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Current Situation
9 years ago
Eh, I don't write these often enough so I figure I'll go ahead and update you all on what's going on in my life and to better hopefully explain the delay in posting art and other things.
So first off, sorry about the delay in art. There's some art still my patreon has that my FA has yet to be updated with. There's also much art that I haven't shown anyone other than the commissioners.
There will be an influx of art coming so look forward to that, it just might be a week or two.
The reason I haven't is I honestly don't have the time for it. Especially with double posting everything from patreon to FA. I'm honestly thinking I'll be changing that system. Once Final Feast is complete I may use patreon as a way to fund future comics rather than a time gate to art. I'll probably still offer little things like sketches and source files for the pictures I do.
But regardless, the reason updates have been so dry of late is because I'm been so busy and so behind on work.
For the last couple months I've been in a cycle of catch up. I'll have backlog commissions to do and by the time I have finished them it'll be a week before the next month and I have most of my bills on the first of every month. This means that I have to make around $900 in one week thus putting more work on a backlog as I spend the next 2-3 weeks trying to finish up commissions. Thankfully I've been able to find work due to you wonderful people and because I'm able to get money up-front it allows me to pay those bills. But as you can see it's a vicious cycle of being behind. The work I do for most of a month is to pay for the previous month's expenses and... ya It's been a daunting task.
This is also why other projects have been very much halted. Expansion of swallowtail and finishing my comic Final Feast have all taken a back burner till I can catch up.
There really is no way past this cycle except for hard work and dedication. Well and getting non-obligated money thrown at me. This is where patreon has been a life saver. I only make about $100 a month but it really has helped chip in to making ends meet. If you feel so inclined to help every little bit counts, it really does! ( www.patreon.com/roco )
From what I've explained above it may seem like I currently hate where I'm at right now but honestly... as close as I've been scraping by every month to make ends meet I'm quite happy. Well I mean there's plenty of other emotions flung around due to my financial position but I mean I got amazing friends, I got a job a like (even if it's not the wealthiest of careers), I get to eat food I enjoy, I can indulge in electronic entertainment on rare occasion, all in all, it's not horrible.
So ya, that's currently my position. Right now I got 2 commissions I'm finishing up. Then I have an animation I have to complete (I'm hoping to have all this done by early monday, I want to finish it sunday).
Then I have a group of commissions that helped pay for this month's bills that hit on the first. So that's my new backlog. I estimate that if all goes well I'll have it done by the 20th. Then the cycle can continue and I'll have a little over a week to obtain more work to pay for the next month. Of course this is all on top of non - job related things I have to do. Still have to file taxes both for swallowtail and for being self employed (can't wait to see that bill) and of course cooking, cleaning, house chores, family matters, dozens of other random things that take up time, and some how keeping a social life in between all that.
It's stressful but doable. I do plan on getting out of this strut though.
My wishful thinking is once I finish final feast, the comic I've had in backlog for some time, that if it makes anything my CVD did in the first month, I can live off of that for a month or two without the need for alot of commissions.
What this means is while I'll still do the occasional commission, I can work on new projects while being funded from the old. Then I can sell those (or have the income come from patreon... I don't know though as that's a chancy endeavor probably better suited when I have actual savings of some sort).
But that all depends on getting final feast off the ground and finished which requires me to have time to do it which requires me to NOT be in backlog. So ya... viscous cycle.
That's the sob story and the reason why things have been so slow to update here.
But hey, I have my health, I have my friends and family, I can feed and house myself. For all the struggle, life's pretty good.
Always Look on the Bright Side of Life
So first off, sorry about the delay in art. There's some art still my patreon has that my FA has yet to be updated with. There's also much art that I haven't shown anyone other than the commissioners.
There will be an influx of art coming so look forward to that, it just might be a week or two.
The reason I haven't is I honestly don't have the time for it. Especially with double posting everything from patreon to FA. I'm honestly thinking I'll be changing that system. Once Final Feast is complete I may use patreon as a way to fund future comics rather than a time gate to art. I'll probably still offer little things like sketches and source files for the pictures I do.
But regardless, the reason updates have been so dry of late is because I'm been so busy and so behind on work.
For the last couple months I've been in a cycle of catch up. I'll have backlog commissions to do and by the time I have finished them it'll be a week before the next month and I have most of my bills on the first of every month. This means that I have to make around $900 in one week thus putting more work on a backlog as I spend the next 2-3 weeks trying to finish up commissions. Thankfully I've been able to find work due to you wonderful people and because I'm able to get money up-front it allows me to pay those bills. But as you can see it's a vicious cycle of being behind. The work I do for most of a month is to pay for the previous month's expenses and... ya It's been a daunting task.
This is also why other projects have been very much halted. Expansion of swallowtail and finishing my comic Final Feast have all taken a back burner till I can catch up.
There really is no way past this cycle except for hard work and dedication. Well and getting non-obligated money thrown at me. This is where patreon has been a life saver. I only make about $100 a month but it really has helped chip in to making ends meet. If you feel so inclined to help every little bit counts, it really does! ( www.patreon.com/roco )
From what I've explained above it may seem like I currently hate where I'm at right now but honestly... as close as I've been scraping by every month to make ends meet I'm quite happy. Well I mean there's plenty of other emotions flung around due to my financial position but I mean I got amazing friends, I got a job a like (even if it's not the wealthiest of careers), I get to eat food I enjoy, I can indulge in electronic entertainment on rare occasion, all in all, it's not horrible.
So ya, that's currently my position. Right now I got 2 commissions I'm finishing up. Then I have an animation I have to complete (I'm hoping to have all this done by early monday, I want to finish it sunday).
Then I have a group of commissions that helped pay for this month's bills that hit on the first. So that's my new backlog. I estimate that if all goes well I'll have it done by the 20th. Then the cycle can continue and I'll have a little over a week to obtain more work to pay for the next month. Of course this is all on top of non - job related things I have to do. Still have to file taxes both for swallowtail and for being self employed (can't wait to see that bill) and of course cooking, cleaning, house chores, family matters, dozens of other random things that take up time, and some how keeping a social life in between all that.
It's stressful but doable. I do plan on getting out of this strut though.
My wishful thinking is once I finish final feast, the comic I've had in backlog for some time, that if it makes anything my CVD did in the first month, I can live off of that for a month or two without the need for alot of commissions.
What this means is while I'll still do the occasional commission, I can work on new projects while being funded from the old. Then I can sell those (or have the income come from patreon... I don't know though as that's a chancy endeavor probably better suited when I have actual savings of some sort).
But that all depends on getting final feast off the ground and finished which requires me to have time to do it which requires me to NOT be in backlog. So ya... viscous cycle.
That's the sob story and the reason why things have been so slow to update here.
But hey, I have my health, I have my friends and family, I can feed and house myself. For all the struggle, life's pretty good.
Always Look on the Bright Side of Life
markhaen62
~markhaen62
I would say I'm glad you have friends and family. And health too! I hope you'll be able to do what you want too! Live like we want is a luck I think. So I wish you all keep going like today, roco! Also good luck with art :3c! And don't eat too much people! You'll have no commissioner after D:
