NOV2024 - Update! and a Confession.

TLDR; no November polls / artworks.

I had always known pursuing art as a fulltime job wouldn't be easy. It isn't a stable career path, income fluctuating depending on how much of my free time I'm willing to sell for it. How long I'm willing to let my wrist ache. How long I'm willing to sit for. The situation I find myself in is no fault of yours - you enable me to do the thing I want. Because, despite the hurdles, I DO love making. I DO want to make more. And I'd rather do this than many other things.

But I'm exhausted. I spend the vast majority of my days drinking coffee, eating quick-to-prep meals, and drawing from noon to 2AM. My body is starting to really make me aware of how inactive I've been. And the stress of the two remaining comms I have to finish by the end of November kept me awake last night. I was so determined to make all of this work, but this lifestyle isn't healthy.

I was worried about making enough income to live, so I took lots of comms "to be completed by the end of (month)." So I had tons of work lined up. And throughout the months, I've been finishing it. You can see with how often I release fully-rendered pieces, I've been working my ass off. With my recent rendering style, each piece takes a total of around 6-10 hours to complete. Between taking less work (and making less money to live) or speeding up production, I'm thinking toward the latter. I've made no big decisions about this, but I'm just thinking aloud, really.

I'm not quitting art, nor Patreon, nor commissions. I just need a short break. And I'm sorry if this comes as a disappointment to you, because "what am I paying for?" I do not blame you if you wanna unsubscribe and come back later, or unsubscribe entirely. I just... don't have much for you this month. I don't have any comms lined up for 2025 yet, and I think I'm going to take this opportunity to not work for at least the first two weeks of January, if not the whole month.

If you've made it this far, I appreciate that you're willing to read beyond that prior paragraph and not write me off entirely. I don't think I tend to be inauthentic, but I don't really open up and become this level of transparent too often. I'm taking a risk by doing this, letting you see the guy BEHIND the dog-artist, because I really need your help, empathy, and understanding now. Again, I sincerely apologize for the disappointment, and I'll get on track as soon as I can, because you deserve it.

Best,

Zesty