What I use: hardware, software and tools.

What program do you use?

I draw exclusively with Procreate on a 13 inch iPad Pro. I like to call myself an iPad baby. I used to be a fully traditional artist and worked with mixed media. My most recent traditional media was done with India ink and markers, but I have also worked with oil paints on canvas, charcoal, acrylics, watercolor, and ink wash. I did not pick up on digital art until I was 26 because drawing with a standard tablet felt unnatural. Drawing on the iPad feels almost exactly like drawing on paper, and Procreate is capable of reproducing the textures of traditional tools. I liked it so much I stopped drawing with physical media altogether because Procreate gave me everything I wanted.

What are your favorite brushes?

My favorite inking brushes are all from The Rusty Nib brush pack by True Grit Texture Supply. I use both Rusty Nib 4 and Cleaner Chisel Nib for general line work, and I use Micro Nib for small little details. They have a good balance of realistic dip pen texture and tight control of line weight. I came from a long history of using dip pens for traditional work, so these brushes were perfect when I made the transition into digital. Link

My favorite general rendering brush is the Daub Gred Dry from the DAUB Verve pack. It mimics the look and feel of acrylic paint on canvas. I'm able to build up layers of color and texture quickly by using glazing techniques and dry brushing. Link

For stippling, I use a free brush pack called ST Stipple. They're perfect for adding old-school texture to monochrome work. I used them all throughout "Is This You?" Link

I do use other brushes and digital tools, but I use these brushes more than any others.

Where do you find reference material?

I have a variety of sources for them! I often use the 3D mannequins in Clip Studio Paint. They're easy to pose, and you can recreate almost every body type with them. They even have options for anime/stylized perspective, head proportions, and simple lighting.

JustSketch.me is a good free resource for creating pose references with a generic 3D mannequin. If you want a wider variety of body types and character styles, you have to pay for it.

I also search stock photos on Google Images for basic references and Frankenstein several of them together to give myself an idea of how things should look.

My favorite reference material is Roomstyler. It is a free, browser-based program that lets you build interior rooms with premade 3D assets. All of the materials are drag-and-drop. A child could use it. You can move the camera around at any angle, with a choice of wide-angle or normal lenses, and take pictures of your rooms. It gives you a choice of day or night lighting, along with levels of ambient brightness. It is a lifesaver for drawing complicated perspective shots. They even give you generic people (not posable) that you can add in to get an idea of scale. I personally trace over the pictures, add my own touches to the furniture and styling, and use the generic people as basic reference for where to put my characters. I've built the houses of all of my characters with this program.