brushes in Procreate. Outside of all that, I’m a huge proponent of working on paper, so a sketchbook is always nearby.
Tell us about your routine (or lack of one.) How do you structure your days to get things done?
I don’t really have a set routine but I’m always in my office doing something for a solid eight-ish hours a day. On any given day I could be freelancing, teaching, prepping to teach, making art, jamming on personal projects, sending a million emails, working on grad school or doing none of the above. But most days involve coffee, sandwiches, walks or bike rides, and doodling of some kind. I’ve never really had an issue with motivation—I like this stuff and I chose this career, so it’s easy to work and stay motivated when you enjoy what you do.
How do your space, tools, and habits benefit you? What about those things do you think needs improvement?
My space, tools, and habits work for what I’ve got going on, for sure. I’m not really someone who keeps up with all of the latest technology and fancy doodads. I just work and make stuff and try to have fun with what I’ve got. I feel very fortunate to be able to do what I do and make a living working from home. It would be cool to have a fancy brick wall studio with a cool coffee machine but, whatever, I’m just trying to keep it moving, have a good time, and spread some good vibes with my work.
Want to keep up with Sebastian? Find him on Dribbble, Twitter, and sebastianabboud.com.
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