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Updates to Patreon
6 months ago
For a while now, I’ve been considering phasing out the Creature Collector tier. It’s been increasingly difficult/stressful for me to keep up with making posts/benefits for that tier. Of course, I appreciate the support from the people who have been on that tier, it has meant a lot to me over the years! Even though it’s not a lot, it does help keep the art afloat on the business side.
Unfortunately, a lot of creators find this out, that Patreon takes much more time to upkeep than we expect. I’ve never had a huge audience, but it’s become increasingly financially unreasonable to keep the higher tiers going. It’s been a labor of love, doing the art journal style of posts, where I show people my process, give people sneak peeks into future ideas, and talk about what it’s like being an artist. It just doesn’t pay a living wage, and I need to consider that when it takes time away from actually doing art.
Being my first try at setting up a Patreon, I feel like there was a sharp learning curve for understanding what people would actually be interested in and how much should be offered. A higher tier membership system on Patreon isn’t something I want to scrap all together, but would need to see a bigger audience turnout to justify spending time on it.
In turn, I'm sad to announce that I’m retiring the “Creature Collector” tier, so that I can take a break from pushing out those more in-depth posts. On the plus side, in addition to relieving some time crunch stress off my shoulders, phasing out this tier would give me more options in the future, if I do ever grow a more viable audience. Setting it up to where I’m not locked into the old setup would be super helpful.
Art Ally Tier
The Art Ally tier ($1) will stay open. If you want to continue supporting the art, it’s essentially early access when new art drops/an ongoing tip jar (whereas Ko-fi functions as a one time tip jar for whatever amount you want). Being a free member here on Patreon is appreciated too! I’m still posting art updates and longer form art thoughts here, it’s just the extensive art process/behind the scenes type posts that I want to step back from for now.
How to Still Access Behind the Scenes Posts
Some art process, behind the scenes, and project sketch posts are still be accessible in the Patreon shop! https://www.patreon.com/wintersoul/shop
The posts which were previously Creature Collector tier and above are offered for a one time purchase. That way it stays fair to those who originally supported the work that goes into creating those posts, while still allowing new people access (without having to keep the higher tiers ongoing). Doing it this way also takes off the pressure to do a monthly subscription to something - you can just get the posts that perk your interest.
For those who are really curious about my process and want to learn, I am also offering collections. Think of it as a digital "how the art is made" guide! The aim of the collections are to be educational, it's always helped me to see artists' thoughts as they problem solve through projects, and they're written a journal style to give people insight into how I'm thinking about problem solving. For those new to my Patreon, I put a TON of work into the process posts, showing step by step stages, thoughts, and photos. Also in the collections, are WIPs which don't have as much journaling with them, but are useful to compare to the final pieces.
Since the subscription thing just hasn't been working for a while, I'm really excited to offer this new set-up as a way of supporting my art. I've written all of the behind the scenes posts in hopes that people will pull something from them, so I truly hope this set-up gets those posts out to more people!
Previous Members of Higher Tiers
And of course, anyone who was previously on the higher tiers keep their shop discount. The code is still functional and I’m happy to offer that for all the support you all have given (please message me if you need me to resend the code). Also, I believe you all should still have access to that section of the discord. On occasion I post things related to the art that are interesting.
This will be a bit of a tough transition, but a necessary one! Any purchases via the Patreon shop would go a long way to helping make up for what I’m losing by discontinuing the higher tiers. You’re getting in depth insights into the making of the art, and tons of gratitude from me for helping to support the art.
Unfortunately, a lot of creators find this out, that Patreon takes much more time to upkeep than we expect. I’ve never had a huge audience, but it’s become increasingly financially unreasonable to keep the higher tiers going. It’s been a labor of love, doing the art journal style of posts, where I show people my process, give people sneak peeks into future ideas, and talk about what it’s like being an artist. It just doesn’t pay a living wage, and I need to consider that when it takes time away from actually doing art.
Being my first try at setting up a Patreon, I feel like there was a sharp learning curve for understanding what people would actually be interested in and how much should be offered. A higher tier membership system on Patreon isn’t something I want to scrap all together, but would need to see a bigger audience turnout to justify spending time on it.
In turn, I'm sad to announce that I’m retiring the “Creature Collector” tier, so that I can take a break from pushing out those more in-depth posts. On the plus side, in addition to relieving some time crunch stress off my shoulders, phasing out this tier would give me more options in the future, if I do ever grow a more viable audience. Setting it up to where I’m not locked into the old setup would be super helpful.
Art Ally Tier
The Art Ally tier ($1) will stay open. If you want to continue supporting the art, it’s essentially early access when new art drops/an ongoing tip jar (whereas Ko-fi functions as a one time tip jar for whatever amount you want). Being a free member here on Patreon is appreciated too! I’m still posting art updates and longer form art thoughts here, it’s just the extensive art process/behind the scenes type posts that I want to step back from for now.
How to Still Access Behind the Scenes Posts
Some art process, behind the scenes, and project sketch posts are still be accessible in the Patreon shop! https://www.patreon.com/wintersoul/shop
The posts which were previously Creature Collector tier and above are offered for a one time purchase. That way it stays fair to those who originally supported the work that goes into creating those posts, while still allowing new people access (without having to keep the higher tiers ongoing). Doing it this way also takes off the pressure to do a monthly subscription to something - you can just get the posts that perk your interest.
For those who are really curious about my process and want to learn, I am also offering collections. Think of it as a digital "how the art is made" guide! The aim of the collections are to be educational, it's always helped me to see artists' thoughts as they problem solve through projects, and they're written a journal style to give people insight into how I'm thinking about problem solving. For those new to my Patreon, I put a TON of work into the process posts, showing step by step stages, thoughts, and photos. Also in the collections, are WIPs which don't have as much journaling with them, but are useful to compare to the final pieces.
Since the subscription thing just hasn't been working for a while, I'm really excited to offer this new set-up as a way of supporting my art. I've written all of the behind the scenes posts in hopes that people will pull something from them, so I truly hope this set-up gets those posts out to more people!
Previous Members of Higher Tiers
And of course, anyone who was previously on the higher tiers keep their shop discount. The code is still functional and I’m happy to offer that for all the support you all have given (please message me if you need me to resend the code). Also, I believe you all should still have access to that section of the discord. On occasion I post things related to the art that are interesting.
This will be a bit of a tough transition, but a necessary one! Any purchases via the Patreon shop would go a long way to helping make up for what I’m losing by discontinuing the higher tiers. You’re getting in depth insights into the making of the art, and tons of gratitude from me for helping to support the art.
