Update // Mentorship Changes (Patreon)

Published:

2022-08-08 14:46:12

Imported:

2023-08

Content

To those of you who have somehow managed to so far get through this scorched earth of a summer without somehow turning into mist or a mildly damp stain on the floor, congratulations! It’s (optimistically) almost over.

Continuing on from my latest monthly updates, this one comes beefed up with more changes and updates to existing rewards and systems - the Mentorship programme in particular.

With that in mind, I’m going to beg you to please read to the bottom of this update - particularly if you’re an artling - as it contains critical information about the running of things going forward. And following the begging with some healthy encouragement: please know that those who ask questions that are answered in the following post will be made to eat pencil shavings and given no water to wash them down.

Mentorship Changes

For context, the way things are at the moment is as follows:

Patrons on all tiers get access to the following:

Discord community with specific art feedback channels
Feedback livestreams 2-3 times a month
WIPs and insights into my own art
Access to private lessons via StarStickers

Patrons on the Advanced, Extreme and Ultimate tier get access to:

A dedicated 30 minute private art-feedack session each month
The option to make the session an hour long via StarStickers

Before continuing, it’s exceptionally important to note that none of the key aspects will change for patrons on their existing tiers. None of the Discord benefits will change and if you are currently an Advanced (or higher) patron who gets a 30 min session each month, you will still have full access to that, as well as all the other perks accessible to all other tiers. Read on for more information on what will be changing.

What is changing?

From August 15th, there will be 3 core changes:

1- A new tier will be created exclusively for the private mentorship aspects (1-on-1 sessions, routine check-ins and private feedback) instead of being an added perk to the Advanced, Extreme and Ultimate tiers.

Key information:

This tier will be called “Mentor tier”
It will be a 50$ tier
It will be limited to 10 slots

The rewards for this tier will be:

50 min, 1-to-1 private art feedback session every month
Access to preferential session booking
20 StarSticker points a month

Additional information:

This tier will be meant EXCLUSIVELY for those who wish to have private art sessions.
This tier will only grant 20 points on StarStickers, as the session will be seen as the added value to the tier cost (50$).
No refunds or additional points will be given if the lesson is not used. This is absolutely non-negotiable.
Once more, this will not affect those in existing tiers (Advanced and higher will continue to receive a 30min session as per usual)

2- In order to match the value of the new tier, the Art Session reward on StarStickers will also become a 50 minute session, but the cost will increase to 30 points.

3- On a technical level, all private sessions will now be handled through the Discord server instead of via private DMs. The sessions and facilities will remain the same (screenshare, voice and chat) and each channel will be private and only viewable to the individual student and myself.

Who will this affect?

-Mainly, new patrons looking for private mentoring will have to acquire a spot in the new Mentor Tier when they become available, as all existing tiers will lose it as a native reward (insistent reminder: those who currently receive these perks will continue to receive them in the same way they have)

- Any patrons on a tier that grandfathers these rewards (Advanced/Extreme/Ultimate) that delete or downgrade their pledge will lose that benefit. Should they wish to regain it, they would have to subscribe to the new Mentor Tier or purchase it as a reward via StarStickers.

- Anyone booking an art session as a Patreon reward will see the cost increase from 20 points to 30, as well as the length of the session increase from 30 min to 50. Please note that the maximum allowed time for an art session is 50 minutes, so those in a grandfathered tier purchasing an additional slot will only still receive an hour’s allocation tops.

- Every student booking an art session will now have a personal, private channel in the server as opposed to operating the sessions via private DMs. This will essentially function the same as a DM voice chat with screen share, except within the Artroom Discord server that comes with your membership. In order to facilitate this, you must be able to join AND keep the relevant portions of the server unmuted.

Why is it changing?

In the 6 years I’ve been running this Patreon, all other rewards have changed and shifted according to demand and availability but the art sessions have remained the same. I truly love being a mentor and giving as much as I can, but as time has gone on, the number of students I teach has vastly expanded, as has the knowledge that I am able to impart for them. This means that I am teaching more lessons than ever and that 30 minutes has become an increasingly insufficient amount of time to do this efficiently.

In terms of the technical changes (shifting from DMs to the server) this is largely down to workflow and personal life management. As per the above, as well as the increased demands of the overall job, I typically handle over 30 DMs a day, which on top of all my other administrative functions has started to vastly encroach into my personal life and mental health.

So to TL;DR: in order to respect not just my time, teaching skills and personal life, as well as the individual needs and expectations of my students, it stands to reason to introduce some changes after half a decade of the system being fixed in place.

Pre-emptive FAQ:

If I’m in the Adv/Ext/Ult tier at the moment, will I still retain my 30 min session?

You’re getting very close to eating the whole pencil for this one, but yes - you will not lose this perk as long as you remain in this tier. Do bear in mind that it will JUST be a 30 minute session instead of the 50 min one offered through the new tier or the new reward on StarStickers.

What if I want a 50 minute session instead of a 30 one?

You have several options depending on your tier:

As an Advanced patron, you can either choose to upgrade into the new Mentor Tier and receive a 50 min session by default, plus 20 points as you do now. Alternatively, you can purchase a 50 min slot for 30 points on StarStickers, but please bear in mind that this will replace your 30 min slot (ie, it will still just be a 50 min session, not become a 1.5 hour session)

As an Extreme/Ultimate patron you can also choose to buy the 50 minute session from StarStickers for 30 points, as stated above. Alternatively, you could change/downgrade to the Mentor Tier, but bear in mind you will only receive 20 monthly points on StarStickers for it.

What happens if I downgrade or delete my pledge?

If you are on the Adv/Ext/Ult tier before August 15, you will retain the perks that currently come with that tier. Should you downgrade/delete after that point, you will lose those benefits and you’ll have to either subscribe to the Mentor Tier or purchase your sessions via StarStickers for 30 points.

If I subscribe to the Adv/Ext/Ult tier before August 15 will I still get the 30 min session reward?

Anyone who’s in those tiers before August 15 will retain the benefits as stated above. So if you upgrade from the Easy/Int tiers to Adv/Higher, you will be eligible to book a 30 min session every month as long as you remain in those tiers.

What does “Access to preferential session booking” mean in the new Mentor Tier?

Simply put, it means anyone in this tier will be eligible to book a specific/fixed slot every month in advance to ensure I always have availability at their preferred time. (eg, a Mentor Tier patron can choose to fix their session every second sunday of the month at 3pm, which means this slot will be continuously booked to them with no need to rebook every start of the month).

When will this new tier be available?

The tier will be available from later today, August 8, for anyone wishing to upgrade/change/join that tier, but the changes to the StarStickers Art Session reward, as well as removal of benefits from other tiers will take place on August 15.

If I subscribe to the Mentor Tier but don’t want the session, can I get 50 points instead of 20?

No, as this tier is exclusively meant for those who require mentoring. If you simply want to support more even without receiving the extra points, you can always manually adjust the value of your tier to whatever amount you want to pay (so you could be on the Adv tier and pay 40$ instead of 20$).

Final Thoughts:

Well wasn’t that a whole lot of information! Being thorough is as exhausting as trying to explain geometry to a flat-earther.

On a serious note, I hope this all makes sense and that it sounds fair to everyone who might have involvement in these changes. I have tried to be as reasonable and clear as possible, but if you have any questions, suggestions or concerns please do feel free to contact me - either in a comment to this post, Patreon DM or through the #mentorship channel in the Discord.

Following this and the implementation of these changes, I will also make adjustments to the Discord server and Patreon guides to reflect the new systems and make navigating them easier, so should you have any further thoughts please don’t hesitate to get in touch.

And whilst this update has largely been about one, big chunky topic, do not forget that the updates from June and July also included critical updates on other upcoming changes - namely, new StarStickers rewards, changes to the cost of current rewards and the introduction of my spiffy new Patreon guide! Links below for anyone who somehow managed to miss all of that despite my repeated bleating:

(Please note that these will be updated shortly with details on the new Mentor Tier)

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And with that, I bid you all a roasty toasty week (or a nipply chirply one if you’re in the upside down). Stay fresh!

Much love,

Ony