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Update, sad but hopeful.
4 years ago
What if Trees could think...
Since I first started taking commissions probably back in 2008, 2009, I'm closing my commissions.
I've been doing some soul searching with everything going on (general world issues, and also, we lost our big old boy, Salem, a wonderfully sassy cat and nothing has been the same with out him.) and I want to try a different path, art has been slowly losing its shininess to me, I think that is the fault of trying to force it into a career shape.
I will still be doing work here and there, but for the most part I will be selling personal art originals and prints as and when I create something new (I don't actually like keeping my art around the house, particularly the large ones, most of the time!).
My NSFW patreon will keep going, I will keep adding comics and stuff to that and creating work for my patreons there.
Of course, I will be finishing all current gifts and commissions etc that are currently in my queue and I may open up here and there when I feel the need to take something on, but only at my leisure.
What's next for me? I have a bunch of projects I want to look into;
Video editing for me and my husbands twitch/youtube stuff.
Youtube art videos and general silliness.
Youtube story time videos.
Creating video games.
Game asset packs.
D20 RPG campaign.
Maybe write a book.
Loads of personal art.
Comics
Patreon stuffs
I don't know, maybe I'll do all of that maybe I wont, I just want to relax, art has been a stress and I really just want to love it again. I hope you'll stick around to enjoy what ever I create next.
What I'd really like to do is connect with all of you again, I've slowly been drifting away from all things art related and I realise I've been drifting away from the people there, too.
So, if you've made it this far, thank you, thank you so much for being interested in me and listening to me ramble, I'd love to hear how you're doing and what you're looking forward to in your own life, what you'd love to see me do next. Heck, even what's troubling you right now, I'm happy to be a listening ear and I hope I can be more connected with everyone again.
Much loves, folks, I hope life is starting to look like there is real change coming and the dark times we've all been trudging through are starting to clear.
I've been doing some soul searching with everything going on (general world issues, and also, we lost our big old boy, Salem, a wonderfully sassy cat and nothing has been the same with out him.) and I want to try a different path, art has been slowly losing its shininess to me, I think that is the fault of trying to force it into a career shape.
I will still be doing work here and there, but for the most part I will be selling personal art originals and prints as and when I create something new (I don't actually like keeping my art around the house, particularly the large ones, most of the time!).
My NSFW patreon will keep going, I will keep adding comics and stuff to that and creating work for my patreons there.
Of course, I will be finishing all current gifts and commissions etc that are currently in my queue and I may open up here and there when I feel the need to take something on, but only at my leisure.
What's next for me? I have a bunch of projects I want to look into;
Video editing for me and my husbands twitch/youtube stuff.
Youtube art videos and general silliness.
Youtube story time videos.
Creating video games.
Game asset packs.
D20 RPG campaign.
Maybe write a book.
Loads of personal art.
Comics
Patreon stuffs
I don't know, maybe I'll do all of that maybe I wont, I just want to relax, art has been a stress and I really just want to love it again. I hope you'll stick around to enjoy what ever I create next.
What I'd really like to do is connect with all of you again, I've slowly been drifting away from all things art related and I realise I've been drifting away from the people there, too.
So, if you've made it this far, thank you, thank you so much for being interested in me and listening to me ramble, I'd love to hear how you're doing and what you're looking forward to in your own life, what you'd love to see me do next. Heck, even what's troubling you right now, I'm happy to be a listening ear and I hope I can be more connected with everyone again.
Much loves, folks, I hope life is starting to look like there is real change coming and the dark times we've all been trudging through are starting to clear.
I had much time to try last year and here's what I noticed. I just can't force my creativity into an "assembly line" time scheme. For a commercial approach I'd need a consistent output and much better speed of making art. An attitude that can be described as: "It's 8 a.m. People are at their workplaces. I'm at my desk. Produce!". And it's precisely what I cannot do. I lose all motivation when I try. Very clearly, unless a project is personal I'll have zero motivation to work on it, and even a promise of income further down the line doesn't change this.
But since not having good source of income has been mentioned, this ties into my overall situation. My marriage is an outcome of a long distance relationship. My wife is from a better place, me - from a worse one. For the longest time I was expressing willingness to try make a living around her place, but she was refusing. My place with its costs of living being multiple times lower looked more attractive to her. She also had personal reasons, such as unfinished education, which she was continuing online.
And so, we stayed at my place. It eventually became evident to her what I was saying all along, that low costs aren't everything and there's just no way to make cash there. Even now, as I'm writing it, I'm actually on a contract abroad. Also she has finished her education quite recently so this obstacle is removed.
So now, we both would be ready to try at her place instead, but there are other obstacles currently, of which the virus is not the smallest one. So it is what it is, we're stuck for the time being...
I'm sorry to hear about your cat. I suffered such loss last year and it can be said with confidence now, I mourn cats more than people.
Commissions were semi doable for me as I chose the times I worked, but at the same time I had to try to schedule myself to make sure I got things done and that really pulled the rug out from under me, I am my own worst boss and its very hard being the one to tell yourself that you have to get up and do work today.
Honestly having an actual boss rather than myself may have helped but that is a HARD industry to get into, any of them, movies, games, etc.
Sometimes it really is nice to just, have a hobby you love, if you can make a career out of it thats awesome, but mental wellbeing is the important part and sometimes a simpler less creative job can give you a far more stable life, no worrying about when the next commission will come in, no more pressure trying to stay organised, structured days and when you finish work, work is finished, rather than it sitting there like a gremlin making you feel guilty that you haven't completed your task.
You can absolutely make money from your art and still make things you enjoy, things like youtube, red bubble (and sites like it), etsy, galleries, all sorts, theres a world awaiting artists who make art for themselves, its just a little longer to get into so having a back up job is always worth while!
I really hope you and your wife find a good work life balance in these incredibly trying times and that a change of place will give you the life stability and work prospects you're hoping. Don't be dissuaded from doing what you love too though, there's always time for dreams and if you do want to do art as a career, there IS a balance to be struck with it, so you don't hate it and you make some cash, too. :3
It does seem like a best solution for me, to have some not-necessarily-creative day job, and let the art remain a passion, free from demands, deadlines, marketing and other such boring, frustrating stuff.
I guess that when you say there is a world awaiting artists who make art for themselves, you mean what others are calling passive income? I'm also thinking of Ko-fi, FA's "shinies" and such things... I may try these at some point, but what makes me hesitate is the fact that one needs relatively good popularity for it to work – at least, that's how I see it.
I may get some YCH going at some point regardless. Certain projects I have in mind naturally lend themselves to that as they would include a lot of characters. But they are of very advanced kind and won't happen very soon.