Sorry to say that I was a little too overwhelmed to do the August Hangout! It was another rough month that included ever MORE doctor appointments for my husband’s surgery prep, but also the yearly kidney cancer check-ups for me, which have ended in a cautionary “you need more scans to be sure”.
Everything is likely fine, as the doctor’s concern level was medium-low, but it still meant taking the time to be transferred to a new specialist to organize a set of ever-MOAR appointments.
Basically, both me AND my husband are simultaneously navigating the medical funhouse that is being patients on cancer-watch within a constantly evolving medical system while also trying to navigate an unfavorable job market for our professions.
The convention prep for October has also started and I’m going EXTRA-BONKERS trying to prepare after being out of the game for so long!
WIP Art
Lots of art is currently in the work-in-progress stage as well, including:
A mockup of my new, improved convention booth (I’ll be writing a post about this!)
The “Cassiel’s Servant” fan cover, which I need to make some decisions about as far as what media I want to use. I’ve been art blocked on this one!
Character of the Month feature drawings for my Exalted buddies. I’ve started 3 drawings by now that linger in the inking stage.
A Sketch Dump Treat!
Once again, Exalted TTRPG art is keeping me sane while I battle the feeling of constant overwhelm. I don’t want to leave you guys without a little fun and treats after all our medical doom, however, so have some random sketches inspired by community activites over in the Forge of Wonders, the Exalted fan server I’m co-admin of.
A sword concept for the wandering desert swordsman, Glittering Blade, who belongs to ShiftingPath.
Art by ShiftingPath on tumblr of Glittering Blade, the wielder who I designed this weapon for.
This sword has a bit of a love story behind it which I’ll include for the curious:
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Story Fluff: This blade arrived to Glittering Blade via a specialized spirit messenger, a little firebird that dissipated upon completing its task. It was immaculately gift-wrapped in silk fabric embroidered with gold, there also came a letter, scented with a familiar myrrh perfume Blade will recognize.
Written in a practiced quill hand were the words:
Dearest Glittering Blade,
May this sword protect you on your wanderings, far and wide, so that you may journey safely. I know it is your way to fall in love with a new blade eventually, so this one shall not linger overlong. It will eventually return back to me for safekeeping, as I hope you might someday, even if only to take up the sword and leave again, as heroes do.
I look forward to continuing my sword lessons upon the occasion!
Your friend, ~ K
(And if you don’t know who K is, that’d be my character, Kalara, sending him the equivalent of “Call me, okay?” XD She’s quite smitten with this traveler!)
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Next is a cute sketch of Kalara tempting her businesswoman buddy, Shame, to her happy hour meetup the only way she knows how – Tax Deductible Networking Event Persuasion Technique!
It was some much-needed silliness over a much-need long weekend!
Thanks for sticking with me so far when I’ve not had as much as I’d like to share with you guys. It’s appreciated more than you will ever know!
Time for July’s Studio Hangout! It’s coming to you a little late because I wanted to give the Art Fight art feature room to breathe, but here we are with the monthly wrap-up of everything you might’ve missed in July!
Feel free to watch the video above or read and enjoy this article at your own pace below. A transcript of this video (attached to this post) and captions.
Personal Updates
Layoffs suck, AI sucks, tariffs suck, and life is rough on our end for many reasons, but I’m tired of being mad and sad about it. Tell me something good that happened to you in the comments! (I’ve thankfully got some happier news below in the Announcements)
Keep your head up, friends and fellow artists. Let’s take it one day at a time!
Announcements
Upcoming Convention Appearance! I’ll be appearing as an official Guest at Multiverse in October! Read more here. I’m back at cons after 6 years away!
New Poll!Free & Paid Patreon members, I want to know your thoughts about how you’re liking these Studio Hangouts! Only a couple of folks have responded thus far and I’d like to hear from more of you.
New Ask Me Anything Archive. We’ve accumulated quite a few Q&As over the past few months, so I’ve finally started listing them in one handy location organized by category. Ask and ye shall receive!
New Art in July
Art Fight 2025 – Go Team Crystals!
Art Fight happened in July and led to the creation of many fun emote portraits of the amazing characters created by the Art Fight community. If you want to deep dive into the reference art created by others not shared here, check out my art feature of Art Fight.
The Attacks on me by other artists featuring my characters (You can get a full view of each of these images at the Art Fight feature):
Character Commission – Cassius for Psycheen on BlueSky
This was prize art for another commission giveaway winner, Psycheen, who gave me free reign to play with their design of their solarpunk-themed character, Cassius. Find out more about this character’s tragic backstory and watch a timelapse of this piece’s creation here.
Cassiel’s Servant WIP – 3D Modeling
I’ve been very art-blocked on this piece and it has taken me FORever to make progress on it! Likely because I decided it was past time I taught myself how to use Clip Studio Paint’s 3D model posing tools to create reference for myself for the complex aspects of this piece, such as the daggers in perspective and the foreshortening of the main figure.
It took a lot of shouting at the interface to get it right, but I arrived at something very useful for my purposes! I’ll likely be covering this part of the process in a future Secret Sketchbook entry for paid members, so keep an eye out for it.
(Watch the video on this post for some more cool things that I discovered how to do in CSP).
Ask Me Anything
Q: (From Psycheen on BlueSky) What is your favorite trope and why? A:Watch the answer here. SPOILER ALERT for a 20 year old show (Avatar the Last Airbender)!
Q: (From Psycheen on BlueSky) What do you want to draw, but haven’t yet, and why? A:Watch the answer here. Lots of Elden Ring: Nightreign gushing!
Kev’s surgery. With our health insurance finally sorted out, my husband can finally get the surgical procedures he needs! I’ll be focusing on his care, first and foremost. With luck, everything will happen this month without being prolonged any longer and we can be on the road to better health!
Finishing up the “Cassiel’s Servant” cover. I have the reference completed after much fighting with Clip Studio Paint. It’s finally time to get to the meat of the art-making process!
Links in the video:
Mimimaru – Artist who did Zelda and Arcane character art in the style of Klimt.
Christian Angel – Artist of the Elden Ring art done in a classical style.
Sam Hogg – Artist of the reference art of my character, Nils.
EDIT: I’ve updated this post with all the questions that have been discussed thus far during the AMAs, including ones still in the queue. Want to ask a question not found in this archive? Feel free to leave a comment!
Every month as a perk for fans and Patrons, I do a Studio Hangout with an AMA segment answering 3 questions at the end! I love to talk to you all about art, geekery, and life, so lay your questions on me. This is usually a livestreamed event, but will sometimes be pre-recorded instead.
Either way, if you miss the segment, recordings are always available onmy YouTube channel!
Patreon Patrons will be prioritized in the question queue, but everyone including Free Members and non-members are welcome to leave their asks. This archive post will collect all of your questions by topic.
Got a question not on this list? Feel free to leave a comment or drop a message in the dedicated AMA channel over on my Discord!
Art Fight has concluded and what a glorious battle it was! This year, I used the event as a way to practice drawing simplified emoticon portraits with the hope that one day soon I can make some of my own emotes for my Discord and Twitch. Watch the video above for the run down or scroll through this article for the rundown at your own pace!
(Paid Members are getting this vid a few days early before everyone else as a little treat for your support! <3)
However, this proved more difficult than I anticipated! Drawing emotes to visually express an archetypal emotion requires picking up on a strong defining emotion, which requires knowing something of the defining personality of a character. This is easier said than done if a reference sheet provides neutral expressions, I don’t know the character personally, or there aren’t any visual references hinting at the character’s personality.
Luckily, most of my guessing at character types proved correct or at least amusing to their creators!
The next challenge was also taming my own inability to keep art simple because emotes are very small and must portray the character silhouette and emotion extremely clearly and minimally. I got better at doing this as the event went on.
STRAP IN because this is a LONG post with a LOT of artwork embedded. My apologies to those of you on slower networks!
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Attacks by Me
Here’s a closer peek at all the cool characters that inspired me this year, plus the emote I made for each of them.
My first Attack was of Hesper, who is an acrobat who enjoys collecting knowledge. She seemed very quiet and thoughtful to me so I tried to make a more subtle emote. I love Hesper’s soft lavenders and red. She helped me explore and define what kind of style I wanted to use for the rest of the event.
Glittering Blade is a flamboyant swordsman whose expression came in loud and clear when I was trying to think of a strong, defining emotion for this character. His flirty emote ended up being my favorite one from this event! I think I nailed the balance of expressiveness and simplicity the best in this particular emote as well.
I adore all of Toshiaki’s interesting costume details and glamourous personality and have been wanting to draw him since I saw him during the Exalted Art Challenge event. I drew him throwing shade and sparkling with charm all in one emote.
This one stumped me at the start because I am not too familiar with avian anatomy, much less how to chibi-fy avian anatomy. Thankfully, Yorigasu showed through at the end, no doubt looking down at one of her failed charges with embarrassment at how sorry a warrior they are and how she must guide them to their destiny, regardless.
I’ve admired Kuro’s art for a long time and had to do something for this Art Fight! I chose this character because I was intrigued by her story of returning from the Grave to uncover some sort of mystery. I have a soft spot for my death-positive Grave Domain folks. I also highly identify with this character’s amount of eye bags!
Next, I had to do something for Lumaris because I love their art. Here’s Lumaris’ Caeilin, who looked like a kind sort of emotional support knight. I thought a reassuring wink suited him!
Falloren caught my attention for being multiple things I love. Witchy, purple-haired, and mischievous. I loved your expressive reference art of her doting on her gnome champion, Kakkobeast!
I admittedly wanted to draw this character purely because I love moth antennae and his design is absolutely gorgeous! I apologize for giving him such a silly face, but that’s what came through to me because I admittedly missed that there was reference link offsite until after I already submitted the attack and now upon checking info for this video, I know that he might not make this. He seems much nicer than I drew him haha! Sorry about that!
Rania caught my attention with her amazing design and cool backstory. She is a ruthless, discerning crimelord who also makes wood figurines for her crew and has two adopted kids. I enjoyed this juxtaposition! It also seems the crankier the character, the more fun it is to turn them into a chibi.
Finally, we have Sprite dela Cruz by Creativeidiote. I loved this character’s hair and freckles and really enjoyed coloring the hair. Probably the most adorable emote of the bunch! I also identify with this amount of nervous sweatdrops.
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Attacks On Me by Other Artists
Here are the attacks/art I received of my characters this year for the event. My sad boys, Nils and Mask of Golden Lies, were very popular this year! To be fair, Mask of Golden Lies was also the featured character this month over at the Forge of Wonders, so participants were encouraged to double-dip on Art Fight as well. You can see all the cool Golden Lies art over at The Uncrucified’s blog soon.
An adorable chibi version of Lies! He’s dressed for colder weather and stole The Lover’s hat from 2e, which I’ve always had beef with that hat. He rocks it better than she did imo.
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“Forbidden Fruit” (Mask of Golden Lies x Grave Goods Gardener) by ShiftingPath
This one comes with a fun story explanation you guys should check out here.
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Thanks for the Fight!
Not going to lie, this year has been extremely difficult and July has been a new emotional low for me as I’ve been coping with some existential shifts in my life and career. Receiving cool art of my characters brought me some much-needed happiness!
I look forward to this event every year. Did you participate? What was your fave piece that you made this year? Feel free to link in the comments!
Which of my emotes is your favorite? Let me know in the comments! ;-*
Friends, it’s been several years since I appeared at a convention and I am now rising once more from my years-long slumber to take over the wor– I mean appear at a convention again! This will be my first appearance as an official Guest Author, meaning I’ll be on tracks giving panels at the con! Catch me on the Art track (exact schedule coming closer to October when the event happens).
You can also find me and my Booth Beau (husband), Kevin, at a table in the Artist Alley where you’ll be able to pick up signed books, art, etc.
It’s such an honor to be an official Guest and to finally return to conventions after so many years away! I have missed meeting all my kindred bookish creative spirits and geeking out with you all.
About Multiverse Con
The Multiverse Convention is an event much like DragonCon which features all things geekery, Fantasy, Horror, gaming, and more! It’ll be happening October 17-19 in Peachtree City, GA. It’s a nexus of artists, authors, makers, and more coming together to celebrate these passions.
My final illustration for the giveaway prizes! This one’s for Psycheen on BlueSky of their character, Cassius, a Solarpunk necromancer who can give Death with their left hand and Life with their right. I got to once again run wild with cool jewelry and hair!
I had to go with the concept of a ‘sealed left hand’ which came to mind after hearing about Cassius’ ‘left hand of DEATH” and reading how this character unintentionally killed their older brother to save another by transferring the lifeforce from them to an injured person.
(I do love a good tragic backstory, courtesy of Psycheen!)
[The mood board for Cassius with Psycheen’s art of them on the right]
[The final version painted in Procreate on the ipad]
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Hopefully, in the future I can re-open for commissions like this once medical things aren’t looming on the horizon and I’ve balanced my schedule for IT studies.
For now, Sam’s Dahlia and Psycheen’s Cassius were great practice for when that finally happens. Congrats to the winners on their prizes!
My art queue is now finally down to the BIG ambitious illustration of the faux book cover and interior illustrations for Cassiel’s Servant, which has proven a challenge, as I’m having to invent much of the anatomy and poses. Sometimes, it’s just hard to find reference when your characters and camera angles are unusual!
I am also pondering experimenting with black, white, and red graphite for the interior illustrations, which should go faster than full color. Hopefully not famous last words!
Wish me luck!
More art soooon, barring any other catastrophes or family needs,
Have a look at all the happenings and posts you might have missed in June, plus the monthly Ask Me Anything segment where I answer questions from fans and Patrons! Watch the video above or read the TL;DR summary below. The video includes captions with the transcript attached to this post.
Personal Updates
We were dropped AGAIN by health insurance after finding a new plan. But only after I spent weeks calling offices and the insurance company where nobody knew whether we were covered by our doctors or not and their own system said we were covered. It was a very frustrating process which ate up so much of my time this month! Meanwhile, we’re still bracing ourselves for multiple surgical procedures for Kev on the horizon, which have been stalled by this whole insurance coverage uncertainty.
The Silver Lining! The hubby MIGHT be starting a new job with new health insurance, which will help us with most of our current challenges! Even if that doesn’t work out, we are thankfully able to change our current problematic plan within 30 days. Phew! Please redirect all spare luck and good fortune to Kev as the interview process continues!
Considering a career pivot? After doing the math, I’ve decided not to reopen for small private commissions. Better to focus my energies on studying for entry level IT helpdesk which I can also do remotely, as it promises better pay than what I can currently bring in with art. (I’ve actually started studying in May, while also balancing my current obligations).
Our current life challenges combined with the past few years of an imploding illustration industry thanks to AI, shrinking freelance opportunities, and impossible convention table rates /competition, something has to give and that’s unfortunately been my own mental health and our stability.
If/when this career pivot happens, I’ll need to reconsider how this Patreon is structured. If our situation changes in the meanwhile, awesome! But I want to be prepared in case things don’t work out the way we want.
I’m never going to abandon creating art, but the amount of time I have for it may change depending on how life plays out! We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it…
New Art in June
I finished the first of the two commission prizes for the winners this month! Sadly, I won’t be continuing to take commissions as I focus on studying for my IT certification, but I didn’t want to leave these winners hanging!
A peek at a few other pieces in-progress this month, mostly for casual fun events related to tabletop gaming. Watch this month’s Studio Hangout vid above where I talk a little more about the story behind each piece.
[Character art in the bottom left by Psycheen, which is a sneak peek of the character I’ll be drawing for the final giveaway winner next!]
Announcements
Review of Fourthwall Samples – I’m vetting this shop platform for my own side projects. Have any questions about them? Drop a comment! Find the quickie review and a video overview here.
Introducing my new YouTube channel – I’ve decided to break my more gallery-minded art videos off from my main channel so my geeky tabletop art doesn’t clash too badly with galleries scouting my paintings for display. Find out more about my new Fine Art channel here!
Ask Me Anything Archive Coming Soon! – I’ve gotten enough AMA questions now to merit creating an archive which will be categorized by topic. Look for it here when it’s complete!
Q: [Also from Psycheen] What character do you hate in media lately?
A: Answered here.
July Goals
Hopping into Art Fight 2025 – I’ll be participating in this art trading event with some simple art! Find my profile here. I don’t have a lot of time to participate, but I need SOME HAPPINESS in my life and this event brings pure joy!
Clearing out my Art queue – I’m wrapping up as many of my in-progress images as I can so I can pivot my focus to studying for entry level helpdesk certification.
[My Art Fight card for 2025. Go, Team Crystals!]
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My eternal thanks to those of you who keep supporting here even when things have slowed to a crawl because of our IRL challenges. I’m remaining hopeful for a kinder turn of fortune in store for us in July!
Art has been a little slow of late, but I’m still hanging in there after a family emergency last month where I’ve sadly had to cancel my commission launch. I still won’t be taking commissions for awhile yet while focusing on family, but I still wanted to finish the giveaway prizes that folks won during the launch event just because I hate to get people’s hopes up and then have them get nothing!
To start off with, we have the lovely Dahlia for Sam Hogg, a deceptively gorgeous and deadly courtesan from her The Whaler Girl storyverse.
I had a grand time drawing all of Dahlia’s amazing details, from her wardrobe to her hair. All my love also for being able to draw curvy gals as well! The Fantasy genre is too often relegated to a certain body type, so it’s refreshing to see some variation. I had some excellent reference from Grafit that helped me figure this pose and body type out.
I simply MUST feature more art of Dahlia by Sam because she’s SO FRIGGIN COOL and the art for her The Whaler Girl is amazing. I recommend exploring Sam’s site to immerse yourself in her thrilling and beautiful Fantasy world!
Next up, I’ll have another prize winner’s art with subject matter also in a similar vein of tattooed and lovely.
There is a chance I may have to fall off the planet again randomly when my husband undergoes surgery so I can care for him during recovery, but the timeline isn’t set while we sort out all the details, so I’m trying to get as much art done as I can in the meanwhile.
Video has increasingely become the standard for experiencing art in this modern age and that’s why I’ve been teaching myself how to edit and share in a video format, as well as how to livestream via Twitch. It allows me another level of connection with you all being able to talk directly to you on stream or being able to talk about my process via video tutorials.
@AngelaSasserArt has been the place I’ve shared my art for so long that it’s gathered art from all of my different 2D projects over the years. However, as time has gone on, my bawdy Dungeons & Dragons comics and casual video game streams are beginning to clash with my more serious Fine Art Gallery work.
Fantasy VS Fine Art
And that’s why I’ve decided that in order to make my channel more approachable to Fine Art Gallery representation that I’m breaking off my Fine Art work (the Birthstone Goddesses and other gallery-aimed work) and moving it all over to @AngelicShadesArt, which leaves @AngelaSasserArt free to unabashedly share all of my geekery, video game streaming, fan art, and more.
The Short Version
My @AngelaSasserArt channel will be for:
My Fan Art, Fantasy Art, Comics, Digital Art and related Tutorials
Storytelling and my own Fantasy Novel projects
Artistically inspiring Video Game Streams
Art Streams related to Fan Art, Fantasy Art, Character Art, Storytelling, etc.
Unboxing art books related to geekery, fandoms, & fantasy art
Ask Me Anything and Studio Hangouts
My @AngelicShadesArt channel will be for:
Fine Art and related Traditional Art tutorials
Gallery inspiration
Museum inspiration trips
Art Streams related to traditional drawing, life drawing practice, etc.
Unboxing art books related to Fine Art/gallery work
Looking forward to keeping up with you all across the interwebs!
The end of the month has come and with it the monthly Studio Hangout update that wraps up all the happenings and posts you might have missed! Watch the video above or read the TL;DR summary below. The video includes captions and the transcript is attached to this post.
Personal Updates
Medical Woes – My husband had serious medical complications this month, which means I haven’t been around much for streaming or art while I’ve focused on family. See this post for the longer story.
Announcements
Commission Launch Delayed – Until we know what the immediate future will be like for treatment plans, I am delaying taking commissions until further notice. My apologies to everyone who sent inquiries! Please keep me in mind for later once I have a better idea of my availability.
New Art
Once again, the Forge of Wonders server pulled me out of my art block to create this single silly piece of art for the Character of the Month event. Behold Dr. Zaius’ Clouseau-inspired brilliant, yet bumbling Detective Claw Zu.
Not usually the kind of character I draw, but I appreciate being pushed out of my comfort zone with such a fun concept!
I took a break from Banishers to sample the gorgeous game, Clair Obscur, with Kev as my commentator this month (just before things hit the fan). I’ll be taking a break from streaming until we know more about what the immediate future is going to be like for us.
[VIDEO] Game Night: Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 – Watch this beautifully French work of art in video game form! I have been buzzing about this game ever since its first trailer in which a giant eldritch artist painted people out of existence, while the populace bravely defies her by sending a small, but determined group of soldiers.
I’m pleased to see this game has gotten so much critical acclaim recently! Join Kev and I as we bask in its loveliness and rock out to the music. Just ignore how much I fail at parrying.
AMA (Ask Me Anything)
The links should lead you to the timestamps that have the answers. I’ve included the timestamps just in case the links don’t work.
Q (from Lindowyn): How does an artist identify their audience?
A: Watch the answer here. 05:34
Q: (from Jim D AKA Overlord Jim of Apotheosis Adventures): What info does an artist need to draw a character?
A: Watch the answer here. 08:48
Q: (also from Overlord Jim): What info should a client have prepared to commission an artist?
A: Watch the answer here. 12:00
June Goals
Everything is going to be dependent on my availability while I prioritize family, but I hope to aim for the following.
Finishing the Cassiel’s Servant faux book cover. I’m likely switching to working digitally, as it will now take too long to learn acrylics as I originally planned with everything going on. Despite the digital medium, however, I plan to offer hand-gilded limited edition prints so they still have a touch of the artist’s hand in them.
Returning to commission portraits later on in the month. (Husband’s health willing!) I’m going to see if I can still get the commission giveaway winners done at the very least!
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I hope I have better news and more fun things to share soon, but I may also fall off the planet depending on how things go. Either way, thanks for reading and for your support, both via Patreon and via your kind words.
