ruaidri
patreon
We've got to talk.
🕑 Added 2023-06-04 18:10:11 +0000 UTCGuys... I'm tired. I am very tired, hah. I think it's time to make a change!
When I originally set up my animation suggestions stuff here, it was intended to just be quick little things I could whip out in a day. Just a fun lil' extra. But I can't seem to help myself, I want to make satisfying animations so the work involved has ballooned out to these massive, week or more long endeavors. I thought I could at least limit it by keeping things simple when three characters are involved but I can't even make myself do that. When you take into account that I need to rest for a bit before starting these things so I can go in fresh because animation is mentally exhausting (and fun, but still, exhausting), and I also have to do the painting each month which typically takes a few days, and I need a break after all that before starting the next thing because of the aforementioned exhaustion, it results in the patreon-related work taking up 40-50% of my time.
It's a bit too much.
It's not that I feel the compensation isn't enough for that time, y'all are pretty good to me and I appreciate that, it's just that with the way things are set up currently, I'm never more than about two, two and a half weeks away from having to drop everything and start up the next big monthly animation. It's resulting in me feeling a little trapped... I never want to start anything adventurous because I don't want to tire myself out or get caught up in something else because the next big animation is never far away.
So I think it's time to reel it back in. I'm going to do one more standard animation to make sure everyone gets what they supported me for, but I've updated the tiers already and starting in July the big animations will be no more. However, as a bonus I'll be adding a mini-animation into the same tier as painting suggestions, so we'll still get to have some fun the characters I make! It just won't eat up all my time, hah. Mini-animations, as I've come to define them, have a fairly rigid length and structure so hopefully I should be able to avoid the same ballooning out of control that happened the first time around.
I fully realize and expect that a lot of you are going to peace out if I'm not making big animations every month anymore- understood, no worries! You have by blessing to head elsewhere. However, if you -do- decide to stick around, you might be wondering what you'll be supporting at that point. Well! I'll still be making the community suggested painting each month of course, and the new mini-animation as well. I'll still be making models whenever I get struck with inspiration, or even sometimes just making a model with the community from the ground up on occasion like we did with Serena, and bumping them up against my other existing models for all kinds of kinky fun. And of course there's all the other little animation tests and doodles I make which, while aren't officially part of the rewards here, I can only do as a result of your support here! It'll also open me up to play around with other bigger ideas. I've been talking forever about wanting to make tutorials, this could open up that possibility. Or get back to work on that interactive video project I was making previously. I've kinda got the idea to fiddle around with comics again sometime, or experiment with game dev some more, both for kinky stuff and otherwise! I'll probably even still make big complex animations on occasion, just, I won't have to do it every single month now, hah. Getting to do it when I feel the urge instead of -having- to do it whether I'm in the mood or not should result in them being even better quality, if less frequent. I've also kiiinda been feeling an urge to start experimenting with my models to see if I can get them capable of lip-syncing and start trying out some voice acting stuff. If there are any voice actors among you reading this and you think you might like to see one of my characters saying something in your voice, stay tuned. :P
The honest answer is I don't know exactly what I'm going to do, but whatever it is I'll have the time and energy to do it now, hah.
It's been fun and I think I've learned a lot doing this- a big animation every month is a heck of a crash course on animating, but it's time to wrap it up. So, suggestors, get your thinking caps on and make the next one a good one, because it's probably gonna be the last for a while!
Comments
Toxoglossa
been pretty amazed you kept up that pace for as long as you did! definitely deserving of some rest
Gopher
Heh, I had a long (supportive) rant written out here, but I see that others have already said what was on my mind. In short, be yourself and create that which brings you joy. I enjoy your art and wish to support your ideas further. (BTW I really liked how Marble turned out :))
Rechan
So I was peacing out this month simply because my suggestions weren't winning, so me leaving isn't because you're dialing it back. :P Also, you're doing the right thing, don't burn yourself out.
Garkitty
I’d much rather have an occasional longer animation than none at all. One a month is kind of a ridiculous pace to be frank. A small loop cute tailswish/movement is very reasonable for how little my support is as well as being able to watch the process as part of the community. If you are working on something larger across a couple of months getting teaser stills would be nice but I’m here to support an artist I’ve admired for years. Full stop. You do you, follow your muse and plz don’t burn out.
Pentalis
I completely support you on not wanting to feel trapped. You should free to explore and take your art in any direction. My support is more of a tip to thank you for all you've shared and continue to share with the community for all these years; it's not dependent on any particular perks. I do enjoy reading your Patron-only journals like this though =)
Hyena Grin
I doubt anyone wants to see you burn out, so don't feel bad about needing to take a step back. Much as they are impressive and special, I don't need the big complex animations, and that's not why I subbed! I'd rather see you have the time to either rest or work on your own projects without a deadline. Do your own thing. We're with ya either way.
Kesh
Just work at your own pace. I'm just glad to see your stuff, doesn't matter how often, do what's best for you!
