Tag: Artist AMA

Studio Hangout June 2025 + AMA – The Health Insurance Circus, New Character Art, and Discussing My Fave Media

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!

Mentioned Links

Posts from June

Ask Me Anything

Q: [From Kit Chimera on BlueSky] How does being a traditional artist influence your digital art?
A: Answered here.

Q: [From Psycheen on BlueSky] What media are you into lately and why?
A: Answered here.

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!

<3 Ang

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: