Month: December 2020

Dec 2020 Digest – Wrapping up the Art Challenge, 2021 Goals, etc

December was a time of contemplation and recuperation. I spent it wrapping up the last few topics of the Exalted Art Challenge (with only 2 more to go that I’m still working on and hope to share soon).  Kev and I had a quiet holiday at home cooking and making apple cider.  It was pleasant and I hope you all had similar peaceful times!

The holidays gave me time to reflect on our journey this year.  2020 threw a curveball at me with the cancellation of nearly every in-person event, something I had prepped for by withdrawing from cons in advance.  2021 is proving much the same and today I’m working on building an agenda for myself that doesn’t include conventions.  I’m excited and a little less scared of yet another year without conventions!

I’m hoping that I find some ways to still stay connected with people via streaming, videos, and sharing my journey here. I want to put the time and energy I’d be prepping for cons into other ventures (IE. getting my site/shops proper, releasing new merch online, re-focusing on the Birthstone Goddesses, etc.).

It’s been a rough time for all and I am so very honored so many of you stuck around in 2020!  Your support has meant the world during an uncertain time where my artist income has plummeted without in-person events.  We’re thankfully stable, if a little stretched thin, as my husband’s job is considered essential, but that is also a double-edged sword of the risk he must take on being unable to work from home much of the time.

Still, we’re doing what we can to stay safe and keep things hopeful and in good humor around here!

Coming in January

I’m currently gearing up to return my focus to the Wall Calendar and Art Book for my Birthstone Goddesses series, as well as to make some changes to this Patreon’s tiers.  I’ll explain those plans in future posts soon!

  • New Coloring Page – $5+ Patrons – I’m also planning to add a new coloring page Reward for $5+ Patrons
  • New Secret Sketchbook Posts – $1+ Patrons – Progress continues on the Temperance painting I’ll be completing for the Woven Path Tarot.  My Patrons will be getting exclusive creative notes on my progress!

Digest of December’s Posts

Rewards Added in December


It’s a fresh new year and I hope to use this New Years energy to start off strong!  I’m getting my Trello Boards in a row and trying out some new scheduling rhythms for myself.  Upwards and onwards!

♥ Ang

Exalted Art Challenge Collection 8 – Demon, Manse, etc.

We’ve finally made it to the penultimate collection in the Art Challenge!  I only have a couple of topics left and then I can declare myself a victor!  This was an interesting set of topics ranging from the inhuman to more challenging environments.  Again, I had a ton of fun inching out of my comfort zone, which is exactly why I wanted to do this Challenge!

23 – Demon

In Exalted, demons aren’t necessarily the fiends we’d imagine, but a wide variety of alien and humanoid beings which populate the otherworld of Malfeas, the prison of the fallen gods.  Sorcerers in Creation often call on demons for their useful purposes as aids, givers of arcane knowledge, or brute strength, binding them to their will.

One might summon a Neomah, elegant pierced fleshcrafters, to create unimaginable life with their morbid ability to mold flesh in any form, or to see the wonders their notaulus dwellings can conjure from the minds of its visitors.  They must pay the Neomah’s price of flesh for her purposes of creating a child of her own, however, or risk the Neomah’s ire.

One might summon Mara the Shadow Lover to learn her deadly sorcerous arts.  The Shadow Lover appears to the summoner in the guise of a beautiful woman from their native land with the feet of a deer hidden in her long skirts and bright blue eyes.  She marks those who learn her sorcerous arts with a spiral tattoo formed of one of her misbegotten souls, granting the bearer dark powers.

27 – Manse

Manses are wondrous buildings erected atop convergences of magical leylines in the land.  They can be harnessed to create all sorts of magical wonders within their walls.

At the heart of the city of Dinas Rhydd lies the ruins of a great Solar manse complex where the campaign involving Kalara and her friends took place.  Despite the war that had reduced the once-great city to rubble, the central control room remained a marvel of engineering and splendor.  The day our band of disparate outcasts sat in the thrones of their Castes was the day that marked the beginning of the city’s revival from its ashes.

The Manse of Verdant Wyrm’s Heart rises from atop a Wood-aspected demense.  This great tree’s roots produce a priceless green jade, while a bustling city has risen within its branches and in the shadow of its great canopy.  The Heart is ruled by a powerful Outcaste Dragon Blooded Wood Aspect who has ruled for generations, providing his citizens with safety and wealth.  This is yet another location invented by our Storyteller for his game where we got to play a different cast of characters.

28 – Location/Landmark

One of my favorite locations in Exalted is Chiaroscuro, the city of glass that rises amidst the inhospitable sands of the desert.  Built atop the ruined stained glass towers from the First Age, Chiaroscuro hosts a bustling port with famous lighthouses enhanced by magic blue glass breakwater barriers that protect the city from even the most powerful storms.  From above, the city resembles a great crab, with the blue breakwater glass the crab’s arms.

Kalara spent her formative teen years as a slave in this city of opulence where she served a lord and lady of House Cynis and learned to love and hate them by equal measures.  (If you’re curious to learn more about this story, I’ve been sharing the beta draft of it here!  I’d welcome any new readers who are not required to know anything about Exalted to read and understand it.)

The image for this landmark and the next topic are all on one page, so scroll down to check it out!

29 – Signature Character

Exalted’s rule books tend to feature ‘Signature Characters’ in the art which act as example characters for the various kinds of Exalted in the world.  For this topic, I chose Novia Claro, one of the signature Night Caste characters.  Not much is known about Novia Claro, but I chose her almost purely on how cool her design is, alone.   Just check out this art by Mel Uran!

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And now I only have one topic left (including the bonus meme topic) and it’s going to be a doozy!  The final topic is Favorite Stunt (or over-the-top roleplaying moment).  

I want to send this Challenge off with a bang, so I’m going to attempt to create a comic of a favorite scene from our game session!  It’s going to be very experimental, but I’m looking forward to giving it a shot, since comics are something I’d like to make more of, but I’ve always been too intimidated to do more of them.

Stay tuned!  I hope to have it done by the end of the year, if holiday vacation doesn’t distract me too much. 

I’ve set this post to go public a day before Christmas, so enjoy the present, everyone!  

Have a happy and safe holiday!

♥ Ang

November 2020 – Giving Thanks, Anime Recs, etc.

I can’t believe it’s December and 2020 is almost over.  I hope everyone has been well this past month!  We’ve been in good health, though we spent a couple of nerve-wracking weeks being quarantined, but with negative tests.  We’re thankful we’ve been so lucky and also to everyone who had decided to continue to support me here on Patreon this past month!  

I know these are hard times for many right now and I’m incredibly grateful so many have chosen to support me here in spite of everything. It has really helped us during these thin times when we haven’t had the income from in-person shows.

I spent the month concentrating on the next phase of the Exalted Art Challenge and frankly glad for the distraction of a topic list while I’ve been anxiously crawling up the walls.  We’ve been in isolation from friends and family since March 8th (267 days aaaaah!) and I’m definitely reaching my limit!  Since Kev cannot remain totally isolated, as he must still interact with folks inside and outside of the office at his job, we cannot maintain a safe bubble with friends and family who are also in at-risk groups.

Sooo we’re doing what we can to stay sane!  We’ve been playing tabletop games online with friends, catching up on anime, and reading. Lots of reading!  This month I discovered the absolutely enthralling anime The Promised Neverland on Netflix.  It’s gorgeously animated and the suspense is killer.  I’ve not seen something this well-written in a long while. Do highly recommend if you don’t mind a darker (but still hopeful) story!

Synopsis:  A family of orphans lives a happy life at Grace Fields, though they always wonder why Mother tells them never to cross the gates around their home.  Children seem to be adopted, but never write back.  The top three students at the orphanage band together to find out what’s not quite right about this place.

(From The Promised Neverland manga.)

Coming in December

  • The Exalted Art Challenge’s Conclusion – I only have about 10 topics left now!  I wasn’t able to quite wrap them up in November, but I’ll be sharing the rest of the topics created in December a week early instead of a month early so that folks who are non-Patrons won’t have to wait till next year to see them.

    – Check out the thread on Twitter to see when each topic goes public.

  • New Coloring Page – Keep your eyes peeled for a new coloring page added to my Patreon library for my $5+ Patrons!  My efforts continue to translate all of my angel-themed art for a future collection and physical book.

    – Stay tuned here and at my coloring group on Facebook for updates!

Digest of November’s Posts

Rewards Added in November

December is also the time I look forward to taking a look back at what I’ve created this year, as well as start getting hyped for what happens next year, so stay tuned for the Year In Art memes that come along with the year-end season as well.

Much love!  Keep busy and stay safe, friends!
– ♥ Ang

Exalted Art Challenge Collection 7 – Familiar, Mutation, etc.

The next particular set of topics proved a real challenge for me, since I do not draw animals often.  Saying that, I am extremely pleased with being able to try something different and had way too much fun drawing cats for this collection!

22 – Familiar

Sacred is the bond between animal and the Exalted, especially the bond between a Mouse of the Sun and their chosen Solar.  The tiny stature of these creatures belies their powerful connection to the Unconquered Sun, as they have been known to swarm the cities and deliver a plague to the unvirtuous.  They can show up in unexpected places to lend their aid, carrying a key or granting a boon of essence.  They fight fiercely to the bitter end for their bonded masters.

I thought I’d end up drawing something flashy like a phoenix or some other impressive mystical animal, but the Mice of the Sun stole my heart because I enjoy the contrast of such a small creature with such loyalty to the Solar and such unexpected power.

24 – Beastpeople

Races of animal creatures with human intelligence are said to have been created by the Lunars who wanted to create a society outside of Realm control. Others are descended from humans whose wanderings into the chaos of the Wyld mutated them to have animalistic characteristics.  In other instances, what strange encounters between man and entities that happen in the Wyld don’t always stay in the Wyld!  

These hybrid races are generally shunned by humans, but even noble and ambitious beings among the Beastmen can become Exalted.

Though, really, it’s just an excuse to draw whatever kind of humanoid animals I wanted to, in my case!  I did not see a lot of insectoids Beastmen in the lore or fan community, so I thought I’d try my hand at a fancy orchid mantis lady inspired by the shapes of ballgowns and wigs (if you look closely, her ‘hair buns’ are actually her eyes).

Next, I couldn’t resist Secretary Birds for as striking as these birds are.  Just look at these eyelashes!  I also have a soft spot for Washimi from the show Aggretsuko, one of the most majestic bird people in existence.

25 – Mutation

Much like Beastmen, those who have been mutated by the Wyld are generally shunned as well.  The chaotic energy at the fringes of Creation has been known to warp the body and the mind in an number of ways.  Lunars tattoo themselves to protect from this energy, while others use magic.  Mutations can be all manner of things, from strange wings, flowers growing from places they shouldn’t, horns, too many eyes, etc. Your imagination is the limit!

The poor soul we see here was a great sorceress, once.  She let herself become mutated in exchange for arcane knowledge.  This won’t be the last you hear of her! I have plans…

26 – Favorite Animal

Finally, we have the Peacat, an original creature of my own Creation!  These fickle creatures prowl the streets of the desert port city of Chiaroscuro at night stealing food and causing general mayhem.  It is said they are beloved of Luna for their night-time activities and beauty, a connection echoed in the moonlike feather markings in their tails and crests.

Local custom tells that if you leave food offerings for a Peacat, it could bring you luck and blessings.  It could just as easily make a home of your dwelling where your most beautiful things may end up destroyed because the Peacat would prefer to be the most beautiful thing there.  Either way, better to have a Peacat’s favor than naught!  However, it is a sin against Luna to try to domesticate them.  Those who have tried have had bad luck.

The Delzhan honor these creatures too, for once upon a time a Peacat led the Tri-Khan’s ancestors out of a night-time storm in the desert.  Though they can be a menace, they are accepted as a fact of city life.

EDIT:  Exalted STs, you are free to use Peacats as background fluff!  I might one day add them to the Storytellers Vault along with other The Uncrucified-related story resources, but that’s a long ways out still.  Perhaps once that happens, toss a few bucks my way then once they’ve been properly statted.  Otherwise, have at and have fun!

You might notice that I forgot the topic Demon!  I ended up accidentally skipping it, so it’ll be in the next compilation, instead.  We have only 6 topics left now (including the bonus topic).  I’m so happy I’ve been able to stick with this Challenge, even when the difficult topics hit.  They ended up being a welcomed foray into something new!

I hope you all have been enjoying this trip as much as I have.  We’re almost to the end now!

More soon!

♥ Ang