tailsrulz
patreon
State of the Patreon
🕑 Added 2023-03-03 20:49:39 +0000 UTCThis Patreon page is almost 2 and a half years old now. It's been quite the roller coaster.
When I launched this page, it was partially because I was looking for some form of income after I was laid off during the pandemic, in late 2020. However, I also wanted to take a more serious approach with my art, after being out of the game for several years and still having an affinity for it.
While Patreon money has allowed me to generally "break even" with my meager living costs, it doesn't provide benefits and doesn't provide enough for me to live on my own. During the time I've been unemployed, I have been applying for jobs that I'm qualified for and interest me. Many of those applications resulted in auto-rejections, and many more were met with deafening silence. Only two of the applications progressed to the interview stage, and I bombed both of them so badly that they didn't even bother telling me that they hired someone else. As the months dragged on, the dismay from the constant job rejections and lack of growth with my artwork weighed more and more heavily upon my mind. I started to fear if it was always going to be this way.
Then, in late February, I finally had a reprieve from a downward spiral when a place offered me a job. It isn't a dream job, but it's full-time work that I'm qualified for, and correlates to my job experience. I start about a week from now. It will break a chain of 29 months without employment.
This will be the first time I will have a job while running a Patreon page. I plan to run it through the month of March as normal to see how it goes, when I start having weekdays devoted to a real-life full-time job. If I can't juggle it with art, I will have to dial back my Patreon responsibilities, as holding that job will be absolutely vital for me. However, I also want to avoid totally shutting down my Patreon, as I never know what the future holds and I'll always want to continue making art. Stepping away from Patreon now would severely damage whatever foothold and momentum I currently have. After all, my dream would be to work on art full-time and earn a comfortable living from it. If I can keep up with Patreon while working IRL, there's a chance it could grow to where it provides all the income I need, and I won't have to work elsewhere. If I shut it down, then there's no chance of that happening.
Whatever happens, I'm grateful for the loyal patrons I've had these past 2+ years and you guys are the primary reason I've been continuing to producing art at this frequency and level. Much of the stuff I've posted would have simply not existed if not for Patreon. What's been particularly enjoyable with this line of work is the international recognition, reaching out all the way to places like Germany and New Zealand... pretty nifty for some shut-in from backwater West Virginia.
However, I also have to face the reality that my numbers for the past year or two have been rather stagnant, both here and elsewhere, while I've been hoping to expand my reach. All around me, I see my peers continuing to grow and grow their "brands" like it's no big deal. I see new artists appearing on the scene and promptly eclipsing my numbers. I don't blame the "algorithm" or anything like that for my stagnation. I haven't done well enough with my work or with how I've presented it. I haven't been getting work out quickly enough and I'm behind on my obligations. I haven't been marketing myself or forming "connections" effectively, and I haven't been trying out new venues for posting my work. Part of me feels like this is all a lost cause, that I peaked around 2008-10, that I'm a "relic" and a "has-been", that I "had my time" and the community has moved on. For better or worse, however, I'm too stubborn to admit that I've truly "lost".
So, for now, I'll be soldiering onward with my art, and continue trying to improve.
Comments
Richard V.
I’ve been a fan of yours for over a decade now. Your artwork has always been impressive and has constantly improved over time. Whatever you decide to do in the future, it will be great! 👍🏽
Rox79
I'm glad you've found a full time job to help with living costs and take some stress off of you. I think it's a good idea to keep your Patreon page running like normal through March to gauge how much free time you will be able to spend on it. While I would love to see you continue to focus Patreon like you do now while working a full time job, real life has to come first so if you have to change things I'll understand and be here through the change, just don't stop posting here if you can help it. As for trying to get your follower count higher, I'm not sure how to do that other than trying to market your art more, maybe seeing if other artists would be will to do some collab art with you or see if you can draw other artists characters. I have always liked your art from the first time I saw it and hope you continue.
