Kings Journal: 2022 Recap (Patreon)

Foreword
It's time to share my recap of 2022 with you.
I will summarise my impressions of the past year. The things I am happy with and the things I want to optimize next year. The main part is about 2023.

2022 a challenging start

If I would have to summarise 2022 with a single word it would be "challenge".
Because of events in Europe and the international consequences I lost half of my income during the first half of this year.
It was challenging, but thanks to a core of loyal long term patrons and new ones I was able to make it.
So thank you for your support.
The Triumph of original art

2022 revealed to be the triumph of my original characters over fanart. My OCs won polls and reached personal records considering likes on Patreon and social media. Thanks to original content my humble fame on Deviantart rose by more than 1500 watchers to over 2,2k. My profile views on Furaffinity also increased to 45775k and I reached 16k followers on Twitter.

Since I can not make a living from numbers my personal favourite aside Patreon is my store on Gumroad, that also gives me precise feedback, which items sell well and which don't.

Guess which items are a success?!
My comics! Knights in Japan is very popular, as well The Massage, the Roivas art bundle and in the fanart section Bigby Wolf owns the throne followed by Astral Chain.

This year I created four new original characters. The nerd, the jock, Filip and Krampus. The first two still need names.

In general I am very happy that my OC art is popular.

Plans for 2023 - Continuity and Growth

Considering the success of my original art I will adjust my schedule. Next year each Artpack will contain original content. I plan to draw my original characters more often and especially those who are not featured in the current comic project.

Speaking about comic projects, the first issue of"Moon Detective" will be completed in the first half of 2023.

The next comic will be either "Radogien's Magic School" or "Knights in Japan" chapter 2. I also plan to work on a concept for the nerd and jock's story.

My basic plan for future comics will be to aim for about 30 pages per comic issue.
As much as I love working on Moon Detective and as much as loved drawing KIJ, I think it would be good to have a comparable amount of pages for each comic. This would guarantee a regular cycle of new comic issues and fans of specific characters needn't wait for the return of their favourites for an unspecific time.

With more original content and a basic structure for my comics, my goal for 2023 is "continuity".
Just a few days ago I scrolled through another artist's Twitter page and suddenly I realized, that I was looking for that person's OCs art. I wanted to see that content the most and then my lousy brain had a revelation. What if my supporters also love to see my original characters and then I don't draw any, because of fanart.
And it gets worse. If I draw different fanart I will lose patrons who want OC content and at the same time various fanart means losing patrons who want other fanart.
Long story short: It is a mess and if I do not draw fanart character X as fans imagine him, I am considered as bad artist.
When I draw my characters I make the rules. I show who they are and what they like and with my characters I have continuity. You know, what you will get instead of different fanart every month.

I am also convinced, that I reached the end of what is possible with fanart. My 7th anniversary will be in 2023 and I can not see any further progress I could make.
I can not compete with super famous fanart artists. And to be honest I don't want to. I also see little incentive to draw fanart of characters who have 3D models. It's all already there and 3D artists will always surpass me.

I want to shine in my own discipline, with my own creations. And I want to be respected for my original art. I want to grow on multiple layers.
I want to grow by trusting in my ideas and I want to grow by reaching more supporters for my individual, original art.
And I kinda want to draw more kinky stuff. Tentacles, shibari, watersports and so on.

Does that mean there won't be any fanart in the future?
The answer is "no". I will still draw selected characters like Bigby Wolf for example.
And there is still the Commission Chance poll each month, where Werewolf patrons can suggest characters.

Speaking of the Commission Chance I plan to omptimize the poll. The rarely drawn category every second month is a good concept, but it needs more adjustments.
It is possible that I will offer patron's OCs CC, rarely drawn fanart CC, regular fanart CC and CC with topics.
Depending on my schedule I will also consider a sketch for the second place of the CC poll.

Plans for the Future

At last I want to mention some plans, that I could not realize because of a lack of time.
I still want to learn 2D animation. The optimal case would be finding the best software, with the most free tutorials for self-taught students.
I have to learn everything alone, so I need proper visual guidance material.

When Moon Detective is completed I want to find a print on demand store to offer real copies of my comics and I would like to offer other items, too.
Imagine a SFW or NSFW calendar, mousepads, pillows, figurines... whatever is possible.

And at last I think about reviving the idea of a visual novel game. I have a very good friend who made a demo game for me featuring Sebastian and Stefano Roivas. The demo is about 2 years old and I think I kept it's existence a secret.
But I really think about creating a proper game based on one of my OC universes.
Moon Detective, Knights in Japan, Radogien's Magic School... well the choice would be the one, where the programmer and me see the most potential for a game.

Nevertheless. if you read this far you can write me a comment, what kind of game you would like to see. KIJ, MD or something else?

Time for thank yous and hugs

This is the end of my recap journal. If you like you can write me your personal opinion of the past year or what you would like to see in 2023.

Thank you for your loyal support! <3
And thank you very much for reading.
*werewolf hugs*