Tag: personal updates

Sketchbook Feb 2023

Sketchbook Feb 2023 + Recovery Update!

Well, guys, January and February didn’t go exactly like I had planned.  I’ve been dealing with an allergic reaction to surgical glue, other nasty incision difficulties, and just trying to catch up on all the sleep I’ve missed from being unable to sleep comfortably after surgery.

This may end up affecting other plans I’ve had this year, like the amulets Kickstarter, but we’ll cross that bridge when we come to it.  I at least want to finish the designs to have for stickers and Patreon goodies!  I’m finally healing up today after those recovery hiccups, so we’ll see what I can achieve without overwhelming myself.

Speaking of the amulets, I’ve started inking them in Clip Studio Paint!  This design for January needs some tweaking because I can’t unsee the Eye of Sauron in the middle, but it’s been exciting learning more about this extremely useful program, as I’ve finally started taking proper classes on the software.

Before anything else can happen with the Birthstone Goddesses project, however, I need to clean up the studio/shipping area, which has been taunting me since I haven’t been able to lift much!  It’s been stacked with garage and parents’ basement overflow and I’ve only just now begun the excavation process to sort what’s for donation and what’s for keeping. (Oh no and is it also tax season? Halp!)

More Character Art!

Meanwhile, in my continued mission to manufacture happy brain chemicals during my stressful times, you all have witnessed Rabs’ development over the course of the past couple months.  I’ve FINALLY finished her Level 0 form!

Enjoy Teen Rabs in all her irreverent glory!  Teen Rabs hasn’t earned her tatts through training yet and sits on a gallon of pent up anger against the world and her messed up family.  Hopefully I’ve captured the difference in Teen vs Adult Rabs, with Adult Rabs being much more at peace with herself and her past.

You can watch a timelapse of both of these portraits here.

Have an additional closeup because I spent hours on the faces and I’m proud of them:

Both painted in Procreate.  I’m getting more comfortable with this style the more I do!  Though I’m a bit grumpy that you can see the skill gap already between Teen Rabs and her Adult form which was rendered first last year.

Next up, I’ll be doing a Level 0 & Armor Base for the party’s flamboyant Tiefling Arcane Archer, Calumny, which I’m very much looking forward to.

(Cal in all his sassy glory!  He belongs to my dear friend, Hayley.)

Eventually once all these base forms are done, I’ll be doing an armor/level progression chart for them, which will be great practice for me, as I consider armor, in particular, to be a big weakness after years of drawing mainly flowing dress feminine fashions.

Finally, I started playing Elden Ring when I’ve been couch-bound during recovery.  What a strangely beautiful dark fantasy game!  I wasn’t sure I would like it, at first.  The enemies can be frustrating to beat, but now I’ve found myself thoroughly hooked by its hauntingly beautiful world and intriguing exploration.

Behold my swashbuckling mage, Asha the Starless!  Still just a rough sketch, but I expect with all the cool imagery of this game, you may see more fan art from this game pop up here.

Screenshots for reference:

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That’s all for this month, friends!  In March, I’m hoping to be back in good health (knock on wood) which means I’ll hopefully have more to share next time.  I also have some inspiring books, supplies, and photos I want to share.

Till then, don’t forget you can come hang out on my Discord whether you’re a Patron or not!  I love getting to know you all there and sharing inspirations and interests.  You can use this invite to join the public server, though if you want my Patron perks for Discord, which include a private Patrons-only area where I share my private sketchbook, you’ll need to connect your Discord to Patreon.

¡Hasta la próxima!

♥ Ang

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Posts You Might Have Missed from February

Resumen de octubre de 2019: ¡Las secuelas de la convención + ¡Comienzan los días de vacaciones!

¡Ha pasado otro mes, trayéndonos otro resumen! Octubre ha sido bendecidamente más lento ahora que ha pasado mi última convención del año. Ha sido un momento para recuperarse de la loca carrera de eventos y terminar algunas tareas pequeñas pero importantes antes de irme de vacaciones.

¡Así es, amigos! ¡Unas vacaciones! Me tomaré un tiempo libre a partir de este fin de semana y hasta el 17 de noviembre para descansar y recuperarme antes del próximo período de pre-lanzamiento de Kickstarter para las Diosas de Invierno. ¡Espero poder dedicar tiempo a arte y lectura completamente indulgentes!

Quería ir a un retiro de escritura, pero, ¡ay, no está en el presupuesto este año. ¡Quizás el año que viene! Tomaré la mejor opción posible y me escabulliré para escribir y relajarme en cafeterías como un verdadero profesional. ¡NaNoWriMo comienza mañana y, aunque no tenga oficialmente un proyecto dedicado para ello, ¡siempre es una gran excusa para dejar que mi musa divague y motivarme para crear mejores hábitos de escritura para trabajar en mis muchas historias en progreso!

¡En cuanto a este Patreon, permanecerá activo durante las vacaciones! Programaré algunas publicaciones con anticipación que incluirán un par de nuevas recompensas para todos, ya que finalmente tengo tiempo para ponerme al día. Puede que sea lento para comunicarme durante este tiempo mientras hago todo lo posible para minimizar los elementos estresantes como las redes sociales/tiendas/etc. brevemente, ¡así que tened paciencia conmigo!

En cuanto a la foto de arriba, ¡ese es el desastre que es mi estudio después de no tener mucho tiempo para limpiarlo entre convenciones, tareas de cumplimiento de Kickstarter, etc.! Realmente necesita algo de amor y cuidado durante mis vacaciones también. ¡Es hora de volver a ponerlo en orden para poder concentrarme sin que me caiga encima una torre de cajas vacías!

Además, ¡no puedo olvidar desear un feliz Día de Todos los Santos, Halloween y Samhain a mis encantadores Patrocinadores hoy! ¿Pudisteis usar algún disfraz? ¡Me encantaría saber sobre ellos en los comentarios!

¡Me voy a disfrazar este fin de semana con maquillaje naranja metálico y lindos pendientes de murciélago! Pero, mientras tanto, podéis tener mi conjunto de Halloween del año pasado. ¡Cálientamanos espeluznantes! (REALMENTE necesito trabajar en conseguir fotos normales mías sin un disfraz o cosas espeluznantes).

Estado del proyecto

El libro para colorear Diosas de las Piedras de Nacimiento EDICIÓN COMERCIAL (¡Libro terminado. Solicitudes pendientes!)

¡GRANDES noticias en que finalmente pude completar todos mis formularios de registro oficiales! Actualmente estoy esperando que Amazon se ponga en contacto conmigo sobre cómo procederemos desde aquí para que mis libros para colorear se listen oficialmente bajo mi nombre como vendedor en el sitio.

Pines esmaltados de Diosas de las Piedras de Nacimiento (50% Completado)

¡El boceto comenzó el mismo día de esta publicación! Espero tener una entrada de Boceto Secreto después de las vacaciones sobre el desarrollo de estos nuevos diseños.

Pegatinas de Diosas Gemas Pequeñas (¡Terminado!)

Estoy planeando algo especial que puedo hacer con ellas para los Patrocinadores, ¡así que estad atentos!

Bolsos y Pañuelos de Diosas de Piedras de Nacimiento (Planificando)

¡Prepararé estos diseños para integrarlos en mi tienda de Etsy después de las vacaciones!

Calendario de Pared de Diosas de Piedras de Nacimiento (Planificando)

El desarrollo comenzará una vez que se hayan completado los pines de esmalte.

Libro de Arte de Diosas de Piedras de Nacimiento (Planificando)

Planeo lanzarlo después del calendario. ¡Pronto publicaré avances de algunos de los nuevos conceptos de pintura que planearé para este arte!

Próximas Convenciones

Mercado de Duendes – 28 de marzo de 2020 (Esperando Confirmación)

¡Únete a nosotros en el mercado donde los habitantes de las hadas pueden pedir más que dinero por los artículos que buscas! El tema de este año son los 'cuentos de hadas'. ¡Crucemos los dedos para que me acepten! Me ENCANTA el tema y la narración inmersiva de este evento.

Nuevas Recompensas Planeadas para Noviembre

  • Pack para Colorear Diosas de Otoño
  • Pack de Fondo de Pantalla Diosas de Verano Gemas Pequeñas

Publicaciones que te Pudiste Haber Perdido en OCT:

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¡Ha sido maravilloso conocer a algunos de vosotros este mes en Multiverso también! Estoy muy feliz de tener un lugar como Patreon donde puedo conoceros mejor.

¡Gracias por vuestro apoyo y aquí va un mes inspirador de relajación e inspiración antes de que comience la prisa navideña!

♥ Ang

Organizing the Chaos 2019 Edition

With 2019 upon us and my head full of ambitions, I’m admittedly feeling overwhelmed already with all of the things I want to do this year.  I want to work towards the calendar, art book, etc, but also finish up many of the pending designs on my Ladies of the Months art list (pins, stickers, etc.) that I talked about before.  It’s been difficult to know what to do first and trying to figure that out has left me paralyzed like a deer in the headlights!

I usually do a 10 goals list, but I wanted to try something a little different this year to organize the chaos!  Lauren Panepinto, an art director I had the pleasure of meeting at IlluxCon some years ago, came to the rescue with her priority chain listing exercise.  The gist of the exercise is to write down your biggest goals, then break them down into more actionable bite-sized activities, then prioritize them through their relationship to your big goals that you’ve also put in priority order.  You can read more about how to do this at Lauren’s article on Muddy Colors.

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Without further ado, here is my 2019 KICKASS To Do List!

1.  Paint Ladies of the Months alternates for the art book.

2.  Write/Paint more Song of Exile for portfolio and short stories.

3.  DREAM CLIENT Portfolios 

– Card Game/ Magic the Gathering Portfolio – Song of Exile, Kushiel’s Legacy

– Book Cover Portfolio – Song of Exile, Kushiel’s Legacy, fave books, literary canon

– Tabletop Game Portfolio – Song of Exile, The Uncrucified, Our D&D characters

4. Create videos with my art animated and set to music + stories (Learn MotionArtist)

5.  Create a study schedule, finish classes, keep practicing!

6.  Take an inspiration trip once per month (Atlas Obscura, museums, art openings).

7.  Re-write biz plan and promo schedule.

8.  Expand shop with new products.  Apparel, puzzles, stickers, tabletop aids, cards, bags, etc.)

9.  Create commission samples for private clients (portraits, avatars, etc.)

10.  Increase Patreon engagement with giveaways, pledge drives, tutorials, etc.

11.  Stream more regularly. (Hangouts, study, fan art days, etc.)

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I really liked this take on making a goals list because it helps you be less distracted by random goals and focus on what’s really important to you, while also help you figure out what actually has that importance to you.  For example, I’ve been trying to do so many tasks this week, from updating my shop to working on the stickers, when I realize I need to first write my new promotion schedule and business plan out first, since my tasks have changed this year from painting the main set of the Ladies.

Knowing what releases I’ll have for the year will also help dictate my release schedule, what I can launch in my shop, etc.

I think it’s also helpful to remind ourselves of those Big Goals, those lofty dreams that we’re working towards that we sometimes forget about when our nose is close to the grindstone.  I’m reminded of one of my favorite motivational speeches from Neil Gaiman where he talks about making a wishlist of all the cool things he wanted to create (ie. write an episode of Dr. Who) and he just crossed them off his list as the years went on.  This wishlist kept him motivated and helped him feel like anything he created in service of it was worthwhile, even if the money didn’t happen.

Now that I’ve got some direction, I can start to make sense of the chaos.  And now you guys know how bad my handwriting is ha!

So what do you guys do to get organized for the year or for career/business goals?  I’d love to hear your techniques in comments!

AUG 2018 Status – A Life-Changing Diagnosis

August was an extreme month.  2018 has been an extreme year!  When I wrote in last month’s status report pondering ‘what else could the universe throw at us’, I never would have thought that would be the diagnosis of Hodgkin’s Lymphoma for my husband (delivered to us the morning of Art Show setup at DragonCon, no less!).

It’s been a very trying weekend and while the con went so well for me this year, we were barely holding it together during the event.  The kind words, smiles, and support of all the lovely folks who came by and greeted us really kept us going.  DragonCon is my arty geek family and I am so grateful for it, especially now!  (I’ll be posting about the con and what I learned in a separate entry soon).

The good news is that Hodgkin’s Lymphoma is completely curable if caught early.  However, my husband will have to endure a battery of tests, chemotherapy, and radiation to make sure it’s gone for good.  For this reason, I ask that all of you are patient with me should I be slow to respond or deliver.  All of my willpower is going into processing this journey ahead of us which starts next week.

I’m going to do my best to meet my professional obligations here, but I needed to put this out there because this is one doozy of a life-change that affects all aspects of my personal and professional life.

Current Projects

My main project right now is getting the Ladies of the Months coloring book out to the Kickstarter Backers!  I have no other side projects, commissions, or appearances planned until this goal is met and will be focusing solely on getting this epic task completed on schedule!

The individual tasks for the book include:

– Stretch Goal #1 – 12 pages of line art of header images (DONE!)

– Stretch Goal #2 – 12 pages of line art of fashion plates (Pending).

– Stretch Goal #3 – 12 pages of line art of chibi Ladies (Pending).

– Complete Book Layout for Print (front cover complete, the rest Pending)

– Printed book proof and printing. (Awaiting final layout).

– Pack and ship! (Thermal printer acquired. Awaiting printed books!)

Recently Completed Projects

– The Rose Fae Set for the Olde Fae card game.  Check out the finished paintings here and keep up with the game’s release later this month at this Facebook Event!

Pending Projects

I’ve decided to put the following projects on hold so I don’t slow down on delivering my coloring book Kickstarter. We might not see these happening till later this year or next year!

  • Ladies of the Months Wall Calendar 

  • Ladies of the Months Art Book

  • Ladies of the Months Enamel Pins

  • Monster Girls Coloring Book

  • Angelic Shades Coloring Book

That’s all for my August update.  We’re hoping that next month will be pretty boring with nothing but progress to report on my husband’s journey to good health and my continued progress on the coloring book!

Thanks so much, as ever, for your continued support and encouragement.

Much love!

– Ang