[Blog] Routine Annual Reflection

We are 3 months into 2024, and as is custom, it is now time to reflect and take stock of my career & the experience of my Patreon (or SubscribeStar). I do this every so often to check how I feel about things and determine what needs improving.

Reflections:

• I have not begun any work on a new comic / image set. Instead, I've fallen onto our old habits by focusing on sketch collections - despite wanting to reduce its focus in 2024.

• I experienced a loss of motivation this month, although it built up over several months. This came with questions like: what is the point? Why am I even bothering with art?

• Changes to the economic accessibility of this career have been discouraging; stricter regulations across Patreon, Gumroad, etc. make for a less welcoming creative space.

• I appreciate having more freedom & time to myself. But I do not enjoy having done nothing of value. There's nothing wrong with doing nothing, but it must be intentional.

Assertions:

• I am not creating anything fun or interesting, nor adding meaningful value to the world. This also means new patrons / subscribers aren't being actively encouraged to join.

• Game Development progress has been slow, despite being my most interesting project. This means you have not been able to receive frequent playable demos as a result.

• Concept art has been too inactive. It has been intentionally slowed, but I think it's been a little too slow. Although I did begin some concepts, I felt they weren't good enough.

• The distribution method isn't ideal, with inconsistencies across Patreon, SubscribeStar, and social media. This fosters different degrees of separation from my art for all users.

Proposals:

• Create more authentic art? This sounds silly, but it's a surprisingly difficult thing to do.

• Attempt to bridge Patreon with social media, perhaps relying less on timed exclusivity.

• Re-introduce the concept of Female Link Fridays as a regularly-occurring event? I think we can benefit from routine events that users can support and look forward to.

• Create more opportunities for concept art, even if they need to be shorter posts.

I think we've got a solid foundation and I do generally prefer the more relaxed atmosphere, but I do think the experience needs a few tweaks before it's strong. Let's take some small steps to hopefully improve the experience for everyone. I don't know if all of these ideas will ultimately take shape, but they're the ideas I have right now.

Don't forget to eat & sleep.