About DeviantArt Subscriptions... (Patreon)

Hi all!

I'd like to inform everyone that I've opened subscriptions on DeviantArt in addition to here on Patreon. I want to be completely transparent about what this changes for you, patrons, (spoiler: nothing), as well as what it means for me, why it's happening and why now.

For you, (the most important part first! ) patrons here, nothing changes: the tiers and prices are exactly the same on both platforms (except for a 20% launch discount). It will take a couple weeks before both platforms are on par in terms of content, as there's a lot to upload to DeviantArt. But! If you prefer DeviantArt over Patreon as a platform, or would like to take advantage of the 20% launch discount, you're welcome to make the switch. Otherwise, no action is needed :)

For me, this means I'll have to be even more careful about how I create content, especially when it involves characters who are canonically underage. While I consider my drawings to be age-ups, DeviantArt has made it clear that my art style isn't enough for the characters to appear adult, even with different proportions. I often include dialogues that clarifies the scenes take place years later, or use outfits from when the characters are canonically older. I'll continue doing this and apply it whenever possible. When it isn't feasible, I'll have to reject the character suggestion. It already happened occasionally before, and it will likely happen a bit more often from now on.

Why it's happening: you might remember that last year, Patreon changed its guidelines and indiscriminately banned everything related to "feederism". At the time, I looked for alternatives to Patreon (SubscribeStar and DeviantArt), just in case they decided to close down accounts without prior warning. They later changed the wording from "feederism" to "forced feeding" after people complained. While that change was welcome, I still had to remove a few drawings and sketches, just to be safe.

My search for other platforms pretty much stopped there, since I couldn't dedicate time to what had become a less urgent issue, but I still wanted to find alternatives. I live off your support, so what I need most is stability, not dependence on a single platform that might ban my work without warning. Being on at least two platforms seems like the bare minimum to ensure that stability.

Why now: a couple weeks ago I was contacted by DeviantArt's team about Launchpad (https://deviantartlaunchpad.com/), a program designed to encourage creators to sell their work on DeviantArt. They invited me to join, and I accepted. I simply took the opportunity, since joining another platform had been on the backburner for a while.

If you have any questions, feel free to ask!