2022 - A year in review (Patreon)

2022 was a rough year for a lot of people in reality. However, in our fantasy booba world, it was pretty good. :)

We hit some new milestones this year, especially in December. Just before the end of the month, we hit an all time new high of 418 patrons! I am truly humbled by the generosity of my fans. I am thankful for all of you every single day. That is not an exaggeration. Every job, even this one, has its flaws and challenges, but I listen to my friends talk about their workplaces and consider myself extremely fortunate that I get to do this. 

And that would not be possible without all of you! :)

So truly, from the bottom of my heart, thank you so much!!!

I consider 418 to be a real milestone, despite the fact that it dropped down to 333 two days later. :P

That is just how Patreon works. I am still humbled beyond belief that we even hit that number. I never thought I would ever see something like that when I started this a few years ago. A few years ago? It might actually be closer to 5 or more years now. I have honestly lost track. Lol!

We saw a few changes this year. I feel like the quality of my work has taken another step forward. I changed to an all full-page format. I know some of you prefer the multi-panel pages, but I honestly find it easier to produce in the new format. I certainly produced more this year than ever before, in addition to increasing the quality. I hope to continue that trend in 2023: more content and better content.

And I also think my writing improved slightly this year. I took some advice and feedback from my fans, as well as other artists, and worked to reduce the Narration on some panels. I have always enjoyed reading a more detailed description of the action to go along with the images, but I think it was very valid feedback when I was told that was repetitive - that the image said all that needed to be said and that reading an additional description was distracting.

I mean I am producing comics, not stories with a few accompanying images. As the old saying goes, "A picture is worth a 1,000 words".

Although we lost almost 100 patrons over two days at the end of the month, I am going to consider the 400 patron goal to have been met. That means I will be adding a "choose your own path" style story to the production queue. I have not entirely decided how I am going to do this yet. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

I also have a few other projects that have been rolling around in my head for a few years now. One of those is to create a visual novel. I would really like to start work on that this year. Maybe that is what I should do as the "choose your own path" project. 

I would also like to start producing longer and more detailed animations. However, I would need a much more powerful computer in order to be able to add that to my workflow. Still, I set a new goal of 500 consistent patrons. What do I mean by that? I mean 500 patrons by the 4th of 5th of a new month, after the massive loss I always experience at the end of a month.

If we can hit that goal, then I will invest in some new gear, start looking for voice actresses, and potentially purchase some new software (such as Adobe Creative Suite). All so we can start doing some longer and more detailed animations. Who knows? Maybe I will even start work on a motion comic?

That is another of the projects that I really wanted to do at one point, but that idea was born out of a piece of software that doesn't exist any longer: MotionArtist from SmithMicro. There are other softwares out there that can perform a similar function, but I am not even sure which of those to use or look at. They all seem quite a bit more complicated.

Blender. I really want to learn Blender. It has been on my to-do list for a long, long time. I think 2023 might be the year to pull the trigger on this. It's a very daunting project to me, but it could mean a lot if I can wrap my head around it. It has the potential to enable me to do manual morphing again, like I used to do in Poser. Which could potentially enable me to do better boob squishes, clothing dents, boobie bulges, and a host of things. This would, however, also mean longer production times (I think?) which would likely mean less content, but content of a higher quality.

There is some real potential there, but I am unsure how it would ultimately affect my ability to produce. It would sure be fun to find out though! :)

DeviantArt. I originally built my following on DeviantArt (DA) and there is no denying that. I am so grateful to all of those fans as well, but I really thought I would end up getting kicked off of there and banned when they were sold to WordPress a while back. That has not happened, and I feel like I really need to be more active on there.

I have continued to post free comics, but irregularly at best. I have been thinking about adding a subscription tier to DA, and 2023 might be the year to do that as well. We will just have to see. There is only so much I can do, and I have already listed so many things. :)

Long story, short. There is a lot that I still want to do, and some of it is definitely coming this year. I am aiming to be bigger and better than ever (pun intended), so hang on because this should be one hell of a ride! 

Thank you again, and I hope this year is amazing for all of you! :D

All my love,

MRPX