Campaign Ended! Timeline of Fulfillment + Sticker Design Reveal 🎉
Last Thursday, you all helped this campaign succeed! Since then, I've taken a few days to rest and also to complete the finalized design for the most popular option for the Stretch Goal sticker.
Enjoy the reveal of the polished sticker before we get down to next step details!
I hope you all enjoy the final version of the freebie sticker! The other two designs that were in the running may show up in my Etsy shop at a later point, but for now, ALL Backers of this campaign will be getting a freebie sticker of this design included in their pledge items!
The only thing you need to do is fill out your surveys (once they're sent out) to make sure you recieve your freebie. Those who do not have physical rewards will be able to choose whether or not they'd like to pay shipping for their freebie or if they'd prefer to skip out on the freebie instead of needing to pay shipping for it.
Timeline of Next Steps
And now to business! Here's what's going to be happening to get this campaign fulfilled. I'm currently waiting on the funds to transfer into my bank account, which is predicted to happen September 22nd. After this date, the real fun begins!
End of September - The funds transfer! I'll be opening up the Pledge Manager / Late Pledge Shop as soon as the funds transfer.
This Late Pledge Shop will be open for one week so that folks can pick up any extras they might've forgotten and late pledgers can have one final chance to hop in at the campaign price before the "Sworn Servant" prints goes up to $45 and is only available via my Patreon Secret Shop.
Early October - The Pledge Manager closes. I'll be locking surveys so I can take final manufacturing counts at this point so I can order all the supplies needed to fullfill this project.
Mid through Late October - Fulfillment begins! I plan to have everything shipped by end of October.
The Official Cut-Off Date - I'll be processing any requested refunds until the end of the year, December 31st. After this date, I will not be offering refunds for this campaign to noncommunicative backers. (If this cut-off date changes for any reason, I will let you all know!)
This is all best case scenario barring any Life Happenings (TM). As I am a one-person biz working with family and friends to get this fullfilled, I ask for patience. I will do my best to communicate any unforseen delays.
Also, back of house note. There're a couple of pledges that have failed to process, which means there are a few of you who need to double-check your payment sources. Once I open up the Pledge Manager, you'll be marked as 'failed payment' and will need to settle your balance in the Pledge Manager instead before I can send your items to you.
Any questions? Consult the project FAQ, leave a comment on this post, or drop me an email to angela(at)angelasasser.com directly. I'm happy to help!
Thanks to your efforts, the Stretch Goal sticker design has been UNLOCKED! Thank you so much to those of you who have pledged and shared this project. The design that has had a consensus amount of love towards it in the polls and comments has been A from this set.
I'll be polishing this design while the timer ticks down and prepping next steps for after the campaign ends. The B and C choices may appear sometime down the road because I love them so much, but for now, I'm going to focus on the most popular design for our chosen freebie.
We're into the final 24 hours on this campaign now, so keep on sharing these posts on the socials for the final push!
Stretch Goal Added! New Sticker Design "The Sword & The Rose"
This campaign has performed so well that I wanted to cap it all off with a stretch goal freebie for all my lovely supporters here as a Thank You gift and one last tidbit to entice us for a final push for the last few days!
I sketched this new design in Procreate on my ipad representing Phedre and Joscelin as the Cassiline sword and the briar rose. These are work-in-progress sketches. The final chosen design will be polished for the final sticker, so there may be some small changes along the way.
A - An Art Nouveau inspired design with more naturalistic roses. B - A more stylized medieval rose motif with a lady's favor wrapped around the sword grip. C - A simpler design with a single dramatic rose bloom.
Which one do you like most? I have my personal favorite, but I want to know which one you all enjoy most to help me choose a final single favorite for your stretch goal freebie!
The plan is to finalize my favorite of these designs, then the final chosen sticker design will be included free for all physical orders IF we reach can reach $3000. Backers who don't have physical pledges/add-ons yet would also be able to get this sticker for free as long as they pay shipping for it.
(FYI if unlocked, this freebie sticker won't be free in the post-campaign late pledge pre-order shop that will be open for a week after this campaign ends. This stretch goal item will only be free for you special few who helped to make this campaign an initial success).
So please tell your Kushiel's Legacy-loving friends and art appreciators who might enjoy this art! It'll only take us a little push to get to this goal.
As ever, here are the links you can share and comment on to help spread the word:
Perhaps if there's love for ALL three of these designs, I may decide to finalize all 3 at a later point after the campaign, but I need to hear if there is demand for them.
Shout out in the comments if you can't decide and want them ALL!
This campaign will be ending soon (7 days as of today) and then the real journey begins to make all of these dreamy art items a reality.
My Art Journey with "Sworn Servant" Part 3 - Joscelin's Weapons
With 12 days left on this campaign, I am so floored by the overwhelming support for this project! A passionate 26 backers have helped fund this entire print run, as well as blown past the minimum required to help bring it to life.
Stretch Goal Possible?
I'm currently brainstorming on what I can do for a fun stretch goal if we reach $3k. I'm thinking of a design that combines the briar rose of Phedre with the sword of Joscelin. I hope to do a small update with my idea within the next few days!
Designing Joscelin's Equipment
For now, however, let us continue the art journey with "Sworn Servant" with a glimpse at how I designed Joscelin Verreuil's Cassiline weapons! (If you missed the previous Art Journey posts, see the list of them at the bottom of this post).
Watch this 1 minute video for a peek at the process:
I actually consider weapons and armor my weakness as an artist usually more accustomed to drawing flowing dresses and jewelry. "Sworn Servant" presented an opportunity to expand my skillset and deep dive into researching medieval European equipment and weaponry, which sent me down the rabbithole of researching re-enactors, antique dealers, museum collections, and historical plates.
A peek at a small section of my equipment reference and mood board for Joscelin (see individual image credits at the moodboard on Pinterest):
The breakdown of Joscelin's gear created as reference for the final painting:
If this kind of process glimpse lights your creative fire, I encourage you to check out my Patreon where I document the in-depth process for many of my paintings for all of my paid members at $2 and up (or you can purchase any post you're interested in individually).
You can take a look at the project archive showing free & paid posts here. I always try to provide a good mix of public and private posts so there's something for everyone to enjoy:
More soon! <3 Ang
Let's keep the momentum going for this project! Your comments and replies on these social media posts would be especially powerful to help spread the word:
My Art Journey with "Sworn Servant" Part 2 - Joscelin's Armor
My sharing of the long, intense art journey I went on with "Sworn Servant" continues with Part 2 - Joscelin's Armor.
Cassiline monks like Joscelin, the solemn warrior featured in "Sworn Servant", don't just wear any tunic, but prescribe to a unique regalia that includes modest metal bracers, traditional weaponry of a longsword and dual daggers, and a specifically long cut mandillion coat of the softest lanolin.
In "Cassiel's Servant", the main character, Joscelin, describes his armaments in exacting detail as someone proud of his service and the care of his equipment, so I had many lovingly detailed descriptions to work from!
This meant exploring clothing terms I wasn't familiar with. What is a mandillion tunic? What is lanolin? Watch my 1 minute short video for a quick breakdown of the process of exploring Joscelin's look with a focus on his 'clubbed hair' and his layers of armor and clothing I needed to design for this painting:
If you'd like to know the answer to the questions of what exactly are mandillion coats and lanolin, you can find out in my in-depth Secret Sketchbook research of Joscelin's weapons and armor available to all of my Patreon Patrons at $2 and above (or buy the entries you want individually for $3 a piece).
See the Patreon archive for my Cassiel's Servant project to pick and choose Secret Sketchbook entries you're interested in or simply enjoy browsing the free public posts:
Go back to Part 1 of the Art Journey Updates for the complete updated list of Art Journey posts I'll be sharing over the course of this campaign.
Next, I'll be sharing a glimpse into designing Joscelin's armaments, the modest, but deadly weapons of the esteemed Cassiline warrior monks.
<3 Ang
Let's keep the excitement going for this campaign! Remember, you can help me spread the word about supporting my gold foil print by sharing these posts on my socials (commenting is especially helpful so we can beat the algorithm!):
We are 100% FUNDED! + New Add-Ons ~Playmats Collection~
We are FUNDED as of Sunday morning. FANTASTIC!!! These gold foil prints are getting made!🎉
This project has performed totally beyond my expectations for this very small, niche item. Thanks to everyone who has been so passionate about pledging & sharing! I'm so incredibly grateful.
Everything from here on out is a blessing of succor for my indie artist endeavors, on top of being able to fund the print series' production. 🥰
New Add-Ons!
I've also had a few requests to add playmats of "Sworn Servant" for those wishing to have playmats of both paintings from my Kushiel Concepts collection. I am happy to oblige with not only playmats of this painting, but the other major Kushiel paintings I've done!
For those who don't know what a playmat is, it's a sort of large mousepad you can use for collectible card games or to put underneath your keyboard and mouse. I had sold out of the Kushiel's Legacy playmats from my Etsy shop a couple of months ago.
I'm pleased to report that I've found a new playmat printer who can do lovely stitched edges on a thick vinyl! They're a bit pricier than my old, thinner mats without stitched edges, but worth it for the higher quality and better finishing.
Here's a peek of the sample I got with my art "Keeper of Secrets" on a playmat from the printer I'm hoping to use, so I know they can handle my detailed art:
Here's a mockup of what to expect of the new "Sworn Servant","Temple of Kushiel", and "Your Heaven Is Bloodless" playmats with stitched edges. I'll also be personally signing the mats bought through this campaign!
Find them in the Add-On shop where you can buy them individually or complete your whole playmat collection with the 3 mat set for the best price!
You can also review the expected shipping rates for these items in the updated Shipping section.
Keep on sharing this project! We may be funded, but there are always a few cancellations during any project, so I want to be sure that if anyone needs to drop that we'll be more than safe from fluctuations in pledges from the relatively small amount of backers who are helping to fund this series (you guys rock!!!).
Keep sharing these links on socials and commenting, if you have time, as that's the most powerful way to get my posts seen:
Last Thursday, you all helped this campaign succeed! Since then, I've taken a few days to rest and also to complete the finalized design for the most popular option for the Stretch Goal sticker.
Enjoy the reveal of the polished sticker before we get down to next step details!
I hope you all enjoy the final version of the freebie sticker! The other two designs that were in the running may show up in my Etsy shop at a later point, but for now, ALL Backers of this campaign will be getting a freebie sticker of this design included in their pledge items!
The only thing you need to do is fill out your surveys (once they're sent out) to make sure you recieve your freebie. Those who do not have physical rewards will be able to choose whether or not they'd like to pay shipping for their freebie or if they'd prefer to skip out on the freebie instead of needing to pay shipping for it.
Timeline of Next Steps
And now to business! Here's what's going to be happening to get this campaign fulfilled. I'm currently waiting on the funds to transfer into my bank account, which is predicted to happen September 22nd. After this date, the real fun begins!
End of September - The funds transfer! I'll be opening up the Pledge Manager / Late Pledge Shop as soon as the funds transfer.
This Late Pledge Shop will be open for one week so that folks can pick up any extras they might've forgotten and late pledgers can have one final chance to hop in at the campaign price before the "Sworn Servant" prints goes up to $45 and is only available via my Patreon Secret Shop.
Early October - The Pledge Manager closes. I'll be locking surveys so I can take final manufacturing counts at this point so I can order all the supplies needed to fullfill this project.
Mid through Late October - Fulfillment begins! I plan to have everything shipped by end of October.
The Official Cut-Off Date - I'll be processing any requested refunds until the end of the year, December 31st. After this date, I will not be offering refunds for this campaign to noncommunicative backers. (If this cut-off date changes for any reason, I will let you all know!)
This is all best case scenario barring any Life Happenings (TM). As I am a one-person biz working with family and friends to get this fullfilled, I ask for patience. I will do my best to communicate any unforseen delays.
Also, back of house note. There're a couple of pledges that have failed to process, which means there are a few of you who need to double-check your payment sources. Once I open up the Pledge Manager, you'll be marked as 'failed payment' and will need to settle your balance in the Pledge Manager instead before I can send your items to you.
Any questions? Consult the project FAQ, leave a comment on this post, or drop me an email to angela(at)angelasasser.com directly. I'm happy to help!
It's been an exciting couple of days already for this campaign! I had so many fears before launching this project thinking it might be too small, too niche to fund, but you passionate folks have turned out to help us be almost 100% funded by day 2!
Thank you so much from the bottom of my heart. Truly! It looks like we'll be funded very soon. Most certainly by the end of this month-long campaign!
The Art Journey Begins
As a treat for those keeping up with this project, I wanted to give you a glimpse into how I made this painting over the course of this campaign. I've put together a series of 1 minute videos showing the process from idea to final! Starting with thumbnail sketching:
Here's a look at my favorite thumbnail sketches from the many I explored for this painting:
Even before I got to the point of exploring thumbnail sketches, I did a fair amount of pondering on what the main character of "Cassiel's Servant", Joscelin Verreuil, should look like. Here's a peek at my pondering from my Secret Sketchbook:
Tran Nguyen's Joscelin really struck a chord with me. She has done some of my favorite Kushiel's Legacy art in the Subterranean Press editions.
I also fan cast Bill Skarsgard for Joscelin after seeing him kick butt in the movie "Boy Kills World", where his agility, physique, and martial prowess really impressed me.
Kushiel fans, who do you fan cast for Joscelin? By the end of the painting process, my version of Joscelin came out a mixture of Bill Skarsgard and Liam Hemsworth.
If you want an even deeper dive into how I conceptualized this painting and its characters, be sure to check out my Patreon where you can pledge $2 for access to all of my Secret Sketchbook entries about this painting or, if you aren't a fan of subscriptions, you can pay a one-time fee of $3 per entry and choose the specific entries you're interested in.
Find my Cassiel's Servant project archive with a list of all the public and Secret Sketchbook posts here:
Next along the Art Journey, I'll be sharing a peek at the concept sketches for Joscelin! Designing his armor proved the most research intense and fun part of the process.
Let's keep the excitement going for this campaign! Remember, you can help me spread the word about my gold foil print by sharing these posts on my socials (commenting is especially helpful!):
Thanks to your efforts, the Stretch Goal sticker design has been UNLOCKED! Thank you so much to those of you who have pledged and shared this project. The design that has had a consensus amount of love towards it in the polls and comments has been A from this set.
I'll be polishing this design while the timer ticks down and prepping next steps for after the campaign ends. The B and C choices may appear sometime down the road because I love them so much, but for now, I'm going to focus on the most popular design for our chosen freebie.
We're into the final 24 hours on this campaign now, so keep on sharing these posts on the socials for the final push!
This campaign has performed so well that I wanted to cap it all off with a stretch goal freebie for all my lovely supporters here as a Thank You gift and one last tidbit to entice us for a final push for the last few days!
I sketched this new design in Procreate on my ipad representing Phedre and Joscelin as the Cassiline sword and the briar rose. These are work-in-progress sketches. The final chosen design will be polished for the final sticker, so there may be some small changes along the way.
A - An Art Nouveau inspired design with more naturalistic roses. B - A more stylized medieval rose motif with a lady's favor wrapped around the sword grip. C - A simpler design with a single dramatic rose bloom.
Which one do you like most? I have my personal favorite, but I want to know which one you all enjoy most to help me choose a final single favorite for your stretch goal freebie!
The plan is to finalize my favorite of these designs, then the final chosen sticker design will be included free for all physical orders IF we reach can reach $3000. Backers who don't have physical pledges/add-ons yet would also be able to get this sticker for free as long as they pay shipping for it.
(FYI if unlocked, this freebie sticker won't be free in the post-campaign late pledge pre-order shop that will be open for a week after this campaign ends. This stretch goal item will only be free for you special few who helped to make this campaign an initial success).
So please tell your Kushiel's Legacy-loving friends and art appreciators who might enjoy this art! It'll only take us a little push to get to this goal.
As ever, here are the links you can share and comment on to help spread the word:
Perhaps if there's love for ALL three of these designs, I may decide to finalize all 3 at a later point after the campaign, but I need to hear if there is demand for them.
Shout out in the comments if you can't decide and want them ALL!
This campaign will be ending soon (7 days as of today) and then the real journey begins to make all of these dreamy art items a reality.
