First,
let me get this right out of the gate – I'm so mad I currently don't
have the option to do celebratory art for yet another milestone for me
as a cartoon smut peddler. While this is not the first time I've not
contributed new art on March 3rd, I like the tradition and I'll do my
best to stick to it. This time, however, I'm not home and I don't have
my art equipment with me, so no can do.
To be honest, I've been
so occupied lately that I haven't had much time to think about what to
write for the usual journal post I do on every anniversary. Usually, I
would reminisce the past and maybe look at where I am right now, and try
to guess what's in store for me in the future. I think that's a good
format, although I might look into some other topics, too, that would
reflect not only who I am and what I do but also, perhaps, the fan art
community in general.
Because of this, and because of a comment
that someone left on my Blogger, I'm going to talk briefly about Patreon
and my view on this whole crowdfunding stuff that's going on.
Patreon
is a good thing to some people in the fan art community, whether it's
artists or those who follow art. I don't have anything against it and if
it works for you, then great. The reason why I've not joined in is
primarily because of my habits as a fan artist. As those of you who
either know me personally or have followed me for a long time know, I'm
not the kind of a person who can sit down and sketch a crapload of stuff
in 30 minutes. I'm also not like
Fern, who can whip up a
freaking digital
painting out of thin air in a matter of few hours, complete with complex shading and lighting effects. For me, it takes
days
to get anything completed, and then there might be month-long "dry
seasons" when I can't produce anything. Also, due to my studies and the
occasional job (usually during the summer), I might find myself to be
either too busy or too exhausted to dedicate time for my fan art.
If
I went to Patreon and signed up to have people back me up, I'd have to
be able to produce new content for them on a regular basis. This just
does not work for me because I'm not the kind of artist that would
function within the requirements of Patreon. Believe me, I'd
love
to get all your people's money and just selfishly spend it on material
possessions but I also know my own limitations. I would not be able to
satisfy the requirements of Patreon, of my fans and those that I impose
upon myself... and that's why I think it's better that I don't attempt
to launch a crowdfunding for my art.
Now, before I left for my
extended trip, I had gotten into a groove where I attempted to make
myself sketch on a daily basis. The last 40 minutes to an hour before
getting sleep would be my 'dlt time' where I'd just lay in bed with my
sketchbook and pencils and try to doodle something,
anything, to
get a routine to it and also slowly increase my artistic capabilities.
I'm still hesitant to publish my pencil sketches but I'm hoping to
eventually get to a point where I might eventually have the skills to
get shit done fast while not compromising the overall quality. It's
still a long way to go, though.
The next question, of course, is
that if I ever reached that level where I was able to pump out
"exclusive content" to my supporters, would I still go to Patreon?
Possibly not. Even though I've done pay site work before, I'm generally
not a fan of the concept of holding fan art away from people unless they
shell out some cash. This is why I have a clause in my commission
guidelines that prohibits private commissions: if you order something
from me, you better be okay with it being posted for everyone else to
see as well. Again, please keep in mind that even though this is my
stance on exclusive fan art, it does not mean that I think people who do
it are horrible monsters and should be shunned be everyone. This is
capitalism, and if some people are okay with it, then I'm cool with them
being that way. Besides, I'm already somewhat of a hypocrite for doing
pay site work despite what I've said (but hey, if I'm paid well enough,
I'll do it – besides, shit gets leaked in the end nonetheless).
Still,
the future is not set in stone. Anything could happen, and perhaps I'll
join Patreon some day. Don't count on it, though, but just keep in mind
that even if I say 'no' right now, I might change my mind later.
Whatever the case will be, I'm going to be drawing more cartoon girls
doing dirty things because that's how I roll.
Feel free to raise a glass filled with alcoholic content to celebrate for my eighth year, if you wish. Go me!
