Month: November 2021

Nov 2021 – Thankfulness, Surviving Holiday Rush, & Upcoming Surgery?!

It’s been a busy bout of holidays with Thanksgiving and prepping my little corner of the internet for the holiday shopping rush.  I’m happy to report I’ve survived the rush thus far and that we had a relaxing holiday break playing video games at home with tasty leftovers to fuel the Trials of Mana marathon and watching Shang Chi (such a cool movie!).  

From our lil family to yours, we hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving (or a wonderful week, if you don’t celebrate).

This year, we’re so incredibly thankful for the fact my husband, Kevin, is still with us.  He very nearly didn’t make it back in January when he fell ill with COVID and went into the ICU.  It’s hard to believe it’s only been a few months since then!  After this huge trial, life has been very kind to us in a way we never could’ve imagined back in January now that Kev has started a new job and our life together has taken a new trajectory.  We’ll soon be looking for our forever home and settling down after years of being rental nomads.  It’s a dream we’ve nurtured for a long time!

I’m happy to say much of the behind the scenes prep I’ve been doing in the meanwhile to quietly improve my art biz’s presentation, re-designing my websites, and tidying up my product photos seems to have paid off with one of the best holiday shopping seasons I’ve had this year!  I’m slowly, but surely getting to a point where I hope to create a self-sustaining art biz that allows me to be healthy and happy without overworking myself.

IMPORTANT Announcement!  An Upcoming Hiatus?!

While we’ve had plenty of good news, there’s a bit of bad news that has been long in the coming.  After years of pain and dismissive doctors, I’ve finally had an MRI taken of my shoulder and the scans have revealed a suspicion I’ve had for years – that I have a torn labral tendon.  This happened years ago when our very large and lovably clumsy bulldog-mastiff pulled me down the stairs and jerked my arm nearly out of socket (which has to be THE most country injury ever haha!).  My shoulder muscles have been compensating incorrectly ever since.  Better late than never to fix this, right?

I’m currently awaiting the date of my surgery, which will most likely be scheduled for January.  What this means for you, my lovely Patrons, is that this Patreon will be going on hiatus in January 2022 until my shoulder heals and I am fully recovered, which could take months.  Unfortunately, this surgery affects my dominant/drawing arm, so I’m going to be out for the count until I heal and make it through the recovery process.

Life has been a long, hard lesson in adversity for us for the past few years even before COVID and I know we’ll weather the storm as well as possible!  I hope during this recovery time that I’ll get to experiment with dictating some of the story ideas I’ve been sitting on to my computer so I can at least get some writing done, as well as read the many books on my to-read backlog.

Once I’m able to return to full functionality, I plan to re-launch this Patreon with an updated structure that I hope you all will love!  (More on that later once we’re closer to being ready for that.)

Posts You May Have Missed in November

Rewards Added in November

Coming in December

December is going to be the last month of material from me for a long while!  I plan to share the following:

  • ($5+ Tiers) A coloring page of an Elvish Songstress
  • (All Tiers) A Behind the Scenes article about planning the Birthstone Goddesses’ Art Book
  • (Public/Free) An article talking about my favorite movies that make me want to paint

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Whew that was a long update, but it’s been an eventful time!  As ever, feel free to come hang out in my Discord server with me where you can keep up with minute-to-minute updates and WIPs in my special Patrons-only section.

Till next time!  Wishing you all inspiration,
♥ Ang

Artist Asks Questionnaire – Part 2

Continuing on from Part 1, here’s the 2nd part of my Artist Ask questionnaire!  Discussing my preferred mediums, what I’d like to improve on, and more!

You can see the full thread with animated GIFs for maximum impact here.

15. How long does an avg piece take you to complete?  

It depends! My extremely detailed intense ink & watercolor Birthstone Goddesses took about a month a piece, while others might only take 1-2 weeks. I’m an intensely research & detail-oriented person, so I usually take longer.

16. Do you draw more than you did in the past or less?

I’ve actually drawn less, which makes me sad! Once art became my job, there was suddenly this pressure that EVERYthing must be good/monetizeable, which made me too obsessed with perfectionism. I’m trying to have fun again!

I’ve also gotten really lax about doing studies and practice as I rush from one project goal to the next. I need to learn to slow down and get back to my fundamentals again! It’s going to help my quality (and my career) in the long run.

17. Do you think you’re justified giving art advice?

I believe so! I share what I know always with the caveat that I speak from MY individual experience and I am a fallible human. If I don’t know an answer, I’m always keen to learn more, find out, and discuss.

18. What are you currently trying to improve on?  

My fundamentals! I want to be more ambitious with my anatomy, color, perspective, & light. I’ve lined up classes for myself, including Proko’s portrait & anatomy courses. I’m currently reading through Renderwave’s Colorpedia to brush up on my color theory.

19. What is the most difficult thing for you to draw?  

Architecture, cars, guns, basically anything inorganic that doesn’t let me fudge the details!

20. What is the easiest thing for you to draw?  

Long hair! It’s so soothing, flowy, & fun. I can use it to fill up pesky BGs or to lead compositional flow.

21. Do you like to challenge yourself?  

It’s exciting to challenge myself! I enjoy it, even if it’s scary & frustrating at times. IE. Clothing was one of my biggest weaknesses, but I took on my Birthstone Goddesses series in part to improve on that weakness. It’s been a blast!

22. Are you confident that you’re improving steadily?  

I’ve slowed down a bit because I’ve been so focused on my Birthstone Goddesses project, where I made small improvements because of the formulaic nature of them. I’m hopeful changing things up will get me back on course!

23. Do you do more fanart or original art?  

Funny enough, I created more fan art as a young artist, esp for DBZ & FF7. I also sometimes make TTRPG art based on my OCs for Shadowrun, Exalted, & D&D.  Nowadays, I do mainly original work, but it’d be fun to take some fan art breaks!

24. Do you feel jealous or inspired by other artists?  

Both! Most times, I love discovering new art, but sometimes it’s SO good I want to quit because I get overwhelmed by the thought I have a lot of work to do to improve. That’s when it’s time to turn off the internet and re-center!

This is lately compounded by the fact that I’m nearing 40 & feel very behind in my development. I should be further than I am, but life took another path!  I know that’s anxiety-brain speaking. I’m my worst critic & social media gives us such a skewed view of everyone’s reality.

25. Do you like to draw in silence or with music?  

Def with music! I’m a stickler for making playlists to match the mood. I even have character-specific playlists.  But here’s a good general playlist of stuff that gets my muse going & keeps me focused.

26. What programs do you use?  

I mainly paint & arrange comps in Photoshop, with Clip Studio Paint for comic work, though I’ve been painting more often in Procreate as I learn to use it better.  CSP’s panel functions work like a dream & Procreate has some of the best FX brushes!

I have plans to take a course on CSP, as I feel like its 3D models could help speed up my workflow and there are so many quality of life functions meant specifically for artists which it has over Photoshop. I’m looking forward to exploring it more soon!

27. How many layers do your digital pieces have?  

I’ve regularly gone beyond 40+ layers in a single piece because I like to be able to edit each part individually if I change my mind. I always forget to label some too. I do not recommend my bad layer habits!

28. What traditional media do you like most?  

I’m a fan of mixing watercolor & color pencil. Watercolor lets you bring such surreal textures & blends, while the color pencil lets you bring in sharp details with a rich texture & depth of its own.

29. How do you start a big trad piece?  

I usually plan my pieces with rough thumbnailing on toned paper, then refining the rough drawing in Photoshop, then transferring a printout with a lightpad onto paper. Then FINALLY painting can begin!  It’s all rather tedious, but worth it.

30. What inspires you to not just make art, but to be a better artist?  

For me, it’s being able to put the kinds of tales & stories out in the world that I want to see, to expand people’s ability to imagine what’s possible, to bring a voice to the unheard.

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I hope folks have found something useful & inspiring from my Artist Asks journey.  Did I miss a question you all are dying to know the answer to?  Feel free to ask me in the comments!

♥ Ang