July News (Patreon)

New month means new news! This is a bit of a long one so be sure to check the tl;dr if you're short for time.

AUGUST REQUEST STREAM

By August I will have run out of thumbnails/script for my comics and will need to build up a backlog so I can carry on in the months to come! As with last time, in lieu of the perks I would usually post, I will instead be running 2 request streams throughout the month where I will sketch your characters/requests! These will likely be single character waist-ups like last time, but I may try and push the boat out a little for something a little extra if it's possible! That said, I'd like to get to as many people as I can, so keeping it simple is usually best in that regard ;) I'll post a reminder about this at the end of the month.

JULY STREAM DATES

• July 7th 2PM BST - The Sword of Souls
• July 14th 8PM BST - Sketchbook Drawings

I am considering, on top of doing scheduled streams, having a few random ones whenever I'm working on something! Just for fun/to help me keep focus since I'm struggling for brain power in quarantine, and it's easier to keep clear-minded with an audience.

PERSONAL UPDATE - POTENTIAL CHANGES

This is the long bit so be sure to check the tl;dr if you're short for time!

I've come to a point where I feel like I need a change of pace in my work. I'll try my best to explain where I'm at because I value you guys so much and want to always remain transparent as possible, especially where my work on Patreon is concerned.

Unfortunately, I've been really struggling and I feel it shows in that I'm lagging behind on perks and failing to accomplish as much as I need to each month. I won't lie, quarantine has gotten to me in a big way. I've been struggling a lot more with focus, low moods, exhaustion that goes well beyond regular sleep/nutrition. This month it all just seemed to hit a peak, and I've been regularly breaking down. My therapist had to quit her practice in November, so I've started sessions with a new one in hopes I can put some stilts on my sinking mental health. It's possible that some of you can relate since the pandemic is a global situation we're all going through.

Financially, the changes I made in March did bolster me a little. For that I have you guys to thank. However, the changes involved adding some new perks. Though I'd hoped they would be low-maintenance, I failed to account for the fact that I'd already hit a cap on what I could handle in one month in terms of perks, so virtually anything requiring more work is too much.I feel like I'm not putting out enough content to justify the price, and what I am managing is burning me out.

To be completely plain, I don't know how much longer I can keep going with Patreon. I feel like that line Bilbo says in Lord of the Rings about being stretched thin, like butter over too much bread. I've hit a plateau in terms of what I can reasonably expect of myself to produce each month, and how much money I can make at it. The Patreon was created mostly with my comics in mind, and additional perks were added to broaden the attraction for my followers. The excess in perks has long begun to wear me out though. No matter how hard I work, or how many long hours I pull, I am always behind on commissions, Patreon perks, responding to e-mails/comments, everything. Posting my content publicly gets all but forgotten in the slew of other priorities.

Another reason I'm craving a change is that I feel very stagnant in my furry work. I've done (in the literal sense) thousands of commissions, and over 200 pages in comics. As an independent creator, it's a lot, and I'm proud of these accomplishments and love the fandom for supporting me with them! But I have started to feel stale after doing so many.

I also just don't know if it's a sustainable job in the long-term. I don't know if I still want to be making porn (as a career) ten years from now. While I obviously have no issue with NSFW art, I'd like to try something new, and see where else I can apply my skills. I want to plot a different course for myself.

Regardless of all this, the plateau is an issue I can't avoid. I need to reach a place where I'm making enough to substantially save, and I hate putting the onus of that on my partner. So I've come to the rough conclusion that it might be best I start cutting down on perks here and devote the freed up time to doing alternative work. I could then focus on finishing the comic, my backlog of commissions, and building up a different career: the priorities which matter most to me.

This might result in financial instability for me. Actually, reword that, it definitely will. People who prefer sketches/pinups and aren't as invested in the comics will understandably drop their pledge. My hope is that patronage doesn't dip so low that I can't work on the comics at all, and I'm fairly certain it won't. I'm not going to lie, the idea is risky, which is why I'm only discussing it now and not setting it in stone. Either way, I have some new goals, and that's exciting even if a bit scary! The goals are: finish Cinderfrost/my furry comics, search out alternative work, query one of my novels, and eventually move back to Canada with my partner.

The last thing I would want is to burn out so badly that I can't finish Cinderfrost. I think, even if this might mean some financial risk, it's worth it to finish something that's been years in the making, and to give myself the chance to try something new. Sorry for how long that was, but I hope it makes sense and that you understand!

tl;dr I've been struggling with my mental health due to the pandemic and the trajectory of my career. At the moment I feel stagnant. I've hit a plateau in terms of how much content I can produce and how much money I can make at it in the furry fandom, and that plateau has me on the constant edge of burnout. I don't want to quit outright because I really want to finish the comics. So in keeping with that, I'm considering cutting all perks except comics/discord/streams. I'd use the time freed up to search for other work and build upon skills I haven't had as much time for.This would be financially risky but hopefully help get me out of this rut and change the course of my career.

EDIT: Feel free to join the discussion on this at our discord server (in the darling-deer channel). I'll post a Q&A later that summarizes some of the things people have asked or discussed. Thanks so much for your input <3