That's certainly true for some Patreon users. However, the site does offer multiple ways of collecting from patrons. For example, you can set it up so it's collecting every month whether or not the artist produces anything or you can set it up so it's collecting every time you (the artist) submit a file. There are probably other ways to collect as well.

Granted, there are ways to abuse all of the options for sure so it's really up to the patrons themselves to decide whether or not a particular artist is worth it, kind of like Kickstarter projects. I don't know if Patreon has any systems in place to discourage artists from abusing the system, but it honestly wouldn't surprise me if they didn't. =p

That's true and I decided to get a tip for each content I publish! Though, I think there's no way for the system to discourage artists to abuse it and using it as a normal paywall site :/

Yes, but generally supporting your favorite artists is usually the main source of income for them. They put time and effort into images that people enjoy on this site.

It's a bit like an art museum. Most places you have to pay entry fee to see artwork. This fee helps upkeep of the museum, pay it's staff. General looking after.

This is the same as the artists making the work. Pays for their efforts, their food, their rent, and motivation to keep doing what they love. Hobbies aren't and should never be free. Especially how much time they've taken to develop these skills. You get paid better for higher degrees, so why wouldnt you get paid for more experience in art?

Art should never be free. Nothing is ever free. GOOD QUALITY things are never free.

Agreed, totally, on everything.
I do believe supporting is important and I'm facing myself with the struggle of paying my bills with a creative job as this one... SOoo yeah :') Heartwarming!
Thank you!

Totally.

Your real watchers will understand your cause. There's alot of people that complain when money is involved, simply because, for example: they cannot afford it, or: Their own artwork isn't up to par, where people aren't buying from them. One day, i can help your cause, when I get active in my art, again!

Your art is undervalued and underappreciated, and i DO believe that a patreon for you, is a great idea.

Keep up your phenomenal art.~

oh wow thank you so much dude :3 I'll try!

Agreed with all the things these guys said above, but I wanted to add another little point: as a freelance artist myself, I still find it a bit hard to survive by working on commissions only.
Patreon offered me a different chance of income and I was (and still am!) curious to figure it out at its best! Of course, I imagine that's not everyone's choice and so it's fine: I'm collecting opinions here :)

I support a handful of artists that have their Patreon set up as a bonus. All their finished works still get posted for free elsewhere, but being a Patron gets you things like monthly sketch packs or stream access that show you the process of how the artist works. I also support some artists that have ongoing comics that are released early to Patrons. The key to who I support on that site is specifically that they don't use it as a paywall and that they charge appropriately for the bonus content. Seeing a comic page early or seeing process sketches should not cost the same per month as commissioning a full piece, for example.

I see it purely as a way to give a little extra to artists, because I don't always have personal budget to support them by buying full pieces.

This is actually kind of interesting and I thank you for this comment! :)

I was considering about doing little Q&A streaming sessions, or tutorials also, via Picarto or other sites and letting my Patreons join. Of course, that would go for a very cheap price!
But the problem for me, nowaday, is that I have just a handful of Patreons and due to the timezone (Italy here!) I'm afraid it would be worthless to go on streaming for them only :/
Am I thinking this wrong? Let me know!

I think you may be right that the time zone would make it hard to do streams. Hopefully someone here has some clever ideas for you ^.^

i like the psd files and highres pictures, there is just one thing that bothers me, that you mostly never get the old art in bigger size not even a way to buy as a art pakage, i give thumbs up fro Peritian, because you get the old art in highres too, not just the new ones that comes every month

Yeah, for people like me who can't really support many artists on a monthly basis, I'd really wish there was an option for me to just buy all the art that isn't posted here at the end of the year or every few months.

Unfortunately, I suppose Patreon system isn't very friendly with this kind of support form: buying a imagepack is more of a single shot, while Patreon aim is to give artists a continuous source of income :)

That's another good tip: Hi-res files and PSD files! Thank you :)

Yes, Patreon definitely went through a few changes in the past months.

And yet, the overwhelming majority of furry artists continue to abuse its system.

I know well, and I've been doing this same mistake in the very beginning! :0
Using it as a paywall site is very remunerative due to the fact people are more willing to pay to unlock something exclusive instead of paying just for support to their favorite artists.
That's kind of normal, I guess: but Patreon is trying to shape our attitude towards supporting forms I guess...?

Patreon was always meant to be more of a tip jar or an alternate way for donating to people. Using it as a modern paywall - a'la SexyFur - is just distasteful (in my opinion). I'm much more likely to support an artist who eventually releases Patreon content for free. I do not support paywalls by principle.

Will you be posting cub content there? I love your cub art but InkBunny is awful.

I know a lot of people do not like Inkbunny - which I believe being a super good site TBH!
But I'm a bit doubtful about cub contents on Patreon. Sure, there could be some cub pictures (and there is already!) but I'd rather avoid having my page all about it :)

I just don't like the layout of the site too much. Thanks for answering!

I don't use Patreon, and am unlikely to ever start. I joined this fandom because I enjoy sharing art with others - not because I want to use my fans as a source of income.

That is your point of view and I admire you for this! It's all about choices :)
Unfortunately, you cannot make a living or pay your bills just by sharing free art on a regular furry site or imageboard.
Patreon actually is trying to make this option a reality, even though the system still is a bit lacky and it's still hard to make it work smoothly.

I wouldn't say this is using your fans, it's just something about a cool guy said above:
"Art should never be free. Nothing is ever free. GOOD QUALITY things are never free."

I'm not going to disrespect artists by saying they shouldn't charge for their work, as if our effort and skill has no value. But I entered this fandom because I enjoyed the community. It meant something to be able to share what I did for no other reward than the feedback I received from other artists and fans. There were always folks who took commissions, or sold prints, but a lot of people were more willing to do trades and make gift art. The art was a self-satisfying hobby being shared among friends. It's understandably vexing then when the community focus shifts from art-for-the-sake-of-the-art to art-solely-for-money. It's not unfair. It's not a sign that the artist is evil or greedy, but it does make me grieve a bit when I see great artists stop sharing or taking part in the community aspects just to take commissions, and in their turn, resenting those fans that aren't able or willing to pay. I suppose you could say it's a loss of innocence type of situation. I'm disheartened to see the fandom become less of a community and more of a business - Furries becoming commodities/demographics rather than kindred.

No worries and you're not being offensive, we're just talking here :)

While I can understand your point of view on artists disappearing, I still have to disagree with you though: I think payed art isn't a bad thing and it also could be seen as an improvement for the fandom itself, as a community, instead of an obstacle. Beside, as said above, when you're paying someone for creating an artwork, that is a form of support and also a choice towards quality, hopefully. And you see a lot of free art being posted all around, and the quality is often generally very, very low: that's why - IMHO - world isn't only black and white, "pure free art" VS "payed art".

No, it's certainly not black and white, and I'm not vilifying paid artwork as a whole - I'm giving my opinion based on the changes I perceive in the fandom around me. Others may interpret what they see quite differently.

I've offered commissions and purchased art myself, so I certainly don't feel that commissioning artwork is a bad thing, or that it is tearing the fandom apart. What I feel is hurting the fandom right now is the imbalance in the relationship between artists and fans (and it is a relationship). What I feel Patreon is precipitating, is a pendulum swing from a fan-dominated interaction, to a more artist-dominated one. I'm not going to argue which side is more worthy, since that's entirely subjective.
This pendulum swing has happened before. In the early 2000s, there was a backlash against fans with unrealistic and unhealthy expectations toward artists. There seemed to be a wave of resentment toward artists that "dared" to charge more than $20 for a full colour custom commission. Many artists I know who took commissions in that time had trouble with incessant revisions, incomplete character descriptions, refusals to pay based on trivial or downright unfair claims, and many other such issues (many of which still exist). They felt like they were having their talents taken advantage of. And I think that they were. Too many artists sell themselves and their talents far too short; putting massive amounts of effort into works that get very little credit (monetary or otherwise). As we moved into the 2010s, things seemed to even out slightly. What I think we are seeing now is the pendulum swinging a bit too far the other way.
Patreon offers artists an entirely new tool for us to regulate and monetize the hobby. With the growth of the "small business mentality", some feel that they can turn that hobby into a substitute for traditional work. This isn't a unrealistic goal, as some artists have the fanbase and following, as well as the acumen and perseverance, to make it work. Others see it as "easy money", or as I said before, a way to minimize interaction from fans while still making money off of them.
The best analogy I can think of, is the dotcom boom of the 90s. Artists and fans are investing heavily in Patreon on the promise of returns that may or may not become reality, based on a technology that is still being developed. It's a dangerous time for anyone to be going all-in on something so new. Patreon is not a golden ticket to financial stability, as many seem to think. It's a tool for collecting donations and investing in futures. I don't want to get too deep into my concerns, since I've already written a bunch (and many of them are still very subjective), but returning to my earlier point, I feel that the way in which many artists use Patreon is hurting the fandom by unintentionally or subconsciously turning it from a fandom into a demographic. As more and more artists turn to Patreon and resources like it, the less there are that will make art just for the sake of the art. As my earlier post said, I fear that the barrier created by monetizing systems will create an environment where the only voices that matter are the ones that can pay, which we already see in the comment that "true fans" donate and those that don't are just leeches or spoiled.

Patreon's existence has already had a big effect on the relationship between artists and fans, exacerbating the bad blood on both sides. Working artists feel that fans are being greedy and spoiled, and fans are feeling exploited and unappreciated. This cycle has happened before, and I don't hate on anyone who has made their choice either way - as I've said a few times, the choice is subjective. I expect things to even back out, eventually. Those that do Patreon right will continue to be successful and popular with fans, and those that don't will either adapt or fade away. I just want to see the fandom stay a community. I don't want the focus of Furry to be "what can I buy" or "what can I sell". I want it to be about "who can I meet".

I only have a problem when artists start putting all of their content behind a paywall, since I can't actually afford to support anyone on Patreon atm.

I know, I think it's pretty common and for sure I would never disappear behind a Paywall... no worries ;)

Personally I think Patreon is a fine way of gathering some extra income for artists (or even their main way for some) from people who want to credit them.
There have been many artists that have been making art viewable and enjoyable for free and commissionable for a payment, just like you,
then theyhey have mistakenly swapped their art to be centered around Patreon, so that their art is basically converted into "Pay To See / Pay To Commission" from "Free To See / Pay to Commission"
and so lost over half of their followers. Let's be real, even if the "hardcore-fans" stay, the casual followers mean heck of a lot to an artist.

If the day comes when you create a Patreon like for real, I see it being a positive thing if that's what you want, as long as you don't make the mistakes some others have made.
Keep you art as it is but you could still try to make Patroning rewarding as in having a say in what you are making, voting, anything you come up with, but DON'T forget your
casual followers who 'just' like free art. (Nothing wrong with that!)

I love your work, I love you, I love commissioning from you and when my work schedule gets rolling I'm sure I would follow you on there if you ever decide to make a Patreon.

That's cool, dude! Thank you also for the helpful comment, I can totally see your point.
By now, even if just for a few Patrons, I already have an account but it's still a WIP... Anyway, I'm basically showing everything on there and just asking for tips on the artworks, if people feels like it :)

Un po' in ritardo, ma ti rispondo anch'io, con la mia opinione, semplice e probabilmente inutile.

Io Patreon non lo uso. Non sono d'accordo con l'idea di base, e per un motivo molto spartano.
Sono d'accordo che sia giusto remunerare un'artista per il suo lavoro. Dietro un'opera c'è tempo, impegno, anni di apprendimento, arte... Tutte cose che meritano remunerazione.
Tuttavia, in questo discorso c'è un altro termine di cui bisognerebbe tenere conto, molto semplice: il mio portafoglio. A me i soldi non piovono dal cielo, i miei introiti sono sudati amaramente, per cui le mie spese saranno tutte attentamente valutate.... e non sono d'accordo sul pagare per vedere quello che un'artista vuole farmi vedere. Pagare per vedere (e solo vedere), per me non vale i soldi per cui io ho letteralmente versato lacrime, sudore e sangue. Se la sola visione di un'opera ha un prezzo, piuttosto non guardo, e neanche cercherò di guardarla "a sbafo", perché mi ritengo una persona onesta e ritengo che sarebbe come rubare. Anche un film al cinema, o un qualsiasi altro evento, l'idea che ho è che i soldi del biglietto sono per l'uso di una sala costruita per la visione di film, insonorizzata, con luci regolate, schermo gigante, impianto audio imponente... anche se so che non è davvero così, tanto mi basta per renderla nella mia testa una spesa accettabile.
Per cui, come remunererei un'artista? Beh, in ogni sua opera, l'artista ci mette tempo, impegno, anni di apprendimento e arte.... quelli son disposto a comprarli. E con questo intendo dire: commissioni. Se l'artista mi dedica la sua arte con un'opera richiesta da me, sono ben felice di pagarla. Io non ho arte, mi mancano gli anni di apprendimento e impegno, e probabilmente anche il tempo... Soldi in cambio di qualcosa che non ho e vorrei avere, sembra giustissimo, praticamente naturale.
Ovviamente, va detto che se i soldi mi arrivassero più facilmente, verrebbero spesi più disinvoltamente e quindi solo guardare potrebbe diventare una spesa accettabile. :P Posso sempre sognare, no?

Questa è solo la mia opinione. Se riesci a far sì che Patreon ti funzioni, sarò solo felice per te, hai un bel talento e te lo meriti. Purtroppo però, non posso aiutarti da quella parte. Su commissioni, forse...

Sono abbastanza d'accordo, ma infatti il mio intendo non è tanto quello di usare Patreon per un concetto di "pago per vedere", piuttosto di "pago per supportarti". La distinzione è abbastanza sottile ed io stesso ci ho messo un po' di tempo ad elaborare un nuovo modo di utilizzare questo sito. Il "pago per vedere" non è un concetto così assurdo, basti pensare a qualsiasi museo o qualsiasi mostra d'arte in cui si paga un biglietto di ingresso: molti usano Patreon esattamente in questo modo. Io ho pensato di provare un'altro sistema, vedremo come va :)

Quanto alle commissioni, sono d'accordissimo: la forma migliore per supportare economicamente un artista. E anzi, io sto basando la mia vita professionale su questo!
Se anzi vorrai commissionarmi qualcosa, benvenga :)

Grazie e a presto!