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Hey everyone!

I feel like I really needed to give you an update of how my work schedule is going and the general status of this Patreon.

First of all, thanks a lot everyone for keeping up with me during this time! I know it hasn't been easy with the reduced rewards, but I promise, I'll be working on making them return eventually. I'll explain why this has been happening for some time a littlle further down below.

I've been working non-stop with the Indiegogo Campaign rewards and I'll show you some updates soon! In short, the inner design of the book is finished at last and it's now 152 pages long, including extra art and lore that has not been posted anywhere else. I also just finished the second bookmark of the series of five, and I'm working to have the rest finished real soon. The art for the rewards is advancing correctly and you still have time to pick a tier if you haven't yet.

This of course has impacted on the number of rewards I can do for Patreon. But that's not the only reason, sadly.

In the past three months I saw a reduction of around $150 in patreon pledges. That in addition to an increase on local taxes (which I hate) and a dollar-mexican peso currency exchange that's not favorable to me anymore, has caused a reduction in my monthly income. This of course gets translated into less money to pay my family's monthly bills and the need to work on commissions whenever possible to compensate the losses. Everything as a whole, causes a reduction of the time I can use to work on Patreon rewards.

Right now, I have no intention to reduce any of the existing rewards (four monthly comic pages, one pinup and one memoirs page). But as it was probably noticed this month, I didn't manage to finish the monthly Memoirs page in time. The chances are, I'll need to adjust rewards once more as the trend of my patreon pledges seems to be downwards.

As I said, do not expect changes in the immediate future. I'm just telling you this because I wanted you all to be aware of the challenges we're experiencing right now and that potential changes could come in the future.

I'm also trying to find alternative sources of income that can be somewhat regular, like Gumroad, RedBubble, Subscribestar or KoFi. I have not surrendered yet, but I'm feeling we reached Patreon's ceiling and it's time to complement that source of income with others, to keep the projects alive and regularly updated.

Keep an eye open for future updates. And if you have suggestions or complains to give, please let me know below!

There's still so much more to come, guys! Do not despair. I'll figure out a way to get out more monthly rewards soon. Hopefully you'll be willing to support me for a while longer until we get there. Thanks a lot for being so amazing!

Comments

Synariel

4 comics pages is a lot; plus the pinup and side content. We'll understand if you need to cut on some of these

TM wolf

You work hard as is and your effort is greatly appreciated. Times are hard many of us your loyal patrons will not give up on supporting you. Also, regarding suggestions, I might DM you via Discord later today or tomorrow :)

Dimitri

your work and incredible and the contents of the very rich rewards, it is already a lot. and graphically beautiful and your girls very beautiful :) I will continue to stay on your page because I love your art, your girls and your comics with very rich content.

Anonymous

Considering the economical situation (especially Europe since I have no idea how the rest of the world is faring) I'm not surprised there are some that feels they no longer have the money to spare. As for the amount of content... If you feel you need the time, or even a break (rest is important after all.) don't feel afraid to cut down the content even more, as long as you communicate it ahead of time, and it's only temporary. I can't speak for everyone, but I would be perfectly fine with it. Better for it to go slow for a month (or two), than having it cancelled 'cause the artist got burnt out.

dark_blue_workshop

Thanks! I know using your money to support this project is not easy at all either. I just want to create content worthy of such effort :)

dark_blue_workshop

Thanks for the support! I'm still doing well enough, but yeah I need to be careful with burnout. I'll do my best to avoid that, and if needed be, I'll take some type of rest. I can only hope if we ever get to that, not many people will stop supporting this patreon :(

Anonymous

FNG but OG fan here, reporting from the East Coast, Yoo-Ese ABD, We need culture in these historical, hard times. You're like a beacon to folks in these confusing times. Your cool pictures and interesting stories to ponder "whats gonna happen next?". I like looking at your comic panels and admiring your penmanship and subject matter regardless of what it actually is. You're a cool artist with cool ideas that are brought to paper and I'm glad to be able to view them, You're one of the best in this fandom. You deserve it. Fact is I've almost left this fandom several times but some artists (not always you, lol) made something just.. Awesome. And that keeps my interest alive. I love the fight scenes in your works like from your Prologue story; "Mystery presented", "tension built", "a lead is found with a goal in sight", "but actors with mystical control over nature stand in thy way". BrÜtal, indeed. I like the structure and delivery of plot in your stories and works. There is not alot people who understand how to do that well. Even fewer can hold a candle to your creativity. Its not just topless catgirls. Believe that!

dark_blue_workshop

Wow, thanks! I appreciate a lot the praise, though it's hard for me to ponder the efect my work has on people. In the end, there's always a barrier between the creator and the audience, because communication is limited. I mean, Rumiko Takahashi, the godess of manga had a major impact in my creative life, but she'll never know it! I bet that happens all the time, so yeah, no way for me to know if people is inspired by my work or not. But it's amazing when from time to time, someone takes the time to let me know like you did just now. I will always try to remain the inspiration you need, even if I don't feel like it myself most of the time :)

dark_blue_workshop

Also I'm happy to read you give me a good grade in the more technical storytelling side. I always worry I'm not making a good job in that regard, because I turn back and notice I could have done things better at first. But I suppose that could also be because I'm learning as I keep practicing over time. I promise, I'm trying my best to become a good storyteller! And yeah, let's throw in more topless catgirls, why not? (Just kidding! XD)

dark_blue_workshop

Got notified of a new comment from you, but couldn't locate it here. If you want to leave another message, feel free to send me a private note or leave another comment to this post instead of making bigger the reply thread :)

Anonymous

Ahh, it was nothing. I was just being a little starstruck by you speaking to me is all :) Patreon's UI is not built very well and messed up my comment it seems. I was just saying how your comics are seemingly directed like film or movies. The way you tell your stories from panel to panel and page to page is done very well. Like, on a Semi-Professional level with your execution of the "5 Ws and H" of story writing. "Who, What, Where, When, Why and How" Film directors are artists too IMO. Its called artistic direction for a reason and you demonstrate that skill in spectacular fashion with your comics. Do you write a screenplay or script first or do you use those story or plot card things I've seen used in teleplay alot? Don't tell me you do it on the fly!

dark_blue_workshop

Ahh thanks! I do try to maintain a high writing quality, though I'm still learning. Nothing compares to actual practice and in some cases, I don't realize the best writing choices until I read the finished comic a second or a third time. But I hope to finish Bethellium and Moonlace with my best level and make the most out for those finals and their planned plot twists. Thanks a lot for letting me know this! It gives me the confidence to know I may not be screwing things down as much as I sometimes think XD

dark_blue_workshop

Also yeah, I do write the script first, in a completely separate way from how I draw the pages. Right now I already have the script for Chapter 3 of Bethellium and Moonlace written down. This doesn't mean though, that I don't changes on the fly, as I keep seeing how the script transforms when drawn. The script sometimes requires adjustments to be done on the fly, but I at least know the general plan by that point.

Anonymous

That is exactly what I wanted to hear from you. First drafts are never coherent! I'm just an amateur critic who watched/listened to RLM's content and a few others... But upon viewing your comics I noticed similarities to film and shows! Now when I watch a bad movie, I deconstruct it and think; "why this scene didn't transition to the next very well" or "what plot point(s) could've been better established" or "how characters could've interacted for a better, more believable scene" to name a few things; the What & Why of writing and to a slightly lesser extent the How, if you will. You do this properly with comic panels and speech bubbles with full illustration and color! You even have a good sense of humor. Now that.. Is art. A few details I like about your writing; You're light on exposition for plot, Your art "shows" AND "tells" where applicable. The characters are learning and experiencing at almost the same pace the viewer is. This keeps the mystery alive and the story engaging. You've shown you can introduce a character, show hints of their backstory, show them mingling with other characters and it doesn't feel like it was crowbar'd into the story. Your characters' reaction to events and plot feels natural and fluid. Its not robotic at all. Even your characters change clothes, wear shoes and/or change hair styles but that's just flavor I like. :) And your characters have such fleshed out and developed personalities with their respective flaws. Hollywood needs to give you a call! ha ha! I've read everything you've said and I'm just being concise. I've drug this out for a week now (wow!) I wanted to reaffirm well you wield these skills in art AND writing and the joy it is to view your work. If I have anything more to say I'll PM it. Thank you for sharing. Directed by A Blue Deer

dark_blue_workshop

Thanks a lot for the kind words! I have learned that even good ideas can be devaluated by bad writing. I've been trying to learn a lot about writing recently and I do believe the writing has improved more or less. I just need to keep on learning in order to give my stories justice. And there's no better teacher than practice actually! I just hope people will stay with me as I keep learning all of this, which can get very complex very quickly XP

dark_blue_workshop

In any case, thanks a lot for the boost in confidence. I need it sometimes because I tend to be super hard when I criticize my own work. Thanks for taking the time to tell me :D