[Blog] Moving into 2023 (Patreon)

EDIT: My apartment is leaking again (for the 6th time). It will probably be a few days before a maintenance crew gets back to me, so keep that in mind in case I'm absent for a period of time because my apartment leaks or something.

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This will probably be the last post of 2022, so it's time to reflect on the experience I've offered and look to how that experience might look in the future. As I want to focus on new kinds of creative expression and community engagement, it's always worth touching base with you and finding ways to improve.

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As you can tell, I haven't felt like drawing much this month. I'm not sure if it was just general exhaustion from the last few months, but I should keep in mind that this can happen again in the future and consider it for my work flow. 

Don't forget you guys still have access to a bunch of stuff that still hasn't been made publicly available, such as: last month's collection post, many years worth of concept art, and even a dropbox archive containing all of my work.

Regular Content Updates

The Weekly Female Link can provide consistent value, though I wonder if I should create another weekly update event in case of future stretches of inactivity. I'd like to be healthier in 2023, which means I should spend more time resting, so having reliable update times could be a good idea.

Game Development

I drew a lot of things in October & November, but those things have taken a lot of time away from Game Development and other projects. I want to shift my focus in 2023 to better allow those projects to thrive. That's not to say that I will never draw a greater variety of sketches like we're used to, but my original concepts will never go anywhere unless I commit to their creation.

I think I should probably prioritize that Castlevania-like Game Project above all else, as it probably has the greatest potential to offer you guys the most value. Though, I would like to start a handful of different projects too, since that's the only way that Elayne Beaumont (or any of my original properties) will see any degree of fandom. Stuff like prose stories, visual novels, and other such projects.

As I move into this direction, I should research Patreon pages focused on game dev to study the structure of their experiences to learn how to best build my own. Game development can take a really long time, so I should find ways to make the update process more entertaining and engaging if possible.

Beaumont Comic

I began working on an Elayne Beaumont practice comic a few months ago, but the progress has been rather slow (largely due to other work getting in the way). I have to consider dropping its quality for a less refined illustration to increase speed.

Though it should still be at an acceptable level of quality... I'll try to shoot for looser, rougher lines and pulling back on value rendering unless its essential to a scene.

Closing

Moving into the new year, my apartment lease will be up in March. After which, I will be paying rent for a month-to-month lease, so we'll see if I stick around here. That said, I suspect I will have spent everything I can afford to spend when taxes come, and my father's current health may prove to be an additional inconvenience...

If we're all still here in another 6 months, we'll re-examine the Patreon experience and consider more adjustments, just as we always have throughout the year. As we enter the upcoming year, however, I will also be thinking about how I can improve and change the experiences I offer.

Thank you for your support. Don't forget to eat & sleep.