Year in Review - 2023 (Patreon)

It's the end of 2023, and it's time to reflect on the year and self-evaluate! This year, we saw some climactic encounters, met some new and sexy characters, and began the journey into new locations in search of new pleasures!

Let us begin!

The significant milestones for the year have been the continuing progress on the Devout storyline, following Jessica and Cassandra as they come to grips with the intruding erotic forces in their lives, and an Inner Demons Interlude, featuring Cameron's pursuits after her arc in volume 1 of Inner Demons last year.

This year, we shared a few short comics with wolf girls and nuns and discovered what happens when you try to break up with your succubus girlfriend.

We met new characters like Sister Monika, Saint Rachele, The Den Mother, and Devabog. We learned more about the Order of the Silver Shadow and spent more time with Asenath and Minerva.

Overall, it was a very lucrative year for discovering new favorites while appreciating the old ones.

Let's take a look at this year's shortcomings.

We began the year by restructuring the patreon rewards and adding some rewards to the page, such as special editions of specific illustrations, access to the Legacy archive, and special commission offers and cameos of patrons' OCs.  While I was able to fulfill these rewards semi-regularly in the early part of the year, at the end of this year, I had fallen off track, and special editions became less frequent. I hope to remedy that in 2024 with more focused alternative versions of pinups and extras, such as lore documents and maps I've been working on and reworking and trying to perfect. At the time of this posting, character cameos are set and in the works for upcoming appearances in the current run of Devout. Rest assured, those who have made their pledges will get their rewards in due time.

If there's one thing I suck at, it's posting my art consistently on social media and other sites. I try to respond to all your messages and comments as I see them on Patreon and Discord, but this year has been particularly stressful. I apologize if I haven't responded quickly enough.

2023 was a particularly trying year for me and my family at home. We lost a very dear family member at the beginning, and it set in motion a divide among the adults that still has not truly healed or resolved itself. We've had severe illnesses plague the house and hospital trips, and even more life-altering events that have depleted our financial resources and have resulted in the need for me to pick up a day job. Luckily, the job is familiar and easy to work into my schedule. Things never turn out as expected, and we must adapt to survive. Excuses or not, I'll try to do better with interaction this year.

So let's talk about the future!

I'm always thinking about Spellbound and its future stories that I want to share. I'm constantly replaying scenes, character developments, and transformations I'd like to put on the page. In the past, I've posted little story blurbs for patrons to vote on or given little outlines of future chapters I'd like to get into. And if you go back and read those, you can see how much those ideas have changed from when I initially proposed them and how they ended up in the final comic. It shows how much these stories evolve and change as they go. However, It can be a little disappointing for some to see old ideas cast aside.

So, going into 2024, I'd like to share a story chart of the content I have cooking for Spellbound. This is to give you guys an idea of what stories to expect after a comic concludes its run. I won't share plot details like before, but chapters and volumes to better manage expectations:

• First, we will finish Devout Chapter 3, concluding Devout Vol 1.
• After that, we will return to Cameron and Minerva with Inner Demons Chapter 4, Vol 2
• For short stories, we'll finish our intro to Devabog and continue to explore the Order of the Silver Shadow with a new leg of the Convert comic.
• Wicked Hunter was interrupted this year and has more to tell, so I'd like to get back into it.
• I'll also be teasing a new Spellbound story branch focusing more on monsters and creatures. This I am calling the Broodlands, the successor to the Outer Demons short comic from years past.

All this and more, as I'm sure I'll have some unplanned creative detours along the way as they develop.

I hoped to have a graphic that better displays this information by now, but I will have to put it off till next month to kick off the new year. Please note these are plans for 2024 and onward. I'm sure there will be hiccups and delays, as there's always something in the way of progress. But progress will be made one way or another with your support!

So what do you guys think? Do you think I'm too hard on myself? Do you think I need to work harder? Do you have a favorite art piece from this year? What are you excited to see next year?

Leave a comment or send me a DM, and let me know!

Arkuras