#i do commissions btw :) give me money

[aeriona]

✧-⫷ TRIUMVIRALITY ⫸-✧

(Total drawing time: 12 hours, 49 minutes)

Alternate colours under the cut:

I couldn’t decide whether i liked the yellowed old-timey version or the original unedited blues, so you guys get both :).

[neonhellscape]

fyi thanks for interest in pasqal axe spinny standees, i got enough people interested to warrant an order which is pretty cool. i gotta wait until friday before deciding when exactly i do this [i am potentially moving house. i should be moving house. this is the third attempt now i do not trust it will go smoothly. i dont exactly wanna start up a preorder before being certain of my address to recieve the stuff] so i'll keep you all posted on that.

i've also got a design for a pasqal charm, heinrix doing a presentation sticky notes, and considering a couple prints since [to my surprise] there was interest in that. gestures wildly im looking at getting stuff made via vograce, if you want something specific let me know i'll see what i can do !! im also considering commissions so if youre interested let me know

[isdalinarhot]

My commission post got some traction from normal non cosmere blogs which I do not know. But only people who know me personally have commissioned me. Which idk if that speaks to my artistic abilities or rather just speaks to the universal truth of “people on tumblr will spread posts in which users ask for money but very few will actually send money”. And like no hate about that, I know that donating money to a stranger probs kinda feels weird for most people. But god it sure is disheartening

[moonfurthetemmie]

I hope one day I have the will to practice drawing and git gud so I can make some evil little bastards kiss after trying to beat the shit out of each other. Because there’s only so much you can do with words

…especially when you have not ever kissed anyone and all your knowledge comes from bad fics written by other people who have (likely) never kissed anyone

[hkthatgffan]

Hey, Kiki-Kit. Your customers are waiting!

Well, this is a painful post to make given the respect and admiration I had for her, but a long overdue one because I'm not alone in this mess and I refuse to let another fan fall for it when I could've said something!

Back in February, I bought a commission from Kiki-Kit. You may know that artist as she was one of the best in the Gravity Falls fandom back in the day and the illustrator of Don't Dimension It in Lost Legends.

She'd been running emergency commissions at the start of the year and I got one from her for $40 USD.

I have the invoice and everything saved and also messages with Kiki of us talking about the comm and me paying her. I owe nothing on my end money wise! I paid in full.

She said later she'd have them finished by around the end of March but come late April, still no response. So, I messaged her about it. Nothing odd I thought. I get things can happen and if Kiki is busy, at most she'd reply telling me it'll be a while longer and all's good.

But I got nothing. I messaged her, emailed her on the commissions email she had and tweeted at her. NOTHING! Turns out there were other people, including some friends of mine who had not heard back either. Then in June, Kiki made an update post explaining the situation.

Naturally I felt bad and wished her the best. She said iirc, she'd have the remaining comms done by the end of the Summer but here we are at the end of October and still nothing. I messaged her too again and no response.

You know, it's one thing if there's a reason for no response for a few days but then another when it's been months and still nothing. Oh and btw, I very much remember Kiki on Twitter liking tweets (back when Twitter let you see liked tweets) while I was there messaging her for an update. Real sus if you ask me.

But okay, I shouldn't rush it. Everyone has reasons to take time and maybe Kiki is just very busy and can't get back. She went through a very rough and difficult experience and I can understand and respect that. I'm more than happy to wait. But how long is too long without an update? Maybe a bit longer I guess. Art takes time.

Well, IDK about you all, but I don't remember any other Gravity Falls fan artist taking oh, idk...FIVE YEARS TO FINISH A COMMISION AND STILL NOT RESPOND!!

FoxieSkullzArtz on Twitter made me aware she has been waiting since 2019 for Kiki to respond to a commission they paid her for.

2019!!

I'm not an artist, so forgive me if I'm wrong. But I don't think it should take any artist 5 years to make a commission and even if, at least communicate with the person who paid you about it so they're not left guessing.

Oh, and it gets worse. I got another person who let me know they've been waiting since 2020 for a comm and Kiki handled it far worse!

Oh yeah, she blocked them for asking about it!

And okay, even if we give Kiki-Kit the benefit of the doubt and assume she has reasons to not communicate with people and maybe even assume people messaging her are being mean about it, then why not refund them? Nice or bad, you were paid by them to do something but also have the power to deny it and refund their money. And yet, Kiki did not even do that. And even if we be super kind and assume everyone is lying, I'm still here.

I paid Kiki-Kit $40USD for a comm I thought I would get in late March and it's now late October and still nothing. And even if you don't wanna believe me cause you can't believe an artist like Kiki-Kit would do this and assume I'm after clout (which would be odd, given why would I take pleasure in calling out an artist I respected)...well, there's gonna be someone else who says this too. And people have been saying this for years and she still is getting away with it!

It's disappointing honestly. Kiki-Kit is a name so many in this fandom know and love. And I love her art too. She's a fan artist who got to be on Lost Legends. We all celebrated that in 2018 and still remember it. And I know how hard it may be to hear this, but it has to be said.

I do not like having to do this, but I have a platform that can get this message across further than others could and having been someone who lost money to her too, I know first hand what all these people have been through.

And before you say "Kiki was going through a rough time in her life. Why are you blaming her? Be patient and she'll get your stupid art done," read over everything again. I'm not saying Kiki-Kit needs to be making art 24/7 and fulfilling these comms. I'm not saying she isn't allowed to be offline and not finish things on time for reasons out of her control. What I'm saying is that she hasn't communicated properly with anyone here who paid her and has continued to accept more and more commissions from people despite not finishing ones she has backlogs of.

When an artist opens commissions, why do you think they have slots or only accept a few? Because they know they can get that many done in a certain time or know anymore will take longer. And even if it took longer, at least they give updates. I bought a commission for the interview with Alex Hirsch and got it both on time and with proper communication from the artist.

And even if you disagree with all this, be honest with yourself...is making someone wait since 2019 or 2020 for a comm and not responding to them really something still worth defending?

I'm not here to cancel anyone. I don't want Kiki-Kit's reputation to be that of an scammer who stole money from people. But she's painted herself that way to far too many people who have been warning about this for ages but no one either saw or listened to them.

I tried to be nice and messaged Kiki-Kit over and over for an update and she never responded. I had friends who she took money from who similarly have not heard anything back! If you know Kiki directly, tell her to reach out to these people and all the ones she has taken money from and not gotten back to and either refund them or commit to finishing their commissions. Please don't be rude or hostile either though, given despite it all, she is still a person like your or me who deserves a chance to make things right.

I wanna believe Kiki-Kit has just made some negligent mistakes and isn't the best with time management or communication. I mean, I'm not the best either. But I'm not asking people for money for something and then not getting back to them with it. I'm sorry to everyone who is learning about this who saw Kiki in a positive light and I'm sorry also to everyone like me who lost money to her.

I hope if nothing else, Kiki will respond and make whole everyone she has taken money from. If she really cares about this fandom that put her on a pedestal high enough that Alex Hirsch himself picked her to work on his book, she can respond to us and fulfill what we paid her to do.

I'm not asking for my commission to be done tomorrow...I just want an update. That's all. We all do! No more stalling, @kiki-kit. Please respond to us now!

Sincerely,

Every person who has paid you for a commission and has yet to hear back from you and every Gravity Falls fan who your work inspired and are now having to learn this about you!

[ghostcrows]

hi and btw i do art commissions

check out my art here and here and dm if interested or submit requests through my ko-fi

places you can give me money in exchange for goods and services (or for fun):

PP: skeevantas@gmail.com

CA: $ghostcrows

i am a guy of many debts and bills and generally an all around poor person so it all helps tremendously...thanks you for your time, i'm also posting some examples below for people who hate clicking links

[lesbian-cowpoke]

Hi! I'm Cowpoke, I do art n stuff, and I am in seed of money so...

Semi Emergent commissions are open!

Now cowpoke, what is a semi emergent commission? Well. A lot of emergency commissions I see are like, ppl going to be evicted, and I'd feel bad if I labeled my situation an emergency so. Semi emergency. My moots and those who have followed me for a bit would know that I'm a uni student, and disabled, making it very hard for me to get a job. And I live in a city with terrible public transportation, so. I have to drive myself. And gas costs money, of which I have none. I also have to buy a textbook that I can't "legally" get online (I have to write in it n stuff, tear out pages for lab) so, I also need money for that.

So: Commissions!

Here are examples of my art (tumblr destroys the quality but if I give you the image via like dms or smth it is better)

The first two are unshaded, while the last one is shaded.

Pricing:

Bust (Shoulders/mid chest) $9

Thigh $10

Fullbody $12

Add another character +$4

Add shading +$1

What I don't/can't do:

I won't do incest, pedo, other such things

I can't do NSFW, backgrounds (I can try but I make no promises), and detailed gore

My work is not for commercial use btw

Don't be afraid to ask for things!

I use cashapp mostly, but if you use another app I'll just make an account for it haha.

You can DM me for more info and stuff!

My goal is $40 (a full tank of gas)

50% or any money I make over $40 will be donated directly to a Palestinian family or charity (if you want you can choose which one, I can also provide recipts or whatever to the commisoner) (I would like to donate more but 40 bucks is only one tank of gas. I will need more in the future and I cannot get a job rn so. I'm doing what I can. I may donate more than 50% if I feel like I can.)

I'm sorry this is so long haha!

I mostly do dc art but I will draw like. Anything.

[taradactylus]

COMMISSIONS OPEN!

....EMERGENCY COMMISSIONS BTW-

So uh... Me and my family is struggling with a lot of financial problems, and it's taking a toll on our life badly. I'm searching for a job while studying on university, but the economics are making this a very hard task at the moment (I'm not giving up though!). I hate asking for help, but I have to. My parents are doing their best with the bills and trying to call everyone they need to pay about delays, they're making risky deals just so we (a family of 7 people) can survive, while we have barely anything to eat. I didn't have a normal meal in days and it's gonna go on and on and I have no idea if we can even stay in our house. So please. Anyone, I'm at a point where I'll draw anything except gore and political stuff, but I'm willing to go down with any ships for anyone, as many characters as you want, even just an OC sketch is enough. If you can't get a commission, a reblog is more than enough as well. I hate how miserable I am, but I have no idea what else I could do to get money. So uh... rules ohgod I've never done it like this before-

-I'll draw technically anything except gore and politic related things

-That means yes, I'll draw smut as well, but you must be 18 or older to get any short of explicit drawing

-Paying commissions are through Paypal, and we will discuss everything in private

-I'm literally open with anything, but I also need you to be specific about what you want so we can both end up having a great day

-Don't be rude please. I'm on meds but I'm also stressed out af, and I have no energy dealing with rude people

Examples of my works:

And for the prizes, I decided to make a chart that I hope is clear enough:

Backround comes free with the finished drawing, otherwise depending on what you want, we can discuss the prizes (but I don't think it would get expensive)!

If something is not clear, please let me know! You can message me here, or in Instagram (@mushrooms.and.potatoes) about the details!

So uh.. yeah that's about it I think-

goes to cry in a corner

[creations-by-chaosfay]

Dragon Age Fans!!!

Read below the poll for details regarding this.

PLEASE REBLOG!

Especially if you choose the first option. It makes no sense to choose it if you don't reblog. Where are you gonna tell me what character you want most if you don't reblog and include that info in the tags?

Now, for details...

I create character interpretations in my work, and I'm a hard-core Dragon Age fan. The game saved my life when my mental health got really dark.

Because of a bad fall, and stuff related to it, I'm unable to draw anymore. Now I make quilts. The interpretations are colors, prints, and symbols. At least, until I learn applique.

Here are examples of interpretations. Several were commissioned pieces, and the clients are very happy about the results.

The first is Odin/The Hanged Man. This was a commissioned piece, and one of few where I applied embroidery.

This one is an altar piece representing Brigid, a goddess.

This is a personal piece, a table runner serving as an altar mat for Halloween and the goddess call Hel or Hela. The light print has metallic gold skulls all over it.

This is a tarot interpretation of the tarot card called The Sun, and was part of a trade. Like the Odin piece, it has semiprecious gems and stones handsewn onto it.

This is a transgender tarot mat, also a commission.

This is an interpretation of my grandpa, made shortly after he passed away. My grandmother wouldn't accept it because it was too accurate and made her cry too much. Instead, I made it a prize for a giveaway.

This is a memorial piece, also a commission. I have semiprecious stones and gems handsewn to it as well.

This is Lady of Guadalupe, an interpretation. I can't remember if it was a commissioned piece or trade.

This last one represents the synesthesia I experience after tonic-clonic seizures. My synesthesia is normally my brain interpreting sound as texture, but it switches to seeing sounds. This is a song, but I can no longer recall the song

This should give you an idea of what I can do. Interpretation is a challenge I love to no end. As of making this, I've made a wallhanging representing Lucanis Dellamorte (the direct translation is Wolf of Death btw). I has a purple crow made with sparkly cotton, on a field of black shiny like polished leather, framed with a purple soft floral border. He's a Crow, a romantic according to devs, and his colors are purple and black. This will be listed in my shop, and soon I'll be working on another with reversed colors.

Emmerich is my next target, and it'll be skulls, blue, green, and possibly brown or off-white. Neve will likely have serpents, Taash will have wealth and/or dragons, Lace will have a bow and flowers, and I need to figure out the rest.

Feel free to include suggestions!l in the tags for the character you're most interested in!!!

Prices will vary by a lot. Size, design, materials, time, all of these will contribute to the final price. The work is worth the money though, that I can guarantee. There's a reason I gave repeat buyers and clients.

[nivylemongrove]

Asking for money gives me extreme anxiety but TL;DR: terrible mental health, underpaying job, financial stress, dying PC and a combination of long Covid fatigue + burnout makes me unable to do anything. I need help, if anyone can. paypal.me/nivylemongrove More details under the cut.

I work as a TV animator for a small studio that pays less than half the average animator wage in Canada. Only reason I'm staying is I live in a province that has absolutely nothing except part-time retail and construction jobs. Plus, a lot of shady hiring practices make it even harder to get employed. I can't use my PC to work because the hard drive is dying, so I have to draw with my laptop and mouse, which has been destroying my wrist and making me even slower. My wage is based on performance, btw.

I've also been struggling with long covid fatigue since December, constantly being thrown in and out of autism burnout as a result. Taking a simple walk is now so draining I get heart palpitations from it. I can't do anything, and seasonal depression pushed me further down to the point where my mental health has alarmed me. I have friends supporting me (including Sasha) so I'm safe, but this has taken a violent toll on our finances. We had funds we were saving to move out to BC. Those have been cut down 6 folds. They're almost entirely gone.

My plan was to take as many commissions as I could to tally us over and help keep us afloat, but I can't draw. My PC is an inch away from blowing up and I'm just so, so tired all the time. I can't do commissions. So despite my anxieties from receiving money from others, I just need to suck it up and ask for help. I'm disabled, mentally and physically at my limit, with very little access to my dying PC, and I just can't keep going like this. If you read all this, thank you. Any donation or reblogs will be very appreciated.

[50shadesofoctarine]

@goodomensafterdark and other people in the GO fandom,

Hey! I make free good omens content because I love sharing with you all, but I am trying to manage my finances as a 19 year old who was kicked out by their mum. I am safe, with a roof over my head, don't fret! But a little extra cash goes a long way. (At the end of this post I will show you how far.)

These are some examples of my art that you might recognise me from:

Anyway, if you're in a financial position to support me:

My commissions are open!! And my Patreon has paid tiers for $2, $5, and $7.

And if you aren't:

My Patreon has a free tier with lots of cool rewards and bonuses.

Plus, Reblogging this post is super helpful even if you can't directly donate. Maybe someone who follows you is in a position to support me.

How far does your money actually go?

Here are a few of my expenses:

Just $2 buys me a whole bag of expired bread at a local bakery. It's enough bread to keep me fed for a whole week!

My commute to work (I'm a pay-what-you-can tutor because I want to eliminate socioeconomic barriers to education. I have to take public transportation to my students' houses) costs me $10 every trip.

My internet bill is $39 a month.

$20 buys me 50 pages of the sketchbook paper I use.

Now, I am in a position where I don't need your support to pay for any part of my lifestyle. But holy fuck is it helpful. It means that I can start paying off my student loans, and that I can actually add to my savings account. (Btw, none of this is your responsibility. Don't feel obligated to maintain my financial decisions. I'm fine, I'm just giving you some insight into my life for the sake of transparency.)

Currently I make $28.75 a month from Patreon alone. I am so grateful for that. It is such a relief to have a bit of extra cash on the side, doing something I love.

If you want to know what my short term savings goal is, I want to buy a drawing tablet so that I can make comics more easily. Those can cost anywhere from 300-1000 dollars, so it'll be a while before I can afford it. Long term, I'm saving up for a deposit on a house. Is that a pipe-dream? Probably. But I'm nothing if not delusional.

Commission prices.

Patreon Link.

[azzumei]

2, plus 4.

-------------

a/n: no, no just imagine. JUST LOOKOK

what if..

xiao having quadruplets which are actually his siblings reincarnations?

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

genre: fluff

summary: a really cute and wholesome family

warnings: mentions of sex, giving birth, babies.

[name] indicates you, afab reader, xiao being strict ig, reader is immortal, kinda ooc xiao, SHORT BUT PLS BARE WITH ME IM NOT THAT CREATIVE AND IM NEW ::cry::

wc: over 100

the first time you met was the aftermath of a strong blizzard in the local villages.

you watched him, as he ate the snow from the blood stained ground, the sun shining upon you two.

his clothes, torn apart, wounds uncovered, scattered around his body and probably infected, his hair as messy as (your lif-) your cats litter box.

you approach him slowly, then you sat down right in front of him.

you gave him a piece of warm, fluffy bread that you had in your basket. He hesitated to take it at first but really, hunger was the main problem here. (like my mom in my lif-)

he ate it in a millisecond. (yum ig) then you offered to fix his appearance in your house that was just 2 blocks away.

he didnt cooperate at first, but when you offered a certain dish (which is almond tofu btw) that is as sweet as the dreams he, and similiar beings allegedly eat. (in your knowledge of course)

then he finally accepted.

you gave him a pair of shoes you were carrying in your bag so he can walk properly. (dora is that you)

when you both got there, you immediately gave him a bath (dw u didnt look at his penpen), fix his hair, gave him a new pair of clothes and make him satisfy his hunger (and ofcourse how could u forget the almond tofu?)

you gave him a room to sleep in, and tons of blankets.

he was comfortable, but he knew that he had to go.

when you woke up he just vanished.

you thought you probably finally made a friend, but they always just had to go.

---------------⠀♡

the second time you saw him was when he was training with his siblings, you didnt recognize him at first but you got there.

you saw that they needed a medic to assist the yakshas in the wounds that they receive in battles. good thing you practiced medicine.

you worked your way up to make him recognize you, and to atleast talk with him.

alas, you got what you wanted.

''you seem familiar, have we...met before?'' he asked.

''you have! do you remember me, alatus?''

''...''

''....?''

''i believe that i dont go by that name, atleast not anymore. so it seems that i have met you far back.''

''oh right! my name is [name]. do you now remember?'

''..i do remember you. i thank you for giving me...hospitality that day.''

''no problem, so uh, shall i continue treating you, general?''

''yes, yes you may.''

from that day onward, you both were talking everytime he went to your medic tent.

but nothing really lasts forever, yes?

you were rushing the civillians out of the blood painted space,

trying to treat the wounded as you are able.

the bloody screams haunted your ears, the blood splatters on your uniform and tainted hand in red, gave you terror.

your friend, the general alatus. being tortured by karmic debt, killing him slowly.

his siblings, all covered in blood.

you just had to.

you had to save him even if it means not seeing him

ever again.

⠀♡⠀♡⠀♡⠀♡⠀♡⠀♡⠀♡

now here you are, still haunted by that day, but doing quite well.

delivering herbs to baizhu..

doing commissions for extra money..

yeah but thats not it.

there was something wrong.

you had a goal, but you cant really make it up.

oh.

you want see him again.

you need him.

you searched for him day and night

and you finally got a clue, he apparently resided in wangshu inn.

you greeted verr goldet, then asked her if you could borrow the kitchen for a second. she allowed it, and you sprinted right onto the ingredient storage.

grabbing the ingredients for almond tofu, you started to make it.

once you were done, you didnt waste a single breath of going to the balcony.

you called his name and offered almond tofu.

and there he was, right in front of you.

''what do you need, morta-'' he froze. he looked at you up and down.

you were familiar to him, he knows that you both had a bond.

''general alatus, its me. do you remember?''

''of course i remember you, medic.''

then you started a friendship again. (wow its so fast)

strangers to friends, and now

friends to lovers.

you both were just close friends in mortals eyes.

but only if they knew what you both do in your shared bedroom.

xiao always asked during heated times or any part of the day actually, ''why would you be with me? why would you keep being here, by my side. knowing what i did, and my karmic debt-''

you always gave an answer that gave him warmth.

''because i would never even leave a wonderful being like you, i love you, xiao. so dont ever think about that.''

so uh anyway

but as xiao believed, he thought that you both should do those intimate, and close things as a married couple, to follow tradition and courtesy.

so you both wed each other.

xiao's proposal was sweet. short but meaningful.

your ring finger, now decorated with a jade band.

its been about.. 21 years since you have wed, 13 years as mere partners, 450 years since you were both just friends.

you both have spent a lifetime together, maybe longer than that i suppose.

you thought, that maybe life would be a lot more cheerful if you both had children.

you first presented the idea to xiao, he was hesitant at first but he agreed (he would do anything for you.)

so you gave it a try.

at the 3rd try, you were finally with child..ren..?

somehow, xiao sensed that there were more than just one.

they were not one, but four.

if you think xiao would be so overprotective over you even before you got pregnant, then you were wrong. he is 2x. wait no 10x even more protective than before.

when you just want to cook something for yourself, he stops you and he always said

''request the chef for some food, no need to make it yourself. its dangerous.''

''IM NOT PORCELAIN-''

*vanishes*

''...''

''YOU FUCKER-''

and when you want to go out to get some fresh air he is ALWAYS beside you.

''xiao, dear, can i just go out to the garden for a bit? its not like there are monsters around right?, plus you can clear them out in no time!''

''no. if you are willing to go out i will be beside you.''

but dw after your hours of scolding he finally accepts and just watches over you.

⠀✦⠀✦⠀✦⠀✦⠀✦

when your due date arrived, you both were just gazing upon the moon on the balcony.

the starlit sky being so beautiful, children playing happily, grass and flowers waving..

it was so peaceful.

then you asked:

''love, what names shall we give our children?''

''..im not good with names, i could ask mora- i mean zhongli to give some suggestions.''

''hmmm... since there are four of them, shall we give them the names of your siblings?''

''...''

''do you think it is a bad idea?--''

''no, no. I think its...wonderful.''

you both wrapped your arms in eachother,

while you notice something was kind of...

a watery sensation?-

oh.

''xiao, i think my water just broke.''

''whAT.''

--------------------------

and there he was panicking.

what if something happened to you? or what if something happened to your children?

what if-

the sounds of new born babies crying occupied his ears.

and he was relieved.

''giving birth is tough-...they tore through my fucking pus- i mean what can i expect...the perks of giving birth..''

''love, get some rest. ill look after them for you.''

2 twin girls, and 2 twin boys.

huh, what a coincidence.

fin.

+++++++++++++++++++++++

a/n ; SORRY THIS WAS SO FUCKIGN SHORT I RAN OUT OF IDEAS but dont worry, i will make a fic about how they grew up, and how they are. anyway, thank you @c3lest14 for being my beta reader! and thank you for the wonderful art that was inspired by [name] in this fic:D

the art btw: (its so gorg)

ok ok goodbye every1<3 have a nice day

[bluestrawberrybunny]

Sooo, uuuhh this may or may not be the last ask I give to you for a while, since you're gonna opening commissions soon and I don't know everything will turn out (I'm always scared of change), but I'll still be here, just not interacting with your stuff, just like before °-°

So before I go (for a bit need I remind you), Silly doodle ^^

Yeeaaa, Eternity!Smg3 took "being a dear" to a whole other level

And this is the hellspawn form I was talking about way back :3

Anyways *disappears into thin air*

HE WENT FULL WENDIGO WTF??????

You can still interact though ^^ the commissions opening is because I'm running low on money and America's current trajectory is worrying me about the future job market and economy.

But I still might draw stuff for things if I feel like it. It'll just be line art only.

Do whatever makes you feel comfortable though ^^ (btw sorry I haven't responded to earlier asks I'm trying to get through them rn just been busy with work and shit)

[dokidokiliteraturegirls]

Important announcement, everyone... I'll be opening up a Patreon~!

I honestly thought I'd never make a post like this, but I guess you never know what life throws at you! And lately I've fallen on some hardship ^^;; you see, back in December I lost my job due to reduction of personnel. I didn't want to say anything about it for some time because I don't really talk about my personal life in public, and it was a bit of a dour topic to bring up during Christmas/New Year's. Don't worry about me btw, I'll be fine! But it'd be nice to have some extra income to help me get back on my feet while I look for a new job. As such, I've opened a Patreon page, for people who'd like to support me 💖

Now, I don't wanna make this post a house built on walls of text, but there's some stuff I really really wanna make clear!

1. Don't worry, the comic is not in jeopardy. Of course it'd be nice to have the extra money to buy a better drawing tablet before the one I'm using breaks down, but I'll finish Feel Less even if I have to draw the panels with a ballpoint pen on a napkin. So don't feel like if you don't support me the comic will end without a conclusion, okay?

2. I won't put my content behind a paywall. I've seen a lot of other webcomic artists offer bigger input opportunities and early chapter releases for paying patrons, but I don't think that'll work for Feel Less, since the story depends on everyone playing together and I don't like giving spoilers to select people. But I do want to make becoming a Patron worth your while though! So what you'll get is behind-the-scenes content, the chance to vote for what we play next on stream, a shoutout on the blog including a portrait of your choosing, and monthly commissions!

3. I don't want to make any of you feel like you owe me. This is something I really wanna stress. I know not everyone is in a financial position to support online creators they like, and I want you to know that that's okay!! You don't owe me anything. Just you being here reading and enjoying what I make is more than I could ask for 💖 If you can support me, that's super appreciated, but if you can't, don't feel like you're obligated~

Finally, if you want to support me in ways other than financially, I also have a twitch and youtube channel, so consider checking them out~ ^^ They're largely unrelated to the comic, but if you like my sense of humour and vibes, chances are you'll enjoy those too~

Thank you for your time! Remember that Feel Less is still scheduled to return on January 7th, and together, let's make 2024 the best year we've had yet~!! 🥰

-Yui 💖

[nomaxart]

Happy Birthday, Conway!

Happy 1st Birthday to Conway!

Yep! It is the 1 year anniversary of the release of version 0.01 (or whatever the versions were called back then) Let's have a talk, shall we? February 8th is when I uploaded and released it on itch. Why February 8th you may ask? Well, I had only planned January as an experimental month for myself, with the oil painting and the VN test. So I'd release it on february 1st... And then it, naturally, took longer. But I guess it works out so that we don't have the anniversary right on update release days.

The past 

And yeah, what a year it's been! Thank you to all of you first of all for making this possible. Quite simply it wouldn't be possible without the support of all you generous peeps here. As it turns out, developing a game is a fuckton of work, and if I would need to pay the bills through commission work or what have you there would be no way I'd find the time and energy to work on Conway on the side. And I've mentioned it before in a few places, but for a while around May, June-ish it did look really dicey. The first half of the year I was bleeding about 500-700 bucks a month of my savings. The game didn't really pick up and a good amount of my walks were spent contemplating just when I'd have to see a sign before pulling the plug. End of June? Maybe it's worth to stretch it to July? At the lowest point, we were about a month away from pulling the plug on Conway. But right around that time, the trend in people subbing here started to pick up. While it's only in the past month or two that I've reached the point where I'm not actively bleeding money each month, the trend was the bit I needed to see that maybe people are interested after all!

The present

I've attached the itch stats of the past year. So those of you who would like to have a peek can do so. As you can see, Update 10 was a massive success at least in terms of numbers for the game. Update 9 was already the first one to break the record for downloads that the release day set, but Update 10 got picked up by the algorithms and sat in the most popular furry games for a while. Soooo, yeah, quite chuffed with that spike! We'll see what the long-term effects are, but for now I just enjoy the aesthetic of -BIG SPIKE-. And yeah, the game as a whole is just sitting in a good spot. We've had about 12k downloads in total, around 80k page visits, and a rating of 4.8/5 with 127 ratings (which btw, easy way to help, is to leave a juicy 5* rating on itch. Does wonders for the placement of the game in the different categories on the site, plus it gives me a fuzzy feeling in my tum tum.) It's also been such a joy to see that all characters end up having their share of fans judging by comments and that nobody is left in the dry. Of course, some of them have a bit of an easier time, like Samuel and Julian being the more sociable lot they are, and just the screen time they've had so far. While others like Raj or Arthur are slower burns and even they get some mentions as the favorites of some people, and that just makes me chuffed. Naturally, they're designed to cover different interests and preferences, but I'm always nervous if the characters are good, resonate with people and hope that they can be fun to be around. So any time someone mentions a character it just makes me so goddamn giddy. Some of them will be difficult to handle with grace, and I'm not perfect, so I'm sure for at least one of the main cast what I've planned will fall flat, or I mess it up in some fashion. But fuck it, I'll try. Not everything has been peaches and roses recently though, so I have to admit Updates 10 and 11 have been/are a bit of a struggle. I just messed up planning for my support writers, and it's been more or less just me handling everything for both updates 10 and 11. That's why art has been a bit sparse... Because most of my time is just taken up doing writing duty, and I'm not the fastest writer, unfortunately. Like, at this point, with the game having all the branches and 125k in total word count, the story for the characters and how they've interacted on the two initial days. It makes it a bit more difficult to actually get people on board in a timely manner. I can't just go and say, "Hey, write me a scene where this character and that character are involved, and they do that." Since a new writer knows absolutely zero about all the stuff that's been there before, all the stuff that's planned for the characters and all that jazz. So if one support writer is busy or just has writing block or whatever, it may be, my solution so far has just been going, "Well, shit." :') Not the fault of my writing buddies, of course. They've been absolutely invaluable and I can't offer nearly enough to expect to be the highest priority for them. I'm just happy they want to help out AT ALL for what I can pay them in return. I should have planned contingencies but didn't. Simple as that. So, I've made the decision to bring on another writer in Televassi, and also want to hopefully integrate Robert Baird more again going forward. With more of them willing to help out I will be able to assign things to people as they're available. Which hopefully will avoid me having to do whole updates on my own and take the pressure off of wonderful peeps like Rubric. So yeah, I learned my lesson there, but since it just takes time for people to get familiar with the Conway world and characters, it ended up with me being a bit swamped with EVERYTHING for Updates 10 and 11.

The future

Speaking of what's planned, then? Update 10 closes out day 2, and Update 11 starts after our first time skip. I don't know if you've ever looked at how slow these ships were, but if we ever want to make it to Cape Town, then we'll need those time skips. Not only that, but it also allows for characters to just develop in the meantime, and also their relationship towards the player character. While Characters like Nomax and Julian ended up having some raunchy scenes right away, it wouldn't exactly fit to have others throw themselves at you on day 2. So skipping ahead just keeps things moving, keeps things interesting because we can focus on specific parts more, and just show the development of characters at a more natural pace.

So the next sections are this first post-time skip section that subbed patrons already get a taste of in the WIP update, and then next up on the itinerary will be Morocco. Both sections I'm really stoked about! And I hope you are too. :)

Stretch goals? Patreon did away with them a while back, but we'll just make our own stretch goals, with blackjack and hookers. Just instead of blackjack and hookers, how about we talk Animations?! Hell yeah! I'm no animator, and it's not really a discipline I particularly enjoy either from the times I tried. So, since Patreon is currently about break-even, we can start thinking ahead a little, and I think the first point I want to tackle is some simple animations. Stuff like moving tails, ears, and eyes. Stuff like that.

So how about that, we're currently floating at around 1250 USD a month, and if we're crossing the 1500 USD mark, I'll be holding out my feelers to get these small animations into the game. If you like to contribute to making animations possible, consider supporting the Patreon over here: https://www.patreon.com/Nomax

Possibly animations, an exciting new section of the story, some more v2 character art, some more maritime menagerie characters. Sounds good for a year 2 plan?

I certainly hope so and hope that you all will be along for the ride, as it's been an absolute blast, and I can't thank you enough for making it possible. I just want this thing to be the best it can be for all of you. :)

[drachenmagier]

Hi! Saw your post about commissioners using AI as a skeevy way to get cheap fully-rendered art from artists (thank you for spreading the info btw! Deeply concerning the ways these AI programs are being used to make an already difficult field of work even harder 🥲).

But it also got me thinking a bit about TOS's and pricing your work, particularly commercial work... I'm in the process of preparing to open up for commissions for the first time in years myself, and was wondering if you had any advice/resources for putting together a professional looking TOS and figuring out how to handle commercial licensing? I know this stuff tends to be super regional, but it's so hard to find consistent information online on the topics 😞

I can only tell you how I handle it. :) For normal commissions, do feel free to copy whichever part of my TOS you think will work for you from my private commission info. If you're not Swiss, the last line on the page won't be usable. 

A lot of doing art and illustration commissions is trial and error. I know it was for me. Tons of mistakes and hopefully not repeating them. 

For pricing, a friend told me two things that stuck with me and helped deciding on prices since then. 

First thing she told me is that exclusive rights for a simple caricature for a newspaper go for USD 800.- and up. Mind ya, she said that YEARS ago. And prices change. But if a simple black and white doodle goes for USD 800.-, don't sell exclusive rights to your full colour A4+ artwork for less. 

If in doubt, don't sell your exclusive rights at all. Most clients don't need them and if someone tells you they will give you USD 25.- and a voucher for -10% off their own product for it, tell them to fuck off.

People will try. And you will learn to say no. 

The second important pricing tip I got from said friend: decide on a price that makes it easy for you to let go. If you regret having sold it, the price was not high enough.

Most companies have their own contracts and their own price lists. It helps if you are able to adjust your work to their budget and deadline. 

Read the contracts carefully, don't skim anything, only sign them when you understand them. Especially US-contracts have a lot of complicated looking clauses in them, like the Indemnification clause. If they tell you that a clause is just there and you don't need to understand it, you can sign the contract as it is: run. 

Most clients won't actually need or even want exclusive rights, simple print licenses will be enough for them. A rough over-the-thumb minimum pay would be around CHF 200.- to 250.- per work day. 

I will add a third point here:

If you really want something to exist and be a part of it, then do it. Have fun. We mostly regret the things we never tried and never did. And if you only do things for the money and don't get paid, it leaves you with nothing (my thanks to Neil Gaiman and his commencement speech "Make Good Art").

Some of my most amazing commissions were orders from people who couldn't pay a lot, but were awesome individuals with fantastic ideas. And I don't regret a second of the work I put into those commissions. But THAT is your decision. And purely yours. Don't let people tell you what to be exited about. 

Maybe the thing you will be exited about is a kid that wants to pay you three shiny rocks for a drawing of their super hero princess cat wizard. 

And you will make it the fucking best super hero princess cat wizard for one of the rocks, because you don't want the kid to have no shiny rocks anymore~. <3