Brellom
patreon
[Blog] On Change...
🕑 Added 2023-09-21 09:27:22 +0000 UTCI think I'm hitting a point where I need to accept that I'm in a bad spot. My popularity on social media is plummeting and my posts aren't performing consistently well enough. So I often find myself asking whether anything I do matters. Growth is glacial and I'm earning less money.
If we compare my current income to the income I was earning via Patreon 1 year ago... I'm only earning 0.8% more money - that's not even a full 1% increase. That's not great - in fact, it's bad! Commissions help to alleviate that, but I'm not consistently doing enough every single month.
It's very clear that some of that is out of my control considering the state of the world, but it's also clear that I'm not doing well enough. I can't help but worry that I'm spiraling into obscurity.
I don't provide enough value in my work - which I imagine has been the case for a while now. I clearly don't have an affinity towards exploiting the system or consumers, I don't draw popular subject matter and characters that I don't care about, nor do I produce high-quality porn. I don't even do a great job of creating the kinds of art that I do want to draw... I can't willfully choose to be ignorant in the face of those facts.
Maybe there needs to be a big change in how I approach my career as an artist - and perhaps also how the Patreon itself works on a fundamental level? Or maybe I just need to give up?
Game Dev:
I started this month wanting to introduce a few new ideas into the game project before making it into a demo, but have discovered that it would take too long to flesh out any one of those ideas and I've started to lag behind.
But then I realized: none of this matters. Few people are going to play it. It doesn't matter how good or bad this public demo is, it won't change anything about my life. It doesn't need to be good enough, because the quality it would need to be to make a difference is so far beyond anything I can do within the month, so I think I'll put in another level or two and just compile the public demo.
Patreon Presentation Update:
Patreon recently updated the multi-image posts, and although it's more aesthetic and pretty, it does kinda ruin the presentation of our collections. Now you can't easily see new art at a glance, since it only shows the 3 latest images - which means if I post 3+ images, you, as a consumer, do not know how many pieces you've missed unless you click on the images and scroll through. This is particularly bad for comics using the multi-image post feature.
This makes for a less user-friendly experience, and thus, I don't know if we need to change the way we present or update to accommodate Patreon's decision. Do I have to start posting pieces separately now? Should I simply change the approach from sketch collections to bigger artworks?
OLD:
NEW:
October...
With October on the horizon, I don't know what I'm doing. At first I thought about doing another Linktober, but then I think about how tiring that would be... And how it seems like nothing I do matters, so why even take on that stress? But then I think about how Twitter is dying and people are scrambling to other platforms - and how that might make for good advertising.
I dunno...
Don't forget to eat & sleep.
Comments
Aeon3Valefore
I am sorry you are struggling. I found your work on Tumblr and you are fantastic at what you do. I could spread the word around, I'll do all I can to support you.
brellom
That might ultimately mean focusing more on quality over quantity though, so there could be less artworks uploaded during any particular month so that more energy could be given to those kinds of illustrations, which have a higher bar of acceptable quality. So I'd have to restructure the reward experience instead of just having the collection posts.
Crucis Ardeos
I think the main thing is to draw people to the patreon itself. A lot of artists I see have some of their images have additional alternates or nude versions on patreon. It might be a bit more work than just doing one version, but then you have to effectively choose between advertising on twitter/social media or keeping patreon worthwhile for those paying with each piece. Different versions can be a strong temptation to draw people in, and help keep them around so they don't miss out, while also allowing you to more freely advertise what is on your patreon without just giving it away. And hopefully that can keep you afloat while you work on things like the game to get it to a state where it can be more of a draw as well
