jdlaclede

6th Anniversary Of Independence

Added 2021-11-30 16:40:03 +0000 UTC

Hello everyone! It’s been a wild few years.

In October 2015, I quit my job at Disneyland, and dared independence with my art career. I started using Patreon on November 30, 2015. It was slow at first, but enthusiastic fans (that's you) came together to help me get by, pay bills, and move cross-country. I was already grateful for that, but in 2017, you sent my Patreon over $1,000/month, making it not just an adventure between jobs, but permanent. Without you, ATW, FoxMeGently, and a surfeit of skunks would not appear. They’d just be notes and drafts I never had time for. My life would be pizza delivery by day, soup by night, and no time to put a pen to the tablet.

That’s not to say it hasn’t been hard. Drawing arms get hurt. Housing vanishes. Burnout creeps in. But I don’t answer to a boss or report hours. I don’t fret if a post is “too weird” or “worrying investors.” No manager trawls my posts and tells me to clean up my image. I have these freedoms because of you.

2021 has been strange, but I can’t say it’s been bad. JAIYANDT is officially a company of one, plus a few incredible contractors. Growing beyond my desk is still a ways off, but I would like it to happen someday, and by my principles – only the slimmest Capitalism needed to run it, and maximum artistic freedom for everyone. I admit, I don’t know how possible that is. I don’t even know if it’ll be on Patreon, in the future. Seeing how the execs think, dipping into crypto and ineptitudes, JAIYANDT may have to move elsewhere. But we’ll cross that river if we come to it. For now, I’ll say that December will be quiet, as it often is. I have a Patron-only illustration planned, a wallpaper, and a comic for the holiday season, but there’s not going to be many posts from now to New Year’s. I’m taking a flight to spend time with family later, and that’ll probably extend into a break from work. I need one, and I’m sure you do too.

As always, thank you so much for all your support, and happy holidays!