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2018 Updates: Rebranding, Patreon, Commission Options, etc
8 years ago
Find me elsewhere!
https://vicekillx.carrd.co/
Email: vicekillx@gmail.com With the new year rolling in, I think it's time for a fresh start.
First of all, thank you so much for your support this year! Launching my Patreon campaign was a huge step for me both financially and emotionally. It's been a huge boon to my creativity and mental stability now that I have a little more financial wiggle room, and I couldn't be more grateful to each and every one of you.
Now that the first few months have passed and I've gotten a decent handle on how to use the platform, I've learned a lot and I think some changes are in order.
- The only thing I'm 100% sure of is that I will be removing WIPs as an exclusive Patreon reward. It's a simple thing for me to do, and I think you guys enjoy it - but, if all my WIPs are exclusive and it takes me a month to finish a piece...I might not have anything to post elsewhere for the entire month. Since the internet is so dependent on frequent and consistent activity, I think my success as an independent illustrator hinges on my ability to share WIPs on social media.
- I'm not sure what to replace it with just yet; my first thought is PSD files of digital pieces, probably at viewing resolution. That would also involve restructuring the campaign goals, seeing as that's the first goal. Also I would have to figure out how to handle months where I do mostly traditional work, once I'm in a place where I can. If you have any other ideas for rewards to replace WIPs, please comment and let me know! Maybe I'll put a Patreon poll together to pick the winner!
- I want to be more interactive on Patreon. Despite the success we've had, there has been surprisingly little engagement. I haven't gotten to talk to any of my patrons, and I would like to do that more. They are going out of their way to support me, so I should go out of my way to get to know them. I haven't decided how yet; we don't have enough people to start a Discord server yet, but polls, Q&A, etc are certainly doable! Let me know what you think in this regard too!
- I've been considering a serious rebranding overhaul outside of Patreon as well. I've found a name I like a lot (it was up in the air, being trans and having family troubles this year), so my signature will likely change. The bigger change would be the business name.
SpartaDog has been the name I've operated under for about 6 and a half years now. It was and has been a great fit for that time. I was doing primarily furry art, my fursona and mascot was a dog named Sparta, and when I made him, I was really into a badass "fuck the world I do what I want" persona, so Sparta was a fitting name.
Now things have changed. My focus is monsters and robots and aliens, so going under a dog-related name feels strangely dissonant. "Sparta" now gives me a feeling of brute strength and aggression when I generally prefer more elegance and beauty, even when dangerous. But on the other hand I'm reluctant; it's difficult to change what's been an incredibly large part of my life for so long. I worry about losing people (or losing track of people) by changing my name. I'm not sure what to do with my Furaffinity account, since that's the only one that won't allow me to change my name, but it's furry-themed anyway so I would theoretically be fine keeping it as-is. The thought of starting over from scratch just when I'm starting to gain real headway is terrifying, but I keep reminding myself that since I can just change my name and keep my following on (most of) my accounts, it's not really starting over.
Which brings me to the real hard part: picking a new name lol. I could of course go with my actual name, which is the simplest choice. But there's something fun about having an online moniker that's representative of who you are and what you do. businesswolf suggested "Bot of Gold" or some derivative thereof. I like it, but I'm not committed to that either. I suppose I'll keep you all updated on that as it happens, but it will likely be a more long-term change than the Patreon restructure. Or maybe it won't, who knows!
- Also outside of Patreon: I'm eliminating the "cel-shading" commission option for now. I haven't enjoyed doing them in a while, so I'm replacing them with an option somewhere between a colored sketch and a full painting, appropriately named "painted sketches". I'll have some examples for you guys soon.
I think that's all the important stuff for now. There are a few other minor tweaks I want to make, but they're mostly aesthetic.
Thank you all again for the support thus far, and for your continued support in the future. I really can't express how much it means to me.
Happy holidays, and here's to 2018!
First of all, thank you so much for your support this year! Launching my Patreon campaign was a huge step for me both financially and emotionally. It's been a huge boon to my creativity and mental stability now that I have a little more financial wiggle room, and I couldn't be more grateful to each and every one of you.
Now that the first few months have passed and I've gotten a decent handle on how to use the platform, I've learned a lot and I think some changes are in order.
- The only thing I'm 100% sure of is that I will be removing WIPs as an exclusive Patreon reward. It's a simple thing for me to do, and I think you guys enjoy it - but, if all my WIPs are exclusive and it takes me a month to finish a piece...I might not have anything to post elsewhere for the entire month. Since the internet is so dependent on frequent and consistent activity, I think my success as an independent illustrator hinges on my ability to share WIPs on social media.
- I'm not sure what to replace it with just yet; my first thought is PSD files of digital pieces, probably at viewing resolution. That would also involve restructuring the campaign goals, seeing as that's the first goal. Also I would have to figure out how to handle months where I do mostly traditional work, once I'm in a place where I can. If you have any other ideas for rewards to replace WIPs, please comment and let me know! Maybe I'll put a Patreon poll together to pick the winner!
- I want to be more interactive on Patreon. Despite the success we've had, there has been surprisingly little engagement. I haven't gotten to talk to any of my patrons, and I would like to do that more. They are going out of their way to support me, so I should go out of my way to get to know them. I haven't decided how yet; we don't have enough people to start a Discord server yet, but polls, Q&A, etc are certainly doable! Let me know what you think in this regard too!
- I've been considering a serious rebranding overhaul outside of Patreon as well. I've found a name I like a lot (it was up in the air, being trans and having family troubles this year), so my signature will likely change. The bigger change would be the business name.
SpartaDog has been the name I've operated under for about 6 and a half years now. It was and has been a great fit for that time. I was doing primarily furry art, my fursona and mascot was a dog named Sparta, and when I made him, I was really into a badass "fuck the world I do what I want" persona, so Sparta was a fitting name.
Now things have changed. My focus is monsters and robots and aliens, so going under a dog-related name feels strangely dissonant. "Sparta" now gives me a feeling of brute strength and aggression when I generally prefer more elegance and beauty, even when dangerous. But on the other hand I'm reluctant; it's difficult to change what's been an incredibly large part of my life for so long. I worry about losing people (or losing track of people) by changing my name. I'm not sure what to do with my Furaffinity account, since that's the only one that won't allow me to change my name, but it's furry-themed anyway so I would theoretically be fine keeping it as-is. The thought of starting over from scratch just when I'm starting to gain real headway is terrifying, but I keep reminding myself that since I can just change my name and keep my following on (most of) my accounts, it's not really starting over.
Which brings me to the real hard part: picking a new name lol. I could of course go with my actual name, which is the simplest choice. But there's something fun about having an online moniker that's representative of who you are and what you do. businesswolf suggested "Bot of Gold" or some derivative thereof. I like it, but I'm not committed to that either. I suppose I'll keep you all updated on that as it happens, but it will likely be a more long-term change than the Patreon restructure. Or maybe it won't, who knows!
- Also outside of Patreon: I'm eliminating the "cel-shading" commission option for now. I haven't enjoyed doing them in a while, so I'm replacing them with an option somewhere between a colored sketch and a full painting, appropriately named "painted sketches". I'll have some examples for you guys soon.
I think that's all the important stuff for now. There are a few other minor tweaks I want to make, but they're mostly aesthetic.
Thank you all again for the support thus far, and for your continued support in the future. I really can't express how much it means to me.
Happy holidays, and here's to 2018!
...
...
...
...AthensDog?
(ducks)