Upcoming Patreon changes (Patreon)

Yo!
 

As I mentioned previously, starting from this month I am going to introduce a few changes in how this Patreon works. It's something I have been thinking a lot about, and as I like being open and honest, I feel it's finally time to talk about it to the only people that ultimately make this project possible: YOU.
 

This might be a little long by the way, so I hope you're prepared for a read. There is a tl;dr version on the bottom though if you'd rather scroll down and simply check what points are going to be new. For everyone wanting to instead know the details and reasonings behind each point... buckle up!
 

I opened Patreon exactly two years ago (well, 23 months actually haha), with the intention of exploring new art styles and getting better at art. Since commissions don't usually allow an artist to experiment too much, I feel like my art had been stagnating for years before that point.
I like to think that with the experience I made on Patreon, this changed: despite still having a lot to learn and get better at, I am now definitely way better than back then in terms of composition, color, poses, detailing and anatomy.
But also in something personal that might be harder to see as a finished product: patience. I'm now able to work on the same piece for days, rather than feeling I have to rush it and finish it in just a few hours like I did before.
 

Taking more time to work on something has an obvious downside though: drawings take, well, a longer time. And if I'm working on Patreon, I can't do other work such as commissions (I'm currently unable to duplicate myself, sadly). Commissioned freelance work is my main source of income, so you might understand why taking time away from that might be a problem.
 

Since the beginning, I decided to set up a minimum number of full color images that I thought would be a fair amount for the most common tier pledge ($2 a month). Until now, this minimum was 4 painted pieces. But nowadays, one single painted piece can take me as long as 4 pieces from my beginnings, if not more. It's of course not always the case, but with the variety of characters I draw, it's to be expected (simple toony critters are way faster to draw than a realistic detailed dragon).
But this has been taking me back. Sometimes, to fit the minimum of four pictures, I have to RUSH. Rushing means putting less attention in the details. Rushing means not experimenting with new styles. Rushing means going against the reason why I started this Patreon to begin with.
 

There's also something else, that I went back and forth about sharing, because it feels like in bad taste and general bad economy practice; but as I said I like to be open and honest, and I ultimately consider my patrons as friends and supporters rather than just clients.
 

As it is now, Patreon is not enough to make a living out of, and I can not afford to take further time away from my commissions. I currently have around 50 patrons, that generously give me $2 every month. Very easy math to do. With a full month of work, I only earn as much as a single, non-Patreon painted commission.
I COULD go back and draw simpler pieces for Patreon to keep the number of four illustrations a month consistent. But it's not something I want to do, because again, it's not what this Patreon was born for. And I feel that after setting a higher bar, I would only make my patrons disappointed if I went back to simpler, quicker painted styles.
 

Quality Vs Quantity is a timelong debate that has no real answer. Neither of the two options is good or bad, it all boils down to personal preference. Some people prefer to see tons of drawings, even if sloppy. Others prefer a single good quality, refined piece.
And sometimes, quantity CAN mean quality anyway! Drawing a lot of fast sketches can really help with time management for an artist, as well as gaining confidence in one's own art.
 

And this was the introduction to the final point. Even if it might sound counter productive after all I said so far, not every month I should feel pressured to paint a single huge complex piece. Some months I might feel the need to work on my anatomy, poses and composition rather than ink, color and lighting. In those months, I might just need to sketch a lot of different, smaller pieces.
 

In other words, this means every month you will be seeing different things. On some months, it might be a single super detailed painting. On other months, a compilation of sketches and studies. Some months might be a combination of the two, akin to what you're used to see on this Patreon until now. Some months though, it might even be something completely new and different. Comics? Animations? Don't want to get your hopes up too much, at least for the very next future, but these are things I'd really, really like to eventually explore and share with you all.
 

Of course, I'm not gonna post a single sloppy sketch a month, call it a day and happily collect money while sitting on my ass doing nothing else. As you've hopefully noticed by now, I really really care about my supporters and want things to be fair for everyone. On the months I feel like my art production has been less than the bare minimum, I simply pause the billing cycle for the following month. I have been doing this since day one, and it's not going to change NOW. I try to treat my patrons the way I'd like to be treated myself, if I was the one monetarily supporting an artist. I mean, it's a life principle that I feel should be applied to everything in life, that would make the world a much better place.
But here, I digress: so let's get back on track.
 

In conclusion, considering what I have explained above, this is what I decided to change / implement in this Patreon from now on:
 

• No more fixed art number content.
• More variety of content.
• Quality of content GUARANTEED (proportional to the amount of work each content takes to be created).
• More WIPs shared. I feel like I just don't do that enough! And it leads to the next point...
• Even more patron feedback. If something doesn't look right in a WIP, you all can (and should!) let me know before it's too late haha. But it's not just that. I will take requests and suggestions more often from now on... something I actually already started doing recently and so far has been quite a hit!!
 

This should be all, but as always please don't hesitate to hit me with any questions, suggestions, or anything else you can think of.
 

Thank you all for reading and... For everything really!!! 🦖💕
 

- H