Pulling Weeds for an Ideal Future (Patreon)

Wanted to give you all an update about what's going on of late. For starters, picture news. I'm about half-done with the Tracer picture. The sketch is done, and the background composed and partially painted. I was hoping to have this picture, and more, done before the New Year, but the holidays and their many interruptions, intervened.

I shouldn't make it out to be a bad thing though. I've dealt with a bunch of much needed and neglected self-maintenance; everything from cleaning out email inboxes, to sorting through and preserving art files, reading neglected books, I even put up a couple of flimsy shelves above my desk (which will undoubtedly rip from the wall and crater their contents on the Wacom 27QHD I just setup—another improvement I bought and setup over the holiday break.) 

So, there's lots of energetic motion, but none that's particularly productive when it comes to making art, nothing directly anyway. I'd argue having a life in disarray creates infinite unforeseen time-pits. Better to deal with the potential pitfalls on your terms. Pave them over, smooth out the path ahead. That's what I've been doing.

Where does that leave us? In a bit of limbo at the moment. I need a bit more time for self-reflection and maintenance before I ready to devote myself to the task of making new things. It’s a bit like cleaning up and mapping destinations before a trip. I need to figure out where I'm going before shifting into drive. I imagine many of you are doing the same at the moment. If the arbitrary delineation of the New Year serves any function, it's one of reflection and goal-setting...and getting drunk...and buying storage containers and weight-loss equipment. (I won't be doing the later this year, I think.) 

Since the Priscylla Bee Suit pic was the only thing posted of late, it's all that'll be charged for this month. That's our 'special' backer/artist pact ;). The art files still need to be sorted and compiled. Expect them at the usual time, near the beginning of January.

Where to go in 2018? Resolution time, I suppose. I have a couple of upcoming pictures to finish, Tracer and the Lyndis collaboration with Mina, that much is known. For what comes after that, more art of course. I'll pick some topics, and have you guys help decided on others. It'll be a grand time. Let's wallpaper over the ugly façade of existence with arousing beauty. 

Potential stuff:

In the past I've had people ask about art books and dakimakura. Both are possible, but both are mass production objects, though with dakis the art and productions requirements can be fairly small. In either case, I should really "up" my notoriety up before delving into those areas. Manufacturing, shipping, and selling are all a pain and processes unto themselves, though the results can be pretty awesome. For instance, I'm still very happy with how the Cecilia & Minerva dakis turned out a couple of years ago. Sometimes I unfurl Cecilia just to gaze at her five (or so) ft. of art (and erect futa cock) in astonishment. 

And speaking huge painful erections, I've had an ache to make a book on drawing hentai art in theory and practice...a sort of half-philosophical half-technical manual. Something of almost no commercial value that no one will care about beside me and ten other people. Perhaps this Patreon could be a dumping ground for any such slag. You guys want to occasionally read blog style articles with observations on the pervert arts, break downs on style, comparative analysis of tit proportions? It would be my treat.

Of late, I've also been attempting to record process videos. I appreciate watching other artists laboring (usually at 10X speed). From the standpoint of a student, there’re always things to learn watching other pros create—procreate. Anyway, the baroque discipline of video capture, editing, and compression is a black art I've only begun to explore. OBS, Sony Vegas, I want to 'meet' you. Despite the many challenges, I am making headway, so expect vids to migrate into the reward zones soon.  

Then there’re projects like the Priscylla game that I'd love to pursue. It's become something of a personal quest for the unholy grail. I suppose I'd have to plow all other commitments aside, and devote my existence to its attainment. It just seems so vast and vague a quest that I hardly know where to start. This also explains why that while I've mentioned a Priscylla game in the past, I've only ever made tentative drafts at the enormous work of architecture that any game must become. Still I do have drafts, and they might serve as a foundation for something. Will 2018-24 be the year(s) of the Priscylla game project? Probably not, but why not openly discuss it and foster a false sense of hope for something potentially neat. 

Other stuff in bulleted list fashion:

· Devote more time to figure and anatomy studies

· Devote more time to painting imagery using photos and props as study tools

· More drawing and painting in general. Doesn't Mina inspire you?

· Balance out raunchy and appeal, find the zone that suits me best

· Develop a 3d character model for general learning and as a helpful prop

· Pursue more limited run prints and other special merchandise that's fun to make/have

· Spend more time talking with other artists/humans since people are amazing and making art is lonely, often alienating

· Release my brush files already (getting that together by sorting through the brushes at the moment)

· Get my Patreon numbers up through necessary promotion so I can handle life expenses and start throwing support to other creators I appreciate.

If you've read this far, I applaud you while simultaneously deeply bowing and apologizing. Communication, some people have the skill, some people don't. This was my attempt at transmitting my current status and some dreams for the future. Sorry I couldn't keep it under 500 words. Hopefully it was mildly entertaining or at least interesting. Now you know my mind. It's like we've been sitting together some place cozy, sipping coffee, while I prattle at you in an unbroken torrent of words for a half-hour. Isn't it wonderful? Okay, you're free to go have fun and find yourself. You can also leave a message below if you'd like to add a second dimension to this one-sided conversation. 

Thanks for your attention and support throughout 2017. Made some nice looking stuff this year and I'm looking forward to making more lewd beauties in 2018. Please look forward to seeing them. ;) 

Take care, 

-Ecchistar!