potofsoup

Following that whole fan-monetizing conversation that was going around DW a while back, I've been thinking about whether I should keep having a Patreon or not, since it's quite possible that my patrons need their $1/mo more than I need their cumulative $14.

But then again, I started the Patreon as a way to incentivize myself to do things that I otherwise wouldn't do. Like, sure, there's a certain amount of time that I invest in fandom just because. I'm not getting paid to mod fandom events, for example, and it'll never be something that becomes contingent on patrons. On the other hand, there are some things that I need an extra vote of confidence for. Not just a "you write/draw stuff that I'm interested in consuming, so I will follow/friend/subscribe", but a "you make stuff that I'm interested in supporting financially."

I think one of the problems with doing fan stuff (or maybe just a problem with myself) is that the value of fanwork is measured in how much it adds to fandom. My work is worth "likes" or "kudos" or "feels", but isn't worth real life money. I know that's not true -- I go to conventions and see fan artists selling $15-$25 prints (and I buy them). But I tell myself it's because selling fanart is how they make a living, and since I have a job that I love and only want to draw on the side, I should only charge people the printing cost. Thus devaluing my work. So in that sense, Patreon isn't giving me money that I need, but rather, it's giving value to my work. It's 12 people who are saying "The stuff you make has real life monetary value, and isn't just something to be measured in feels." And that's worth a lot to me, actually.*

Argh, I started this post to basically say that Patreon still serves a function in incentivizing myself to do things that I otherwise wouldn't do, and I need to give deeper thought to what I want to be incentivized to do (and is still sustainable), and maybe changing my Patreon again.

In the meantime, Patreon incentivized me to make to process gifs for my recent Captain America comic that I wouldn't have made otherwise:
https://www.patreon.com/posts/24893484 (it's a public post)

Actually, I think the gifs work better standalone, so here they are: [Page 1] [Page 3]

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* yes, capitalism is problematic. But it's also what we have right now. Even if I measure my work in "number of friends I get to meet", it still costs money to meet up with fandom friends.

picapicae:

potofsoup replied to your photoset “Whoever left the “chainsaw should perch on adam’s head” tag on the…”
> “how do people comic” — LEMME TELL YOU ALL MY FEELS

tell me your feels! (are they “oh god is this supposed to take this long” and “oh god i need to do more life drawing” and also “it can’t possibly be this difficult to draw the same face in every panel”? because those are pretty much mine. :D)

YESS ALL OF THOSE

“Oh god you mean I have to draw it AGAIN?!”, both in terms of drawing the person again, but also in terms of the fact that you have to pencil then ink then color basically 30 little pictures for a 6 page comic. Usually after I pencil I’m like “I’m done, I don’t want to draw any more, everyone can read my circular scribbles right?”

And

“How can I make this panel different?” If you’re approaching from the movie tradition, you’re used to having a still camera and with each panel just show the bit of the action that changed. (Which then gets you stuck in the “shit I’m drawing the same person multiple times and they have to look consistent” trap) It’s hard sometimes to remind myself that NOT EVERYTHING NEEDS TO BE MIDGROUND SHOTS. That’s... kind of the magic of comics? Like, “let’s make this panel TALL” or “let’s do a close-up of the hands” or whatever. EXCEPT then you’re stuck being like “HALP PANEL LAYOUTS”

And

“Who designed this freakin’ costume with all the twiddly bits?!!” The answer is, sadly, often me. But I basically have no patience for drawing that page after page. SO MUCH RESPECT for all the people who just face up to the hard work of drawing ringlets of hair or 3 necklaces or armor plates or jackets with complex designs. People who step up their art efforts to match what they want the comic to look like visually, instead of what I do, which is simplify the visuals of the comic to match my art efforts. People are good at figuring out that rectangle-face with blond sideburns is Steve!

I’m not saying my way is worse, it’s just taking the other path. Like seriously, a major reason I draw so simply is because I *know* I’m gonna be drawing the same damn thing over and over again.

[Reblog/Like on tumblr: http://potofsoup.tumblr.com/post/127992923307/picapicae-summercomfort-replied-to-your-photoset]