April in Ragonia (2022) (Patreon)

Well HOWDY THERE Art Town Residents, and happy Friday!

I hope you had a glorious springy happy April, I hope where you are flowers are blooming and warm weather is looming.

Enjoy listening to this month's Newsletter Podcast, and/or check out some highlights:

1. ART TOWN - The Great Ragonia Patreon Remodel Arrives!!

Art Town is here, I worked really hard to make it look awesome, and I hope you like it!

Not only is the branding all new, but we've got all new tier rewards to match too:

★ Sightseers/ $2 tier ★ 

Thanks for being here! 

• You get podcasts and newsletters like this at the end of every month!
• You also get all four years of previous blog posts and other bonus content! 

Click this link for all your posts! 

★ Townies/ $5 tier ★

Welcome, Townies, I'm so glad you're part of this community! In addition to the previous tier rewards, you get...

• Access to the Art Town Discord! Click this link to join! (The link shouldn't expire this time.)
• A schedule for art-making livestreams on my Twitch at the beginning of the month.
• Option to share your art during the streams via the Discord Gallery Wall channel.
• Weekly VODs of the livestreams, along with the final results.
• Access to all of my previous articles on running an Arty Business!

Click this link for all your posts!

★ Local Legends/ $15 tier ★

Have you heard, they're like a LOCAL LEGEND! In addition to ALL the previous tier rewards, you get...

• A custom doodle just for you! Just send message me a picture of something simple you'd like me to draw for you!
• Extra process videos of the art I make throughout the month!
• A 15% off Discount Code in the Ragonia Art Shop!
• A Thank You card and sticker mailed to you!
• Extra Twitch benefits in the future, like emotes and such (once I figure out how to do that haha)

Click this link for all your posts!

2. ART TOWN CELEBRATION

Aaaaand this month I made a holographic ART TOWN STICKER to celebrate!

Next month I'll mail the sticker to all Residents from April, new and old hats. After this month only future new Local Legends will get them!

Make sure to double check your address is listed and correct on Patreon if you want the sticker, or I won't be able to send it to you. :o

Here's how to update your address on Patreon. 

ALSO to celebrate Art Town I made a little downloadable art activity: Resident ID Cards! 

Here's the first four ID cards for your fellow Residents: Carli, Kaila, Francesca, and Jae!

Thanks for sharing, y'all, they look SO GOOD, and it's so fun to learn more about you!!

3. LIVESTREAMS!

I livestreamed for a few hours every Wednesday this week with y'all, and it has been so so so fun and fulfilling already! 

So far the prompts have been: 

• Traditional Art (I made POSCA ghosts)
• Master Studies (I studied characters from Disney movies)
• Portrait Practice (5 minute sketches from people from Say Yes to the Dress.)

Have you been able to catch some streams? Did you watch them afterwards? Have you been drawing along or mostly just watching and hanging out? Do you have any requests/ideas for prompts? I'm so curious to hear what y'all think so far!

There's definitely been a core group who's come to almost all of the streams, and that's been so nice! It totally just feels like meeting up with friends once a week to draw. Thanks for sharing your Wednesdays with me. :)

A Ghostie drawn during a stream.

Idea from Resident Shannon (gothicsprites.) Thanks, Shannon!

8x8", POSCA paint pen on bristol. It's $180, first come first serve. If any patrons want first dibs before I even post it you've got it, just DM me.

A rainy Ghostie drawn during a stream.

8x8", POSCA paint pen on bristol. $180, same here, DM if you want it Patrons!

4. URBAN HIKE

Picture is from an urban hike I took on a nice weekend this month! 

An urban hike is what I call it when I pick a destination in the city that's 40 minutes-2 hours away on foot, and walk there from my apartment! It's an urban hike cause it ends up being 3-4 hours of walking. Which seems weird when walking to an urban destination, but people take 3 hour hikes in the mountains on PURPOSE all the time, for the sake of walking in nature itself. An urban hike is walking somewhere far away on purpose. Great exercise, and a great way to see new things in your home! :)

5. THE BALCONY FARM

Has laid fallow accidentally through March since I was traveling and dealing with family things, and also since the novelty obsession I had with gardening last year has worn down slightly. 

BUT I pushed through and planted tons of spinach, arugula, lettuce, snap peas, cilantro, sage, radishes, and watercress. Inside I planted kale, tomatoes, and basil for transplanting in late May.

The Squirrel Battles have continued with repeated diggings-up attacks before the poor tiny seedlings can take. But I have found a fairly strong strategy (so far) in protective rows of chicken wire overtop of the soil. Wish my strategy luck, may it hold in the face of Squirrel paws.

6. THINGS I'VE BEEN LOVING:

This playlist. 

This TV show. 

This YouTube Channel. 

This video. (and all his animal duets.)

So that's what's goin' on!

How was your April? Achieve anything you're proud of? What are you looking forward to next month? Drop a comment on this post, or just hit the like button if you enjoyed it!

Thank youuuu for being here! Have a great rest of your month!