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Being on a budget, I really wanted a drafting table and couldn't find one that I liked in my price range. I wanted a pretty large surface to work on. I ended up building my own tabletop drafting board. I can't stand up at it without getting a taller table, but it made a huge difference, especially for back and neck pain! The final cost of materials was $32, but I already had tools and leftover wood finish from an old project. I also sit on one of those yoga balls and that is super helpful for my back and posture. Here's a blog post that I wrote about it: http://www.juliehimes.com/sketchblog/back-to-the-drawing-board And a photo of me working with my assistant, Ash. (please excuse the mess!). http://www.juliehimes.com/sketchblog/hard-at-work -Julie _________________________ Julie Himes http://www.juliehimes.com [log in to unmask] On Wed, Jun 11, 2014 at 11:04 AM, Gail Guth <[log in to unmask]> wrote: > I use an ancient Mayline (I think??) table, a bit rickety but it works > and it's a goodly size, maybe 42 x 30 or close to that. I can adjust the > angle but it's like pulling the proverbial teeth, so I leave it fixed at my > angle. I have a two drawer iris cabinet on rollers with a flat solid top > for various supplies and to hold my big porcelain palette and brush holder; > and a whole bunch of shelves i had put in when we fixed up the basement, on > the other. I have all rolling stock except for the table, as I have a small > area and sometimes need to move things around to do this or that. > > I have a combo of lights, Ott and a combo flourescent/incandescent. The > mix seems to work well. I'm in the basement so I need lots of light, and I > put on everything I have. 100w ceiling, another light over my flat desk, > the extra ambient lighting is helpful. > > > Gail > > > > On 6/11/14 1:15 PM, Karen Ackoff wrote: > > I have an old IKEA drafting table… bought circa 1980. I've made a few > adaptations to keep the table top at a set angle, and I angle it only very > slightly so I can put my paints, water, etc. on it. Then I put a table > easel on top of it. I use one of two… > > Paper & Ink Arts (which cater largely to a calligraphic and crafts > crowd) sell table top easels in two different sizes (or they used to… I > only see the 18x24 size on their web site now). The adjust to an almost > vertical angle, and the top is a white plexi, so you could place a light > behind it and easily use it as a light table. They are very light and great > for traveling. > http://www.paperinkarts.com/dbplx2.html > > For smaller works, I like an easel that Koo Schadler's husband makes > (Koo is a phenomenal egg tempera and silverpoint artist who works in the > style of master paintings). It is heavier, which I like when I'm working at > home. It is 14 x 20 inches. > http://www.kooschadler.com/egg-tempera-store.htm > > For the record, I have a very old small drafting table, probably bought > from Sears circa 1940. My father studied architecture, and it was his. In > his won't, he later painted it white and black. I'm tempted to strip it > down, although I'm sure it's made of inexpensive pine. But it still works > just fine. > > I'd be curious to know what kind of lighting people are using. I still > like my old desk lamp better than anything… a combo of florescent and > incandescent. But of course incandescent bulbs are slowly going the way of > the dinosaur. Ott lights and lights of that sort are too blue for me, and > they also seem to make things "flat". > > My studio is also equipped with 2 black cats, both rescued from the > street, who routinely knock things over. I find erasers on the floor in the > corner. They also like to sleep on my router, despite all my attempts to > the contrary. The dogs and birds live in the upper levels of my house. And > just as an aside, I just lost my mustache parakeet, Nakeeta. He was 29 and > died of liver cancer (he had liver disease for 15 years, and took his meds > twice a day, every day, without complaint. Good-byes are hard. > > K > > > > On Jun 11, 2014, at 11:53 AM, Bruce Bartrug <[log in to unmask]> wrote: > > What a great idea, Amy. In the past, I used the same approach to change > the height of a desk, depending on what I was working on. It wasn't to > allow standing, just to allow the work to get closer to my eyes, so I could > remove my glasses and not have to bend over to get close to the work. I'm > more than a little near-sighted, as you may have guessed :). That was > before I gained a few decades and needed lenses to help with close vision. > The more I think about it, however, I may revive the arrangement. I > wouldn't need a coffee table either, just a wooden box of appropriate > height....... > > b > > > On Wed, Jun 11, 2014 at 10:24 AM, Jennifer Gibas <[log in to unmask]> > wrote: > >> Hi Amy, I have a lightweight $30 IKEA Lack coffee table set on top of my >> desk, legs cut to fit my height. There's enough room for my mouse, >> keyboard, Wacom drawing tablet and a cup of coffee. It's been totally >> great. I put it up and down to alternate between sitting and standing a >> couple of times a day. Because it's so light, no problem. I looked around >> for "real" standing desks before doing this, and didn't find anything that >> would work as well for what I do. >> The listserv won't let photo attachments go through, so email me >> privately if you want to see it. >> Jen Gibas >> >> >> ________________________________________________ > > Need to leave or subscribe to the Sciart-L listserv? Follow the > instructions at > http://www.gnsi.org/resources/reviews/gnsi-sciart-l-listserv > > > ________________________________________________ > > Need to leave or subscribe to the Sciart-L listserv? Follow the > instructions at > http://www.gnsi.org/resources/reviews/gnsi-sciart-l-listserv > > > -- > Gail Guth > Guth Illustration & Design > 139 Lathrop Avenue > Battle Creek, MI 49014-5076 > 269-963-1311 > [log in to unmask] > www.guthillustration.com > > > ________________________________________________ > > Need to leave or subscribe to the Sciart-L listserv? Follow the > instructions at > http://www.gnsi.org/resources/reviews/gnsi-sciart-l-listserv > Need to leave or subscribe to the Sciart-L listserv? Follow the instructions at http://www.gnsi.org/resources/reviews/gnsi-sciart-l-listserv