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Many important words about Patreon and myself
8 years ago
I've begun a Patreon a month ago.
That was a hard decision - I have never got enough self-importance and confidence. Sometimes I really doubt that I'm an artist. So often.
It's still hard for me to talk about money, I usually ask my husband to decide how much a commission should cost...and reduce this price. On EF I took commissions for $5, $10, and forced myself to rise the prices only because of artists around me and the fact I can't finish all the commissions in time. At the last rus. furry-con I was selling badges for $5 too...
I just want to say that I don't know how to sell my art. And I don't want to sell it, I just want to draw.
But I want to have food, clothes, ant other things for life. That's normal. Moreover, I still have regular problems with health, which take money too.
But since I forgot about my work in laboratory I'm being in a trap - when I don't draw YCHes, commissions and other stuff for others I have no money at all. And my health gets worse. I must levelup during the commissions, not instead of them.
But I'm feeling a big world inside me. All the time I want to release it, to let it out. I have a lot of ideas for comics, stories, beautiful art... I can't believe that no one needs that from me. But I have no energy for going both ways. That's why I began my Patreon. That's not a page with lots of exclusive art, not yet. That helps me to get better, to stop thinking about money every minute. And a simple way to show me, that everything I do is an art. That I must just be myself and grow in drawing, telling my tale and life.
I'm trying to be a good artist. But I'm not a strong artist, I usually need feedback. That's sad but true...
That was a hard decision - I have never got enough self-importance and confidence. Sometimes I really doubt that I'm an artist. So often.
It's still hard for me to talk about money, I usually ask my husband to decide how much a commission should cost...and reduce this price. On EF I took commissions for $5, $10, and forced myself to rise the prices only because of artists around me and the fact I can't finish all the commissions in time. At the last rus. furry-con I was selling badges for $5 too...
I just want to say that I don't know how to sell my art. And I don't want to sell it, I just want to draw.
But I want to have food, clothes, ant other things for life. That's normal. Moreover, I still have regular problems with health, which take money too.
But since I forgot about my work in laboratory I'm being in a trap - when I don't draw YCHes, commissions and other stuff for others I have no money at all. And my health gets worse. I must levelup during the commissions, not instead of them.
But I'm feeling a big world inside me. All the time I want to release it, to let it out. I have a lot of ideas for comics, stories, beautiful art... I can't believe that no one needs that from me. But I have no energy for going both ways. That's why I began my Patreon. That's not a page with lots of exclusive art, not yet. That helps me to get better, to stop thinking about money every minute. And a simple way to show me, that everything I do is an art. That I must just be myself and grow in drawing, telling my tale and life.
I'm trying to be a good artist. But I'm not a strong artist, I usually need feedback. That's sad but true...
PATREON 
Насчёт патреона я как-то точно пас. Они там поначалу жёстко облажались по части надёжности и безопасности, и, насколько я в курсе, болт у них на это до сих пор выложен некислый.
Не через патреон, а так точно могу помочь. Или заказать что. Уж точно не по десятке :)
На жалобы на это отвечали, "Ну, мы ещё только начинаем, случается, как-нибудь исправим", но собственно до исправлений руки доходили в лучшем случае долго.
В обратную сторону косяки тоже есть... Щас... Лень описывать, тут как раз под руками было...
I have not used Patreon yet. I will go learn more about how to be a Pateron.
There is much more than just that idea and art skill. There is also advertising, communication, popularity/followers, determining what other people want and are willing to pay for (this is not just about porn/smut but about what things/ideas are popular or interest/motivate others), and personal energy/motivation/productivity. Effectively an artist is also an entrepreneur or small business, instead of selling something like pies or cakes like a small family bakery/shop they are selling something else... which leads to the question of what exactly an artist is selling or providing to others. It is easy to think it is just the physical (or digital) artwork itself but I think that it might be more accurate to say that what an artist is 'selling' is their ability to make others feel an emotion - people look at or buy art because of how it makes them feel. Perhaps this means that being an artist is somewhat like being a performer or entertainer like a storyteller, stage magician, singer, actor, comedian (stand up comic), etc.
Ko-fi is like a 'tip jar' for small payments.
If you are interested, there is a method to provide extra content for Ko-fi donations. Ko-fi has a method to send a 'thank-you' email to donors, so you can provide links to the extra content in that email (I think you can also put links or content in the Supporter Message section of the Ko-fi page). The artist :AsheSkyler: used this idea when she created a Ko-fi (instead of a Patreon) to help support her webcomic http://jad.raven-wing.net/ because she didn't like Patreon. She would probably be happy to explain what she did on Ko-fi if you ask her (and why she chose Ko-fi over Patreon).