Tag: Character Art

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.

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    Catch you next month.
    Wishing you all inspiration!

    <3 Angela S.

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:

[Secret Sketchbook] CASSIEL’S SERVANT – Joscelin Concept Sketches

A Patrons-only peek at concept sketches for Joscelin, featuring weapons, armor, & more, plus photo references and design discussion.

EDIT: I added in an important note about the Cassiline sword’s design and how it might change later. More thoughts down in that section!

It’s been a minute since I was able to update this project, so I wanted to treat my faithful fans who stuck with me during the long quiet with a nice, chunky Patrons-only update! Here’s a peek at my explorations of Joscelin, the main character of Cassiel’s Servant by Jacqueline Carey, and his armaments.

I wanted to figure out some of Joscelin’s visual specifics as they may feature heavily in the fan cover I’m creating for this book, which is the ultimate goal of my Story Sketcher project. As always, I love research, so I dove headfirst into the rabbithole of medieval garb, lanolin, and clubbed hair!

Joscelin’s Appearance

First off, I had to start asking myself the question. What does Joscelin look like, anyways? He is described as someone beautiful enough to be an adept of Cereus House with the provincial charm of a Siovale noble with the classic blue eye, blonde hair, and fair complexion.

I’ve shared my rendition from years ago already here, but I never felt like I truly nailed him down in this old piece. Looking back on this first try, I wasn’t satisfied with his bland, grumpy face, his weapons were too ornate for his modest order, and I took a more ‘Hollywood Medieval Fantasy’ approach with his Cassiline clothing.

Having Joscelin’s more specific descriptions of his equipment in Cassiel’s Servant gave me the perfect opportunity to redo this concept.

Now, before I get into fan casting for his physical appearance, I know what you’re going to say. My choice is a rather unorthodox one…

…but, guys, have you seen how cut Bill Skarsgård is in Boy Kills World and The Crow?

Yes, that’s right, I’m fan casting Bill Skarsgård as our dear Joscelin! He’s a unique kind of beautiful, once I got over my “Oh help, it’s Pennywise!” feelings first. Once you see this man in action flicks, Skarsgård has the flexibility to be both intense and charming and, boy howdy, does he kick ass! He moves like an absolute martial arts pro in Boy Kills World and would suit the acrobatic physicality of Joscelin so well.

Skarsgård’s also a dead ringer for Tran Nguyen’s painting of Joscelin, which is one of my favorite artist’s renditions of this character. She captured Joscelin’s focused gaze and dedication to his ward so well! No doubt, Skarsgård will be informing my interpretation of Joscelin moving forward.

But I know this is an odd choice for some, so tell me who you all are fan casting for Joscelin in the comments?

Armaments of the Cassiline Brothers

Now the really fun part – equipment! Let’s break it down bit by bit.

(A section of my reference board for Joscelin’s Cassiline equipment. You can find more references and individual links in my Cassiel’s Servant mood board on Pinterest. Sidenote that the Metropolitan’s Museum of Art’s vast online collection proved invaluable for research, as it can be searched by time period and region and often includes photos of multiple angles of artifacts!)

The Hair

Joscelin describes the Brothers who came to recruit him as having a warrior’s club of hair at the nape of their neck because they do not cut their hair as a show of devotion to Adonai. What does ‘clubbed hair’ mean, anyways? I explored two possibilities, a folded queue inspired by 17th/18th century British soldiers that shows more of the hair versus a wrapped queue tied with laces, inspired by native american hairstyles, considering the similar belief in the sacred nature of hair.

(I also experimented with wavy hair for Joscelin, but felt the straight hair represented his reserved and tidy personality better.)  

I chose the wrapped queue because it felt more monastic to me, while the folded queue feels too fancy for a group dedicated to modesty.

The Armour

The Cassiline Brothers are described as a lightly armored unit who prize mobility so they might better protect their assigned ward. Upon Joscelin’s initiation, he describes recieving the Cassiline signature grey wool mandilion coat treated so thoroughly with lanolin that it is both waterproof and extremely soft. This shirt also falls below the knee and is sleeveless for a full round of motion. This description blew up my old image featuring lots of leather and doeskin. (Everyone looks sexy in leather, okay??)

If you were like me upon reading and had no idea what ‘mandilion’ or ‘lanolin’ means, a mandilion is a style of pullover jacket open on the sides from the 16th century. In true Fantasy fashion, Cassilines have a unique custom tailor cut that’s secret to their sect’s makers, so I had a little fun with the lines of this garment. Lanolin is the secretion that sheeps make that keeps their wool fluffy and clean in nature. The More You Know!

(Mandilion coats from Jacques de Gheyn and Academie de l’Espée by Gérard Thibault d’Anvers, respectively. The upside down Y shape of the top right image heavily influenced the cut of Joscelin’s jacket.)

Beneath Joscelin’s coat, there’s also chainmail, and beneath that is no doubt an undershirt because nobody wants chainmail pulling their body hair or chaffing. Trust the word of this former cosplayer.

The Armaments

Cassiline Brothers have some really cool kit! They are known for their twin daggers, steel vambraces, and a sword strapped to their backs which is drawn only in combat with the intent to kill.

I kept their weapon designs simple and elegant taking inspiration from 15th century French gothic swords.

I did allow myself one specific artistic liberty not described at all by Carey in the books so far and that was the idea that Cassiline Brothers have a flame motif etched into their swords which pays homage to the flaming sword of the archangel Cassiel, the central symbolic figure of their order.

This is all me and not technically book-accurate, but I couldn’t shake the thought once it occurred to me that the single remotely ornate thing you will see of a Cassiline’s is the sword they draw before someone dies. The poetry of that to an archangel’s fateful appearance is just too perfect for me to exclude.

[EDIT 8/31/2024]: I may end up dropping the etched flames in a later iteration if this is perhaps too close to rendering a graven image, which might be anathema for Cassilines as well because of their religious similarity to Judaism, which does not permit graven images. I’m torn on whether this would be considered idolatry if it is not meant to portray Cassiel directly, but to honor the fire, as I recall the priests of the archangel Kushiel in the first novel also using masks and whips to honor Kushiel. Feel free to chime in on this in the comments, book fans who are more well read on this topic!

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What is your favorite rendition of Joscelin? I’d love to see if you want to share in comments! Let me know how my rendition holds up. Moving forward, these will be the design cues I’ll be following, though we shall see if anything changes my mind later. The process of illustration can always surprise you with unexpected revelations!

Now it’s on to reading the rest of Cassiel’s Servant and seeing what other art pops out along the way.

– Ang

Reminders:

  • I’m currently book-clubbing Cassiel’s Servant in my Discord server! I post my thoughts on the story, art thoughts, etc. there. Feel free to join in the discussion!

  • My Discord server is also open to everyone, with a private area for Patrons! Patrons get special access to the Ask Me Anything channel, among other perks. Come ask me anything! Learn how to link your Discord to Patreon accounts here.

Art Fight 2024 Begins! + Character Art Feature

It’s July and that means it’s Art Fight time! I participated for the first time last year and it was such a wonderful experience that helped me reconnect with other artists and a sense of optimism during all the chaos and social media shakeups in 2023. After that event, I swore to do it again this year.

(I made a video about last year’s experience and how it works, for the curious.)

The time has come once more this July! If you would like to participate in an event where artists trade images of their characters, check out Art Fight. You can find my profile here. Feel free to share yours in the comments, if you’re participating as well! Perchance I’ll have time to Attack you, if something catches my eye and I have the time.

I’ll be participating when I can, but can’t promise I’ll be able to respond to each Attack. We’ll see how it goes! I’ll share a compilation of art made for the event once the month is through.

Here are some of the fun portraits I did for last year’s Art Fight event (which you can see what other folks did for me here):

This year, I’ve added some new character art, as well as a new character to choose from, both rendered by the amazing Sam Hogg.

First up, here’s newly added art of Ramah, an exiled prince from my story project, Song of Exile. After a failed rebellion against his tyrannical father, he spends his days in exile honoring his mother’s legacy as a healer. Until the day years later, he is called by his ex-wife to return once more to tend to the gravely ill king, only to be drawn further into facing his family’s tarnished legacy and the simmering violence of a coup.

Then we have Nils, a mortician-turned-monster hunter who is a new character choice for attackers to choose from for this year’s Art Fight. Nils uses his skills as a former mortician to retrieve the bodies of fallen hunters. It’s the job nobody wants, but he doesn’t mind so much.

Nils is from another story idea inspired by my D&D adventures with Blood Hunters.

  Are you in? Go team Stardust! See you in the art trenches.

– Ang

Exalted Character of the Week Vol 2 + Bonus Valentine’s Comic

Until May rolls around and this Patreon is re-vamped with a brand new theme, I’Il be sharing the fun random arts I do, like the next collection of character portraits for the Exalted Character of the Week challenge I host over at the Forge of Wonders.  It was another adventure in experimenting with different styles and loosening up after so many years of working in a more rigid style.

The Cultivar of Bloodied Sunsets for Kess 

At the same time that The Cultivar was chosen for the next Challenge, my husband started playing Persona 3 Reload, which put a whole new coat of paint on top of a game that he loved growing up.  I’ve always enjoyed the sleek and appealing designs of ATLUS’ games and wanted to see if I could try to bring that visually stunning nature to a portrait of The Cultivar.  How did I do?

Apparently I subconsciously matched her outfit with her girlfriend’s outfit from an earlier challenge, which is a fun bit of accidental serendipity.

Fia for Morpheous XO

Next up, we have Fia, the No Moon Lunar witch.  I was originally going to keep this portrait as a simple pencil portrait, which I’m quite pleased with Procreate’s graphite simulation.  But then the color tempted me!  I tried to keep it subtle with the pops of her dramatic red hair tips.  I ended up with a look very close to what I can do with copic marker, traditionally, which is neat!

Moira for MissSunnySweden

Lastly, we have Moira for MissSunnySweden, a kickbutt Dawn Caste with a tiger theme.  I’ve long considered smiles my weakness when drawing people, but I was able to capture a delighted bloodlust smile without too much trouble.  I didn’t have much time to draw Fia and Moira, so I aimed for more simplified ‘token-style’ portraits.

All the portaits you see here were painted in Procreate, which has become my mainstay of late since it let’s me curl up in a comfortable spot on the couch to work.

Bonus Valentine’s Day Exalted Comic

I created one last bit of fun Exalted art in February where we were challenged by another member of the Forge to draw our characters on a date.  My character, Kalara, was paired up with the Abyssal, The Cultivar, for a date, which triggered a fun idea for a whole mini comic I could practice my visual storytelling skills with.

I wasn’t able to finish the mini comic with everything happening with health and job woes last month, but I’m hoping to clean this up at some point for practice.  For now, enjoy the sketches for the comic and the quick final panel I did work up just for fun!

Premise:  The Cultivar and Kalara go on a date!

Kalara shows up to the cafe, where the Cultivar awaits, the two of them competing to show off who has the highest Resources rating (basically means how rich they are in this setting).  They ‘battle’ through various things, from fancy tea vs coffee, to fancy favorite foods, to the final battle – Who will cover the check???

Eventually, Kalara wins the wealth battle, but The Cultivar gets the upper hand…which my gal is actually pretty okay with.  There are worse, more boring ways to die, right? 

The final panel:

(This one was drawn on Procreate, but word bubbles added in Clip Studio Paint)

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I hope you’ve enjoyed this little art diversion!  I have more serious projects to finish up by the end of the month, but these character challenges are always a fun way to stretch my legs between more intense projects.

– Ang

[Art] Exalted Character of the Week Vol 1: Rainbows, Abyssals, and Big Hats

You all know I’m a nerd for the tabletop game, Exalted from Onyx Path Publishing (and if not, SURPRISE! Prepare yourself for my weebness).  I help run a Discord server for fans who like to create art, writing, etc. for this particular TTRPG community.  Recently, we started up a community activity where we roll a die to choose a character from a member to create arts inspired by them.  This little collection features characters from our first rounds.

This activity has been an excellent opportunity for me to practice different styles, so strap yourself in for a ride through the colorful characters and styles of my first Exalted Character of the Week collection!

(My gal, Kalara, was chosen for the first round, but that’s a whole other art feature collection for later).

Theo for Jen

Theodotus is a bombastic Zenith Caste who beams rainbows from his heroic anima.  The energetic style of the Hades video game seemed like a perfect fit for him. I absolutely adore this style and always wanted to try it myself!  This style involves clean line work and bold highlighting for a signature look. I definitely want to play with it more, as it suited my own proclivity for line art and elegance very well.

  • Watch a timelapse of Theo’s creation here.

Orchid for MissSunnySweden

Next, we have Leaping River Orchid, a demure noblewoman Twilight Caste who hides her Anathema nature from the noble house she was born into.  She prefers to charm rather than combat and seemed a good fit for testing out a style inspired by the Arcane animated series with her elegant costume.

I’m particularly happy with how this one came out. Despite how rough it is, it feels polished in the right places, which is a valuable lesson to me on balancing detail and value in a composition so I can plan my time and effort with pieces better.

  • Watch a timelapse of Orchid’s portrait here.

Thrice-Fallen Affections for Raefen

Finally, we have the Abyssal, Thrice-Fallen Affections, who serves the Deathlord, The Lover Clad in the Raiment of Tears.  Thrice-fallen Affections has some rather risque tastes in formal clothing in the skeleton themes of the Underworld.

  • See the uncensored version and watch the full view timelapse of this piece here.  Artistic nudity warning (bare breasts in a non-sexual context) for any who do decide to click through.

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It’s my hope that by experimenting with different styles, I refill my creative well a bit, as well as learn about what makes MY style “me” by figuring out what it is I like and don’t like, what feels right to me, and how I want my work to look in the future.  Most of all, it’s just nice to take a break from serious years-long projects to have some fun with casual art!  I have been emulating Mucha for so long with the Birthstone Goddesses series that it’s nice to break out of my shell a bit.

The Exalted Character of the Week Challenge is going to be an ongoing activity in the future, so I’ll probably share quarterly collections from the event from here on out.  It’s been fun to let loose with styles and fashion exploration with all the colorful character possibilities that Exalted has to offer thus far.

Next up, I hope to have a very special bit of fan art inspired by my favorite TV series of 2023 – Blue Eye Samurai!  Granted I can get it done by next Thursday.  We shall see!

Till then, I hope you enjoyed the art dump!

– Ang

Time for Art Fight 2023!

If you caught my last post, it’s been a bit of a bummer for me that I’ve had to delay the Birthstone Goddesses Calendar.  I was really looking forward to that for bookending this years-long project.  And so my solution is to fill my brain with happy chemicals by participating for my first-ever Art Fight event for July!

What is Art Fight?

It’s an annual art trading event that happens in July!  Two teams compete against one another by earning points via drawing art trades of peoples’ characters.  The teams are inconsequential and are only there to encourage people to earn as many points as possible. You’re free to pick and draw whatever character you want that other artists have shared.  3D, 2D, and crafts are allowed, so it’s a great chance to get creative!

I’m kinda sad I’ve never joined in by now. I used to think you had to draw in the theme of the teams, but this is untrue. You can draw whatever you like according to the character design and what the artists guidelines are.  The more detail you add, the more points you’ll earn for your team.

Go Team Werewolf!

I’m Team Werewolf this year, which amuses me greatly, considering I’ve been somewhat of a career Vampire the Masquerade player when I was younger.  You can change teams if you want, but I figured I’d give my fuzzy bois a chance!

You can see my profile here, should you want to Attack me.  I’ve been trying to reciprocate all Attacks with a Revenge art trade!  I have a few of my favorite original characters on offer, from my newest exuberant Barbarian gal, Rabs, to my oldest foul-mouthed tattooed elf character, Aurora.

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So far, this has been a great chance to practice my skills and enjoy the simple joy of drawing cool characters and bringing a smile to another artist.   I’ll share a big wrap up of all the portraits I’m doing at the end of the month.

Are you in on the Art Fight this year?  Feel free to share your profile in the comments!

In the meanwhile, keep an eye on my socials where I’m sharing the AF timelapses:

♥ Ang

March 2023 Sketchbook – Character Explorations & Forgotten Sketches + A Lesson In Patience

Well then, 2023 continues whoopin’ my butt!  I spent a few days in the ER with food trapped in my esophagas thanks to a chronic condition that suddenly got worse, which caused me to be down for another week for recovery.  The docs are on my case to help me make sure this doesn’t happen again, but I’m beyond frustrated with how much time I’ve had to take off this year because of my fragile meat shell.  It’s been a lesson in patience and in recognizing I’m going to have to work at the pace I can work at and nothing more or less.

I’m definitely looking forward to our beach vacation coming up in April!  Kev and I haven’t taken a proper vacation outside of a staycation at home since we’ve been together and had always planned a trip for our honeymoon, which we have not taken in the years since we’ve been married.  We’re finally taking the time to spoil ourselves rotten after the past few years we’ve had!

The Little Victories

Thankfully at least I did manage to get back in the studio to clear out the mess from the move.  I still have little bit to go, but it’s finally looking sane inside!  In the meanwhile, I’ve been slowly, but surely learning how to use Clip Studio Paint, which has some fantastic vector inking features I’ve been utilizing for my amulet designs.

I chipped away at the medallion designs to complete the Goddesses of Winter set (December, January, & February).  I was supposed to have all of them done by now, but I’m trying to be kinder to myself when health things happen and let things develop as they can!

Here’s a little sneak peek of January’s pink carnation motif:

Forgotten Sketches

I realized putting together sketches that I had forgotten to share a couple!  Back in November when I was playing with my Flame of the Sultana story for NaNoWriMo, I was inspired to do some concepts for my Fire Genasi’s sister, an Earth Genasi named Badeema.  While I began this sheet last year, I’ve been coming back to it every now and again to play with more crystal hairdos for her because it’s just so very fun!  I’m sure I’ll wander back to this character to play with more agate-inspired skin striations, too.  

She deserves her own dedicated sketchbook post, along with Rabs’ other Genasi sisters, methinks!  I’d love to have my own illustrations to use for this story’s Campfire Writing story bible.

Next, we have an idea that came to me while I was pondering a story you all haven’t really ‘met’ yet.  Tentatively titled Sacred & Profane, this D&D inspired tale did show up in my NaNoWriMo poll as the ‘story of friendship between a pair of dysfunctional monster hunters with werewolves, vampires, and ghosts, oh my!’

One of these pair of monster hunters is Nils, a Ghostslayer, who often trains by willingly enduring near-death experiences, which opens him up to experiences like the one pictured.  The angel has a deeper significance later on, but I’ll leave that for future exploration.

I’m excited to play with the notion of the surface of water breaking up the perspective plane for an extra trippy composition if I end up polishing this image later!

More Character Sketches

My go-to ‘my body betrays me and I must control my stress levels’ happy project has been continuing the party line-up I’ve been working on during my dedicated ‘carefree sketchbook play time’.  The goal is to end up like this with a whole spread of clothing/armor looks for the party!

I finished Rabs’ armor base and now Cal, the flirtacious circus Tiefling, is up next!  I adore Cal’s carefree attitude and parti-color theme and had a lot of fun exploring his armor base in gesture sketches.  For Level 0, I wanted him to seem a little unsure of his skills, but with the potential to improve, while his Armor Base is meant to show off the confidence he gains in his skills since those training days.

Cal’s player and I have already picked the final poses for his Level 0 and Armor Base poses, but feel free to try and guess which ones we picked out of each row!

A little reminder of what Cal looks like:

Well, that’s all for now, friends!  I hope to have a more significant update next month as my body hopefully does not implode.  But also I have a lot of looming medical tests which may mean more downtime or slow time for me, depending on the outcome.  So here I am, just trying to go with the flow without raging too much about that anymore.

Bless you kind souls who still remain pledged here!  Your support when I’ve been in Tip Jar mode warms my heart.

♥ Ang

Posts You Might’ve Missed in March

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.

Till next time!

♥ Ang

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