News & Update (Patreon)

So there are four chapters in the current line up of It's Magic, I'm currently on the second one. I believe I'll complete the fourth sometime in March, then I intend to work on the next issue of Arkuatica to which I have written the plot for. What I may do (time permitting) is continue with an It's Magic comic, based around the Items Party Bandit, or other ideas with which to make short comics with. Albeit at a slower pace, due to working on said Ark' comic.

I intend on getting out an illustration of all my Ark' characters in a Halloween theme by the end of the month. Those of you in the Discord will have seen the preliminary sketch. I'm also working on another single page for the Ark' comic 'Rich In Omega 3' and I'll post that here for all $3+ tier patrons when that's done.

Something I'm considering doing once the series of It's Magic comics is complete, is to move them up into the $6 tier so that's where new patrons will have to go. Of course, I'll continue to post any new 'IM' in the $3 tier.

The Ark' comics will also remain in the $3 tier, but I've thought about creating a $30 tier for people who just want all the comics right now and don't want to wait monthly.

Relating to that, I wouldn't intend on extending the commissions discounts to that tier. When I created that benefit, I was hoping I wouldn't get swamped with people who just want to commission me non stop. (And most of you don't) Now I know I shouldn't complain, but working on commissions all the time keeps me from really powering along with the things that I want to do, like Arkuatica and It's Magic and my own illustrations. It's one of the reasons why I produce as many sketchings as I do, and most of my submissions publicly are now commissions. I don't have the fortitude to complete commissions and my own stuff at the same time. But they also slow down the process and progress of Patreon content and of my trying to build my campaign. For example, when I got started with Arkuatica in the spring of 2018 I worked out that I would be posting it's most recent issue by February. Instead it was June, and that's solely down to commissions.

Maybe It's Magic would be in colour, maybe the Arkuatica comics would have gotten longer as it progressed, and maybe then my patronage would be bigger. I won't know until I'm no longer taking commissions.

I don't particularly enjoy working on commissions compared to my own stuff and that makes them take even longer to do sometimes, than if they were my own things.

I've thought about imposing limits on the number of commissions any individual can make, limits on the length of sequences, or/and raising my commission fees. But that doesn't really help when I just don't want to do them, in turn for my own stuff. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy the completed works and that they are relatively popular. And occasionally I do enjoy working on them. It's just that my patron things are always there, needing to be worked on, me wanting to work on them, it's the way forward, and the bigger it grows the more I feel like commissions are holding me back.

I don't want to put anyone commissioning me off by saying these things, I just suppose that this is a preamble to say that I don't intend to do commissions forever. I think I need to say it because it's constantly on my mind, even more so as my Patronage builds. Most of you are in the $3 tier and that's growing, but I still have to divide my time to do all these commissions. I intend to keep taking commissions as is until I reach my second goal of $270p/m before making any drastic changes or closing commissions. 

Summary

Patronage is growing, slowly but growing. Comics and patron stuff helps with that. Patreon you get paid recurringly. Patreon stuff is my stuff, I always like working on my stuff.

Commissions slow patronage down. A commission gets you paid that one time. Commissions are other peoples ideas. Other peoples ideas less exiting thus harder to work on.

Anyway, what you guys think?