Author: Angela S.

Studio Hangout May 2025 + AMA – Medical Woes, Clair Obscur, and Discussing How to Commission Artists

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!

Watch a timelapse of this piece’s creation here.

Streaming Updates

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.
  • Get back to my novel-writing class homework. It has been sorely neglected!
  • 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.

Hug your loved ones, y’all, and take care!

<3 Ang

Studio Hangout APR 2025 + AMA – Character Art, Vampire Pirates, & Free Commission Slots [Video + Monthly Digest]

Another monthly Studio Hangout and AMA arrives! How is it the end of April already?? As per usual, you can watch the video above or read the summary in text here. Captions are included on the video and a transcript is also included attached to this post for your reference.

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There’s no way to sugar coat another bad month. I’ve been trying to work during a metaphorical hurricane. Tariffs have severely impacted my ability to plan any crowdfunding projects for the future, as what might be held up in customs changes day by day. Tariffs are also affecting my main target clients in the entertainment industry, so they’re hesitant to hire while they’re waiting for things to calm down.

It’s been heartbreaking to watch more than a few artists I know finally quitting the profession after already being strained by the state of things the past few years. Meanwhile, smaller game studios are even closing down because having their products frozen at port behind an unexpected customs fee means they can’t move any product.

The icing on the frustration cake of this month is finding out I’ve been waistlisted for DragonCon after hoping it’d be my grand return from being absent from conventions for 5 years. Alas, competition for in-person shows has grown even more fierce as AI generated art slop has flooded online marketplaces, making in-person shows the last bastion of marketplaces not flooded by cheap AI art because it’s generally against the rules for it to be included in these exhibition spaces.

Even still, I’m trying to celebrate the small victories. I’ve approached a couple more big game companies with my portfolio and hope that with enough persistence, one of these big clients will bite when things (hopefully) stabilize. I’ve also been accepted into a convention that I’ll announce soon once I’m allowed to talk about it more. It’s a really cool show I can’t wait to share more about!

I’ve also, after much toil and experimention, managed to finish the long-awaited character art samples I’ve been working on for far too long! Friends and fans have been after me for years to solidify something in this vein, though I fear my timing is absolutely terrible for launching character commissions at a time when we’re all tightening our belts.

Still, my only option is forward and hoping that we can hang on a bit longer while my husband and I recover from our no good bad year slowly, but surely.

New Art in April

It was another sparse month for art, as most of my time was spent doing all of the invisible background work writing the commission FAQ and updating my website to make ready for the Character Commission process. What art I did make I’m very pleased with, however!

[New Art] Artorias, Soul Knife Rogue

This image represents a technique level up for me, as well as a new professional direction targeting TTRPG markets. Read more about its creation, watch a timelapse, etc. here.

For those interested in a deep dive about character design, illustration process, etc. I’ve also written a deep dive Secret Sketchbook entry about this portrait which is available to Patrons at all paid levels.

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[Work-in-Progress Art] Kalara versus The Bride

This piece is another personal fun one for the Exalted Character of the Month challenge. This month’s featured character is The Forsaken Bride of Crimson Vows who belongs to ToxinFox and is featured heavily in her webcomic Reclamation (an Exalted TTRPG story). The vampire known as Bride, for short, terrorizes the high seas with her soulsteel blade, cat-o-nine-tails, and incredibly epic hat!

ToxinFox and I have always talked about how cool it would be to see our Exalted characters meet and so I’ve taken the chance to indulge the idea! I ended up with a fighting game style VERSUS screen which I’ll be finishing in a Hades-inspired ink style.

Who will win? Place your bets, folks!

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(Below) Reference of Kalara (art by me) vs Bride (art by ToxinFox)

Important Announcements

  • I’ve launched Character Art Commissions! Commission slots are currently open exclusively to Patreon Patrons at any tier (including the free tier) and my Fantasy Art newsletter subscribers. The general public will have to wait till May 6th to claim any leftover slots. Learn how to reserve your slot here.
  • Free Character Art Slots! To celebrate the commission launch, I’m offering 2 slots for free. This is only happening on BlueSky, however! Read on at the BlueSky post for more details.

AMA

Q: (From Char) What support systems do you have in place for your art career (part time job, spouse, etc)?
A: Watch the answer here.

Q: (From Lindowyn) Is there an artform you want to try and just haven’t gotten around to it?
A: Watch the answer here.

Q: What profession did your multiverse self go into?
A: Watch the answer here.

Stream Schedule

I’ve been playing Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden this month for Game Nights.

This game tells the story of Red and Antea, two lovers working as ghost hunters, who have come to New England during a time of tumult in an alternate history frontier Puritan America. They must face their greatest fear when one of them becomes the thing they hunt after dying at the hands of a powerful spirit. They must find the origin of the curse that keeps them trapped in the forsaken settlement or be trapped forever in a loop of regret.

It’s a wonderfully inspiring and underrated game that I’ve been wanting to share with others for a long time! Tune in Thursday nights as I continue my playthrough and discuss its inspiring qualities.

  • Find the playlist of the Game Night recordings for Banishers here.

May Goals

  • Returning to work on my CASSIEL’S SERVANT cover
  • Teaching myself acrylic paints using studies (new Kushiel art possibly?)
  • Continuing my writing homework with Maggie Steiftvater’s novel-writing class—-Feel free to tell me what your multiverse profession is in the comments! I’d love to hear you guys’ answer to that question.

<3 Ang

Studio Hangout MAR 2025 – TTRPG Portraits & Artist AMA [Video + Monthly Digest]

Where did March go??? Here’s the skinny on the happenings, new art, etc. for this month. You can watch the video above (which has captions and chapter breaks in the desc on YouTube) for my full update. This post contains an abbreviated summary if you’re short on time and a transcript of the full video attached to this post.

Personal Updates

It’s been a rough month! I’ve been attempting to keep up with writing and art, but found myself overwhelmed trying to juggle art/writing classes, a regular biweekly stream schedule, and swapping my sleep schedule to a new night-time routine (as endorsed by Brandon Sanderson).

This month, I’ve also taken the time to do our taxes and was faced with the exact numerical value of how my business has been impacted by social media and AI flooding Etsy’s marketplace in the past year (60% down in sales, to be precise).

The art community is suffering existentionally right now, so I have to thank you all once more for your continued support during these trying times! It’s been a struggle to create with all this noise around us. Making art goes, slowly, but surely!

New Art

I only have a couple of things to share this month because of existential dread brain and taking time to do taxes reasons.

  • Yorigasu, a celestial agent from Exalted. (Top)
  • Artorias Portrait (Bottom Right) – A D&D character portrait currently in-progress (which was shared for the first time on stream). Watch the full vid for more about each character.

  • Writing Class Homework – A little different than the art I share, but hopefully an interesting glimpse, regardless! Here’s a quick look at the brainstorming homework I’m doing for my writing class with Maggie Steitvater. A longer explanation is in the video as well as a story pitch of what I’m working on.

Ask Me Anything Questions

Check the time stamps for the answers to these questions.

  • 22:25 – (From Aaron R.) – What’s a piece of yours that surprised you?
  • 24:53 – (From Lindowyn) – What is the most satisfying piece that you’ve done?
  • 27:13 – (From Lindowyn) – What is your favorite medium?

Announcements

  • Art Streams are on hold until further notice!  I’ve been overwhelmed and sleep-deprived and needed more time to focus on re-balancing my schedule. Art streams will return once I’ve been able to settle into a healthier schedule for myself! Game Streams (featuring the game Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden) is still a go for Thursdays, 8pm EST.
  • Coming in April! – Creating private character art commission samples is my current priority. Then, I hope to return to focusing mainly on writing, with a couple of days a week spent on art as soon as the samples are out in the wild. I’m hoping taking these private commissions can help refill our life savings after our bad year last year. They will be released to my Patrons and newsletter subscribers before the public.

    —-

    Catch you next month.
    Wishing you all inspiration!

    <3 Angela S.

Studio Hangout FEB 2025 – Valentine’s Art, Good News, & Artist AMA [Video + Monthly Digest]

It’s been an eventful and emotional month! Here’s a quick rundown on everything you might’ve missed in February.

Like last month’s Studio Hangout, you can get the quick highlights of this studio hangout from reading this post or watch the full video above or on my YouTube which also has chapters and closed captions. A transcript is also attached to this post.

(Are you guys liking this format? Let me know in the comments!)

Happenings & Announcements

  • Good and Bad Anniversaries – Within a single week, my husband and I celebrated the one year anniversary of him being laid off (boo!), our 8th wedding anniversary (yay!), and finally him starting a new job a couple of days later (double huzzah)! Thank goodness! Times have been really rough during this year and we’re so glad it’s over. The constant mental strain was becoming too much for the both of us.
  • Finding Connection – Games and art streams have been fun and helped me feel connected as I’ve pulled away from most social media. I only post on Bluesky these days with personal posts on Facebook to Friends and Followers. (Feel free to give my personal account a Follow on FB as I only Friend other artists and people I know IRL or through work/projects).
  • Convention Rejections – I’ve been rejected by at least 3 thus far, but I don’t feel too sad. With Bird Flu, regular Flu, and Covid around, it’s still a major health risk to my husband and myself. With our finances stabilizing, I am not being forced to rely on convention income as much.
  • The New-Old Plan! – Regaining financial stability with my husband’s job means I can return to our original plan – Me focusing on writing novels while using Patreon to support and practice my art skills.
  • Private Commissions Incoming – Private commission offerings are still coming to my Patrons/newsletter subscribers to help us refill our drained life savings, but likely on a limited slot basis.
  • New Patreon Digital Shop Opening – A new Rewards Archive/Digital Shop has been added to my Patreon. Check it out for ALL of my tutorials and coloring packs in one place, with more to come!

New Art in February

A very complex Valentine’s couples piece for February took over the muse this month while I was stressing about everything! It’s been a mentally rough time and I needed the escapism of drawing a bookshelf for 39 hours. Cheaper than therapy I guess!

Livestream Studies

I had a fun time studying things out of my comfort zone like objects, animals, and environments.

New Vids in February

Streams in February

Ask Me Anything

These are the short answers. The long, rambling full answers are in the video at the timestamps. Patrons get first dibs on questions, so be sure to keep an eye out for when I’m taking questions at this post and in the Patrons-only section of my Discord (which is open to everyone, but has a special section just for Patrons).

Q: (From Aaron R.). How did you begin your art journey?

Answer at 24:40:  I was always a weird kid writing and illustrating fantasy and horror stories about undead prom queens and unicorns. The actual journey began when as a young 8 year old, I noticed Trina Schart Hymen listed as an illustrator on Saint George and the Dragon and had the revelation that a real person made the art for others to see in a book and wanted to put my art in books as stories too. The rest is history!

Q:  (From Aaron R.) What’s something you’d love to go back and tell yourself to do differently in your art if you could go back to yourself at the beginning of your career?

Answer at 27:20:  I would tell myself not to do cheap commissions.  Focus on portfolio work.  When the real world hits and you have less time, you’ll regret not focusing sooner and having a body of work to share that’s more uniquely useful and yours.  Dedicate to my personal projects sooner.

Q:  (From Lindowyn) What has helped you combat overwhelm and art block during highly stressful times?

Answer at 29:52:  Art Challenges are my solution for breaking through art blocks!  As examples, see my Exalted Art Challenge or 30 Day Monster Girl Challenge, to name a few. Getting my brain into a task-oriented mode that lets me focus on solving simpler creative problems instead of the world’s problems or my own art block. It gives me an ‘easy’ low bar for success and feeling accomplished and often ends up in a tidy body of work I can use for sketchbooks.

Coming in MAR

Upcoming Streams

  • ART STREAMs at Tuesday at 2pm EST – Drawing: Arcane Master Copying + Style Replication,  Lighting Characters Homework
  • GAME STREAMs at Thursdays at 8pm EST – Playing:  Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden—I think that’s everything! Thanks for everyone who’s been hanging out for me during my streams or leaving a kind word in the comments. It’s really helped me out during these dark times. Now, things are finally starting to look up!<3 Ang

Jan 2025 [Vlog+Transcript] – New Streaming Schedule, New Art, & Upcoming Private Commissions

I’m trying something new with my monthly updates by doing a video blog and AMA wrap-up instead! You can watch the vid (which includes subtitles), read the attached transcript, or just scroll through the text of this article for the quick TL;DR version.

All in all, it’s been a quiet month while I’ve worked on invisible tasks, like studies and exercises as I prepare to learn a new medium (Acrylics!) before I continue on with the Cassiel’s Servant cover. I also have plans to start offering private commissions next month. Keep reading for all the details!

New Art & More

The Boy With the Seven Word Name (Image Gallery + Hades Art Style Tutorial)

Kalara & Golden Lies Reference Sheets (Full Gallery + Character Bios)

Gestures & Studies from January’s Streams

January Happenings

  • Applying for conventions after a 5 year long hiatus
  • Started off strong with streaming Art and Game Nights! (Check out my Stream Schedule for when to tune in.)
  • Started teaching myself how to use acrylic paints

Coming Up in February

  • Private Commissions Opening in FEB!  I’ve paused work on the CASSIEL’S SERVANT cover till I can sort samples out. Patrons & newsletter subscribers will get first dibs on my commission queue!
  • I’ll be painting some acrylic studies of Kushiel’s Legacy characters for practice.
  • Streaming continues on Tuesdays (Art Streams) and Thursdays (Game Nights). I’ll be doing style studies and animal studies this month, as well as playing the rest of Telltale’s The Expanse.

AMA Questions

  • Q: How to stay inspired when things are tough? 
    My response at this timestamp.
  • Q: It will take me too long to learn how to draw, write, etc. How can I learn quickly enough? Can’t I just use AI?
    A: My response at this timestamp.

Stream Recordings

Miss a stream? Catch up here:

My 2025 Plans – The Disaster of 2024, The Hopeful Plans for 2025

Farewell to 2024

2024 was a tough time for my husband and I. As of the writing of this post, my husband is still looking for work in IT after being laid off last February (nearly a year ago, now), which has totally re-shaped the trajectory of our plans.

I have spent the last few years of my life working on my independent projects and selling merch directly to my fans with the added security of his income and the blessed succor that Patreon provides us. Unfortunately, art merch sales were down 60% for me in 2024 and everything, from social media to the job market, seemed to be imploding all at once. Without my husband’s income, this was the worst time for me to have a down year.

And have a down year, I did. 2024 really made me want to quit art entirely…
…but I’m still here, finally pulling my boots back on to get back on the horse!

Angela Re-Enters the Arena!

For 2025, I’m working towards re-entering the freelance arena and have been busy brushing up my Illustration portfolio page and client list and planning out what new paintings I need to be making to attract more commercial client work.

(I’m creating multiple self-contained portfolio pages tailored for each client using Adobe Portfolio. This one’s for my Illustration/Cover portfolio. I guess Adobe’s still good for something since I still can’t ween myself off of Photoshop.)

With my Birthstone Goddesses and their lingering loose ends finished, I’m free to pursue other things I’ve always wanted to do, like break into the TTRPG and book cover industries with my art. Fantasy Art has always been where my heart is and I’m hopeful my passion will shine through this year!

To be honest, with one car between my husband and I, I’ve got no choice but to pursue remote work so he can have our car available for any prospective jobs that might call him back.

Challenge accepted, Universe! Sink or art!

Conventions, A Grand Comeback?

I also hope to return to conventions for the additional income stability, despite avoiding them for 5 years now because of our health risks. We both feel more comfortable with available treatments for viruses and hope that we can at least be in the artist alley of DragonCon, Multiverse, and Momocon this year, if I can pass jury!

The convention arena has certainly changed in the years since my last show in 2019, so time to knock the rust from my people skills and from the convention hustle.

Streaming…for Real this Time!

I have said for years now that I wanted to get more face time with folks by hopping onto my Twitch to draw and share my love of gaming with you all. I can never seem to get myself on a schedule. However, a friend generously paid for my Streamlabs Ultra sub, so now I’m obligated to give it a proper whirl!

The goal is to stream twice a week, the first stream to be art-themed (doing exercises, studies, sketching, inking, etc.) and the second stream being for games that I find artistically inspiring and want to share with you all. Anything you guys miss will be shared to my main YouTube channel.

Stay tuned later this week for a proper stream schedule post once I get it all sorted out!

Studio Overhaul

Re-dedicating to freelance client work begins this week with cleaning and revamping the art studio which has sat full of overflow basement boxes and clutter. I’m taking the time to clean it out, do an inventory of supplies, and seriously start using the space to focus on traditional painting techniques!

One of my personal/professional goals this year is to learn how to mix color pencil and light washes of acrylic so I can take advantage of acrylics’ archival qualities over watercolors lightfastness issues. Plus, that lovely textural tactileness I enjoy about working with and looking at color pencil art.

I haven’t used color pencils in years and am looking forward to meeting this old friend again. I don’t fully know how to paint with acrylics, so I’m looking forward to learning something new as well! I was also gifted a lovely goauche set some time ago I want to test out. It’s time to get messy!

(One of my old color pencil on metallic cardstock pieces from 2006.)

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I truly hope 2025 will be a better year for us and for the world. We could all use a break, I’d wager!

<3 Ang

My 2025 Streaming Schedule – Tune In for Art & Gaming!

Well, friends, I’ve been ungovernable for years when it comes to making a stream schedule. Here’s my attempt to bring order to the chaos by scheduling some recurring events! I’m going to try to obey it as long as I can, though sessions may run long or short, depending on each day’s activities. Let us try this great experiment starting next week on Tuesday, Jan 14th!

Art Day

For Art Day streams, here are a few things I have in mind:

  • Gesture sketching, master copies, etc.

  • Inking, coloring, concept sketching, etc.

  • Sketchbook doodling

  • Character creator card deck draws (IE. Using Fatum, Reckless Deck, etc. to make concepts that we can draw together!)

Game Day

For Game Day streams, I’ll be playing games I find artistically inspiring that I want to share, starting with Venba, a beautifully illustrated cooking game telling the story of an Indian mom’s journey to Canada with her family during the 1980’s that I’ve been very curious about. I wanted to start with something chill that wouldn’t take us 30 streams to get through.

While this game is a cozy one, I’ll probably be playing everything from artsy horror to artsy platformers, so prepare yourself for different genres of varying levels of macabre!

Hangouts/AMA’s 

I’ve had folks here say they miss the times I used to hangout on Google Hangouts and chat about my month while answering questions from the audience and fans. I want to return to those halcyon days now that we have better tech than Google Hangouts! (Do you all remember when Google Hangouts used to eat itself about an hour in lol).

Everyone can leave questions during the stream in the chat, but I’ll be prioritizing questions from Patrons directly via the Patrons-only AMA section of my Discord server and via a monthly questions Patrons-only post I’ll share here.

Where to Watch

I’ll be using the Streamlabs Ultra tool to multi-stream to my Twitch and my YouTube so tune in on your fave platform!

Let’s go! I’ll be keeping a schedule on my Twitch and Discord server’s events in case you forget when to tune in. I’ll also try to poke people on social media when I go live too.

See you there!

<3 Ang

[Video] Ang’s Year In Art 2024 | Annual Art Tour + 2025 Art Goals

It’s that time of year again to take stock of all the inspiration 2024 has brought! I always enjoy doing this because it’s easy to get caught up in the ‘guilt’ of not creating enough. This year was an important one for me because I finally escaped the long grasp of long-term projects and started on a grand new adventure drawing more of the Geek-stuff, Fantasy novels, and TTRPG art that I enjoy!

Check out the video for the full month-by-month tour of what I worked on this year. It was impossible to fit every piece of art I made in 2024 into this format, especially for busy months like October where I created multiple pieces, so I’ve chosen my favorites. I’ve also included subtitles on the file for those who need them.

For those who just want to scroll through the art at their own pace, check out the rest of this entry for a quick rundown of each piece featured for each month of the year!

My Year in Art

There was lots of Exalted TTRPG and Cassiel’s Servant art this year! It’s been my happy place to explore all these wonderful Fantasy worlds and get involved with more narrative, character-driven art.

JAN – The Marrionette Dancing on Bloody Sinew

This character belongs to Paint-Lady.

FEB – The Cultivar of Bloody Sunsets

This character belongs to Kessinder.

MAR – Stained Glass Tarot – X of Swords

This is a detail of the larger piece I can’t share just yet! It will be fully revealed once we’re closer to the release of the Stained Glass Tarot project, which you can follow here.

APR – Blue Eye Meets Silver Devil

Featuring Mizu from Blue Eye Samurai, an amazing show you all need to watch! Crossing over with Koh, my character, Kalara, in disguise.

MAY – Shame

Shame belongs to therestlesshands.

JUN – Swan Ledaal

Swan belongs to annacory-blog.

JUL – Elua – Your Heaven is Bloodless

Inspired by Cassiel’s Servant, the novel by Jacqueline Carey. See more about this piece and the narrated video I created for it here.

AUG – Joscelin Costume Concepts

Also inspired by Cassiel’s Servant, I created several more sheets for this character you can see here.

SEP – Spice War Comic

This is actually a work-in-progress that I’ll return to later. Anjali and Rachna (on the right) belong to the Exalted comic by irregularcircle, while Kalara and Night Locust on the left are mine and my husband’s Exalted characters..

OCT – Kalara 3e Cover

Part of the Exalted Art Challenge from this year’s event, which you can see the full entries for here.

NOV – Cassiel’s Servant Cover Sketches

A selection of the thumbnail sketches for the Cassiel’s Servant cover I’ve been working on. See more here.

DEC – Reference Sheet: Kalara Vadras

This is only one of two in-progress sheets created for Kalara. See both sheets, plus a whole additional character not shown here.

My Fave Piece from 2024

Shame’s piece from May was my fave piece of this year! Drawing this piece was the first step in a new tarot-inspired style I want to nurture for my art moving forward. It captures the perfect blend of graphic and painterly.

My Art Goals for 2025

  • Do more traditional art.  I’d like to teach myself how to use acrylics and experiment with acrylic x color pencil pieces, as inspired by the gorgeous work of Tran Nguyen.

  • Improve my cover illustration portfolio.  Part of the whole reason I’ve been working on Fantasy novel inspired art here is to have new work for my cover illustration portfolio. This Patreon is all a part of the plan to support me during this endeavor!

  • Push my visual storytelling with new formats.  I’ve had so much fun doing comics and interactive media this year! I want to keep going with experimental formats like comics, animatics, and more for narrative expression in 2025.

What was your favorite piece of mine from this year? What do you want to see more of from me in 2025? Do you have any ambitious creative goals for 2025? I’d love to hear from you in the comments!

Here’s to another year of inspiration and remembering our great art loves!

Ang

Giving Thanks 2024 Edition – How Patrons Have Helped Me + Artist Tools List

Every year, I like to share how much of a difference that you, my dear Patrons, have made in my life. My earnings here may seem like only a trifling amount to most folks, but when you’re a one-person biz/artist, that little amount can be used for a lot!

Your support has meant so much especially during this tough year when my husband and I have had a rough time with industry layoffs. I also wanted to pay homage to all the invisible ways your support is used that may not otherwise be known to most.

Here’s a list of all the things that your Patronage has helped me with this year, with referral links to where you can find them, should they help you or others out as well.

Shelving for my Studio

One of the most subtle, but amazing upgrades you guys helped me to afford this year! When we first moved in to our new house (and first home) a couple of years back, the move went in a hurry and my would-be studio space was turned into the catch-all overflow storage of the house. It was a paralyzing space to try and work in!

Every other month or so, I’ve been snagging shelving like this one to help me organize my space and especially my art and frames, which will get damaged if I stack it the wrong way. It’s helped give me peace of mind in my workspace!

(I’ll have to do a full studio tour with a breakdown of my studio makeover in a later entry once the makeover is more complete!)

DaVinci Resolve Premium

This year, I’ve started taking steps to leave Adobe’s ecosystem due to its predatory practices, which has been a challenge for me because it’s meant taking the time to learn all-new software. I’ve chosen DaVinci Resolve as a free option for editing my videos. I was finally able to take the step to upgrade it during all the good sales this holiday season thanks to your support. Having the premium version gives me access to more transitions, the auto-captioning tool, and more!

Ads for my Etsy shop

One of the more invisible things I do with your support. In this economy with so much competition in the online space, it’s been helpful to be able to afford ads on Etsy and Facebook, especially during my big art/product launches. Ads are always a gamble though because they’re not guaranteed to work, so not being scared to spend that money really helps me out!

Artist’s Hand Model

As soon as I saw the articulation on this model, I knew I had to have it! Hands are some of the most difficult things to draw, especially at odd angles. This is going to prove so useful. These models often go out of stock so I’m happy I was able to snap it up before it got rare and expensive!

Artist’s Models

Much like the hand model, these lil guys help me understand foreshortening I can’t otherwise find in reference packs. I have the TOA Heavy Industries Synthetic 1/12th type. I’ve used 3D programs to help me figure out poses before, but I prefer to set up my poses more quickly with a physical figure I can quickly manipulate.

(The artists models and posable hand in action!)

Artist’s Reference Packs

Finally, one of the most useful tools in my repertiore that extra funds facilitates. I always prefer to have a real model to work from because anatomy is difficult and quality reference photos are worth their weight in gold.

Thankfully, we have amazing stock providers like Grafit, Satine Zillah, Obscura 29, and Mels Mneyan, who are my go-tos with amazing reference packs and affordable prices! Gone are the days where I’d have to pay for limited run stock from istock or similar services. Most of these packs come with extremely artist-friendly unlimited licensing for one user.

(A concept art pose pack from Grafit with really handy character poses.)

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Thanks so much for those of you who continue to support me here! A little goes a long way and it means a lot when you choose to continue your support when there’s so much stress and uncertainty in the world right now.

Here’s to another year of art, creativity, and feeling the love!

Thanks from the bottom of my heart,
<3 Ang