Time For A Break

Hey everyone,

So the title and banner of this post explains the update - I need to take some time off, I need a break. I’ll leave the TLDR just below and I’d like to talk about the journey so far after that! Either way, I appreciate the support over the years!

-

The TLDR: I’ll be on hiatus / on break for the next 3-6 months at least. This means I’ll be pausing the Patreon and Tribe, so no monthly releases during this time. Outside of taking time off for myself, I also want to pursue some projects that don’t fit into this month-to-month madness. Comet Lord Miniatures will return, but I imagine things will be different.

-

Update 01: To clarify, I'll be pausing payments throughout the months I'm off. You won't get charged for sticking around. March has already been paused, you should not see a charge from my Patreon on March 1st or the coming months until I come back. Sorry for any confusion.

48 Months of Madness

The Colossus marked my 48th monthly release - 4 years of releasing monthly sets of miniatures on Patreon.

This entire monster I’ve made has changed my life. When I started the Patreon it was me trying to just catch up and figure out how I was actually going to do this. There was a period where I needed to learn how connected I should be to all of this as it was drip feed of information that isn't healthy for anyone! Through the pandemic it was struggling to not let a moment of success fall apart again. As this had all started after I had my Kickstarter fail in production. As of recent, it’s just keeping burnout at bay while I try to expand a bit and stay relevant.

Through the ups and downs, I’m still thankful I’ve been able to pursue creating miniatures as a living. So I’d like to keep saying thank you for the support over the years.

-

Burn out, Content and Relevancy

I’ll start this bit with saying that I obviously can only speak about my experiences and stuff I’ve heard connecting with other creators. I don't want to just rant about my problems.

-

I’ve been saying for years at this point how I’m burnt out. I’ve made changes over the years to try to stop myself from completely burning out. From removing the Patreon polls or only pursuing ideas I was actually inspired to do.

Over the years, my work has improved like any skill that you use on a daily basis. I personally think that I’ve released best work in years as of late. With this, I’d hope to see my business grow. However, as my work improves the reality is that my business either stagnates or loses.

This has slowly turned into just trying to make sure each release has enough content while maintaining a level of quality I am happy with. My personal experience as a creator is that the monthly releases are exhausting as I’d like to really explore the ideas I have. I never feel like I can give my work the time or thought it deserves.

I’m not sure how this will be changed in the future. If I need to do releases less often or smaller releases. There is making sure that people feel like they are getting enough for their money and posting regular enough to stay somewhat relevant. The unfortunate reality is that I have to compete with the race to the bottom and studios that have flooded this space.

I feel like there are a bunch of topics related to my burnout that I won't be going into. Ranging from piracy, people selling my work, creators profiting from stolen IP, being strong-armed, my work environment and more.
However, this is getting long enough so I'll end the rant here and say that despite my issues stated here - I'm still thankful I can do this for a living.

-

The Plan Going Forward

I’m not entirely sure how taking this break will affect Comet Lord Miniatures, but I feel like this is necessary at this point.

The plan for me is to take at least 3-6 months away from monthly releases on Patreon / Tribe. I need to take time for my health and to plan where to take Comet Lord Miniatures in the future.

The survey I posted a couple weeks ago is still live. It's the best place to let me know what you want from Comet Lord Miniatures going forward. Check out the survey here.

Emails and messages may be a bit more delayed as I'd actually like to disconnect from all of this. I understand that my business runs through me, so I'll still be present.

-

Well, there is the first Comet Lord Painting Contest running right now until the end of February. We might make it to the minimum entries for the contest to complete! The WIPs and submissions I've seen have been great so far.

So if we get at least 10 submissions, I'll go through the submissions and announce winners probably mid-March. I'll keep everyone in the loop.
If I don't get enough submissions, I may have to try again at a later date or extend it - not sure yet. I don't want peoples hard work to be for nothing, but I don't want people betting on an extension.

If this is your first time hearing about this - check out the rules here or on the 'Cult of The Comet Lord' Discord Server.

-

I'd be lying if I said I plan to not sculpt or work during my break. Removing myself from the monthly schedule might let me explore my projects further and pursue ideas that don't fit in a 1 week turn around time.

Also, it seems like a Bestiary is one of the most widely requested and agreed upon thing I've ever inquired about. So I started working on that - I've got 300+ entries including many of the miniatures I've made over the years and more! Everything is from my dark fantasy setting where my miniature ideas are based in and my D&D games take place.
It's no where near complete, but it's something I'd like to work on during my time off. Fill out the survey to help me know what types of creatures you want to see more of!

-

Last Words For Now

I'd like to say I really appreciate everyone that commented in the survey that they enjoy my work, to keep on doing what I'm doing and that they look forward to what I'm doing next. I'll admit it felt bittersweet reading those knowing I need to take this break. I hope you'll be around whenever and however I come back from this break.

Sorry for the less-than-cheerful post and ranting about my work. Some context to this break felt necessary.

Thanks for all the support.

Scott - Comet Lord Miniatures