Status update + Question to patrons (Patreon)

Hello, how have you been? I hope that you’re fine despite the current overall situation of the world.

I realized I hadn’t made a  personal status update in a while so thought it might be a good idea to do so:

Since the pandemic started, I was laid off my job and given that things are still tense in my current country finding a new job has been nigh impossible, so Patreon has been my sole source of income during this insane Covid era and I’m very thankful for your kind support of my work: I would be literally homeless if it wasn’t for your support.

I know my output of work per month (as in non-Art Pack pieces) has gone slightly down over time and I would like to apologize for that, the reason is twofold:

Physical limitations: During this lockdown my health has steadily worsened to the point that I thought I had a cancer scare (since my weight and values were fluctuating strangely) and had to get retested to see if I was still in remission or if cancer had really returned. Having had to cut down on expenses to the bare minimum to survive the pandemic (food included) has really taken a toll on my energy levels and thus I have a really hard time working for as long as I could before.

Psychological limitations: It’s no secret to anyone that this whole covid situation has been terrible on everyone and how depression, suicidal thoughts and anxiety have become more commonplace. I have no family to lean on here and in case of an emergency I’m essentially alone, so I’m always on edge and that drains me. Not being able to see friends for months, go out normally and just working on artwork (it takes me 7-10 hours to finish a single non-Art Pack Piece) day in day out can really grind down anyone’s psyche to dust.

Right now, I’m wondering what I could do to make my Patreon project more attractive to others, so I wanted to get your input on what things you feel could be improved on or if there’s some kind of changes that you’d like to see in the rewards themselves or my work:

So far, I try to make polls based on the suggestions I receive here or on social media to choose future characters, would it be okay if characters that have lost in the past are incorporated into future polls? Because currently there’s several dozens of characters I haven’t put back in polls and I think they deserve a chance, since someone suggested them because they liked them.

Would you like a change in the structure of rewards themselves? I have done some market research and consider that the number of rewards offered is a good value compared to other artists (besides I cannot lower the prices further because I’m barely making rent right now, I would be homeless if I did), but I get many questions regarding old packs from 2-3 years ago. As it stands once you miss a pack there’s no way to get it, so would perhaps offering packs that have been out for say, 12+ months someplace like Gumroad be acceptable? Perhaps a longer exclusivity window for patrons? Or would existing patrons not like that and would prefer to retain exclusivity?

Sometimes, if my health allows, I try making Extra Packs as a way of thanking you for your support free of charge, do you like these Extra Packs? Would you change something about them? Or do you consider them to be unnecessary and would rather I don’t produce them?

Would the production of a different kind of content appeal to you? Currently I do mostly pin-up art, but I’m willing to consider options. I have considered comics in the past and have started work on some scripts and character design, but truth be told comics are a MASSIVE time investment (I require on average 2 months to make a 30 pages comic with the help of a typesetter and background artist). (Please note: I will not draw questionable content or stuff I’m not comfortable doing such as furry, vore, shota, etc.)

If I were to produce merchandise (t-shirts, prints, etc) to be sold elsewhere, would you be interested in that? Specifically, what kind of items?

I know this is a long post but I would really appreciate your input, given that as the patrons of my work you know it better than anyone else.

If you read this far, thank you very much, it means a lot.