The last journal was a lot of pretty necessary emotional off-loading. Sorry about that, but I do have to stop and remind myself that I'm human every now and then. I just needed to get things written down so I could move on.
Now that we've done that, let's go over some of the news from this past few months
6,000,000 Views
Good golly, I don't know how we missed this, but apparently we slipped past the big 6 Mil. How in the heck!?
With everything that has been happening, I guess it hasn't felt like we've been that active here (even though we've been working non-stop). It is deeply humbling that so many of you still care to follow me and enjoy my art.
SubcribeStar - Archive Available
In order to comply with SubscribeStar's latest Prohibited Content Policy changes, we have removed all of our content from their website, and will be releasing it via other methods going forward.
For those who wish to download an archive of these posts, there is a ZIP archive available here. The password is SubscribeStar
Given the quantity of posts involved, I would not count on them being posted any other way. Please download them while you are able.
Patronage - Going Forward
Moving forward, we will no longer be sharing exclusives or early access for paid subscribers, and will be returning to sharing all content publicly through sites like BlueSky, InkBunny, and FurAffinity. (It may take us a minute to get back to speed with posting, so please bear with us)
There will still be WIPs, doodles, previews, memes, incomplete works, etc. that get shared through our Telegram Channel.
What this (hopefully) means is that you should now receive the same rewards everywhere, whether you use FanBox, SubscribeStar, Patreon, or Ko-Fi. With any luck this will spread the damage the next time Payment Processors decide to get their panties in a knot.
New Patron Rewards
We've updated our reward tiers to reflect the changes mentioned above. Things are a bit simpler now, with more of a focus on one-time rewards like credits, name tags, avatars, badges, and cards (for FanBox).
This is a bit of a scary change for us, since we pay our bills through our art. The stable income from patrons is a lot of what gets us by month to month, as well as freeing up time for bigger projects like comics, animations, 3D Modeling, and game dev.
We want to make sure our patrons feel seen and rewarded, but our primary tools for doing that were just taken away... so if you have any ideas for rewards, please let us know!
Merchandise
I'm not sure if we ever formally announced it here, but we've partnered up with StickyPaws to sell physical merch, including shirts, stickers, dakis, etc...
If there is any particular merch you'd be interested in, please let us know! We've only got a small selection right now, but we'd love to expand it.
Commissions
Don't worry, these aren't likely to go anywhere anytime soon. We're just hoping that other income streams can lessen this burden, so we can focus more on community projects.
We are continuing to alternate new and old slots to keep things moving forward, but there is still a backlog from last year that we are catching up on. If you have any questions about an existing slot, please feel free to reach out.
Streaming
Streaming will probably continue to be sporadic, so make sure you are watching our Telegram Channel for announcements.
As fun as these are, they take a lot of mental/social battery that has been pretty rare these days... Sorry I haven't been more active with it.
The Discord Dilemma
It seems they've delayed for the moment, but Discord is proving an increasingly unsafe and hostile place to be. It looks like there are a handful of alternatives people are gravitating towards...
How do we feel about Fluxer? Are there others we should consider? Do we continue to have a discord for those who want it, or should we bail completely? When is the second episode of Steel Ball Run going to release!? HALP
Doxxed, I guess
Speaking of chuds and privacy violations, it seems like I was doxxed a few months ago. Or rather, an attempt was made... They didn't really find anything that wasn't public already, but it still doesn't feel great. General reminder that there are spiteful little gonads out there with too much time and too little ethics. Be safe on the internet, y'all!
The 'Ice Breaker' Art Pack
So, this one was more of a difficult decision, especially given how much external help we got in assembling it...
Basically, during the 5 months that I was imprisoned without cause by ICE, I had a lot of time to write and draw. In total there are 441 pages of content that were made during that time. There were a lot of gifts and letters for loved ones, yes... but there is also a ton of vent art. A lot of fear, self-loathing, doubt and uncertainty. I didn't know if my life was going to end or not...
To put it bluntly, we've decided we won't be releasing any of this. These were made for a lot of reasons, but sharing it with the public wasn't one of them. Not only is there a lot of personal feelings and negative emotions in there... to be honest, I am not ready for whatever slew of questions and comments that people would have for us. It feels like a way to make that trauma stay evergreen, when all I really want is to move on and try to forget that it happened.
The people I made those things for have seen them, and that is going to have to be enough. Maybe someday I will change my mind, but for now I'm just not ready.
AnthroExpo - My first furcon
Not much to say, except I was there. I was kinda shy, and we didn't go every day, but I still had a lot of fun. Also, I might have discovered an enjoyment of pool toys... You guys have been holding out on me here!
I don't know when my next one will be, but I am looking forward to doing that again. Hopefully I'll be able to travel by then and we can meet up with some friends.
Community Projects
The goal for merch/patrons isn't working less or making more money. In truth, the hope is that it will free up time and energy to work on more community oriented projects, rather than singular commissions. We would love to be doing work that has more broad appeal, like comics, animations, 3D models, Game Dev, etc.
For starters, that should involve an appearance in
's upcoming e-zine. It will hopefully be reminiscent of Soft Paw Magazine, and is focused on more niche/taboo kinks like cub. It is still in the early stages, but we look forward to some good things happening there.
We'd love to hear any other ideas you guys have. Are there any cool events or projects we should look into? What kind of content would you like to see? What are some fun game or tools that people are needing? Let us know!
...
Above all, Alaric and I hope that you are all staying safe out there. The world has been crazy for a while now, so we've all got to stick together. Be kind, be strong, and be proud!
I'd still like to see some traditional work from you. I've gotten curious. Also doxxed? Man this scapegoating crap and that people keep buying into this millennia-old political tactic pisses me off.
I'd still like to see some traditional work from you. I've gotten curious. Also doxxed? Man this sca
Oh I remember Softpaw Magazine <3 I'll need to keep an eye out for this e-zine. I wish I was further along in my coding stuff, I have some game dev things I'd like to get to and would love a talented artist like you to work on the visual aspect of things. Glad you're getting back into the swing of things!
Oh I remember Softpaw Magazine <3 I'll need to keep an eye out for this e-zine. I wish I was further
Regarding chat platforms -- Matrix is by far the best option in terms of resiliency and stability, especially if you guys are willing and able to host your own homeserver. I would not rely on any of the half-dozen discord clones (fluxxer, root, stoat, etc. ) to be safe, stable platforms for our community.
Regarding chat platforms -- Matrix is by far the best option in terms of resiliency and stability, e
