Tag: Monthly Wrap-Ups

June 2024 Update – Adventures in Quitting Adobe

The Experiment Begins

Hey, friends & Patrons! It’s been a time of change and transition as we settle into a new pattern of digesting books so that I might create art inspired by them. Since the last update, I’ve cracked open Cassiel’s Servant by Jacqueline Carey and have been immersed in the Cassiline warrior monk’s origin story! It is, so far, full of gorgeous floral imagery and reflection on Terre d’Ange’s philosophy of love, honor, and one’s own place in interpreting dueling philosophies.

Feel free to hop in on the Cassiel’s Servant book club topic over on my Discord and discuss the book with me as I read and react and hopefully have art to share soon once I’ve let it simmer in my mind a little longer.

In taking on this experimental reading and arting exercise, I realize I’m much less of a sketch on the spot person and more of a sketch after pondering what scratches at the muse most person, at least for this style of introspective character memoir. Cassiel’s Servant is shaping up to be more spiritual and surreal in nature, image and themes-wise, which makes for a more challenging foray in creating art inspired by it.

I’d like to break myself of the habit of pondering so much on WHAT to draw and learn to play more, so I’m going to attempt to do better to force myself to just doodle what comes to mind along the way as I read. That’s half the fun of why I chose Story Sketcher as my Patreon’s focus for now. Time to push comfort zones and get myself drawing and playing with art more!

However, Cassiel’s Servant is also a 500+ page chonker of a book, so I’m also going to have to pace myself unless I end up taking too long to actually get anything done or spend too much time stuck in minutia rather than attempting the grand design that will be drawing my own cover for this tale, which is the ultimate goal!

Software Shakeups

In other news this month, I’ve only just barely started adjusting to the big social media shakeup when Adobe also decided to be the absolute worse this month with its sus content management terms.

To be honest, I had been considering dropping them for a long time now because the $60 a month price tag was already a lot, especially when my husband is still on the job hunt and my income as an artist has taken a hit from all of the world’s shakeups right now and record low sales for my shop, aside from that.

My software replacement choices so far (for any who are also similarly plotting their Adobe escape):

  • To replace Photoshop’s painting capabilities – Clip Studio Paint EX, Procreate
  • To replace Photoshop’s photo editing capabilities – Affinity Photo
  • To replace InDesign and Illustrator for vectors and book layouts – Clip Studio Paint EX, Affinity Designer
  • To replace Adobe Premiere and Rush – DaVinci Resolve (A free program)

As of this writing, the Affinity Suite is still on sale for 50% off, for anyone still hoping to get in on that! They also have a free trial you can dig for on their site if you want to test them out first. Clip Studio Paint also goes on sale quite often, so just wait for any major holiday or seasonal change and they’ll generally have a sale.

As for video editing, DaVinci Resolve is quite powerful and I was able to get the hang of it in a few days. It has a maddening default setting of starting each timeline at 1 hour, which you can change in the preferences, but other than that, it’s FAR more approachable than Adobe Premiere and I was already able to put together a video of my art using it!

Life Happening (TM)

Not gonna lie, it’s been rough for my husband and myself since February when he lost his job. Spring storms dropped two trees on our house, which ate through our emergency funds. The maximum level of stress involved has slowed everything down for me.

We’re currently eating into life savings to see us through and I’m very close to opening up emergency character art commissions, which Patrons will get first dibs on, followed by my newsletter followers, if things don’t start looking up by the end of July.

So here’s hoping we get some good news soon? A few interviews have gone well so it’s all about waiting right now!

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Hoping to have more visuals to share in July as I settle into a pattern of reading and drawing! The process has been more challenging than expected, but I’m determined to switch gears and keep things moving around here.

Hope my US friends enjoy their Independence time off, if they got it! I’m going to have good foods and company and hopefully find a little peace amongst the chaos.

– Ang

April 2024 – Plz Reboot Artist

Oh wow, how is it the end of April??? This month flew by as I’ve been toiling through taxes and recuperating from the sleepless nights of medical/job worries and deadline crunch that was Jan thru March.

Rebooting My Brain

Things haven’t been all craziness and exhaustion, thankfully! I’ve been hyped to continue my quest to re-tool my skillset from painter to writer-illustrator and have finally returned to my studies now that the dust is settling (knock on wood?).

I’m in a transition period as I figure out how to brush up these rusty writerly skills of mine, but also find a way to combine my writing and art skills for new storytelling possibilities. I’ve picked up some classes to help me figure it all out:

  • Neil Gaiman’s MasterClass – I finished this one this month and it was a condensed shot in the brain of Gaiman’s best practices and anecdotes from his experiences as a writer. It was refreshing to see his scrappy comic script thumbnails. I’ve finished his masterclass with a bit more perspective and feeling a little more confident!

  • Clip Studio Paint Basics – I’ve also dove deep into learning Clip Studio Paint EX! I hope to use this program to utilize its 3D models to inform my illustration, as well as use CSP’s other tools to help in creating complex backgrounds. It also has book layout functionality, which would be useful for so many of my projects! It’s a LOT to take in and I’ve been taking it slow with this one.

  • Proko Presents Marvel’s Art of Storytelling – Getting a little more back in taxes than expected helped me splurge on something more for fun. I’ve always been interested in comics, but never felt brave enough to really make them. This class has been a fascinating glimpse into an adjacent industry and motivation to give some of my fun side ideas a try just for my own personal good, even if I don’t plan to go into comics professionally. My biggest takeaway so far is my comics friends aren’t paid enough for all the things they must master!

Other Patreon News – Last Chance Loyalty Merch!

May is the last month my Birthstone Goddesses loyalty merch will be available! After this month, I’ll be deactivating this merch to make ready for my Patreon’s soft re-launch into a new theme focused on creating work inspired by novels, starting with the Kushiel’s Legacy series.

For a limited time (till the end of May), I’m going to offer all of the Birthstone Goddesses Loyalty merch exclusively for Patrons to snag before it’s gone for good. Patrons who have been here long enough have gotten this merch for free, but those who may have missed out because they’re new Patrons that joined after the merch’s debut will at least have this chance to snag it for a fee before they disappear into the vault.

Stay tuned for the announcement for when these items go live in the Secret Shop. (Should be within the week!)

Posts You Missed in April

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I didn’t have too many posts in April, as the inspiration lists take quite a while to compile. I’m hoping to get Part 2 of Movies That Make Me Want to Paint done for May, instead. Meanwhile, prep continues for the grand re-launch. I can’t wait to roll out the new direction for this Patreon which promises to help me read more books and create more art that I love and want to see in the world!

More soon,

– 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

October 2020 – Fate of the Art Challenge, NaNoWriMo Joins the Fray!

Right off the bat, I have to say that October has been such indulgent fun for me!  Thanks to those of you who stuck with me through the wacky weirdness that was my Exalted Art Challenge.  I know it’s a bit different than the art you’re used to from me, but I hope it has been interesting for you all, just the same! 

I’ve had a minor conflict in that I was supposed to finish up the Exalted Art Challenge by the end of October, but for reasons (aka. my own meticulous nature), I’m only about halfway through the topic list!  As such, I’ve decided to continue the EAC into November as well.  This might be a little complicated because I’m also doing NaNoWriMo.  I’m going to try to do both and see how insane I go!  I have been looking forward to NaNoWriMo all year and could not give up on it this year again.  The plan is to put on an hour timer and write.  Keeping it simple and also not letting myself spend too long on it!

This may all be complicated by the fact that we’re planning to move in a couple months as well!  With luck, it’ll be into a house all our own.  We’re currently working on the details, so keep your fingers crossed!  Between packing up boxes and finishing up my last professional obligations of the year so I can focuson the move, I hope to keep myself sane with a creative escape to the EAC and NaNoWriMo!

Coming in November

  • The Exalted Art Challenge Part 2 – Continuing the 2nd half of the topic list!  Sketch collections will be shared with Patrons early and released a month later for the public.  Keep up with the Challenge’s final art at the Uncrucified’s project blog or this Twitter thread.
  • NaNoWriMo for The Uncrucified – Become my NaNo Buddy here!  I’m going to be continuing the 3rd person rewrite/novelization of The Uncrucified and sharing daily posts on my main Twitter.  I’ll be sharing progress in my Patreon Discord as well, so feel free to come join in the fun there with your own stories where we can encourage one another!
  • New Downloadables!  Also keep an eye out for a new coloring page for my $5+ Patrons and a wallpaper pack featuring Kalara’s “Garda Wings Attack” piece for ALL Patrons!

Digest of October’s Posts

Rewards Added in October

New Coloring Page! Angel of the Eclipse

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Anyone taking on NaNoWriMo?  Did you do any fun challenges in October?  I’d love to hear about it!

It’s gonna be a fun November, which is also my birth-month.   I’ve been looking forward to crisp Autumn days and writing inspiration, despite everything else!

More soon,

♥ Ang

May 2020 Wrap-Up – Fanarts, Refocusing, and Next Steps!

May went by way too fast, you guys!  I was able to take about a week off before I had to hop back to prepping Backerkit for the Goddesses of Spring Kickstarter to make sure that was working smoothly for those of you who picked up pins.  But do not worry, I plan to take a true and proper break once this FINAL Kickstarter finishes its ‘lifecycle’ and everything is shipped!

In that bit of downtime, I took on the Six Fanarts Challenge which are my first paintings in Procreate!  I’m extremely proud of these.  It’s nice to be reminded I can still paint this way after years of working almost primarily in ink and watercolor:

(Check out this post for the collection and narrated time lapse video!)

I’m also pretty terrible at downtime and as usual when I am trying to take a break, my brain is alight with all the things I’d like to do!  I’ve been thinking of the ways I want to re-focus and make some changes to organize my studio, refine my social media output, etc. now that this project has finished one major phase and begins to enter another.

The focus of this next and final phase is going to be the Wall Calendar and Art Book, the latter of which will feature some unpublished pieces (that my Patreon Patrons will totally be getting a sneak peek of before everybody else!).  These pieces are going to be much more in a dark and elegant vein as I bridge the gap between Mucha’s style and my own personal style.  It’s going to be very different, but still something I hope you all will enjoy!

June is going to be about finishing up one last Art Challenge to let my brain wind down (The 6 Outfits Challenge), setting a study schedule, wrapping up Kickstarter (I hope! These delays are killer), doing taxes, and re-organizing the studio to be more efficient now that my inventory has grown so very much!

Lastly, as much as I like to focus on my fanciful art here, this month has also been mentally rough for so many folks, especially as I write this.  For those who don’t know us, my husband and I are an interracial couple.  Seeing recent events unfold is a strong reminder of how safe my husband and family are not in this world, a constant 24-7 truth we’ve become good at ignoring just so we can live our lives.   I’ve shared some places you can donate here where you can also help others during these tense times, if you are able. 

Please be kind to others and speak up when you see injustice!  Let this horror help us come together with renewed and combined strength.

Much love!

♥ Ang

Digest of May’s Posts

Rewards Added in May

April 2020 Wrap-Up – Going on Art Vacation!

Hello from Day 52 of self-isolation!  This week has been the first week since self-isolation started that I haven’t been crazy busy juggling pin samples, Kickstarter promotion tasks, etc.  The final campaign for the Birthstone Goddesses Pin series on Kickstarter wrapped up this month and I’m celebrating finishing up this next phase of this project!  All that’s left now is to produce the pins and ship them out.  

Next, I’m excited to start work on the next phase of the Birthstone Goddesses with some new art I hope to create in a more fantasy vein for the art book, plus the long-awaited wall calendar.  Wonderful things are on the horizon, which I hope to work on this year and release next year via Kickstarter when things are hopefully a little more stable for everyone!

But first, I’m enjoying some downtime!  May is going to be about letting myself rest and relax to recharge some of my burnt out batteries now that the Kickstarter gauntlet is officially over.  We had been planning a trip to Myrtle Beach to celebrate, but until it’s safe to travel, we’re having a staycation instead.  I’m amusing myself catching up with shows like The Expanse and Dr. Stone and playing video games like Overcooked 2 and Bloodborne.

I’m also excited for letting my muse off the leash to explore something new for a little while!  I’m planning to take on some short term art topics for May, including the May Sketch A Day event (which is where you try to sketch anything once a day in May), plus these other fun ideas:

  • 6 Fanarts Challenge – Drawing fan art from suggestions! I’ve already drawn two out of the six portraits and will share the finals here when I’m done.
  • 6 Outfits Challenge – Draw 6 outfits suggested for one of my characters. I’ll be taking suggestions here soon!
  • 5 Minute Artist – Draw a little portrait and share a little about yourself as an artist!
  • Color Palette Challenge – Pick a color palette from this site and create a piece around it!

Along with posting the next few Birthstone Goddesses related Rewards, I’ll be sharing my adventures with art memes in May.  Feel free to do them along with me!

New Rewards Added this Month

Posts You May Have Missed this Month

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How have you all been holding up?  How are you keeping yourselves busy?  I’m looking forward to having a little quiet time for art and introspection now that this phase of my project is well and truly finishing up!

More art soon!

♥️ Ang

Mar 2020 Wrap-Up – Arting through the Pandemic

Reading my last posts and writing this one right now feels so surreal.  Last month, we were canceling cons just in case. Now?  Kev and I have been self-sequestered for 3 weeks and adjusting to a new lifestyle.

Funny enough, my husband is handling this very well, while I’m the one who’s been an anxious mess working in my pjs, taking twice as long to do anything, and reading news late into the night (a bad habit I’m breaking with reading manga/comics instead!).

It’s been rough for me launching a Kickstarter this month as well because I honestly thought “With everyone in survival mode right now, why would they support a Kickstarter? I wouldn’t blame them for saving!”.  I’m so incredibly moved that even during this tough time, you guys came out to support me so that we’ve already fully funded the Goddesses of Spring!  So many of you have also chosen to stay as my Patrons, which I am so eternally grateful for.  My fans are the best!  Thank you so much for supporting the arts during a difficult time for all!

Right now, Kev and I are both safe, working from home, and financially stable.  Knock on wood!  I hope you all are doing well.  It’s okay if it’s difficult to focus.  The world is going through something it hasn’t seen in years.  Just remember that we will endure!  

I’ve decided to keep on working through the Birthstone Goddesses and try to do my best.  I still want to work on a calendar and Art Book for my Goddesses and am still excited to indulge more Fantasy Art to share with you all!  In these dark times, we turn to art for a hopeful escape.  A little light goes a long way!

On that note, I thought I’d round up a few resources that are keeping me sane that might also help you guys out (feel free to share more with me in the comments!):

Free Comics for 60 Days – Comixology, my fave comics reader, has extended their Unlimited subscription service free trial to 60 days.  They have a ton of comics in the Unlimited program!  They also integrate with Amazon for easy sign in.

Free Virtual Museum Tours – Here’s a collection of some of the biggest museums offering tours online.

StayHomeWrimo – The minds behind NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) are doing a daily event where they share writing prompts and self-care tips.  Camp NaNoWriMo is starting up in April as well!

The Uncrucified Free Audiobook + Book – My shameless plug! If you’re interested in my current writing project, check out this story inspired by my adventures in the Exalted tabletop roleplaying game.  

It’s a mature fantasy tale about a young girl who rises to greatness from a childhood spent in slavery.  After being granted abilities by a god to help stave off the world’s destruction, she chooses instead to use her newfound powers to forge her own path of revenge to right the wrongs of the world.  But will absolute power corrupt absolutely?

Also, gunslingers, Queenpins, sand, and sorcery!

It’s my hope that those who aren’t into Exalted can still enjoy it!  Come marvel at my very first try at audiobook reading and perhaps become invested in a writing project near and dear to my heart. (Currently seeking Beta Readers for the expanded rewrite!)

New Rewards Added this Month

Posts You May Have Missed this Month

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For April, I’m hunkering down to ship out as many of the Birthstone Goddess pins as possible, while managing the Goddesses of Spring campaign.  Then, I’ve promised myself a break afterwards to work on other non-Birthstone Goddess things for awhile.  I’m excited to share new work after being focused on more decorative art for so long. I can’t wait to sink my teeth into some narrative art!  We may be seeing more art inspired by the aforementioned writing project.

Stay safe and healthy, friends!

♥ Ang

Jan 2020 Wrap Up – Spring Goddesses & Plans for 2020

Wow did January fly by or is it just me?  I’ve been managing a lot of stressful situations this month, including my husband launching a deer into the stratosphere with his car (he is thankfully uninjured, but the deer was not) and many production woes involving my pins.  So that’s meant a new car payment for us and dreaded Kickstarter production delays!  

I’m especially grateful to my Patrons who have stayed with me through the holidays, as I know things can be tight during the holiday rush.  Welcome to the new folks who’ve hopped on board this month when many are still recovering from the holiday expenses!  The support is definitely helping us during the extra stress this month.  For those who had to leave, I still appreciate your support during the time you were here and totally understand that life happens (Boy howdy does it. Hello, teleporting deer!).

I’m grateful that all the Kickstarter Backers have been so understanding of delays thus far as well!  I’d much rather the factory workers be safe during the coronavirus outbreak, as my pins are not worth more than people’s lives!  I’ve written an update about how this situation affects shipping and safety here for the curious.

Meanwhile, I’m marching ever onwards and have started designing the Goddesses of Spring pins!  There’ll be a Secret Sketchbook entry showing off the creative process behind these designs within the next week or so.

I’m starting to see the finish line that’s coming after a year straight of Kickstarter projects and that feels GREAT!  I love how successful these campaigns have been, but I’d be lying if I said I weren’t also pretty exhausted from doing them!  I’ve learned exactly what my tolerance is for stress and project management and plan to never do this many in a row ever again (hopefully not famous last words!).

I’ve started to ponder what’s next after the Birthstone Goddesses wrap up, which could be a whole blog entry on its own!  For now, I’m focusing on finishing the Birthstone Goddesses  pins and the wall calendar in 2020 and then we shall see what happens at that point!

I can tell after 5 years of working on this endeavor, my muse is starting to meander with Witcher OCs and other distractions and that’s a clear sign to me that I may need to temporarily switch gears when I get to a good stopping point.  But to what?  I have many thoughts which I will save for a later entry once I’ve wrapped up my current queue!

New Rewards Added in January

Posts You May Have Missed In January

I’m keen to see what amazing beginnings and endings happen in 2020!  Thanks for being along for the ride.

♥ Ang