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Goal Met! Probably a Boring Post :-p
🕑 Added 2019-05-18 06:18:10 +0000 UTCWooohooo! I met a goal....
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Okay, I'm gonna be honest here, I actually acted on that goal last month, since I've been hovering like $5 short of it and it just seemed silly not to. Starting last month I did two things related to it:
1) I bit the bullet and financed a new computer. Those of you who have been around a while know that I've been fighting a losing battle to keep my desktop running. It was causing serious problems and occasional delays, as well as my having to put Eros Academy on hold. So, with the increased Patronage I've been getting from you awesome people, I looked at my options and ordered a fairly high-end laptop to replace both my desktop and laptop (I, of course, have it docked into a multiple monitor setup, I'm not crazy enough to do art on a laptop screen). This means no more hardware-related delays (which is a serious relief) as well as some new options for software and such that was incompatible with Windows 7 (which is what my desktop was running). As of right now, roughly 50% of my patreon income is going toward paying off said laptop. Technically, it also means I could resume rendering for Eros Academy...but there's no way in hell I can add it into the current pipeline, time wise. It's now something that could be viably revisited down the road, though.
2) I began investigating better software packages for The Sexy Cosplay Cafe artwork. I've currently got three packages with trials that I want to give a shot (Corel, Kirita and a more current version of photoshop), and I'll be purchasing whichever works best with some more of the patreon funds. Hopefully, this will improve my coloring speed significantly, as I'm currently fighting with an old 2015 version of photoshop that hates my guts (the feeling is mutual).
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After I settle the software package issue, the next step will be saving up to replace my art tablet with a more professional model. I used my own personal funds to upgrade from the crappy, cheap Wacom Bamboo I used to learn on (and did all of the current in-game Sexy Cosplay Cafe art on) earlier in the year. I upgraded to an Deco XP-Pen, which is basically a higher end amateur's drawing tablet you can get for around $120. That upgrade, along with some practice put in while I was on my two-month pause, was largely responsible for the massive upgrade in art seen with Alice's new images. What I really need, however, is a tablet that's one more step up, the low-grade professional tablets. The XP-Pen, while AMAZING for it's price tag, isn't sensitive enough (I think it's actually a little less sensitive than the cheapie wacom was, but the drawing surface is overall much better) and is missing a couple of features that have been driving me bonkers since I first started using it. Like the pen not having an 'eraser' programmed to the flip side of the stylus, like Wacom tablets do. That might seem minor...but it means that I have to stop and change to the eraser manually EVERY time I use it...and I erase A LOT. That's also just one example of several minor annoyances with it. That next step is a bit of a big jump though, with tablets in that tier being in the $300-500 range. True higher-end pro tablets, by the way, can run up to 2 grand or so :-p. Obviously, not getting one of those anytime soon.
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Anyway, as I said in the title, probably a boring post for most of you :-). I felt, however, that it needed to be done, so that people know I actually noticed the goal having been hit...and and following through on it!
