A little disclaimer regarding the future (Patreon)
Content
Hello there, guys, here I am again for a long chat... so, if you don't like reading, skip to the numbered points in bold.
First of all: a HUGE thanks to all of you that support my work all these years, you guys changed my life, also, a special shout out to the people who faith jumped into my Patreon even with the base TIER offering barely nothing because I'm kinda testing it yet.
Now, making a little retrospective, no news to anyone that 2019 was a hell in Earth to me regarding money and work, likewise for many of you 'cause, well, it was a complicated year in general, but I survived, barely.
Then, in the beginning of 2020 I was reaching the absolute limit, and despite overcoming many challenges and achieving important goals, my health begin to fail healing itself and I had to make a hard break. Good thing I could finish the stories base timeline, rest a bit and rethink the whole business during the year, this time, trying to avoid the mistakes I did back in the day.
The conclusion I had, combined with the stride of the beginning of 2021, is that nothing is going to be the same again.
Good for some, bad for others, but essentially, mandatory to myself, for despite the body-level harm is being mitigated the mental side of my health is not very good, and this is more about the body resistance to stress and anxiety that is kinda low, meaning that whatever stressful happens I begin to show side effects, and that hurts, literally.
With all that said, here we go for the work plan of 2021:
1 - Patreon is, for now, a test, it won't grant you a free comic straight every month, it only allows me to expand the possibilities and grant a little extra. https://www.patreon.com/Bmtbguy
Sure, sure, this month is a launching special and you'll get one free comic but, argh, this hurts, because I'd love to give stuff away and prepare various TIERS and use this as a working platform... but it doesn't work that good yet, also the fact they can purge me for any reason, because "feelings" is frightening. The actual objective is having a closer relationship with supporters somewhere I can throw stuff without caring for organization, leaving DA more as an official gallery, and being free to post renders most people wouldn't care, but I know some others would love. Also, the TIER explains it plainly, so, depending of how stuff develops I can do more, but for now, it is what it is: a very fast way to tell info, show renders that most of the time I delete and give the opportunity for some supporters to support me for the sake of patronizing... yes, they do exist and I respect immensely these few who normally say so few words but are there EVERY TIME with supportive words (even when criticyzing) and many times asking me how to help. Love you guys.
2 - Patreon content is not exclusive or permanent (thought you have the right to have the content released from the month you was paying for it)
I was sad the times I couldn't reach a content because it was behind a signature paywall or a content that simply vanished on the old journals, I also understand the content vampires for I was one myself but, I don't think it is fair to pay 2 bucks and get content of years, so, my plan is, sometimes, give comics but those are given to the patrons of the month (maybe overlapping over the next month because "why not"), so it will go deleted after some time, then, if any of you lose it I have the registers here and resend you at any time, we have it secured, like the random renders I'm saving in a foder before sending. At the same time, the bonus comic will be released inside and outside patreon, so, everyone can have it the way they think it is better. I may later assemble the pack of renders and put it as a product or as a bonus later to outsiders because guys like me, who are interested in some stories not others, can get the extra content if they want. Sure, it is complex, annoying but I regret myself not being following some creators before they were suspended or had their sites vanished, so, it is also a safety police because I love each render I do.
3 - The next stories will have very little growth or no growth (more comparisons ;P).
I already see people unfollowing or arguing but... that's the reality: I had 2 options, quit releasing anything for at least one year or keep releasing chapters while developping the long therm plot. This is because after having nothing to begin with (I had to erase most of what I had after the last seasons) while merging the universes, I've found myself crushed by a world of possibilities... and a very complex web of lines to untie and weave, and that's very complicated. And (SPOILLER ALLERT DV) some of the crazy sizes from a recent comic won't be permanent (SPOILLER ALLERT DV) for reasons already specifyed in the lore essays, so some of you may be disappointed in my next works. I'm still building stuff, and before growing again, important parts of the story must be built and told.
4 - Smaller chapters, more frequent releases, no ETAs unless it is fully rendered.
I looked at myself as the "AMD of growth stories" for I had a huge render count with a very small cost-per-picture, something I was proud of it (kinda). Problem is that this was destroying me: I was working every day months straight, no time to rest or enjoy life, and this was also sad to readers who wanted some content and to me that had to wait a long time before finishing, then, after long months of hard work, sleeping very little and tired I still had to make the revision and release and take care of customer service and other problems that use to kill business... wow, I'm feeling that tension right now, and I can't do it anymore. NOW, these last comics (while making the animation I had more 4, yes, DV, CT, CT remake and GD in the works) had come out so delightfully because I can do some, stop, go to the next, check an universe implication, come back, and suddenly I freaking posed DV26 whole in less than a month and call it a chapter. With extra plot development and extra scene shared for the next chapter with no problem. With excitement! Sure, text is not finished, needs one or two revisions before proofreading but, WTF, this way I feel I'm working faster than ever, just because I was going with the flow! So, from now on, stories with less than 100 pages, more plot involved until it is all good to grow, then we may see page count growing because I need less time for growth sequences once the scene is set, so... this is it.
5 - Breaks. Yes, I need them.
Different to the last chapters of Cheap Tricks and Domina's Valley, when I had it all figured out and simply pushed my lifeless self through hundreds of renders, on the actual scenario where I create aiming the future of 3 comics that are one universe with a sketchy skeleton of a plot, when Joy leaves, it all stops. Today, as I write this after a week straight of happily working, I'm empty again, can't even open a project, and, you know, DS is the first program I open at morning. Back in the day I used to push myself and at least do a revision... or assemble a new scene... but not anymore. Know that the animation, CT 39, DV 26 and GD 01 came out in such a rush that I didn't even know when to stop because I was loosing track of the time to eat and sleep because of that thing... that strange thing that keeps me doing more and more. Problem is that it wears out, and when I do something forced, like yesterday, it kills me. Sure, there are other things involved, but I finally found a way into balance, and I want to use it to deliver the best comics I ever did, not only in the quality department, because I stopped trying to reach absolute perfection, but in a more involving storytelling, and that comes with propper time and Joy.
6 - No extra content or commissions - I already wear me out myself enough... Why am I sadistic with myself?
Aw, sorry for that, this is not your problem, I'm very very sorry, the fault falls over my dumb self, for I have to keep real life job in order to fix critical stuff in my life and I keep doing more and more in real life and here many times, but I must be true to all of you from the bottom of my heart: the work amount I make myself to do alone is already tyrannical, lol... Still speaking of that Joy thing, it makes me do a couple of extra works for select people, and for the sake of Joy itself, weird, isn't it? Outside of it, it was way too tiring... because I already find myself working after finishing more work to then work again... so, the objective of this hobby just nullifies itself... Now I will do only chapters, teasers and the extra renders needed for the tests of the future of the universe.
7 - You have all the right to unfollow/unpatron/disagree with me and/or my stories, and I 'm good with that, because we all love the same thing: giantesses.
A couple of times I discussed more deeply with audience disagreeing about stuff, sometimes because I don't follow their tastes, sometimes because I changed something, sometimes because I did a mistake, sometimes because they want something that would break the story, sometimes because they want more and more and more of a single character. And I think this is completely normal, I had my own takes on other author's works and, well, we just discuss because we like it, right? It is all for the sake of the enjoyment of a series, and when it is an ongoing project it can become really toxic... But trust me, there's no way I can bend the story for a taste that is not mine - remember, my joy drives creation - or that goes against the plot that lies dozens of chapters ahead. ANYWAY, let me clear one thing: all feedback is welcome, read and considered. I changed stories more than once based on feedback, but that is a surgical, gradual and, sometimes imperceptible from chapter to chapter, because making a story is like growing a tree, the only think we know is that it is going up and that it will follow its DNA, we do out best to help or bend it in order to achieve something, but we must be cautious. There's always room for improvement, and for that, the next point is very important:
8 - Let me know what you guys think.
Ah, boring boring boring Bmtbguy talks a lot FFS! Yes. I'm annoying. But I'm an annoying guy who is living the giantess dream, in a hard way because I created my own, and like neighbors of fetish we must keep focus on talking, enjoying it and, why not, suggesting. Who knows what crazy idea I can have based on a suggestion?
9 - Some people don't like my content. At all. Or decided to hate it. And it's ok.
There are dozens of other creators out there for all tastes, I get lost myself between them every time I click a new picture, but we're all in the same neighborhood. Let's live peacefully, we have a new year ahead and if everything goes fine, we all have miles of growing females ahead.
Best regards, a great 2021 to everyone, and I'm back by the weekend with the new comic.
Time to log out for a little while. See ya.