Tag: personal updates

No AUG Hangout? + Vacation Sketch Dump!

Sorry to say that I was a little too overwhelmed to do the August Hangout! It was another rough month that included ever MORE doctor appointments for my husband’s surgery prep, but also the yearly kidney cancer check-ups for me, which have ended in a cautionary “you need more scans to be sure”.

Everything is likely fine, as the doctor’s concern level was medium-low, but it still meant taking the time to be transferred to a new specialist to organize a set of ever-MOAR appointments.

Basically, both me AND my husband are simultaneously navigating the medical funhouse that is being patients on cancer-watch within a constantly evolving medical system while also trying to navigate an unfavorable job market for our professions.

The convention prep for October has also started and I’m going EXTRA-BONKERS trying to prepare after being out of the game for so long!

WIP Art

Lots of art is currently in the work-in-progress stage as well, including:

  • A mockup of my new, improved convention booth (I’ll be writing a post about this!)

  • The “Cassiel’s Servant” fan cover, which I need to make some decisions about as far as what media I want to use. I’ve been art blocked on this one!

  • Character of the Month feature drawings for my Exalted buddies. I’ve started 3 drawings by now that linger in the inking stage.

A Sketch Dump Treat!

Once again, Exalted TTRPG art is keeping me sane while I battle the feeling of constant overwhelm. I don’t want to leave you guys without a little fun and treats after all our medical doom, however, so have some random sketches inspired by community activites over in the Forge of Wonders, the Exalted fan server I’m co-admin of.

A sword with a theme of phoenix feathers and embers. When drawn, it grants the user an aura of phoenix tails.
A sword concept for the wandering desert swordsman, Glittering Blade, who belongs to ShiftingPath.
A reference sheet of a swordsman, featuring his armor, mount, and many blades.
Art by ShiftingPath on tumblr of Glittering Blade, the wielder who I designed this weapon for.

This sword has a bit of a love story behind it which I’ll include for the curious:

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Story Fluff: This blade arrived to Glittering Blade via a specialized spirit messenger, a little firebird that dissipated upon completing its task. It was immaculately gift-wrapped in silk fabric embroidered with gold, there also came a letter, scented with a familiar myrrh perfume Blade will recognize.

Written in a practiced quill hand were the words:

Dearest Glittering Blade,

May this sword protect you on your wanderings, far and wide, so that you may journey safely. I know it is your way to fall in love with a new blade eventually, so this one shall not linger overlong. It will eventually return back to me for safekeeping, as I hope you might someday, even if only to take up the sword and leave again, as heroes do.

I look forward to continuing my sword lessons upon the occasion!

Your friend, ~ K

(And if you don’t know who K is, that’d be my character, Kalara, sending him the equivalent of “Call me, okay?” XD She’s quite smitten with this traveler!)

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Next is a cute sketch of Kalara tempting her businesswoman buddy, Shame, to her happy hour meetup the only way she knows how – Tax Deductible Networking Event Persuasion Technique!

It was some much-needed silliness over a much-need long weekend!

Thanks for sticking with me so far when I’ve not had as much as I’d like to share with you guys. It’s appreciated more than you will ever know!

<3 Ang

Personal Update: Birthday Contemplation, Death of the Art Career?

I celebrated my 43rd birthday this past Nov 7th! Another jog around the sun has made me more contemplative than ever.

To be quite honest, it’s been a rough year for my husband and I. Things have been extra stressful ever since my husband was laid off in February of this year. We thought surely he’d pick up work within a few of months, but the extreme layoffs in upper level tech have meant crickets for job opportunities.

This reality has made the future of my art career an uncertain one. We simply cannot survive off of my income and savings alone, with the art industry looking as bleak as ever for so many reasons (AI art, inflation, layoffs, the list goes on). I’ve returned to accepting freelance work and am trying to return to working conventions, but I’ve also met crickets so far and shows take the risky investment of table fees, not to mention the health risks that made me quit cons in the first place.

The long of the short of it is that if by the end of this year, if our situation doesn’t change, I’ll be re-assessing this career path (after 10+ years of working at it) and likely pivoting into a different industry altogether.

This place may become even more quiet as my pace slows down to accomodate my schedule as I study to earn my A+ cert and move into more consistent helpdesk work that I can do remotely since we share one car.

January 2025 will be the deadline for me to decide what to do as we near the annivesary of a whole year of unemployment for my husband. If anyone is looking for Technical Account Managers or Sys Admins, drop me a DM!

We have a couple of months before that dreaded deadline…so let us hope against hope that things start looking up!

A Little Bit of Happiness 

Thankfully this post isn’t all doom and gloom. On my birthday, I was so blessed that even with all this extreme stress, my family went the extra mile to help me feel special with a ramen lunch at a new place that just opened up nearby, cookies and cream mousse cake, an art book, and a video game I had been looking forward to for years (Dragon Age Veilguard!).

Even with all of this going on, I’m so lucky and loved! Where there is ramen, there is always room for happiness.

(I made my old Shadowrun character, Aurora, into a sarcastic Elf who loves to smash things. It’s been therapuetic to play her right now.)

As hopeless as the post no doubt sounds, I’m never going to stop making art. There are too many stories I want to tell and cool characters I want to draw! Hopefully, I can keep on sharing that journey with you all, even at a glacial pace.

No matter what happens in this next year of life, I want to thank everyone, old and new, who has stuck with me here or moved through my life at various times to give me hope and succor. The little bits of support have meant the world!

Much love, friends. Stay inspired and keep up hope! There are still good things and people in this world.

<3 Ang

Health Update + Year End Wrap-Up

Hello, it’s my face!  I just wanted to give you all a sign of life after my last posts.  I am alive and well!  For those who didn’t catch the great news on social media, my latest scans say that my kidney lump is STABLE!  This is such a huge relief.  I was very much preparing for life to go a different way this year, considering my family’s history with this malady.  We’ll have to keep an eye on things for the future, but for now, what I have is slow-growing and generally benign. It’s really the best news in my case!

This year has been a challenging and introspective one. I had to simplify my life knowing that treatments might be a possibility, which meant I had to abandon my Kickstarter ambitions this year.   Never-the-less, your support here has helped me accomplish quite a lot!

With your support from Patreon this year, we’ve:

  • Kept my Etsy ads going through a year with failing social media reach
  • Helped me invest in a Canvas lamp for better lighting and for recording video
  • Upgrade my copy of Clip Studio Paint from the basic to the EX version for more helpful features
  • Launched my exclusive Patreon Merch as a special reward
  • Allowed me to purchase a few storage racks to help organize the new studio space
  • Helped cover part of my usual expenses, like my website, shop bills, etc.
  • Helped me survive a nearly year-long semi-hiatus due to shoulder surgery and rehab AND further medical challenges this year
  • Allowed me to go on a REAL vacation outside of the house for the first time in years

(The beginnings of the great studio re-organization!)

Honestly, this Patreon has been such a consistent source of succor for my husband and myself, so thank you once again from the bottom of our hearts!

Featured Posts from This Year

Here were some of my posts moments that I got to share with you all this year:

What’s next?

For now, I’m queuing up the traditional Year in Art Summary for a look back on what I’ve created this year, my favorites and lessons, etc.  I also have a few pieces in the pipeline I plan to share in a few errant art posts by the end of the year.  Mostly, I’ve been focusing on some frivilous fun pieces to wind down the end of the year with and enjoy this slow project time before I dive into the next big ambitious thing.

Till then, I hope you all enjoy the holidays and the end of the year!

– Ang

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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Posts You Might Have Missed from February