Little status update and about July. (Patreon)

Hi everyone, first off, I'm writing this with an automatic translator, so there might be some awkward phrasing.

Okay, right now we're in the middle of a heatwave here in Spain and it's unbearable. I'm sure you've heard about the absurd temperatures being reached all over Europe right now, which has made working this past week... extremely difficult. It's not just sweating all the time, it's working with my arm resting on the screen, which gets three times hotter, my arm is red, the screen is filthy, and the computer is running at unsafe temperatures. Right now I have a couple of pages inked, one color illustration finished, and another inked. In the next few days I hope to finish everything I have in mind, but we'll see.

The thing I really want to talk about is July. Look, it's no secret to anyone who's followed me for a while, or reads me on Discord or Twitter, that I'm exhausted. I think I've been running Patreon non-stop for about 15 years, without taking a break, with everything that entails: thinking about several comics at the same time (and new projects), the illustrations, etc. On top of that, sketch nights almost every week (except the end of the month), private streams, commissions (although I'm extremely slow with them, I admit), being kind of on call 24/7 dealing with clients, or being open to "I need this NOW," "Okay, I'll see if I can fit it into my personal time," and so on. It's true that I've been to Japan and the beach, but at the beach I'm still working, even if at a slower pace, and I don't disconnect. And in Japan I do disconnect, but first I have to do all the work you should be doing those days, and then you come back so tired you need a vacation from your vacation XD. Well, the thing is, the recent events in my life—my father's passing and the poisoning—were the final straws. A couple of friends had been telling me for ages that I should take a break: "So-and-so has done it, everyone's doing it." But the freelance life doesn't leave much room for flexibility, so I never liked the idea. But now, purely for my mental health, I've decided that I am going to stop. I'm 42 now; I'm not the perverted young man full of twisted, sick ideas and boundless energy. The sick ideas are still there, worse than ever, in fact, but the energy... XD.

I need to rest physically and mentally and disconnect from everything completely and permanently. I need to "enjoy drawing" again, or rather, to draw for pure pleasure. I need my mind to reset. Besides, I've been putting off a number of personal things for a long time that require time and that I haven't been able to attend to, from doing a HUGE deep clean of my house to getting back into a regular exercise routine. Basically, it's about my health, both mental and physical. So this is what I'm going to do. This July, I'm going to stop completely. On the morning of the 1st, when I wake up, I'll activate a tool here that basically pauses Patreon and won't charge you the following month on your due date. I'm not sure if you'll lose access, but you shouldn't. If that happens, well, the material will still be there the following month when I reactivate everything.

So, in July I'll be pausing my Patreon, and at the end of the month, I'll sit down, analyze how I'm feeling, and then I have three options in mind:

- Am I still feeling awful? Then August will also be on pause.

- Am I feeling better but not "at full strength"? I'll probably reopen it, but it will be a "special" month where I'll dedicate myself exclusively to character illustrations rather than comics, which are mentally exhausting.

- I'm feeling great, I've regained my zest for life and I want to conquer the world? Then we're back in action.

I don't know how long it will take me to recover because my mental health issues are multifaceted, but I hope that at least letting my mind rest and bringing some order to my life will help me improve in this regard.

For you, the pause will simply mean that you'll still be my patrons, but you won't be paying for a month. There won't be any content that month, but when I return, everything will be as usual. So I'd ask you not to flee en masse, because just now, when the numbers are slowly recovering... it would be a shame.

That's more or less what I wanted to tell you. It's going to be tough going a month without getting paid, but oh well. It's life. Thanks for your understanding. Now I'm going to sleep; the heat has gone from "infernal" to "second-degree burns," and maybe I'll be able to sleep.

Regards and thanks.