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The Future [Important for EVERYONE]
9 years ago
*Commissions are now offered through journals! Keep a lookout for them!*
|| Trello| TOS |Business HRS/Schedule || First off, happy new year!
2016 was pretty good until the ending months.... then it all seemed to be alright in the end up to the countdown to 2017. I'm honestly glad it's over. In fact, I feel I can breathe a little easier without the looming darkness that 2016 became. I feel a little freer, calmer, more at peace. I just need to push forward and keep up with the improvements I'll be making for myself. One of which I will mention here, since it is most important for the future of my art, the business, my life...
I can't believe it's taken me all year, a whole year of errors and mistakes I have made to realize what I should really do to continue to remain happy with myself, my art, my customers, my fans, and my overall well-being. I have gone through a lot of heartache, but I think I finally figured out what I should do.
I will be raising my prices again, but not by too much. These prices are basically going to be based on my time spent on pieces (loosely based on pay by the hour basis). I've noticed over the past couple years that I kept my prices the same, and based on how much improvement I have made, I feel it's time to up things a notch. It's like giving myself a promotion I guess, because I've worked so hard... My prices have been based on around $10/hr, and it was great because I know exactly how much time each piece takes; plus, I've gotten increasingly faster with my art, which has always been a goal of mine. I want to continue to improve on that speed without hurting my quality.
Which comes to my next point: my quality. My quality I have noticed fluctuates based upon how rushed I feel that day to get something pumped out within the timeframe I know I will get a certain piece done. Say, for example, I finish a hatchling/youngling between 4-6 hours, depending on complexity. However, sometimes, I feel I rush the sketch too quickly and it really shows in the final product. Some pictures I'm not happy with, even if they all have the same quality, it's the sheer details and form of some of them that bother me the most. Looking deeper into this, I also noticed my pieces came out a lot better when I had the artistic freedom to do what I was feeling most excited about. My quality suffers significantly when I am told what to do, and I much rather do things as a theme basis. Such as things like YCH's, icon themes, special sketch streams or batches of hatchling/younglings. Things of this nature gets me more pumped to do more, and be more creative! I get so much more done than sitting around having to think what the customer really wants from a picture. Don't get me wrong, some pieces I have done by commission have been pretty good! But I feel I get way more done when I can work with a theme, an idea, and work with it if I get a lot of bites. It's been proven to be pretty successful so far! So I feel it's the best approach for me.
In the meantime, there will be a new pricesheet underway in the next couple days, as a way to have a starting point of what I would charge. This pricesheet would basically be a reminder for me about how much I charge for pieces, whether it would be for chibis, icons, YCHs, whatever it would be of my choosing to accurately pinpoint how to price my themes and ideas. This is so I don't accidentally undercharge myself, or overcharge without doing the proper math. (Hopefully that makes sense). With that in mind, I will be phasing out my commission form, and will be making a different type of commission form based on what is going on (albeit icons, sketches, themes like hatchling/younglings, etc.). These separate commission forms will help me organize and pinpoint more accurately who wants what in each category. It sounds pretty crazy, but I've been able to work much better in batches than the way I've been doing it. Openings will be by journal, Facebook (basically the DutchAD group), and submission (which will link to the journal). I am loosely planning making a Rukamae page on Facebook since I am very much active on the DutchAD page, but don't hold me to that plan just yet since Facebook isn't exactly secure in how art is shared either. I'm pretty picky about crediting art and making sure my watermark makes it and such, but I don't really appreciate people stealing my art or claiming it as theirs (you know how it is).
What does that mean for the current commissions?
Absolutely nothing has changed! However, everything up to this point will be completed as I am able! I will be beginning to implement this pretty much immediately though, to keep cash flowing, so for the next couple months, I will be working on my old queue to completely wipe it clean and eventually it will turn into a much more manageable queue in the end. This is also including fursuits! The fursuit commissions are taking an incredible amount of time, but as I've mentioned before, they are greatly slowed at the moment because of the hole I dug myself financially while having bills to keep up with, coupled with also needing to make sure my cats are fed and I have a place to live. I am still working on them, at an incredibly slow pace. I'm currently working out a better work schedule right now so I can get the fursuits out and gone while still working on my art queue. Which now gets to my next point....
Time Management & Money
Before I completely dive in, I want to officially announce that I am planning on making a couple comics soon. These comics will only be possible if I can get a little help with each page however, and I as well need major writing help. I will look for writers when I am ready, but I want to be happy enough with being able to compensate the writer/s somehow when I get to it. The comics I'm hoping will only be possible once I free up more of my queues and have more time to do personal animation study and overall art study to better myself and show potential future employers my stuff later on down the line.
I cannot do all this without being a little bit more stable first financially, which means I HAVE to find a part time job somewhere. I've been fighting with a lot of people about this before, but I SIMPLY. CANNOT. HAVE. A FULL TIME JOB. Not right now. Most likely in the future, but right now is the worst time to find a full time job. The reasons behind my decision strictly for part time and not full time is because my art is what keeps me sane. I also like being able to have a mostly flexible schedule so I can be there for people I care about. You don't really have much idea how happy I've been just because I force myself to get out of the house to combat my depression. I know my art posting has been lacking, and I've been working on making art much more frequently and keeping up with my queue. I've seriously come a very long way compared to the trainwreck 2015 was for me. Having the flexible schedule is essential as well to me because I crave friendship and being around people that matter to me the most. It absolutely KILLS me having to miss something because I'm stuck at work. The part time job is simply just a step I need to take to be more financially stable so I don't have to heavily rely on my art to sustain my habits and my life as a whole. It won't be as much as one would like, but I just need something to sustain my bills and most importantly rent. However, I still need the time away from that job to finish the more time consuming projects (like fursuits especially), until things are completed and over with, as well as art helps me relax significantly. The less I art, the more... aggressive I become. I would know after the whole McDonalds escapade... I don't want to repeat that cycle again.
My living situation
As some might know or notice, I've been moving around a lot recently. Currently, I'm at my dads house (again) and I'm really not wanting to stay here for much longer than I have to. Which, if you've been following along, this is also the reason why I need a part time job. I'm planning on moving again the 1st of February with a good friend of mine. That place will only be temporary for a few months until we both stabilize and find a new better place CHANGE OF PLANS LOL. Dad has been very adamant about his disapproval of my cats and consistent whining about being allergic to them, doing next to nothing about it other than complain and be dramatic. It's sickening. I can't give up my cats, so the only solution is for me to move out asap. With all this happening, I'll still be doing my very best to keep working hard to make the goals to be able to sustain myself more, be more independent. Thankfully, my workspace is pretty easily transported, so I can literally work anywhere at anytime. Just need to keep up with a good work schedule and have a good part time job (that I can handle) and remain happy. I just don't want this moving thing to be a forever thing.. because it really puts my work on hold significantly.
Alright, I'll stop rambling now. I'll probably edit this journal if I think of anything else, but I think this covers it. Hopefully, this plan works out... we'll see when the time comes. Thanks for reading.
-Ruka
2016 was pretty good until the ending months.... then it all seemed to be alright in the end up to the countdown to 2017. I'm honestly glad it's over. In fact, I feel I can breathe a little easier without the looming darkness that 2016 became. I feel a little freer, calmer, more at peace. I just need to push forward and keep up with the improvements I'll be making for myself. One of which I will mention here, since it is most important for the future of my art, the business, my life...
I can't believe it's taken me all year, a whole year of errors and mistakes I have made to realize what I should really do to continue to remain happy with myself, my art, my customers, my fans, and my overall well-being. I have gone through a lot of heartache, but I think I finally figured out what I should do.
I will be raising my prices again, but not by too much. These prices are basically going to be based on my time spent on pieces (loosely based on pay by the hour basis). I've noticed over the past couple years that I kept my prices the same, and based on how much improvement I have made, I feel it's time to up things a notch. It's like giving myself a promotion I guess, because I've worked so hard... My prices have been based on around $10/hr, and it was great because I know exactly how much time each piece takes; plus, I've gotten increasingly faster with my art, which has always been a goal of mine. I want to continue to improve on that speed without hurting my quality.
Which comes to my next point: my quality. My quality I have noticed fluctuates based upon how rushed I feel that day to get something pumped out within the timeframe I know I will get a certain piece done. Say, for example, I finish a hatchling/youngling between 4-6 hours, depending on complexity. However, sometimes, I feel I rush the sketch too quickly and it really shows in the final product. Some pictures I'm not happy with, even if they all have the same quality, it's the sheer details and form of some of them that bother me the most. Looking deeper into this, I also noticed my pieces came out a lot better when I had the artistic freedom to do what I was feeling most excited about. My quality suffers significantly when I am told what to do, and I much rather do things as a theme basis. Such as things like YCH's, icon themes, special sketch streams or batches of hatchling/younglings. Things of this nature gets me more pumped to do more, and be more creative! I get so much more done than sitting around having to think what the customer really wants from a picture. Don't get me wrong, some pieces I have done by commission have been pretty good! But I feel I get way more done when I can work with a theme, an idea, and work with it if I get a lot of bites. It's been proven to be pretty successful so far! So I feel it's the best approach for me.
In the meantime, there will be a new pricesheet underway in the next couple days, as a way to have a starting point of what I would charge. This pricesheet would basically be a reminder for me about how much I charge for pieces, whether it would be for chibis, icons, YCHs, whatever it would be of my choosing to accurately pinpoint how to price my themes and ideas. This is so I don't accidentally undercharge myself, or overcharge without doing the proper math. (Hopefully that makes sense). With that in mind, I will be phasing out my commission form, and will be making a different type of commission form based on what is going on (albeit icons, sketches, themes like hatchling/younglings, etc.). These separate commission forms will help me organize and pinpoint more accurately who wants what in each category. It sounds pretty crazy, but I've been able to work much better in batches than the way I've been doing it. Openings will be by journal, Facebook (basically the DutchAD group), and submission (which will link to the journal). I am loosely planning making a Rukamae page on Facebook since I am very much active on the DutchAD page, but don't hold me to that plan just yet since Facebook isn't exactly secure in how art is shared either. I'm pretty picky about crediting art and making sure my watermark makes it and such, but I don't really appreciate people stealing my art or claiming it as theirs (you know how it is).
What does that mean for the current commissions?
Absolutely nothing has changed! However, everything up to this point will be completed as I am able! I will be beginning to implement this pretty much immediately though, to keep cash flowing, so for the next couple months, I will be working on my old queue to completely wipe it clean and eventually it will turn into a much more manageable queue in the end. This is also including fursuits! The fursuit commissions are taking an incredible amount of time, but as I've mentioned before, they are greatly slowed at the moment because of the hole I dug myself financially while having bills to keep up with, coupled with also needing to make sure my cats are fed and I have a place to live. I am still working on them, at an incredibly slow pace. I'm currently working out a better work schedule right now so I can get the fursuits out and gone while still working on my art queue. Which now gets to my next point....
Time Management & Money
Before I completely dive in, I want to officially announce that I am planning on making a couple comics soon. These comics will only be possible if I can get a little help with each page however, and I as well need major writing help. I will look for writers when I am ready, but I want to be happy enough with being able to compensate the writer/s somehow when I get to it. The comics I'm hoping will only be possible once I free up more of my queues and have more time to do personal animation study and overall art study to better myself and show potential future employers my stuff later on down the line.
I cannot do all this without being a little bit more stable first financially, which means I HAVE to find a part time job somewhere. I've been fighting with a lot of people about this before, but I SIMPLY. CANNOT. HAVE. A FULL TIME JOB. Not right now. Most likely in the future, but right now is the worst time to find a full time job. The reasons behind my decision strictly for part time and not full time is because my art is what keeps me sane. I also like being able to have a mostly flexible schedule so I can be there for people I care about. You don't really have much idea how happy I've been just because I force myself to get out of the house to combat my depression. I know my art posting has been lacking, and I've been working on making art much more frequently and keeping up with my queue. I've seriously come a very long way compared to the trainwreck 2015 was for me. Having the flexible schedule is essential as well to me because I crave friendship and being around people that matter to me the most. It absolutely KILLS me having to miss something because I'm stuck at work. The part time job is simply just a step I need to take to be more financially stable so I don't have to heavily rely on my art to sustain my habits and my life as a whole. It won't be as much as one would like, but I just need something to sustain my bills and most importantly rent. However, I still need the time away from that job to finish the more time consuming projects (like fursuits especially), until things are completed and over with, as well as art helps me relax significantly. The less I art, the more... aggressive I become. I would know after the whole McDonalds escapade... I don't want to repeat that cycle again.
My living situation
As some might know or notice, I've been moving around a lot recently. Currently, I'm at my dads house (again) and I'm really not wanting to stay here for much longer than I have to. Which, if you've been following along, this is also the reason why I need a part time job.
Alright, I'll stop rambling now. I'll probably edit this journal if I think of anything else, but I think this covers it. Hopefully, this plan works out... we'll see when the time comes. Thanks for reading.
-Ruka
Good luck with getting your new place.