2dReddersART
patreon
I am Closing my Patreon Indefinitely on 09/01/21 [IMPORTANT UPDATE]
🕑 Added 2021-08-03 10:48:21 +0000 UTC[IMPORTANT INFORMATION REGARDING TIER REWARDS WILL BE FOUND AT THE END OF THIS UPDATE POST.]
Hi everyone!
Bit of a downer update, I know.
The title is pretty self explanatory as to what I'll be doing come September this year, however I feel the need to explain myself, my reasoning, and my general attitude regarding this site and my account as a whole.
TL;DR
I am unsatisfied with how my patreon has been running, the amount of work I have put into this website compared to the amount I've receive, how it interferes with my commission workload, and the way this site has added to my view of my art as JUST a job, rather than as a passion.
And because of that, I will be closing down my patreon indefinitely come September 1st
Now for the longform explanation:
My Mistakes early on:
I feel like I need to talk about how I shot myself in the foot, before I bring up anything else as a factor in why I'm not going to be using this site anymore.
Back when I first started my Patreon, I had NO idea what I actually wanted to use this site for!
I had jumped head first into this site without even a clear goal in my mind.
And BECAUSE of my lack of ideas, I decided the best thing to do was to copy what I knew my fellow peers were doing with patreon; creating artwork for patrons subscribed to my higher tiers.
At first I could keep up with the workload. However, as I grew as an artist, my following grew with me.
My commission list got bigger, and with that, so did the amount of TIME it took to finish artwork. As you get better at something, it gets harder and more time consuming to do. This side hobby, my art, suddenly grew into a fully fledged thing; a full time job.
Unfortunately, something did NOT change: how my tiers worked (and to an extent, still haven't changed)
To those who are still around from my early Patreon days, you may remember that I used to create Illustrations MONTHLY for my Tier 4 Patrons, I also didn't have a cap to the AMOUNT of patrons that can subscribe to my tier 4 pledge.
As you can imagine, that wasn't a good mix.
Unfortunately, even with current me replacing monthly illustrations with sketches, and having a max cap of 4 pledges for my 4th tier, it's STILL too much work.
I've had to pause patreon a handful of times because of the workload it entailed, something I feel is nobodies fault but my own.
As a patron, you are not responsible for getting my workload done, I am.
It's not your fault I decided I could tackle so much, when I know it interferes with my job as a freelance artist.
It's also not your fault for taking advantage of how my 4th tier works! Let's talk about that.
Patreon is a Net Loss of Revenue, and it's MY Fault:
I will be blunt in saying my Patreon is an unfortunate failure, haha. I lose ROUGHLY $580 a month, and it's because of how my tier 4 pledge works.
My fourth tier, Jockstrap Enthusiasts, is essentially a steal, and I honestly cannot fault my pledges for subscribing to it!
for a monthly cost of $25, you get a one character sketch, whereas, my sketch commissions are $170.
The amount of detail between the two is effectively the same, rules aside.
If you're a Jockstrap Enthusiasts Pledge, THAT'S NOT YOUR FAULT!
It's MY fault for again thinking this was a good idea for a pledge reward!
This is also unfortunately a big reason for why I'm deciding to quit Patreon.
Capitalism sucks ass, but if I'm going to treat this Patreon as seriously as I do my commissions revenue wise, then I can't afford that ~$580 loss monthly.
Patreon is STRESSFUL, it's Not helping my Relationship with Art:
PLEASE don't get me wrong, I HAVE enjoyed Patreon to an extent.
I LOVED working on the illustrations and the sketches for this Patreon. The ideas, the fursonas and fan work I've done have been so god damn FUN.
My main fursona, Werewolf Boyfriend, wouldn't have even been CREATED if it weren't for this site, and the patrons who've subscribed to it.
But I want to be honest, Patreon has not been healthy for my mental health...
It feels like work, now. I KNOW my art is my job, but a job doesn't have to feel like work. Patreon feels like work, it feels like a tedious chore.
I've set unhealthy and unrealistic standards to my art on here that I've been unable to keep up with.
And I am genuinely sorry that I haven't been able to.
These unhealthy standards don't JUST start and end with Patreon, though, it's been a growing issue I've had with my art as a WHOLE.
I'm not going to get into that, as it's a more personal issue, and I feel I've said enough.
I feel like deleting patreon will not only free me from the stress and unhealthy standards I've put on myself, it'll also allow me to spend more time working on commissions, on personal art!
I also feel I've let you all down, I'm sorry for this being so sudden.
But I feel like this is the right and healthy thing for me to do.
I'm not sure what I'll be replacing Patreon with, but I know if I DO ever wind up replacing it with something, I'll have a plan and I'll think ahead.
Thank you for listening, and thank you so much for being a patron, no matter how long or short that may have been ❤
-All current pledge rewards from the previous month will be created, I will also still be doing AUGUST monthly rewards!
-I will also still be posting early access to my artwork up until the deletion of this Patreon.
Comments
2dReddersART
Thank you for that idea, I do appreciate the advice! It's honestly not a bad idea, and I DO want to have patreon (or an equivalent) work, maybe just not right now. I'll definitely have to consider whether or not I'm comfortable with a tier reward being a sketch, headshot, etc. Thank you, seriously, thank you for being a patron for so long and being so supportive
MadMonk
This is totally understandable and I’m totally in support of it. The deal felt way too good to last. That said if you want to try again with something similar to commission credit with a minor discount, that might be the way to go. Eg. $45 a month gets you enough commission credit for a head shot once a month (or something else minor enough to fit the bill here, but slightly larger in value than $45). if we don’t ask for a headshot in a given month, the credit can be saved to a future commission, based on the value of that item. So, if we save up commission credit for 3 months we could get a sketch or something. This dramatically cuts down the work you have to do monthly based on patreon, and makes it both more fair for you and more flexible for us, while giving you recurring income. Then again, you may not need this sort of plan at this point. Up to you.
2dReddersART
That's definitely a possible idea!
Shoes
I think your reasoning for closing down your patreon is understandable! Have you thought about leaving it open with just one tier for tipping?
John Smith
Hey man, im sorry to this. I hope all the best for you, your art on patreon has been absolutely DIVINE! I'll miss your patreon stuff but still have your twitter uwu. Hope you do well to all your endeavours.
