September updates and plans (Patreon)

Hello everyone! Let's jump straight into things.

First off, I've been continuing to work a bit slowly, but my goal of finishing (at least) one project per month has been going well, with "Bunny - irresistible indulgence, part 5" being the latest for this month. Quite happy with the results, not as exciting a piece as some others but it's one of my bigger projects in a while and more story-focused than previous works as well.
As I've mentioned here and there, I'd like to do a bonus follow-up later on too, though it might not be for a bit! Halloween will be coming next month, and as I said, I'm still going a bit slow with things, so I don't want to push myself too hard and get stuck as I have in the past.

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On that note... The past week has been a bit rougher than most, too. One of my artworks was flagged and deleted from DeviantArt, and my contest of the decision was dismissed straight away as well, which is demoralizing to say the least. As a result, I've gone through my gallery there and cleaned out a bunch of older works for some peace of mind; I've also resumed my gallery on Eka's Portal, as despite my issues with the site, the general safety of having less rules is much more welcome nowadays. Still, it's not been a fun week to navigate with renewed worries over the fact that websites can arbitrarily decide to delete or ban whatever they please, so I've been staying a bit low.

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With that said, I'm planning to take a bit of time off for the next week or two, since my main September project is already complete and I have some time before October starts up. Likely not any noticeable change to those of you following and supporting me here, but I feel like it's something to announce all the same! Even if it's partially for my own benefit, to put it in writing that I'm supposed to be taking some time off. (Possibly some personal projects all the same, but only if the mood strikes me; for the past few days I've not been feeling especially inspired, and with the weather being super nice I don't want to be stuck indoors too much either.)

I'd also like to take some time to just... evaluate what my plans in general are going to be going forward. I still enjoy making art, and I'm super thankful to have options around like Patreon (and alternatively, SubscribeStar) to take what would otherwise be a potentially expensive hobby and turn it into something that actually offers some stability. But it's also stressful with the parts that aren't stable, especially lately, and the simple fact that... I like making art, not being my own accountant and marketing lead and all of that. Maybe it's time to start looking at other jobs I can start on and let the art continue being something I enjoy, rather than struggling to force it to be something I can make a living off of. (Patreon doesn't allow pages to display their income like they used to, but I can just tell you now that this page makes roughly $120 a month, which is... nice for being able to buy more 3D models and that sort of thing, but not really enough for even just food.)
Rather than trying to force that number up by tenfold, simply finding some other source of work that I can enjoy, that pays more regularly, feels a lot more feasible. And so long as I still have free time for myself, the art would of course keep coming. ^^

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Of course, October will be resuming as usual! I haven't decided on this year's Halloween piece yet, only that I do intend to make one, plus that potential bonus for the Bunny sequence and finishing writing a story/blurb to go with the previous post. Just because I'm taking a work break for a week or two doesn't mean I can't still make some plans for those projects, too!

Enjoying the coming autumn weather and working on some of the other outstanding projects in my day-to-day life will be the priority for a bit, while I'll be letting my mind unwind a bit and let some of my inspiration come back in. And hopefully you'll all be enjoying things wherever you all are as well, whether it's nicer weather or good time for projects and hobbies. <3