Heya gang,
Sorry it took a while, but I wanted to get a report of 2021 one for my work out so I can properly reflect on things and y'all can get a sneak peek on what's happening behind the scenes.
If I'm being honest, I consider this year to be a failure for the most part.
I had several projects, such as Mythra's NNN, Renapet, Fox Hole, Booette, the Blake animation, Lustful Nun, The Rouge Game, The Midna game, Palace of the Goddess, and several other things I wanted to get done, or at least get a good chunk of work done on them. And looking at things I got about... *checks notes* hmm, none of those completed. Mythra part 2 took forever to get out and that even stretched to 2022. And while a lot of these projects did get expanded upon quite a bit, not completing any of them, is a big problem.
I think the biggest issue I've had, kind of like I mentioned before, was worrying too much about chasing numbers or getting a lot of small things out as soon as possible so I can post them on social media. All that leads to is me starting a bunch of things when I feel motivated, failing to juggle all of them at once, and then burning out and getting nothing done. I feel like I switch between an unbelievable amount of motivation, followed by complete burnout, and that just isn't sustainable or healthy in the long run. Obviously, it's a huge issue when I can't focus on a specific project when the main goal of my supporter sites is to fund those projects. So going forward I want to place a stronger emphasis on finishing projects and actually delivering the content you all support. While also pacing myself better by focusing on one thing at a time.
I also need to put more work onto completing games as well. I wanted to get several game projects out during 2021 both for content and for the experience for bigger projects. I wanted to get the Mythra NNN set wrapped up and also get s few games out, and then swing into working on Renapet. But it's obvious that none of that happened. Even Palace of the Goddess has stalled out significantly, and even though the game has been expanded upon from the original scope, the game has still taken far too long to complete. The last thing I want to do is take all of your support for granted, and you all deserve better than what I'm currently delivering. So, I want to change things up so I'm more consistent on my game projects as well, so there won't be such a long wait between projects. And I want to get into the habit of delivering more consistent demos to you all as well, so you can actually get your hands on the games I'm working on.
I think I've also been approaching my art journey wrong as well. I think my improvement has stalled in some ways due to not having clearer goals and creating content without a stronger purpose. I usually try to make things mainly to make more content, rather than to try and learn something new as an artist. And I still often struggle with what I want to focus on as an artist when it comes to the type of content and fetishes I want to depict. I don't think I've been enjoying making and finishing my art lately, and things are much harder if you aren't having fun doing it. So, I want to change my mentality when it comes to art and learning about art in general. There's a lot I need to learn when it comes to being an animator, an illustrator, and a content creator as well. So, I want to start doing more studies in an effort to gain more experience and increase what I'm capable of. And I also want to set more tangible goals so I can focus on learning specific things, while exploring a specific type of content. Communicating more is also a needed change, as I often put my nose to the grindstone to work while also leaving you all out to dry without knowing what's going on. So, I want to keep an open line of communication as well.
Speaking of getting more consistent content out to my supporters, I also need to have a better turn around on my commissions. Especially my animated commissions. Honestly, I was surprised by how many people wanted to comm me, but I am still very grateful for it. But at the same time adding comms to the workload while I was already struggling with my regular project work might have not been the best idea. Especially since the animated comms were all animated in a way that is pretty time consuming, as it's pure frame by frame animation and not the single frame manipulation that I've used in smaller works. I've been chunking through comms, but I still don't think I've found a great balance between project and comm work, and to can't have clients waiting for months to get their order. And I can't have my supporters waiting for months to hear about the projects they are supporting either. I will be increasing the cost of animated comms to $450, since they take a significant amount of time to do. But I will also be adding a new option for them to have added SFX and VA with some variants in the animation to make it a full scene. So, at the end, it will look like the Zapphira animation comm I did for Plantanote. And I'll be focusing on getting bi-weekly updates at the very least to clients to make sure I'm making proper progress on their comm when it's their turn in the queue. At the very least I'll let them know where how many comms are ahead of theirs.
It's not all doom and gloom though. I think I improved my illustration skills quite a bit and feel more comfortable tackling more interesting poses and getting line art done faster. I also feel like my animations have much more life and weigh to then, although I still want to fix my approach to them a bit. I've done a decent job of getting my getting my pin-up commissions done, and I think they've helped me do poses and ideas I wouldn't have otherwise. I still have a lot to learn when it comes to posing, framing, lighting and backgrounds, but it's good to know I've made some progress. But it still feels like my eyes are improving faster than my hands, so I want to do more drills and practice, so I can make better and better stuff.
I think my favorite pic of the year, was the Gardevoir set I did. I tried a lot of different techniques and poses for it, and I think it helped me get over some hurdles that I struggled with before. So, I hope to make more interesting pieces like it in the future.
Anyway, I think that's everything for 2021's review. A lot of stuff I still need to improve, but I think overall it was a decent step in the right direction. So, the overall plan for 2022 will be:
- Be more consistent with content
- Focus more on completing projects and working on things one at a time.
- Have better, more consistent communication
- Clear my queue of projects from previous years
- Restructure my mentality to art and have fun with it again
- Figure out what I want to focus my art on
- Create a better life, project work, and comm work balance
- Learn more about art techniques and the basics to improve art quality
Lastly, I just want to thank you all for your support. Whether it's financially on Patreon or Subscirbstar, leaving messages or likes, etc, your support is always greatly appreciated and helps me more than I could ever describe. I will work hard to make some great content for you.
As always, you can support me on Subscribestar or Patreon if you wish.
Thank you and I hope you have a fantastic year!
