Category: Blog Posts

Share the Work Challenge Day 3 – Turn Your Vision Into Visuals

In the previous days of the Share the Work challenge, I’ve been diving deep trying to think about what my Birthstone Goddesses mean to me and to the people who might collect them.  Day 3’s goal was to finally turn all of my musings into a cohesive visual! 

Is My Art Worth Selling?

But first, Emily gives you some tips for evaluating whether or not you’re ready to sell your work in the first place.  The biggest sticking points here were did I actually enjoy creating the work?  Could I sit alone with it in a room and be comfortable with it?  I think the intention of these questions is to gauge your excitement and confidence for your work because if you have these things for the art you create, it will come across in your energy as a seller.

I did have some minor revelations here that I actually do not like half of my work from the main set, with the exception of Lady of November, Lady of March, Lady of February, Lady of May, Lady of June, and Lady of September.  I usually do not hang my own art in the house because it triggers my constant inner critic, but Lady of November is the first painting of my own that I chose to hang up!

Most of these pieces were also not necessarily enjoyable to create, either.  The tedious transfer process and inking really hurt my hands after the hours put in and watercolor terrifies me with its threat of ruining hours of inking each time. 

To me, this indicates that my decision to change media to something more loose for the last phase of the series is a good move!  I don’t think the original paintings are unsellable, but they are harder for me to connect to as the artist because of the flaws I see in their anatomy, unrefined concepts, etc.  My gals come as a set that I do not intend to redo, however, so I will have to learn to love them all!

Visualizing My Brand

Before now, I had already decided while building the website for this body of work that I would have a warm neutral theme with a teal accent, which you can see in action on the website dedicated to this series.  I had also created a logo halfway through development.  Despite having these basics sorted out, I’ve never done something as intentional as create a brand mood board.

Beware, because creating a brand mood board was really addictive and fun to do!  It helped me make more purposeful connections between the feel of vintage art with my modern new age aesthetic.  My Birthstone Goddesses were especially tricky to plan around because their color palettes are all over the place to match their respective birthstones and birth flowers! 

A neutral scheme with a bright accent and clean font with decorative headers seems to be a good choice so that my detailed colorful art could shine brightest.

But I’ve also been staring at this board WAY too long, so let me know if you think my mood board just looks like color vomit!

Resources

  • UX Collective – A handy article breaking down the basics of the parts of a brand mood board, what info to include, etc.
  • Canva’s Brand Board Advice – A useful article on building a brand, plus templates you can use with Canva’s free cloud-based design functionality.
  • My Brand Mood Board Template – I decided to make my own template in Photoshop.  Feel free to use this template for your own mood boards!  No credit required, but I won’t turn down a thanks via pay what you want on Gumroad, tipping me via my ko-fi, or pitching in to my Patreon.

 

Share the Work Challenge Day 2 – Sharing Your Vision With Your Audience

My journey with Emily Jefford’s Share the Work continues with more deep exploration of the threads of influences that intertwine my work with those who enjoy the art I create.  Again, this was challenging for me because I created the Birthstone Goddesses for me and my particular set of tastes first before I figured out the kind of person who might buy them.  I just assumed folks like me were out there and that I’d find them eventually!  Making that connection wasn’t done with as much intention as it should have been from the start of the project.

Now, I need to figure out why other folks might enjoy this series for reasons I might not have thought of.  If you’re out there, Birthstone Goddess fans, let me know what about this series resonates with you and help me solve the great mystery of humans who enjoy my art!

Day 2 Challenge Worksheet
Sharing Your Vision With Your Audience

What makes your work unique?

My work channels the awe-inspiring beauty of the decorative art of Mucha re-imagined with the primal allure of folklore, fantasy, and my own dark elegant aesthetic.

Where do you find inspiration?

From vintage art movements such as Art Nouveau, the Symbolists, etc, holiday traditions, folklore, haute couture fashion, and history.

What stories does your work tell?

My Birthstone Goddesses speak of rituals and blessings, harkening back to real-world traditions retold via original imagery in a liminal fantasy space.  They explore the journey of the soul, rituals of death and grieving, fertility, etc.  This narrative started to formulate more consistently during the Goddesses of Autumn, while the goddesses I created earlier on weren’t as intentional with their narrative.

Define who your ideal customer is and where they feel most comfortable:

My ideal customer controls their own living space as a home owner (or apartment) and has an appreciation for folklore, history, nature, and feminine empowerment.  They also enjoy diverse human beauty in all its forms and may also appreciate or practice pagan or new age spirituality.  They are most comfortable surrounded by elegant beautiful things that bring them a sense of peace, mystic awe,  and tranquility that also nurtures their own creativity.  They are usually women 25 or older.

How can you use empathy to share your work effectively?

By understanding that there is a lack of diversity in Art Nouveau that I didn’t realize until I interacted more with my customers at conventions who loved my work, but didn’t see themselves in it in a way that I was perfectly capable of obliging.  After this experience, I realized that I also want my art to look like my own family which spans the gamut from dark to light in so many beautiful ways.  I want to bring diverse images of goddesses to all kinds of people, especially women, who want to to feel empowered when they see the goddess that represents their birth month.

What is one way I make buying my work a little more effortless?

I could start by actually updating my shops with all the stuff I’ve been making, but just haven’t had time to properly add yet.  I also have a bad habit of just sharing art once and never again because it feels like people will think it’s ‘old news’ and everyone will be bored of seeing it again.

Are my photographs conveying the value of my work?

I either only show the art and not the frame/context or the images of my framed pieces are shown without any lifestyle context.  I feel like I could do better to make them feel more posh and magical!

Actual photographs from my Art Nouveau shop of my originals. They don’t do a good job of showing my aesthetic.

Is my “highest work” being communicated?

Probably not.  I only have a small amount of originals posted to my shop because I’ve been waiting for the right moment to share them.

Tomorrow’s challenge, How Do You Know if Your Art is Worth Selling?

 

Share the Work Challenge Day 1 – Clarify Your Vision & Why Your Work Matters

It’s been a strange time for me right now. Over the past few years, I’ve created an amazing amount of work for my Birthstone Goddesses project, but now I’m in a place where I feel overwhelmed by the prospect of getting all that work out into the world in a meaningful way!  I’ve been learning as I go along using my background in Arts Admin to fly by the seat of my pants, but as far as knowing anything about fine art marketing, I don’t feel my knowledge is adequate.

And that’s why Emily Jefford‘s Making Art Work course has piqued my interest of late!  Emily’s name has floated to me over the past couple years as someone who has mentored some amazingly talented folks I know, like Naomi VanDoren, Emily Hare, and Kiri Leonard, to name a few.  Her course focuses on fine art marketing from the ground up, from exploring your motivations as a creator to how you can build a sustainable business out of your art.  It sounds perfect for helping me feel just a little less crushed beneath the weight of my unorganized ambitions!

As such, I’m hopping on Emily’s free preview course Share the Work 2021, which challenges you to 5 days of prompts that help you explore some basic thought processes for getting your business and your art organized for success.  I’ll be sharing my progress here as I complete each worksheet!  Enjoy this rip-roaring ride because I’m starting a little late.  Share the Work goes away on the 25th (in 6 days)! 

Feel free to take the mini-course with me and share your thoughts here in the comments (or on my Discord).

First Impressions

I gotta be honest, guys.  All these questions about why I create art and what meaning my art has for others proved really difficult!  I’ve never tried to dive too much deeper into why I do what I do, except when I’ve been forced to for school assignments and artist’s statements.  I’ve always loved making art.  It’s been second nature for so long that I’ve not really questioned it! 

Was there any deeper meaning than ‘because I like doing it’?  More particularly, I started creating my Birthstone Goddesses because I love Mucha and wanted to create something that channeled that sense of awe and beauty I get from my favorite Art Nouveau pieces.  What more meaning did I need than “because I enjoy doing it and maybe other people might like it too?”.  The answers I found through this closer examination intrigued me!

Day 1 Challenge Worksheet

Why do you create? What keeps you coming back to the process?

The joy of realizing ideas for things I love and want to see more of in the world.  The happiness that comes from mastering a skill.  The joy of learning new things.

What meaning does your creative work bring to your life?

Creating images, characters, and stories that resonate and teach people how to be people be better people brings me joy.  Spreading an appreciation of nature, beauty, and stories also fulfills me.

How does it benefit others?
Try to go a little deeper than “it’s pretty” — though that totally counts!

I hope that sharing my art helps others gain a similar appreciation that I feel from stories and imagery that teach and empower others.  My goddesses, in particular, provide aspirational magic and beauty to empower those individuals whose months each goddess represents.

What messages do you convey through your art?

My Birthstone Goddesses convey a respect for the primal waxing and waning of life and death, the cycle of human festivals of life, love, and death.  They pay homage to the cycle of the year that reflect human existence, while also empowering women, the unseen, and underappreciated.

Why does this message matter to you?

I see a lack of the kind of stories about empathy and complex morality in the world and I want to explore them.  I also want to see more people who look like my multiracial family.  I want to normalize different types of human beauty and to empower myself and others by telling stories that relate to them and motivate them towards positive change.

Conclusions

I was very surprised to see many of my answers leading back to the idea of female empowerment and personal empowerment, though it made sense once I dove deep and connected the dots to the things I personally love, like the history of historical women and other underappreciated figures.  It was not an accident that my Birthstone Goddesses span a more diverse range of races, which represent my own colorful family, starting with my olive-skinned Latina mother for December. 

These answers also reinforce what I’ve seen at conventions in the past.  For example, many folks would pick up the Lady of September (my most popular print), because they liked that she represented an interesting depiction of their personal birth month.  She empowered them in a way that other depictions of September by other artists haven’t.

I’m also realizing I’ve been marketing my Birthstone Goddesses more as an illustrator would.  I’ve been very focused on the fantastical lore I’ve come up for their function as goddesses.  Fine Art, from what I’m gathering from the lectures thus far, is more focused on what a buyer sees of themselves in a piece of work or what that art says about them if they display it.

Hopefully, I can figure out how best to combine both of these approaches!  I love telling fantastical stories and I’d love for people to feel empowered and awed by my goddesses without requiring them to necessarily read their lore write-ups.

Tomorrow’s challenge is Sharing Your Vision With Your Audience, which asks probing questions about inspiration and our ideal customers.  Should be fun!

Jan 2021 Digest – COVID Diagnosis

I’m afraid I won’t have much to share from January, as this month began with massive anxiety during the riot in the Capitol and has ended with my husband, Kevin, in the hospital with COVID and pneumonia.  It’s a trying time for us and I’m not sure how much work I’ll be able to do while I focus on Kevin and keeping myself healthy.

The bright side is that while Kev is currently hospitalized as of this writing, his prognosis is good and he will hopefully be able to come home in a few days once he is able to strengthen his lungs and come off oxygen.  Meanwhile, I have tested negative, but will be sequestering at home just in case I was exposed after my test samples were taken.  We made sure to don masks here at home as soon as Kev started feeling ill, which I think helped a lot!

We’re unsure of where he picked it up, as he had only been going out for medications and work and had been wearing a mask whenever possible.  We had also opted to cancel cons for the remainder of this year as well.  This is a prime example that it should not just be one person who wears the mask, but the people around them as well.

I hope I have some better news to share soon and that Kev will be able to be happy and safe at home again soon!

Coming in February

It may be a thin month for new art while we stabilize our situation, but here are a few things that I still want to happen in February:

  • A new angel-themed coloring page for my Patreon Digital Library.
  • The price of my lowest tier will be going up to $2 to offset the fees that are eating into what I take home as a Creator. REMEMBER that if you are currently pledged at $1, you can stay at this tier! You will only be required to pledge $2 if you leave this tier and need to re-pledge.
  • A Special Offer is coming for the month of February! I’ve already laid the groundwork for offering a reprint of my Lady of Eternity hard enamel pin for everyone who missed out on her. Stay tuned for a post with more details on how to snag a free pin if you’re pledging $10 or more!
  • Finish up the Exalted Art Challenge!  I’ve been delayed on this because of everything going on, but if I can concentrate enough, I want to wrap up the final topic by the middle of February.  The birthstone Goddesses await my return!  I may end up shelving the last bit of the Challenge for another time if I can’t wrap it up by the middle of February.

Digest of January’s Posts

Rewards Added in January

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Please keep us in your thoughts!  I hope to return in February with more positive news and inspiring things to share.

♥ Ang

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

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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

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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!

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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

Exalted Art Challenge – Collection 6 – Magical Material, Fave Weapon, etc.

I was really worried about these next few topics, as they’re definitely out of my comfort zone!  I have never drawn a mech in my life, for example!  I’ve always wanted to try more object and environment art as I think this could be great fodder for building my own worlds and also for portfolio pieces for Magic the Gathering and more.  

I gotta say after pushing myself with these, they’re some of my favorites from the challenge list thus far!

18. Magical Materials

There are a number of magical materials in the world of Exalted, all of which resonate best with the Exalted.  Solars like Kalara resonate best with Orichalcum, gold that has been infused with the radiance of the Unconquered Sun, himself.

For this topic, I explored different approaches to portraying this metal, from a manuscript page talking about the alchemical processes involving mystic mirrors you can use to create it to the natural quarries high in the mountains where the sun’s radiance blesses the ‘blood of the earth’ (magma) to create naturally occurring orichalcum.

I also chose a more Hindu-inspired depiction of the Unconquered Sun, as he’s usually more Roman-inspired in the setting.

19. Favorite Weapon

This topic came easy, as there was always a weapon that stood out to me during our Exalted games!  In one adventure, Kalara and her Circle of Solars faced off against their dark counterparts, the Abyssal Deathknights.  Kalara’s opponent in this battle was Crown of Thorns on the Head of the King Who Never-Was who wielded warfans fashioned from soulsteel, an abominable metal created from trapped souls, among other dreadful components.

Called the Eyes of Lord Automeris, when Crown of Thorns activated his weapon, the souls trapped in the soulsteel would appear to writhe and wail silently on the surface while a conspicuously closed eye on the fans would open fully, revealing a terrible red open eye that allowed him to impose his will on others, while also filling them with fear.  The fans were inspired by the Automeris moth with its shocking eye markings that look like a starry sky.

Thankfully, Kalara was able to use her strong will to shrug off Crown of Thorns’ mental attack and end the Deathknight in a flurry of shots from her prayer piece guns before he could impose his will again. Despite their short battle, I never forgot the sheer coolness of this Deathknight’s fans created by my Storyteller (Exalte’d version of the Dungeon Master)!

20. Favorite Artifact

Artifacts, items of wonder from a lost age, represent some of the coolest flavor in the Exalted setting!  It was difficult just to pick a couple because there are so many interesting choices.  

I chose the Sorcery Catching Cord, which allows its user to catch multiple spells and release them at a later time by untying a knot.  The design for this straw hat sorceress wielding orichalcum cord emerged from an old concept for a sorceress Twilight Caste who has appeared in Kalara’s story and our game on occasion as a healer, demon summoner, and bathhouse owner.  I love her design so much that I’m really going to have to do more with her!

Next, we have the Infinite Resplendence Amulets, amulets of various magical metals that create clothing for the user with various properties.  Orichalcum amulets create clothing constructed out of light, adding to their beauty in the eyes of onlookers.  I couldn’t resist creating a decadent Solar decked out in orichalcum clothing made of pure light!

21. Warstriders

The pinnacle of First Age tech and magic, Warstriders were grand vehicles of mass destruction the Solars of old rode into battle.  Over time, they have been lost to the ages or enshrined and protected.  We never discovered the Warstriders of our characters’ First Age Incarnations in our campaign, so this was an opportunity to let my imagination run wild with the organic mech aesthetic I love in Zone of the Enders 2 and Warframe.  I adore Exalted’s unique flavor that’s taken the scifi mech concept and blended it with mystical imagery.

The sketches explore moments in time, from Kalara discovering the warstrider enshrined in a hidden temple where she meditates to bond with it, to her finally being accepted by this sentient weapon.

The warstrider itself was a very spontaneous design inspired by Kalara’s connection to fire, the warstrider having fire hair and other elemental connections in its ornate swirls.  I imagine in battle this warstrider sends her floating wings out for slashing damage or to use as a mechanism for ricocheting energy shots in normally impossible angles.  She is as yet unnamed, so feel free to suggest a name for her in comments!

I had to stop myself from making more thumbnails because I can see so many more moments spent earning this warstrider’s trust and bonding with or other scenes of derelict warstriders blended with the low tech world that has sprung up around them.  

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Here we are at less than 10 topics to go.  I’m almost done!  I hope you all have been enjoying this diversion thus far.  Have you seen any topics you’d like to see more of?  I keep having to cut myself off from spending too much time following a tangent down another story rabbithole (which is always a good sign!).

More soon!   I expect I’ll be wrapping this up in a couple more compilations.

♥ Ang

Exalted Art Challenge – Collection 5 – Anima Banner, Limit Break, etc.

HUZZAH!  With this compilation, we’re officially at the halfway point of this Challenge!  As promised, here’s the next compilation shared a month ahead of time for my wonderful Patrons.

It’s been an interesting journey thus far building on each topic that came before and explore facets of the characters I hadn’t thought about till now.  Kalara has especially come together after this random style experiment inspired by Blood of Zeus! (Not part of my official Challenge, but something that’s really blown my mind, regardless. I have FINALLY captured her face correctly after all these years!)

I’m also getting a lot of cool concepts for future TTRPG portfolio purposes and that’s also pretty exciting for me!

Anima Banner

When a Solar expresses the peak of their divine powers, their aura flares in a show of their ‘anima banner’ or ‘totemic aura’.  Kalara expresses her banner with a phoenix that rises from behind her, signifying her own rise from the ashes of her would-be execution on the cross, which is alluded to in the golden spikes through her palms.  Chains of energy appear on her arms and legs, the links falling off one by one as she ‘unchains’ herself from a mortal fate that would have kept her a slave.

The phoenix wasn’t in her original anima banner design, but I’m so happy I’ve added it for this new design.  I can’t imagine her without it, now!

Limit Break

For all the discussion of how epic and amazing the Solar Exalted are, a fatal flaw resides in them –  a Great Curse laid upon them without their knowledge by the old gods they threw down.  Each Solar will fall to this flaw at some point or another.  As a game mechanic, a player rolls ‘limit’ when they meet a certain condition that triggers their ‘flaw’.  Once they lose control, they ‘limit break’.

Kalara’s Great Curse manifests as a paranoia that her enemies are out to get her.  She has nightmares of the night her father was poisoned, fearing that she, too, will meet the same fate he did in his battle against the Guild.  She even starts to doubt her friends, who are the only people she’s let close enough to assassinate her.  In our campaign, I never saw her in this state, but I  was always dreading it (and also relishing the roleplay opportunity). Perhaps it will happen in her story, The Uncrucified, sometime?

Reasons to Have Ox Body

When you start playing Exalted, the book suggests taking a level of Ox Body so your freshly made character is just a bit more tanky in a world where people can punch gods in the face.

Take Ox Body, they said!  Not me.  I started our game with Kalara having maybe one level of it, if any.  I learned the hard way when a spoopy tree creature nearly one-shot my gal towards the beginning of our game.

This is what happens when you ignite your bag of firedust on the spoopy tree creature’s face and get its undivided attention!  It critical rolled and punched a hole right through my squishy Eclipse Caste.  Our Night Caste, Night Locust, wasn’t near this amused in-game, but I’ve dramatized the moment for comedic effect. 

And to add insult on top of injury, she still had to translate for the rest of the scene with a gaping hole in her torso.

(If you’re wondering why Kalara looks different, she was in disguise as Koh, a rebel bandit leader, early on in our game.)

Reaction When No One Takes Sail

Or in our case, when only one character in the party takes Sail and knows how to maneuver a ship!  When you take a point in Sail, that gives your character access to a fancier pirate hat than everyone else.  It is known!

(Click to view the larger version here)

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The next few topics are going to deal with subjects that I’m not particularly skilled at drawing (beast people, materials, etc.) which should be an extra-fun challenge!

I’ve also been dabbling on and off with NaNoWriMo, so if seeing writing from this world and Kalara’s story might intrigue you, be sure to drop in on my Twitter thread dedicated to my NaNo adventures! 

Proud of myself for being so productive with this!  We’re almost there!

♥ Ang