Year One Retrospective and Year Two Changes

  Can you believe it's already been one year? Feels like six months, at most! It's been a lot of fun; made some cool art, met some cool people, and have had a successful first year here on Patreon. 

  With this first year done, it might be nice to look back at a few things...

  What was the most challenging project? 

    Succubus Doms Elf; this is one where I intentionally pushed myself in terms of length/complexity to sort of "discover where the line is" and I did just that. Almost every scene had some weird rigging going on (whether hanging the Elf from the ceiling or suspending her with her ears stretched out), and boy-oh-boy, did those characters have some extravagant hair that was just a JOY to manually animate. 🤣

  How did your workflow change as the year progressed? 

  As the year went on and my projects became bigger, the way I organized and structured these projects changed dramatically. At the start of the year, I would basically keep everything in "One Big Blend File."

  This works for short animations, but I found on the longer projects, when you're 4,000 frames deep, it's easy to come across situations where you inadvertently mess up the keyframes earlier in the timeline (either by adding a new constraint, changing a bone that didn't have keyframes, or just accidentally having too many keyframes selected when making changes). I had to learn this lesson a couple times over, losing many hours of work before deciding a big change was needed.

  These days, the first thing I do on any project is create the set and lighting. Then, I simply "Save As" for any new shot, creating a new folder each time. So each and every shot in a project has it's own folder containing a custom Blend file, and later, the frame-sequences/video for this shot. It takes a lot of memory, but makes going back to prior work much easier (and if I mess up anything, I'm only messing up that one shot and not the whole project).  

  What's my favorite project?

  This is a tough one as I like them all to varying degrees. I'll say the short ones often end up being my favorites, because they come out "close to perfect" while there is going to usually be some compromise with the big ones. Let's just go ahead and say Brigitte Loves Feet. 😝

  Year 2 Changes...

  I've learned a lot in this year, about workflow, about business, about communication, and definitely about my schedule, which leads us into Part 2, some changes that will be going into effect right now. 

  Firstly, I'm going to be moving away from the monthly schedule. There are several reasons for this, but mainly I believe this will improve the quality of the animations and the entire content-stream in multiple ways.

  This past year, I've probably drunk 150-200 cans of Monster and gone at least 20 nights without sleep (not consecutively, mind you). I'm proud of the fact that I got the work completed and released in a reasonable time, but it's often been at the cost of my personal health. 

  While this has led to many finished projects and, overall, I'm very happy with the quality of them, there are ways in which this time frame actually hurts the product. 

  For example, let's say I want to practice fluid physics. That may be a few days of tinkering and learning, maybe even more, but it's something that could potentially enrich the rest of my animations. But, if I have a monthly schedule to keep, I simply can't afford to spend that time. It's just not there. The same goes for practicing walk-cycles, lighting, etc. You definitely "learn by doing" and I believe I've done so, but when it comes to experimenting with new techniques or doing some "focused study" on one specific topic, it's simply not-possible under the monthly format. 

  Another good example is the change I'm currently under-going with Tina Doms Marie, that being the conversion to 60fps. I think this is an improvement that a lot of people want to see and that will benefit my future projects, but... to do it effectively I need to spend some days learning the new animation timing, and learning how to optimize rendering (not just in Blender, but in Premiere and After Effect as well). I'll be upgrading my computer specifically for this task! 

  But again, this takes time. 

  So in Year 2 (which starts now), the format will simply be "voted project, small project." Besides the benefits to my own health, I believe this will positively impact the quality of the projects, as if I need an extra day to polish a shot, integrate physics, improve lighting, etc, I can make an objective decision about whether-or-not the time is worth it, rather than having a strict schedule make that decision for me. 

  Now, nothing makes me happier than releasing a finished project, so I DO intend to keep working at a brisk pace, and I will keep you updated with release windows. My schedule will remain tight. The release schedule is not going to shift all that much, just enough to give me some breathing room and give these projects the treatment they deserve. 

  Year 2 Content... 

  Year 2 is going to be more varied in content. I like BDSM play and I enjoy tickling, but I do want to mix it up a bit. More lesbian stuff, more varied BDSM, maybe something totally out of left field (futa!?). I will still be doing tickling, but it won't have the majority focus it did prior. If you follow or support me, it's for my tone, quality, and consistency.

  I don't want to make any specific promises about "there will be X number of this video, Y number of that video." By now you're likely comfortable and familiar with my tone and proclivities.

  To Surmise... 

  Computer upgrade! More focus on quality! More variety! I feel like every year is a chance to evaluate and make positive changes. I've been open with you here before the start of the next billing cycle, to decide if you want to keep supporting ol' Baron Strap. I can promise you it's going to be a productive year, with an increase in quality and a focus on consistency. Most of all, I want to keep having fun making interesting, unique, sexy, and engaging content. 

  I appreciate you; I spent 11 years in the restaurant industry. 11 years in the trenches, serving and bartending. A lot of you know how that is, and I'm grateful to have been able to make this jump. I don't take this opportunity lightly, and I want to keep building on it. This is really only the beginning, and I hope you stick with me on this journey. 

  Let's get to it!