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Explanation for Inactivity + Commission Hiatus Announcement
7 months ago
Hello everyone,
I've been wanting to make this journal for a while, but now I finally have the time to. I'm writing this journal to apologize and explain my inactivity within the past few weeks, and also explain why I decided to go on a commission hiatus. I've hinted the hiatus earlier in my last journal closing commissions for April, and I also updated my status on the public queue weeks before, so now is a good time for me to get a little personal and explain all the details. But first, I think it's important to explain why I wanted to do this in the first place.
The first thing many people noticed in the last few weeks was that I've been very slow responding to people or messages, along with not posting art as frequently as I used to. Getting art and YCHs out have also been very slow, with clients asking why it's taking so long. There's a multitude of reasons why I've been like this lately, but I think it's best I talk only about the biggest one.
Inactivity:
The biggest reason is simply just the astronomical amount of BS that's been happening outside of art in real life. Ever since March, my outside work schedule has been very hectic due to people at work continuously calling off and changing schedule, making me work overtime or evening shifts, which pretty much takes up my entire day. I think it's important to note that including my art business here on FA, I work 3 jobs, sometimes 4, just to make things work out financially in this economy. Because all of them have been so demanding, I have very little time in a day to get art done. And even if I did have time, I come back home so physically and mentally exhausted I just pass out in bed. Unfortunately, all of this was only from work alone. On top of this, I've also had to deal with extremely annoying car issues as well. My car, which isn't even a very old car, has been experiencing numerous problems all of a sudden. It even stalled in the middle of the freeway, four times. Drives/tows to the car mechanic or dealership are both 2 hour one way trips. Dropping off/picking up the car after work pretty much took up all of my afternoons and evenings, which is usually when I work on commissions. So it's just been nothing but wake up, work, car, sleep for the past 3 weeks. This is not including days when I was sick, had to go out of state for job reasons, treat guests, drive out of town to help family members, and so on.
I hope journals like these don't come off as excuses. Whenever I write these, I just wanted to let all of you know what I've been dealing with for the past few weeks and give an explanation. I fully and truly understand if people are frustrated with me for not responding to them on time, for not being active enough, or for not getting art out fast enough. I'm really sorry, and I'm honestly frustrated at myself and at the situations I find myself in. All of this plays a huge role into why I decided to go on a commission hiatus starting today.
Hiatus:
One of the reasons I wanted to go on hiatus is because of the amount of commissions I need to get through considering the situation I'm in. Although the number of YCHs and commission requests I have currently is actually very manageable to me in normal circumstances, the amount of stuff happening outside of work makes getting through all of them much more difficult; and opening up for commissions and YCHs again and again in the future is obviously not going to help. Another reason I wanted to do this is because I wanted to slow down and spend time working on personal art after I complete all my commissions. Back then, I used to draw and post personal art once or twice every week. Now, I post personal art once every 1-3 months. I have a notebook full of ideas I've always wanted to draw, ideas that I really liked because they really fleshed out my characters and helped show off their personalities more. Also some really hot vore ideas I've never seen done before of course lol. I could finally finish that Seal King comic as well. I think a hiatus from commissions would be a great time to experiment and explore with my art.
I think one of the biggest reasons I wanted to do this hiatus is to have time to complete other overdue personal projects outside of FA, and most importantly, spend time to myself and continue pursuing my career. Out of school, I worked at small studios and got my name in the credits for some things, but after my contracts ended, that was it. Because the industry I worked in is currently not in a good state to say the least, I've been unemployed from my field of work for almost a year at this point. Drawing for you guys was awesome, but I never got the time to really work on my portfolio and apply to other jobs, if they popped up. I feel the extra time I can use to polish/update my portfolio, build network connections, and apply to jobs will really help me in the long run, so I won't have to work 3 or 4 jobs anymore and just work one, maybe two.
So during my hiatus, I am going to complete all the YCHs and commission requests I have until I have no more requests to fulfill. After that, I'm not going to open up any more commissions or YCHs until I feel that I'm ready to open up again. I don't know how long this hiatus is going to last, but I'm planning to reopen commissions and YCHs around June of this year, but there is no guarantee of that. Although things will slow down when it comes to posting, I will still be active on FA, Discord, and Telegram, and I will still try to post art every week. Surprisingly, because of this hiatus, I actually might be more available to do art streams on my Discord, so that's another thing I will still do during the hiatus. So yes, I might not be as active, but I am still 100% going to be active and able to respond to notes and messages.
Once again, I apologize for the delays that's been happening, and I really hope you understand what I've been going through and my decisions for the next upcoming months. I greatly appreciate the patience in all of you, and I can't express how much I'm grateful to draw for all of you and be with me during these times. Things should hopefully clear up for me late this year, like I said around June or so. I look forward to taking requests and drawing for all of you again sometime soon this year. Thanks for everything.
-DP
I've been wanting to make this journal for a while, but now I finally have the time to. I'm writing this journal to apologize and explain my inactivity within the past few weeks, and also explain why I decided to go on a commission hiatus. I've hinted the hiatus earlier in my last journal closing commissions for April, and I also updated my status on the public queue weeks before, so now is a good time for me to get a little personal and explain all the details. But first, I think it's important to explain why I wanted to do this in the first place.
The first thing many people noticed in the last few weeks was that I've been very slow responding to people or messages, along with not posting art as frequently as I used to. Getting art and YCHs out have also been very slow, with clients asking why it's taking so long. There's a multitude of reasons why I've been like this lately, but I think it's best I talk only about the biggest one.
Inactivity:
The biggest reason is simply just the astronomical amount of BS that's been happening outside of art in real life. Ever since March, my outside work schedule has been very hectic due to people at work continuously calling off and changing schedule, making me work overtime or evening shifts, which pretty much takes up my entire day. I think it's important to note that including my art business here on FA, I work 3 jobs, sometimes 4, just to make things work out financially in this economy. Because all of them have been so demanding, I have very little time in a day to get art done. And even if I did have time, I come back home so physically and mentally exhausted I just pass out in bed. Unfortunately, all of this was only from work alone. On top of this, I've also had to deal with extremely annoying car issues as well. My car, which isn't even a very old car, has been experiencing numerous problems all of a sudden. It even stalled in the middle of the freeway, four times. Drives/tows to the car mechanic or dealership are both 2 hour one way trips. Dropping off/picking up the car after work pretty much took up all of my afternoons and evenings, which is usually when I work on commissions. So it's just been nothing but wake up, work, car, sleep for the past 3 weeks. This is not including days when I was sick, had to go out of state for job reasons, treat guests, drive out of town to help family members, and so on.
I hope journals like these don't come off as excuses. Whenever I write these, I just wanted to let all of you know what I've been dealing with for the past few weeks and give an explanation. I fully and truly understand if people are frustrated with me for not responding to them on time, for not being active enough, or for not getting art out fast enough. I'm really sorry, and I'm honestly frustrated at myself and at the situations I find myself in. All of this plays a huge role into why I decided to go on a commission hiatus starting today.
Hiatus:
One of the reasons I wanted to go on hiatus is because of the amount of commissions I need to get through considering the situation I'm in. Although the number of YCHs and commission requests I have currently is actually very manageable to me in normal circumstances, the amount of stuff happening outside of work makes getting through all of them much more difficult; and opening up for commissions and YCHs again and again in the future is obviously not going to help. Another reason I wanted to do this is because I wanted to slow down and spend time working on personal art after I complete all my commissions. Back then, I used to draw and post personal art once or twice every week. Now, I post personal art once every 1-3 months. I have a notebook full of ideas I've always wanted to draw, ideas that I really liked because they really fleshed out my characters and helped show off their personalities more. Also some really hot vore ideas I've never seen done before of course lol. I could finally finish that Seal King comic as well. I think a hiatus from commissions would be a great time to experiment and explore with my art.
I think one of the biggest reasons I wanted to do this hiatus is to have time to complete other overdue personal projects outside of FA, and most importantly, spend time to myself and continue pursuing my career. Out of school, I worked at small studios and got my name in the credits for some things, but after my contracts ended, that was it. Because the industry I worked in is currently not in a good state to say the least, I've been unemployed from my field of work for almost a year at this point. Drawing for you guys was awesome, but I never got the time to really work on my portfolio and apply to other jobs, if they popped up. I feel the extra time I can use to polish/update my portfolio, build network connections, and apply to jobs will really help me in the long run, so I won't have to work 3 or 4 jobs anymore and just work one, maybe two.
So during my hiatus, I am going to complete all the YCHs and commission requests I have until I have no more requests to fulfill. After that, I'm not going to open up any more commissions or YCHs until I feel that I'm ready to open up again. I don't know how long this hiatus is going to last, but I'm planning to reopen commissions and YCHs around June of this year, but there is no guarantee of that. Although things will slow down when it comes to posting, I will still be active on FA, Discord, and Telegram, and I will still try to post art every week. Surprisingly, because of this hiatus, I actually might be more available to do art streams on my Discord, so that's another thing I will still do during the hiatus. So yes, I might not be as active, but I am still 100% going to be active and able to respond to notes and messages.
Once again, I apologize for the delays that's been happening, and I really hope you understand what I've been going through and my decisions for the next upcoming months. I greatly appreciate the patience in all of you, and I can't express how much I'm grateful to draw for all of you and be with me during these times. Things should hopefully clear up for me late this year, like I said around June or so. I look forward to taking requests and drawing for all of you again sometime soon this year. Thanks for everything.
-DP
Wish you the best.
Though i guess its not a good time to bring it up when there's a 2 month break now and people will get to wait, it does feel like you should raise prices a bit.
Even if its not to survive on commissions alone full-time. To know you do the work you do after 3 different jobs feels exhausting just to think about.
I hope you get some well deserved rest for these coming two months at least. Eager to see what kind of personal pieces you have in mind for when you return.
Something I want to note though, me going on hiatus won't mean there's going to be big delays on commissions that I got already. People won't be waiting 2 months for their art until I'm out of the hiatus. I'm still working on getting those out in a timely manner and in the best quality of course. I just won't open up again until I feel ready.
A lot of people over the years have suggested to me that I increase my prices, and I really appreciate everyone telling me that because they really want me to not undervalue my art, and also because they care that I'm making enough to survive on. I did increase my prices a lot as I stayed open, and it's honestly insane how much my art used to be worth. No wonder I got burnt out a lot back then haha. Lately I've just been a little mixed about it though ,with the cost of living increasing for everyone and myself, but I'll think about it some more.
And i understand those people, since not all peoples' economic situations are equal, still i feel for the quality you offer that you sell yourself a bit short. As much as i enjoy the thought of saving money, it doesn't feel right not to point it out. Especially hearing how you're more or less working yourself down to the bone outside of the commission work.
Sorry to hear you have to go through that kind of stuff as well, and it's really annoying. On the bright side, if doing overtime, that's more money for you. I like to think that to myself as well.
The car was frustrating because it was an error nobody knew, not even the mechanics. I got it brand new back then and it worked well until then. I'm hoping they have it fixed real soon.
I hope you get the R&R you need to recuperate. As far as your car issue goes, I hope this gets fixed. It could be a number of things, but hopefully, it's an easy fix.
Thanks for demonstrating the self-care necessary to function in the way you really need; it tells me that real compassion still exists in the world.