End of the year Thank You... and changes for 2020 (Patreon)

With the year (and the decade!) coming to a close, I wanted to take a moment to thank all of you guys. Whether you’ve been a Patron since the beginning, came on board this month, no longer pledge, or just take a look at the page every once in a while, I value your support and community. I’ve been an Elder Scrolls fan and creator for more than half my life now, and it continues to be immensely rewarding to be able to engage with you in this wonderful universe we share.  

I also wanted to talk a bit about where your money goes, and a change in the tier structure for 2020. 

First, the financials. I try to set anything I earn from Patreon (or my stores) aside in a separate account and reinvest it in TES as much as possible. A chunk of it goes directly to fulfilling Patreon rewards: 

• Paper, ink, and lino for the linocut prints
• Cost of making stickers, buttons, cards, or other goodies I can't make by hand 
• Envelopes, labels, and stamps for mailings

Some of it goes to maintenance cost for being online as an artist:

• Webhosting. I'm lucky to be somewhat tech savvy, so I pay for server space and build my own sites, rather than relying on more expensive solutions like Squarespace. 
• Domain name registrations 
• The occasional software or brush bundle purchase. I am also fortunate enough to have gotten the Adobe suite before it went subscription, and have access to other software through work… but, just as with physical art supplies, I love to experiment. 
• Art supplies! 

The rest I set aside for big projects and community efforts. The Imperial Library 20th anniversary last year, for example, cost me more than $800 for creating and purchasing the prizes and sending them out (international shipping on 10 pounds of book is not cheap!). Giveaways on the Imperial Library or my own social media are significantly less costly, but still have some overhead. 

This last section is one that I want to invest in more heavily next year. I’ve got some big ideas for the sorts of projects that take funding and collaboration, and I think I might just be in a position to make them happen. 

Now for the Patreon structure news: starting in January, I’m going to be getting rid of the $20 Lawman tier. My supporters at this level have given me some really fun and thought provoking topics, and I am deeply indebted to their generosity. But while I really enjoy riffing on their ideas, I have not been the best at completing these requests in a timely fashion. I’d rather admit defeat here rather than keep keeping people waiting. Of course, everyone is still welcome to pitch me ideas - a lot of what I work on is in some way inspired by the questions, musings, and creations of others.  

And... I think that's it for now! Happy holidays if you celebrate, and have a great rest of the year!