Patreon Changes (Effective Nov 1) + Commissions (Patreon)

Long time no see, guys! I really hope you’re doing well in your neck of the woods (and if it’s getting colder, get those fuzzy blankets out). October plans changed RAPIDLY after California, so I spent the majority of my time on real-world stuff + the animation course I took on the fly right when I got back so I've been VERY quiet, I know.

This is post is long overdue, and while some might not care for it, I think it’s important to make some changes to my Patron. When I started, I followed too many people’s advice on how my Patreon “should” function. But keeping track of all these things made this feel more like a business and less like what I really wanted - a cove where I could upload my art and allow people to support it and my artistic growth. Ironically, it’s made arting very stressful. I’ve been wanting to "downgrade" my Patreon to what I want it to be and get rid of that pressure I've had to "deliver", so today’s the day! 

Here are my new changes to this account, starting with things I’m discontinuing:

No More Paywall Art

I want all you wonderful Patrons to get the benefit of viewing art early, but from now on I want what I make to have the chance to be shared with everyone.

Commission Tier Discounts

Low commission prices on top of discounts have made commission work very taxing on me. Many of you have been EXTREMELY kind and have advised me to do away with these discounts for years. So I’m finally taking your advice.

So with those out of the way, here’s a look at what you have access to as a Patron:

• ALL: Private streams (make sure you subscribe to the new channel!) 
• ALL: First dibs for commissions (will try opening the Cafe for each tier instead of letting the doors open for everyone all at one time)
• ALL*: First dibs on any beta merch (*starting from higher tiers on down)

And to recap, we will be doing away with:

• Paywall art. Sqorl Zoot art is for everyone, but Patrons will probably see it sooner!
• Tier discounts

Holiday Commish Interest List

On that note, let’s talk about comms for a second. To be frank, I’ve been taking too many in the last half of this year. No one’s told me they’ve had a problem with it, but I have to imagine some of you might have gotten commission fatigue when that’s 80% of my recent posts. But the true problem is that it's been taking me away from my own projects and ideas and progress. And that’s a problem.

So it’s with a heavy heart that I have to close up the Cafe for the rest of the year. Thank you to everyone who filled out the interest sheet and I’m sorry to those I couldn’t get to. But I’d rather you find another artist for your holiday commission than get a crappy piece by a worn out squirrel. Plus that gives me a chance to make holiday Zoot art - a win-win for everyone <3.

I just want to make Zootopia art and have the time to do that and improve my skills to make it better. I’m not some big-wig artist, nor do I want to be. And I want to continue to allow those who wish to support that and my growth to do so via this platform. So if you read any of this or look at the things I’m doing away with and go, “But Qal, that’s why I supported you! I have no choice but to stop pledging now!”, that’s TOTALLY ok! I’ve been trying to save y’all money for years XD. I just wanna stop worrying about creating some business and focus on making and sharing art.

I feel...a lot better just posting that. Feel free to leave a comment if you'd like. But I'm gonna go refocus on everything I've pushed aside these past few months.