Hello everyone! After many years of meaningless postponing over something entirely new and unknown to myself, I finally decided to start publishing my own newsletter. Goodness, I am still at the first paragraph and this entry does not sound professional at all. Let’s get on with it!
If you are reading this post it’s highly likely that you already know me from social media but every diary should start with an introduction, therefore:
My name is Vagelio Kaliva. I am a 31 years old freelance artist who enjoys working with both traditional and digital painting media. Whether it’s messy but pigment-rich watercolor or just my trusty Wacom, there it nothing more satisfying than bringing imaginary folks and environments to life. The second best thing is doing belly rubs to my cats and third is chocolate. I love the vibrant cyan of the calm sea and the clear sky, the messy textures of graphite bellow the polished lines of pen and the different facial and anatomical features one may observe in humans, animals and plants.
In a slightly more down-to-earth level, I also enjoy tabletop roleplaying games, JRPGs, Manga, Comics, colorful polyhedral dice and Asian cuisines. I will be happy to talk about hobby-related themes with you should you wish to discuss your favorite nerdy things or cooking recipes!
My news:
1. The reason I decided to make a newsletter is to keep in touch with everyone. Social media platforms have been of great help in interacting and connecting with you but they also come and go.
2. I wish to see what other working options I might find. Freelance is great but right now it’s also a little unstable in financial terms with all the global chaos.
3. Dreadful things are happening everywhere and being forced into seeing them 24/7 non-stop is disrupting for my work and my life. I need to focus on art.
Art time!
Sorry for the babbling, here is some art and an Etna pic for compensation:
This liquid watercolor painting is part of a personal project I started when I was still an undergraduate. After many years of having the file sitting idle in my computer, I was finally able to properly retouch the piece, redesign a few details and share it!
The character remains unnamed but the concept I had in mind was for him to be a remaining part of some ancient civilization in a fictional post-apocalyptic world with magic, alchemy, living items and oceans floating above the deserted earth.
The heavy, excessively ornamented full-body armor serves as protective gear but also as a mechanism that keeps him alive perpetually.
This is Vodraz Kiem of the Order of the Lycan. He is an adrenaline-addicted blood hunter who enjoys the feeling of being in combat. He also has a surprisingly wholesome side, only shown to his most trusted friends.
Vodraz is a stylized character portrait commissioned for a Dungeons & Dragons campaign. I used sakura micron pens for the inking while the color was applied digitally.
And that’s Etna. In this pic she is mad at me for fiddling with the ears but also too comfy to make a move so she just exposes the teefs to look intimidating. A true Bunnycula.
Thank you for putting up with me, have a great week!