State of DeeJ Update - January 2023 - Visual Novel, Plans etc (Patreon)

First off, I hope you all have had a fantastic holiday season!
This update is gonna be word and topic heavy, so sit down with a nice cuppa and settle in, I'd appreciate it if you would read the whole post!

After a lot of consideration, I've decided to cancel the Sweet Soothe Spa Visual Novel Project.

This announcement has been a long time coming, and given the lack of regular updates over the year, it might not be a surprise to some, though I know it's also a disappointment to people as well.
I've struggled with attention span issues all my life, it's one of the reasons why what I draw is so varied as I get bored with things quickly, and I assumed that having a Patreon goal would help me keep motivated on a considerably larger project.
It unfortunately didn't, and it's negatively impacted my mental health and caused stress for months, knowing that it's just sitting there vastly unfinished after a year, while my regular work also suffered as a result.

So what happens now?
The art assets I did create will be uploaded here eventually, and some possibly repurposed for future things.

Will I try another project?
I'm not sure, not right away, obviously.
I've considered working on a much smaller project, a pixel art exploration of Queen Vythica's castle or something in RPG Maker (since it's not heavy on drawn artwork and would be a reprieve from regular art), though I don't wish to commit to anything right now for obvious reasons.

With all that said, I'm deeply sorry to everyone who was looking forward to it, and understand completely if you wish to unsubscribe from my Patreon too.
I screwed up on this one.

So with that out of the way, what's my plans for 2023?

I'm wanting to focus on doing regular art again, be it commissions or my own ideas, and I'm still doing the monthly Patreon Reward Images since I genuinely love doing them.
Likewise, I would also like to do more OC related art in 2023, especially branch out more on underdeveloped things like my RPG-Verse with Queen Vythica, Gank, Ormah etc, as well as create some reference sheets to solidify my OC's designs/quirks.

In general, I want 2023 to be more about fun, a return to art being less of a constant stress on the mind and more something I love to make.
I'm kicking that off with a return to Zeta and Vira at the start of January, and hoping to keep an enjoyable, healthier mindset going throughout the year to come.

In general, 2022 was a very mixed bag for me.
I had some of my highest and lowest moments in 2022, my mental health has been a constant issue throughout the year, and it was my least productive art year in my time doing NSFW, but I'm hoping with the cancellation of the Visual Novel and a focus on healthier thinking/work ethic, I can improve this year and create some cool stuff for you all.
Patreon has been very successful this year, entirely thanks to all of you amazing people, and I do look forward to drawing more Reward Images in 2023.

The $5 tier has lost its main benefit, so I'll possibly either retire that tier, or just keep it up as an option for those who wish to donate more to me each month and still get $2 benefits. (Which is super appreciated, by the way.)

I hope you'll all stick around despite this bummer of an update right before the start of the new year, and I appreciate you all bearing with me while I try to get my head in gear.
Some good stuff is on the horizon, and it's gonna be fun.