Hey there, guys!!

So, I'm on Patreon.

I've been drawing since I was little. When I was a kid, I wanted to be a whole lot of things, from a crime scene investigator to an archaeologist . But one thing stuck through all those years, my addiction to drawing.

I knew I wanted to draw for the rest of my life, but that was the naive dreams of a child. After almost a decade of fighting depression, and my own ambitions for the sake of my family, I realized naive dreams are the only things keeping me going.

I'm struggling to find work right now, but I need money to pay my student loans and afford a part time class for digital painting.

I do digital paintings and upload them every month. They are all actually available for free and I don't cover anything through a paywall. All I'm asking for is some kind souls to be my patron. The amount is all up to you. When I have enough money, I plan to pledge for other digital artist on Patreon too, especially Sycra.

If you don't want to be my patron but still wish to help me (which I'll be eternally grateful for), you can commission me. Keep in mind that I'm in no way at the level of a professional. I'm intermediate at best. You can check out my works on my Sketchbook.

Or the least you could do is follow me on Tumblr. I would still appreciate it greatly

Thank you for taking the time to read this.

get a job, any job. and doodle on breaks and after work. if you have kids they come first.

Cool advice! Totally logical!! It's like as if that's not what I'm doing right now!! WOW!!

[Ambiguity]

Keep in mind that I'm in no way at the level of a professional. I'm intermediate at best.

Probably not a good idea to say things like that when you're trying to sell your work. If you don't sound like you believe your work is desirable, your audience won't believe it either; let them decide for themselves how they see your work.

Also, I think you would have been better off with something like a gofundme page instead of Patreon, you don't have any ongoing projects to support so it feels more like you just want people to pay for your lifestyle. Whereas if you specifically told people exactly how much you need to pay off your student loans, I feel like they'd be more inclined to help you reach that specific goal. Just my 2 cents though, I hope something works out for you.

Probably not a good idea to say things like that when you're trying to sell your work. If you don't sound like you believe your work is desirable, your audience won't believe it either; let them decide for themselves how they see your work.

lol yeah. I just didn't want people to feel tricked or something.

Also, I think you would have been better off with something like a gofundme page instead of Patreon, you don't have any ongoing projects to support so it feels more like you just want people to pay for your lifestyle. Whereas if you specifically told people exactly how much you need to pay off your student loans, I feel like they'd be more inclined to help you reach that specific goal. Just my 2 cents though, I hope something works out for you.

Gofundme isn't available in Asia, where I live. I've seen other artists do the same thing on Patreon, so, thought I'd give it a shot. I consider my artworks as my 'projects'. I do spend quite a lot of time on my work, I won't be putting sketches or WIPs.

I pay my student loans monthly and all I need is around $100 a month. Convert that to my local currency, it's enough to pay my loans. I'm revamping my Patreon page and planning to give better rewards to my patrons, like speedpaint videos or something (starting on March).

I'm currently looking for an International crowdfunding, just so anybody knows. Thank you Ambiguity for the suggestion.

[Ambiguity]

Gofundme isn't available in Asia, where I live.

I see, that's too bad.

I've seen other artists do the same thing on Patreon, so, thought I'd give it a shot.

If you're referring to artists like Sakimichan and Zeronis, it might be noteworthy that they already had a big following before Patreon, and people only pay them so much because they're always selling fanart(albeit under the guise of PSDs and process walkthroughs so they don't get in trouble with the law). It feels like kind of sleazy business practice, but if you want to make money, it might be something to consider.

Since you are serious about earning money from your art I'm going to be honest and say that in my opinion as a potential supporter looking at your site, your art isn't very interesting at the moment, I hope you don't get offended by that and I am In no way saying that your art is bad, it just lacks purpose. Creating an interesting story to go with your art can create interest and make people care about the characters you create. Just a one picture story can be interesting.

To most people story matters more than artistic skill. You don't need to write a masterpiece or anything just something that will make people interested to see more of your art.

Again I hope that wasn't taken the wrong way, those were just my thoughts, I really do hope you succeed in your quest.

Since you are serious about earning money from your art I'm going to be honest and say that in my opinion as a potential supporter looking at your site, your art isn't very interesting at the moment, I hope you don't get offended by that and I am In no way saying that your art is bad, it just lacks purpose. Creating an interesting story to go with your art can create interest and make people care about the characters you create. Just a one picture story can be interesting.

To most people story matters more than artistic skill. You don't need to write a masterpiece or anything just something that will make people interested to see more of your art.

Again I hope that wasn't taken the wrong way, those were just my thoughts, I really do hope you succeed in your quest.

You make a great point! No worries. I appreciate honest criticism.

I admit it does seem rather aimless. Still working on that. Another one on my list.

Awesome. I was afraid I might have been too harsh, but I always prefer honest feedback.

By the way if you haven't seen it already, Jake Parker made a video on getting exposure. https://youtu.be/gY8O4yqHd9M

He has some good suggestions on how to get people to notice your art.

By the way if you haven't seen it already, Jake Parker made a video on getting exposure. https://youtu.be/gY8O4yqHd9M

He has some good suggestions on how to get people to notice your art.

Thank you! This was actually really helpful! Exactly what I needed!

Also, I think you would have been better off with something like a gofundme page instead of Patreon, you don't have any ongoing projects to support so it feels more like you just want people to pay for your lifestyle.

I actually disagree with you myself as a past Patreon supporter of a few artists, none of which were "major" like, say, DoxyDoo. I've had to stop due to monetary constraints--even when I was supporting it was only one or two bucks, as I was still impoverished (I won't go into details), but it's gotten worse--but I really, really enjoyed both the benefits and watching my favorite artists evolve because the burden of "making money" was lessened significantly.

Watching an artist grow and continue to make even just one-off illustrations is enough of a project for me. I'm not more likely to throw a few dollars at a Patreon if there's an on going project; if I REALLY had to decide based purely on "what kinda Patreon it is", the rewards would be a way bigger factor. Stuff like raffles (pay a certain amount for the chance to get a free illustration, for example) is much more attractive to me, and I've seen the same for most supporters of Patreon.

I think if "it HAS to be a project" was a genuine factor, more people would care when Patreoning; instead, the only place I ever really here that is...here, actually. I've also seen Patreon reflect this, since I think "project" also includes "making art on a consistent schedule" to the creators at this point.

I appreciate honest criticism.

If I may add, more rewards might be beneficial! Rewards at $1, $2 (you got that!), $5, and $10 is the common formula, so I'd recommend it.

Example:

$1: High Res files, my personal thanks!
$2: Early access to my art, high res files, and speedpaints. You also get progress shots!
$5: Rewards from $1 and $2, as well as PSD files. On top of progress shots, I explain each step I take in each picture, including what reference I look for and why.
$10: Rewards from $1, $2, $5, and you get entered in a monthly raffle for either a Painting of your choice, or a sketch (note: this is up to you, the creator of this Patreon). You also get high res files of some of the sketches I make, whether it's a part of the illustrations or not. This includes practice I'm doing to get better as an artist, with an explanation of why I'm doing them.

You don't have to take my advice here, and you don't have to make THAT the rewards, but I figured I'd give a fairly basic example~