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