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Becoming Legitimate In 2022
4 years ago
So, let's go over a few things.
1. I am terrible at commissions. I always said that if I did them, they'd involve inclusion of people in my settings and universe. At least I have a vast and very dynamic universe to do said things in.
2. When I do commissions, I usually either take on too much and burn out or my life distracts me. I have a job that can eat anywhere from 7 to 16 hours in a day. It can bleed into weekends. I'm starting to really feel like I'm getting too old for the gig I presently have, not to mention attaching a art job on top of it. I really apologize for those that put their hat into the ring for a nucleus mask -- I honestly really wanted to get back to that but when I tried, my brain just noped the hell out of it. I have no idea what's wrong with my brain, I think I need to take it in for servicing or something. It was FUN to include people into something that my universe generated -- but eventually that fuel apparently ran out. Sorry.
3. People in my life, especially those not deeply in my life and without emotional investment in me have said that my art as of lately has become actually really good when I get to do the more paint-y style pieces. Those pieces take a lot of time to do but they are fun. People say there should be more of these around. I made a number of canvas pictures for FC 2022 but ... yeah, that's not happening. Pity. I was ready and raring to go, even EARLY to the show.
Now, let's get into the nitty gritty:
I've had more than a few people asking me why I don't do a Patreon or something similar. A few points on that:
1. I hate people that show preview pictures and then say to see the rest, go to Patreon. I've actually stopped watching artists that do this -- especially if they have no intent to show the rest of the imagine on a public gallery after a cool down time.
2. I will burn out if I have to do monthly deliverables and it will destroy me. Some months I don't have time to do a single portrait or image, others I can crank out 3 or 4 of them, sometimes even an entire comic page. I cannot pledge to do an artistic cadence.
However, some have suggested just setting it up as a general support ... a tiip jar, if you will.
Another idea was to have a tip jar that allowed people to vote on the direction of what I'm working on a bit, allowing some steerage. Like "I like your art, but I'd like to tip my contribution towards doing more robots. Or latex. Or ...." and I'd do my damnest to follow that.
Another idea was to create a victim pool. Where people pledging into that level would be in a pool of victims that I could pull from if I needed a sidekick or a background character in peril. The criticism I've gotten from a few sources is that would be a lottery or a gambling situation where most people would get nothing. I sort of don't like the idea or sound of that.
I dunno. Maybe Patreon isn't for me. But I have to admit that when I do get tipped, it makes me feel a little bit better about what I do. I appreciate kudos too, not everything is about money. :)
But at least three people have asked why I don't just have a general encouragement Patreon. I just don't know how to really do it and do it fairly.
I really stink at this and I need either some ideas or to think a bit more.
1. I am terrible at commissions. I always said that if I did them, they'd involve inclusion of people in my settings and universe. At least I have a vast and very dynamic universe to do said things in.
2. When I do commissions, I usually either take on too much and burn out or my life distracts me. I have a job that can eat anywhere from 7 to 16 hours in a day. It can bleed into weekends. I'm starting to really feel like I'm getting too old for the gig I presently have, not to mention attaching a art job on top of it. I really apologize for those that put their hat into the ring for a nucleus mask -- I honestly really wanted to get back to that but when I tried, my brain just noped the hell out of it. I have no idea what's wrong with my brain, I think I need to take it in for servicing or something. It was FUN to include people into something that my universe generated -- but eventually that fuel apparently ran out. Sorry.
3. People in my life, especially those not deeply in my life and without emotional investment in me have said that my art as of lately has become actually really good when I get to do the more paint-y style pieces. Those pieces take a lot of time to do but they are fun. People say there should be more of these around. I made a number of canvas pictures for FC 2022 but ... yeah, that's not happening. Pity. I was ready and raring to go, even EARLY to the show.
Now, let's get into the nitty gritty:
I've had more than a few people asking me why I don't do a Patreon or something similar. A few points on that:
1. I hate people that show preview pictures and then say to see the rest, go to Patreon. I've actually stopped watching artists that do this -- especially if they have no intent to show the rest of the imagine on a public gallery after a cool down time.
2. I will burn out if I have to do monthly deliverables and it will destroy me. Some months I don't have time to do a single portrait or image, others I can crank out 3 or 4 of them, sometimes even an entire comic page. I cannot pledge to do an artistic cadence.
However, some have suggested just setting it up as a general support ... a tiip jar, if you will.
Another idea was to have a tip jar that allowed people to vote on the direction of what I'm working on a bit, allowing some steerage. Like "I like your art, but I'd like to tip my contribution towards doing more robots. Or latex. Or ...." and I'd do my damnest to follow that.
Another idea was to create a victim pool. Where people pledging into that level would be in a pool of victims that I could pull from if I needed a sidekick or a background character in peril. The criticism I've gotten from a few sources is that would be a lottery or a gambling situation where most people would get nothing. I sort of don't like the idea or sound of that.
I dunno. Maybe Patreon isn't for me. But I have to admit that when I do get tipped, it makes me feel a little bit better about what I do. I appreciate kudos too, not everything is about money. :)
But at least three people have asked why I don't just have a general encouragement Patreon. I just don't know how to really do it and do it fairly.
I really stink at this and I need either some ideas or to think a bit more.
Some of them don't really do requests or rewards other than uploading their stuff there first. A few run polls saying "What should I draw next", asking for suggestions, and then just take the one they like the most (not necessarily the most popular suggestion).
A few use Patreon the way that some artists use their scraps here, sharing sketches and works in progress for completed works that they share everywhere.
And a few use it like you've described, saving some of their work for an exclusive audience.
There are a lot of ways to use the site. I've seen a few change how they would do things like monthly rewards or streaming sessions if it was keeping them from doing what they wanted to do.
I think you should set it up and just see if you get any baseline support. Don't promise solar systems of benefits...just give people an outfit and a cell number. Or just a nesting closet. You might be surprised.