January 2023 summary (Patreon)

So, the first month of year 2023 came to an end. It was a very overwhelming month, significant month, eventful month, exhausting, stressful and tiresome month. A lot happened in January. It didn't start well starting right from January 1 when I had to spend 3 hours trying to remove viruses which made my PC to act like shit. Another crap awaited me the next week when I suddenly realized that I can't withdraw my Patreon money anymore. I solved that problem quickly but still it left me very concerned and nervous for several days. The thing is Payoneer left Russia too, it was the only platform available as a wallet which can be attached to Patreon besides long time unavailable PayPal. I used it since June 2022 but now it's gone too. So I had no way but use a tricky plan B I put off in past only because I managed to figure out Payoneer much faster. I needed a person who could be a proxy for me, someone which PayPal address will be attached to my Patreon so I could transfer my money there and then that person send it to me via my Boosty page. Fortunately, I found the right person and my plan worked, so I don't have to work like a horse to make ends meet as Patreon earnings cover 80% of my rent and having it unavailable would be a wholesome shit.

Another thing to tell about that month is that I had too many social interactions. My friends from the village had to visit me several times and stay for a night many times, I had to meet my mother a couple of times, all that already means a plenty of days being crossed out from my working schedule. Not to mention that extra attention I got in web thanks to my new artworks which attracted a lot of new folks and got me pretty much drowned in socials and stockpiled messages. 

Also, my recent commissions were very difficult and complex. Usually I'm trying to vary my art schedule and mix a couple hard artworks with plenty of easier ones to get in time and fit my monthly plan of 7-8 artworks. But it's much harder to plan with commissions, they can be unpredictable and by an unlucky coincidence all three latest commissions were very difficult, with lots of alts, details and complex backgrounds, so I wasted all my time and the rest of energy on them.

And I think I have some little health problems too. Thanks to fucking Russian winter I spend most of my time at home without going outside for a walk except of only going to nearby store. And when I'm at home I have to keep my windows shut tightly all the time because of the cold. I ventilate my apartment a bit from time to time but I guess it's not enough to avoid oxygen starvation, common symptoms of which are headaches and decrease of productivity and that's how I actually feel recently. Not to mention the lack of sunlight which is also important. All these problems combined caused a little burnout for me. I want to draw, I'm very much determined to draw and crave to make many ideas real but I feel very weak and powerless lately and hope that February will be somewhat better. Maybe it will be a bit less socially busy and I will have at least more time to focus on work. And maybe I will not have to work on so many drawings with 30-60 alts and get a more balanced art schedule. I'm sorry again that January was so unproductive, 4 artworks is my ultimate minimum and it makes me very much ashamed of myself :(