Tag: personal updates

Oct 2019 Wrap-Up: The Con Aftermath + Vacation Days Begin!

Another month has passed, bringing us another wrap-up!  October has been blessedly slower now that my last con of the year has happened.  It’s been a time to come down from the crazy gauntlet of events and finish up a few small, but important tasks before I go on a vacation!

That’s right, you guys. A vacation!  I’m taking some time off starting this weekend and lasting till November 17th to rest and recuperate before the next Kickstarter pre-launch period for the Goddesses of Winter begins.  Hopefully I can get some completely indulgent art and reading time in!

I wanted to go on a writing retreat, but alas it’s not in the budget this year. Next year, perhaps!  I’m going to take the next best option and sneak away to write and relax in coffee shops like a real pro.  NaNoWriMo starts up tomorrow and even if I don’t officially have a dedicated project for it, it’s always a great excuse to let my muse wander and get motivated for making better writing habits to work on my many stories in progress!

As for this Patreon, it will remain active during vacation! I’m going to schedule a few posts ahead which will include a couple of new Rewards for everyone, since I finally have a bit of time to catch up.  I may be slow to communicate during this time while I do my best to downplay stressful elements such as social media/shops/etc. briefly, so please be patient with me!

As for the pic above, that’s the wreck that is my studio after not having a ton of time to clean it between conventions, Kickstarter fulfillment tasks, etc.!  It really needs some love and care during my vacation as well.  Time to get it orderly again so I can concentrate without a tower of empty boxes falling on me!

Also, I can’t forget to say happy Allhallowtide, Halloween, and Samhain, to my lovely Patrons today!  Did you get to wear any costumes?  I’d love to hear about them in comments! 

I’m dressing up this weekend with metallic orange makeup and cute bat earrings!  But you can have my Halloween ensemble for last year, in the meantime. Spoopy hand warmers!  (I REALLY need to work on getting normal pictures of myself without a costume or spoopy things on).

Project Status

The Birthstone Goddesses Coloring Book TRADE EDITION (Book Finished. Applications pending!)

GREAT news in that I was finally able to complete all my official registration forms!  I’m currently waiting on Amazon to get back to me about how we’ll proceed from here to get my coloring books officially listed under me as a vendor on the site.

Birthstone Goddesses Enamel Pins (50% Complete)

Sketching has started the same day of this post! I hope to have a Secret Sketchbook entry up after vacation on the development of these new designs.

Little Gem Goddesses Stickers (Finished!)

I am plotting on something special I can do with them for Patrons, so stay tuned!

Birthstone Goddesses Tote Bags and Scarves (Planning)

Will prep these designs to be integrated into my Etsy shop after vacation!

Birthstone Goddesses Wall Calendar (Planning)

Development will begin once the enamel pins have been completed.

Birthstone Goddesses Art Book (Planning)

Planning to launch after the calendar.  I’ll be dropping previews of some of the new painting concepts I’ll be planning for this art soon!

Upcoming Cons

Goblin Market  – March 28, 2020 (Awaiting Confirmation)

Join us in the market where the fairy denizens may ask for more than money for the items you seek!  This year’s theme is ‘fairy tales’. Fingers crossed I get in!  I LOVE the theme and immersive storytelling of this event.

New Rewards Planned for November

  • Goddesses of Autumn Coloring Pack
  • Little Gem Goddesses of Summer Wallpaper Pack

Posts You May Have Missed in OCT:

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It’s been so lovely to meet some of you this month at Multiverse, as well!  I’m so happy to have a place like Patreon where I can get to know you all better.  

Thanks for your support and here’s to an inspiring month of relaxation and inspiration before the holiday rush begins!

♥ Ang

Organizing the Chaos 2019 Edition

With 2019 upon us and my head full of ambitions, I’m admittedly feeling overwhelmed already with all of the things I want to do this year.  I want to work towards the calendar, art book, etc, but also finish up many of the pending designs on my Ladies of the Months art list (pins, stickers, etc.) that I talked about before.  It’s been difficult to know what to do first and trying to figure that out has left me paralyzed like a deer in the headlights!

I usually do a 10 goals list, but I wanted to try something a little different this year to organize the chaos!  Lauren Panepinto, an art director I had the pleasure of meeting at IlluxCon some years ago, came to the rescue with her priority chain listing exercise.  The gist of the exercise is to write down your biggest goals, then break them down into more actionable bite-sized activities, then prioritize them through their relationship to your big goals that you’ve also put in priority order.  You can read more about how to do this at Lauren’s article on Muddy Colors.

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Without further ado, here is my 2019 KICKASS To Do List!

1.  Paint Ladies of the Months alternates for the art book.

2.  Write/Paint more Song of Exile for portfolio and short stories.

3.  DREAM CLIENT Portfolios 

– Card Game/ Magic the Gathering Portfolio – Song of Exile, Kushiel’s Legacy

– Book Cover Portfolio – Song of Exile, Kushiel’s Legacy, fave books, literary canon

– Tabletop Game Portfolio – Song of Exile, The Uncrucified, Our D&D characters

4. Create videos with my art animated and set to music + stories (Learn MotionArtist)

5.  Create a study schedule, finish classes, keep practicing!

6.  Take an inspiration trip once per month (Atlas Obscura, museums, art openings).

7.  Re-write biz plan and promo schedule.

8.  Expand shop with new products.  Apparel, puzzles, stickers, tabletop aids, cards, bags, etc.)

9.  Create commission samples for private clients (portraits, avatars, etc.)

10.  Increase Patreon engagement with giveaways, pledge drives, tutorials, etc.

11.  Stream more regularly. (Hangouts, study, fan art days, etc.)

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I really liked this take on making a goals list because it helps you be less distracted by random goals and focus on what’s really important to you, while also help you figure out what actually has that importance to you.  For example, I’ve been trying to do so many tasks this week, from updating my shop to working on the stickers, when I realize I need to first write my new promotion schedule and business plan out first, since my tasks have changed this year from painting the main set of the Ladies.

Knowing what releases I’ll have for the year will also help dictate my release schedule, what I can launch in my shop, etc.

I think it’s also helpful to remind ourselves of those Big Goals, those lofty dreams that we’re working towards that we sometimes forget about when our nose is close to the grindstone.  I’m reminded of one of my favorite motivational speeches from Neil Gaiman where he talks about making a wishlist of all the cool things he wanted to create (ie. write an episode of Dr. Who) and he just crossed them off his list as the years went on.  This wishlist kept him motivated and helped him feel like anything he created in service of it was worthwhile, even if the money didn’t happen.

Now that I’ve got some direction, I can start to make sense of the chaos.  And now you guys know how bad my handwriting is ha!

So what do you guys do to get organized for the year or for career/business goals?  I’d love to hear your techniques in comments!

AUG 2018 Status – A Life-Changing Diagnosis

August was an extreme month.  2018 has been an extreme year!  When I wrote in last month’s status report pondering ‘what else could the universe throw at us’, I never would have thought that would be the diagnosis of Hodgkin’s Lymphoma for my husband (delivered to us the morning of Art Show setup at DragonCon, no less!).

It’s been a very trying weekend and while the con went so well for me this year, we were barely holding it together during the event.  The kind words, smiles, and support of all the lovely folks who came by and greeted us really kept us going.  DragonCon is my arty geek family and I am so grateful for it, especially now!  (I’ll be posting about the con and what I learned in a separate entry soon).

The good news is that Hodgkin’s Lymphoma is completely curable if caught early.  However, my husband will have to endure a battery of tests, chemotherapy, and radiation to make sure it’s gone for good.  For this reason, I ask that all of you are patient with me should I be slow to respond or deliver.  All of my willpower is going into processing this journey ahead of us which starts next week.

I’m going to do my best to meet my professional obligations here, but I needed to put this out there because this is one doozy of a life-change that affects all aspects of my personal and professional life.

Current Projects

My main project right now is getting the Ladies of the Months coloring book out to the Kickstarter Backers!  I have no other side projects, commissions, or appearances planned until this goal is met and will be focusing solely on getting this epic task completed on schedule!

The individual tasks for the book include:

– Stretch Goal #1 – 12 pages of line art of header images (DONE!)

– Stretch Goal #2 – 12 pages of line art of fashion plates (Pending).

– Stretch Goal #3 – 12 pages of line art of chibi Ladies (Pending).

– Complete Book Layout for Print (front cover complete, the rest Pending)

– Printed book proof and printing. (Awaiting final layout).

– Pack and ship! (Thermal printer acquired. Awaiting printed books!)

Recently Completed Projects

– The Rose Fae Set for the Olde Fae card game.  Check out the finished paintings here and keep up with the game’s release later this month at this Facebook Event!

Pending Projects

I’ve decided to put the following projects on hold so I don’t slow down on delivering my coloring book Kickstarter. We might not see these happening till later this year or next year!

  • Ladies of the Months Wall Calendar 

  • Ladies of the Months Art Book

  • Ladies of the Months Enamel Pins

  • Monster Girls Coloring Book

  • Angelic Shades Coloring Book

That’s all for my August update.  We’re hoping that next month will be pretty boring with nothing but progress to report on my husband’s journey to good health and my continued progress on the coloring book!

Thanks so much, as ever, for your continued support and encouragement.

Much love!

– Ang