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= Life Update, Changes to my Patreon & Questions! =
6 years ago
▿ Support My Patreon!▿ - 
High-Res Files on Itchio!
💜 Thank you all of those who give their support. 💜
I'm alive? I'm actually posting a journal? What is this craziness? :P
In all seriousness, a lot has been changing since my last journal and I hope you are all doing well! I've missed you. <3
The Main Life Update:
As many of you may know, for the last several years I've had some health issues, namely some kind of arthritic condition that has had a lot of impact on my spine. It's something that, even after all this time, they have yet to give me a full diagnosis on, and that physio seems to have hit a wall with helping improve the pain. I don't want to waffle on too much but it offers some context in my situation, as it most strongly affected my job at the time. My doctors, both GP and occupational, agreed that I shouldn't be in that job anymore, as it would only continue to exacerbate any pain I was in.
It was at that point I said "fuck it!" and was determined to go independent and push myself forward as a self-employed artist full time. It's tough, and it may be tough for a while. But I feel like this is ultimately the right path for me to go, as it can help me in time when I need to manage my pain. Ultimately my health is more important than breaking myself at my previous job. As a self-employed artist, I can step away from what I'm doing, take a break or do my physio exercises, and step back in when I'm able. Even with their understanding, this wasn't something I could do at my previous job.
My health, while not better per se, has definitely benefited from not being in that old job and being able to manage my situation when I know the pain is getting worse. I've also learned to better balance my pain management time with creative productivity. There's still a bit of improvement to do to balance out my commission queue while still maintaining an income. But I'm already making strong headway with that, so I'm feeling pretty confident! :)
It's a little scary now, going independent, but the future looks good!
Patreon Update and Feedback!
Now, more than ever though, I really need to push myself with my art. Part of this, as a start, will be trying to further build up my Patreon. With exception to The Ukimori Creator project, I really haven't done a whole lot new or fresh with it. I really want to change that, so in the coming week or so I will be making a fair bit of changes there, all underlined here:
https://www.patreon.com/posts/23914498
In short;
- cleaner, more clear goals.
- tidying up of the landing page, including some better splash art.
- tweaking how I distribute rewards.
And most importantly;
-fewer tiers but more rewards! Including all tiers from $5 and up getting mentions/shout-outs on my posts. I will be creating a Discord server just for all of my patrons, and I'm also considering incremental physical rewards, like buttons, prints, enamel pins etc!
Also importantly, I would really like to know what -all of you- would like to see on my Patreon. Is there a reward you see other artists offer on Patreon you would love for me to do? Are you not a patron now, but if I offered something particular, you may consider? Or just have any suggestions for it?
I would really love to hear people's thoughts on the matter! c:
If you're curious or would like to take part or support me, please check out my Patreon:
www.patreon.com/ultraviolet
Additionally, if you're interested in my work and would like to watch me stream you can follow me on Picarto:
https://picarto.tv/Ukimori
to get notifications when I stream, as I plan to do a lot more of this in the future! I may also start doing some stream commissions if my monthly queue permits! :3
Thank you for your time, for all your support no matter how you provided such over the years! I hope to see more of you all as I increase my activity here again!
Much <3
In all seriousness, a lot has been changing since my last journal and I hope you are all doing well! I've missed you. <3
The Main Life Update:
As many of you may know, for the last several years I've had some health issues, namely some kind of arthritic condition that has had a lot of impact on my spine. It's something that, even after all this time, they have yet to give me a full diagnosis on, and that physio seems to have hit a wall with helping improve the pain. I don't want to waffle on too much but it offers some context in my situation, as it most strongly affected my job at the time. My doctors, both GP and occupational, agreed that I shouldn't be in that job anymore, as it would only continue to exacerbate any pain I was in.
It was at that point I said "fuck it!" and was determined to go independent and push myself forward as a self-employed artist full time. It's tough, and it may be tough for a while. But I feel like this is ultimately the right path for me to go, as it can help me in time when I need to manage my pain. Ultimately my health is more important than breaking myself at my previous job. As a self-employed artist, I can step away from what I'm doing, take a break or do my physio exercises, and step back in when I'm able. Even with their understanding, this wasn't something I could do at my previous job.
My health, while not better per se, has definitely benefited from not being in that old job and being able to manage my situation when I know the pain is getting worse. I've also learned to better balance my pain management time with creative productivity. There's still a bit of improvement to do to balance out my commission queue while still maintaining an income. But I'm already making strong headway with that, so I'm feeling pretty confident! :)
It's a little scary now, going independent, but the future looks good!
Patreon Update and Feedback!
Now, more than ever though, I really need to push myself with my art. Part of this, as a start, will be trying to further build up my Patreon. With exception to The Ukimori Creator project, I really haven't done a whole lot new or fresh with it. I really want to change that, so in the coming week or so I will be making a fair bit of changes there, all underlined here:
https://www.patreon.com/posts/23914498
In short;
- cleaner, more clear goals.
- tidying up of the landing page, including some better splash art.
- tweaking how I distribute rewards.
And most importantly;
-fewer tiers but more rewards! Including all tiers from $5 and up getting mentions/shout-outs on my posts. I will be creating a Discord server just for all of my patrons, and I'm also considering incremental physical rewards, like buttons, prints, enamel pins etc!
Also importantly, I would really like to know what -all of you- would like to see on my Patreon. Is there a reward you see other artists offer on Patreon you would love for me to do? Are you not a patron now, but if I offered something particular, you may consider? Or just have any suggestions for it?
I would really love to hear people's thoughts on the matter! c:
If you're curious or would like to take part or support me, please check out my Patreon:
www.patreon.com/ultraviolet
Additionally, if you're interested in my work and would like to watch me stream you can follow me on Picarto:
https://picarto.tv/Ukimori
to get notifications when I stream, as I plan to do a lot more of this in the future! I may also start doing some stream commissions if my monthly queue permits! :3
Thank you for your time, for all your support no matter how you provided such over the years! I hope to see more of you all as I increase my activity here again!
Much <3
Sorry, I'm not taking commissions at this time.
Also, I know the colder, winter months never help, at least for me. There's always an increase of pain in all my joints. If you experience that as well, I highly recommend looking into an affordable electric blanket. it's not a cure-all, of course, but warming my body up with one has helped a lot if the flat gets too cold for my joints/back or I've had to go into the cold for shopping/exercise.
From a Patreon perspective, I can tell you that EVERY artist is scared to hell when they first start out. You are an awesome artist; everyone knows that. But understand that your Patreon will only be as successful as you make it. Create your reward structure and stick to it. If you find the rewards you originally offered are too challenging at first, change them. Do NOT piss off the people who support you by not delivering what you promise; you will lose goodwill. If you offer something, deliver it, and on time. Since you are going to build your Patreon as your primary source of income (or I think that's what you're leaning towards) it is a BUSINESS. You'll be very successful if you make a plan and stick to it. If you're not sure what types of rewards you want to offer, check out other FA artists who have set up Patreons and look at their reward structure.
With great effort comes great reward. Work hard, produce quality products (art) and by word of mouth, your monthly pledges will grow.
In case I've not said it enough...once more....Your financial success will depend upon how much effort you put into it.
I truly hope you get lots of pledges, make new friends and new contacts.
Anytime you want to chat, just poke me.
Yeah the back and neck pain is something that was on and off for years, and then going into work a few years back really just made it worse. To the point, I was going numb and tingly down one side of my hip and leg x.x
Luckily I haven't had that as much since going on sick leave and my dismissal.
As for my Patreon, that's a big reason why I'm currently working hard at restructuring it, trying to make it simpler, a bit clearer and more rewards (that I can successfully manage).
Thank you for your input dear! And hey do you have Telegram, maybe through me your contact there via pm? :3
Also if you did ever become a patron, I'd be insanely honoured! <33
And happy belated birthday