++ Art Talk ++

[Darth Delicious]

Wow! Wernope did an amazing job on Cloe there @Christopher Robin! She look stunning! Man, look at the colors, it's magical!
Yeah Wernope is busy with her current studies I believe. She'll do a few slots here and there, but less than before for now.
I had my 3 mains done by her (Mike was a gift and I had CR's Brahn Fuhrnos added to the one with DeeDee as a surprise ^_^)
I love her style and even though she doesn't always draw everything in the place where it should be, her way of coloring is so playful and bright that it doesn't even really matter anymore 🥰.

 

Edited September 30, 2019 by Darth Delicious

[Christopher Robin]

FYI Wall of text incoming! BW posted a query about Patreon rewards as he is thinking

of doing an erotic comic and having it supported on a monthly basis. I didn't

want to overwhelm his art thread so I am putting the bulk of it here.

 

Here are some of my (extensive) thoughts on that narrow slice of the Patreon puzzle:

 

The smartest rewards from the artist's standpoint are the ones that require little to no additional time and

ideally can be automated by Patreon or a complimentary support service (i.e. you post it up one

time to the appropriate tier and the service will handle the repetitive distribution.

 

These would be things like

1. High resolution files of the individual images that make up a page of the comic.

Everyone gets the pages but those that pay a little more get the individual pieces in a high rez format.

 

2. .PSD (or other software) files.

Things that let people "peek" behind the scenes and see what your process is like.

 

3.Your custom brushes.

I'm not sure why these are so very popular but they are. Perhaps it's a bit of arm chair quarterbacking

(if I had his set up and his tools I could totally do what he does) or they just want to play around with something you created.

i.e. On today's page all the armor was textured with this brush and I am including it for all subscribing at the $7 dollar level or higher.

 

4. Autographed copies.

Yep just plunk your hand-drawn sig prominently on a completed piece and with that 10 seconds of effort it is now

an acceptable tier reward. Make sure it is a "limited number" exclusivity, privilege and access to you are all desirable things.

 

5. Access to you.

This one you need to be careful with as it could quickly become a time sink. The best implementations of it I've seen are

where the artist establishes clearly up from that you have my attention for this amount of time (usually ½hour to an hour)

one time only this month. Also it is generally set at one of the highest tiers (what your statistics tell you will be no more than

5-10 subscribers a month). Set a timer and stick to it.

 

6. Polls!

These are great for the middle tiers, everyone wants to have a say so it encourages those in the $1-3 range to consider moving

up into the $5-10 range. Obviously not something that will alter the plot you have in mind but something like outfits. Put up

3-5 copies of a quick sketch with different outfits on and let the fans choose whether she starts the scene in a one piece swim suit

or a bikini for example.

 

7. Past rewards.

As new people find your comic they may have missed out on stuff from prior months so let them pick from your past offerings as a current

months reward. The obvious benefit is you don't have to generate any new content and you can satisfy the FOMO element of the crowd.

Think of it like Ouroboros.

 

8. Streaming.

You've done this before IIRC BW right? Have a Patreon only stream where the highest tier members

get to sit in on an "exclusive" stream only available to themz what is payin ya the most.

 

9. Interviews.

Potentially moderated depending on what type of crowd you attract but think of it as an AMA on Reddit. People post their most

burning questions and you have someone go through the list and pic the best 10 and you answer them live and upon

hearing them for the first time spontaneously. People love these. Obviously these are better when you have dozens

or even hundreds of Patrons so you are not just answering the top question asked this month by Garry.

(Garry always asks the same question )

 

10. Long form Audio.

This one surprised me but in my research this was incredibly popular. Artists tend to want to put up a short and polished presentation

set to killer tunes and often the audience (also) wants the opposite. Unedited, raw, just you talking aloud and describing your process and

your thoughts on tangental subjects etc. I've seen an artist take a 3 hour recorded session and sum up all the relevant bits in a quick and to

the point 20 minute video only to have the fans demand the three hour version, and some will listen to it repeatedly. This can depend on a

few factors as some people are naturally more entertaining on the mic (funnily it's often the ones who think they are not and are surprised

that anyone wants to listen to them go on) than others. Seek the opinions of those you trust to give it to you straight if unsure but this

definitely counts as access and fans always want access to the subject of their admiration. By way of example the Because Science "Live"

are  often among the most popular videos on Kyle Hill's youtube channel even though they are much longer unedited and he sometimes

goofs up during them (and then turns to camera "hey it's live whaddya want?").

 

11. Ask!

Fans will tell you what they want if you just ask them to put suggestions in a special section or what have you. Say you cannot promise

anything but you will look them over and see if there is something you can do quickly and easily each month you might add it as a

reward and give the suggester a shout out. This one so often gets overlooked but yeah let your fans tell you what they want and then

if it's feasible give it to them. Guaranteed happy fans.

 

12. Shout outs!

Draw attention to your super fans, highest tier subscriber and or the person who was most helpful on your forums. Takes almost no

time to quickly add to the end of a post/video/stream/audio I couldn't do what I do if not for the help and support of people like

CR thanks for all the yadda yadda yadda.

 

13. Early access!

You get to see the next pages 2 days sooner than everyone else, no spoilers though or you lose the privilege... and I keeel ju!

 

14. Sneak preview

A little hint of what is coming next. Nothing to big or central to the plot but just enough that people

feel special because they are entrusted with knowing stuff everyone else won't know about for a while.

 

15. Name your fans.

SlanFans, Frozen Death's Followers, the Battle Worthy or whatever.

It's corny I know but if you develop a sizable following be sure to name them (or perhaps have a poll where they self name eh? eh?)

because it makes them feel like they are a part of something, it also tempts others into wanting to be part of the group.

Don't worry if it's a little bit silly I took a poll and people called my art send off of City of Heroes "coXso" lol.

 

Felicia Day has Team Hooman (human) and they actually have IRL meetups and go to conventions to look for

other Hoomans to hang out with cuz they are all wearing the shirt (from her merch store cha-ching! see #16).

 

Benedict Cumberbatch has the Cumberbitches.  Yes they actually chose that themselves.

 

Sakimichan calls her fans "bunnies." No really, and she will draw little cartoons with a bunny representing her

fans getting a box of carrots (her monthly rewards) from time to time... she is one of the biggest fish in the pond

on Patreon (millionaire many many times over) and you can learn a lot by watching how she interacts with her fans.

 

16. Merch!

This is more of a down the road option but if you got a good size group of fans and they have chosen a

name they are proud of put it on a shirt and sell it to them. You only have to make it once but it can keep

paying you for months or years to come. Heck make a couple designs.

 

17. Fan Artz

Once a month pick from the pool of your highest $ tier Patrons and do a quick sketch of their OC if you have time.

This does take time away from the comic but can be incredibly popular if you start to get a sizable following.

Doesn't have to be an always thing, sprinkle it in on special occasions or randomly from time to time.

 

18. Omigurd

No one is still reading this are they? Seriously? Like this post and leave the comment "Who's your Bone-Daddy!" below if you

are one of the champions still reading! Be one of the first 5 to like and say the phrase and I will give you a thank you trophy.

 

19. Variations.

Quick and easy and crowd pleasers. You don't have to do a whole new piece just a quick modification of an existing one.

With hair or without, wearing a hat or not, bottomless or topless etc some people will love a particular piece but if only you

had done XYZ instead.  You can even let the highest tiers suggest a small variation to an existing piece. Privilege indeed.

 

20. Games and contests.

Quick little things you can throw together to give someone a "win" and give them a trophy icon they can

wear next to their name for a month or a badge they can keep. This can be something easy like

5 trivia questions based on the events of your comic and first to get all 5 right in the comic "wins."  

Think how many badge hunters or "badgers" City of Heroes has... yeah.

 

21. I'm in UR comikz bro!

Doesn't have to be a central character or even prominent (unless it works with the story) but maybe take your top

subscriber's OC and make them a "face in the crowd" or someone the main hero bumps into.

Treat it like Dr. Evazan and Ponda Baba in Rogue one a StarWars story.

 

Some of these might be pretty obvious but several were a surprise when I learned of them

so hopefully people thinking of trying Patreon or a similar service find something useful.

There is a lot more I could add to this list but this should be more than enough to get it started.

 

Anyone else have ideas or variations or know of a popular reward not mentioned above?

 

 

Edited January 30, 2021 by Christopher Robin

[battlewraith]

That's really helpful Chris thank you!

[Christopher Robin]

Sure sure BW. Glad someone read most of it.

 

 

Edited January 30, 2021 by Christopher Robin

[DJ1]

Who's your Bone-Daddy! lol

[Christopher Robin]

On 10/10/2019 at 6:56 AM, DJ1 said:

Who's your Bone-Daddy! lol

Indeed.

 

Also, I just noticed Avionecta's DA page was emptied. >0.o<

A little digging found me this post on her tumblr...

 

Emergency commissions again open!

Had to delete my DA account and I have no place to annouce it or

take comms (been hacked and stalked). I have some comms to finish

from DA (these are at 1st place) but I have to take more work.

 

Not sure what to make of that.

[_Kai_]

So she had some personal issues, and that led to stalking and harassing on dA that dA's solution for was 'make a new account', which she did, and the harasser found shortly thereafter. She is still reachable by email for things, but yeah, sucks 😞

[Christopher Robin]

Umm can't she block or hide the comments of anyone on her page? Or barring that if

she can show clear harassment why wouldn't DA block that persons IP Address (I realize this

is easy to circumvent but it's a start). Also not sure how "she" got hacked wouldn't it be DA that got

hacked and wouldn't they be all over it if that were the case and not just telling her to make a new account?

I don't know the relevant details but that description doesn't sound right to me, also what would stop the hacker

from following her to Tumblr and harassing her there too? (I recognize there is also a bit of a language barrier).

 

 

 

Edited October 15, 2019 by Christopher Robin

[_Kai_]

From what I've pieced together(this is all speculation by other peoples comments and such), she was in a relationship with someone who took advantage of her, and gained credentials to many accounts and used them maliciously in revenge for her ending it, not hacking in the sense of dA breach, but who knows.

[ZemyaSoldat]

I'm glad to hear she's taking commissions still. I had reached out to her about possibly doing more for me, but then before I had time to get together references, her social media had all gone dark, so I didn't want to presume she still was available.

 

I'll reach out to her again tonight.

[Christopher Robin]

 

Do bear in mind what I wrote above... though I wonder now if she was just

so distracted with what was going on and that's why she got my hero all wrong.

 

 

 

Edited October 16, 2019 by Christopher Robin

[Christopher Robin]

Here is yet another piece I got from Wernope, this

time of my Illusion/Empathy goddess Xllusya.

 

Again I will let the artz speak for itself.

 

[_Kai_]

Another one of my favorite artists is back from a hiatus and taking commissions. If you like 80s style anime, he is your guy!

https://www.deviantart.com/hinomars19/journal/COMMISSIONS-OPEN-819014990

 

Some examples I have in links because the pictures are big:

Whitestar

Roxy Acetylene - 80s punk style

 

[Midnight Blue Mage]

@_Kai_ whoa, what an incredibly cool style! Thanks for sharing this artist :]

[Oubliette_Red]

Found this artist on dA and really like their style. Posted a Re-draw special...

 

https://www.deviantart.com/rossdraws

http://fav.me/ddjin8x

 

 

 

 

 

Edited November 4, 2019 by Oubliette_Red
Removed link and added direct Ross Draws link

[Christopher Robin]

Nice find  @Oubliette_Red.

Do they say over how many years that redraw takes place?

 

P.S. the text goes to DA but the image is

linking to the top of page 3 Art Talk here F.Y.I.

 

P.P.S. I went and clicked through to DA, **forehead slap** oh of course, that is Ross Draws

I should have recognized his style right away. He has over 100 videos up on YT and 1mil+ subscribers.

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCLEVrhumRsK67JkP3G4w5cQ/featured

 

Also, I've always been jealous of his massive wacom Cintiq and studio setup.

 

 

Edited January 30, 2021 by Christopher Robin

[Oubliette_Red]

5 hours ago, Christopher Robin said:

Nice find  @Oubliette_Red.

Do they say over how many years that redraw takes place?

 

P.S. the text goes to DA but the image is

linking to the top of page 3 Art Talk here F.Y.I.

 

P.P.S. I went and clicked through to DA, **forehand slap** oh of course, that is Ross Draws

I should have recognized his style right away. He has over 100 videos up on YT and 1mil+ subscribers.

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCLEVrhumRsK67JkP3G4w5cQ/featured

 

Also, I've always been jealous of his massive wacom Cintiq and studio setup.

 

 

 

Thanks @Christopher Robin removed the photo link and added a direct link to Ross Draws.

 

[Christopher Robin]

You're welcome @Oubliette_Red.

 

@QueenBethari This is a drawing by DD from many years ago when I was trying to tell

her the same kind of thing about adding shadows and going further than she though she should.

After her making some minor tweaks I decided to go overboard on it and show her what I

meant so she could see what some heavy dynamic range looked like on her own piece.

 

Hopefully she won't mind me using it for demonstrative purpose.

 

Bear in mind that I added nothing here. Like with your

piece I just darkened what was already there.

 

 

You obviously don't have to go this far (or you could go further) this is just to show what is possible.

 

I'll post another piece by a different artist a bit later where I did "add" to the piece by

making shading and lighting passes to really round out the forms, and it's in color.

 

 

 

Edited November 4, 2019 by Christopher Robin

[Christopher Robin]

This one I was demonstrating more how to punch up a piece and make it more visually interesting,

nothing wrong with the original but the artist thought it was a bit flat IIRC? He was not a forum regular

so apologies I do not remember his name off the top of my head but I would know his avatar if I saw it again.

 

So on this one I did add to the design to round out the forms. Notice the change to the horns and if you watch the neck

you'll see it change a few times as I tried different lighting schemes. Being that she's a villain I tried to really play up the menace.

 

 

 

Edited November 6, 2019 by Christopher Robin

[QueenBethari]

4 hours ago, Christopher Robin said:

This one I was demonstrating more how to punch up a piece and make it more visually interesting,

nothing wrong with the original but the artist thought it was a bit flat IIRC? He was not a forum regular

so apologies I do not remember his name off the top of my head but I would know his avatar if I saw it again.

 

So on this one I did add to the design to round out the forms. Notice the change to the horns and if you watch the neck

you'll see it change a few times as I tried different lighting schemes. Being that she's a villain I tried to really play up the menace.

 

 

 

That's really cool. I love the hair shading.

[Hyperstrike]

There's also Layla Rei with her CoH dolls.

 

[Christopher Robin]

On 11/12/2019 at 2:32 AM, Hyperstrike said:

There's also Layla Rei with her CoH dolls.

 

 

 

ONOZ Sabertooth has one of Layla's plushies! Quick someone tell Hugh Jackman to rescue it!
 

X-men jokes aside, Layla Rei is awesome and I have mentioned her several times over the years to draw

attention to her wonderful plushies. She also makes very fine hats, I know because I had this one made for me.

 

 

Extra orange awesomeness was included free of charge.

 

Also welcome to the best part of the forums Hyperstrike. I remember you from live as someone who

posted all manner of useful guides and just being really helpful to new players in general.

Good to see your text on a screen again and your mug to go with it.

 

P.S. The Sabertooth bit, obviously a joke, no offense meant...

...besides you clearly look way more like Ray Donovan than Sabertooth.

Seriously I can't be the only one getting a badass Liev Shreiber vibe from this pic can I?

 

 

 

Edited November 17, 2019 by Christopher Robin

[Hyperstrike]

2 hours ago, Christopher Robin said:

Seriously I can't be the only one getting a badass Liev Shreiber vibe from this pic can I?

 

[Christopher Robin]

Wow...

 

I had no idea Liev Schreiber was even in the Mighty Ducks.

 

 

Okay I see that it's from Goon the movie.

The resemblance is strong with this one though.

 

 

Edited November 18, 2019 by Christopher Robin