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My feelings about patreon
8 years ago
General
I think it's great that there is a place where people can support their favorite content producers, I really do. I'm anticipating problems in the near future though. I've been noticing more and more artists placing a large portion of their content behind paywalls and ceasing to do commissions altogether in favor of focusing on patreon work. If that's their choice, so be it, but allow me to paint a picture. Most furries aren't the most financially stable or fiscally responsible lot. That's okay when it comes to commissions. If a furry splurges on your art then regrets it later, you still get to pay your bills after all. Patreon, on the other hand, is a monthly commitment that can be quite easily turned off if it's becoming burdensome. I assume most people will do what I've done, which is to pick 5 (or less) of their absolute favorite creators and support them on patreon, while regretfully leaving behind all the rest. I'm gay 100%, so that means to get the most bang for my buck, anyone who produces female content, anyone who draws fetishes I don't like with any frequency, anyone who only puts out 1-2 pieces a month gets the axe, no matter how much I like the art they make that DOES fall into my interests. The more artists who go to patreon, the more you're going to see those few monthly dollars most people have available for such things be spread around. Eventually you'll get to a point where many artists will be making less off patreon than they would be through commissions. If they attempt to leave patreon, they may find many of their subs, tired of getting nothing but censored patreon teasers, have left, necessitating bringing them all back in again. I've already avoided watching and unwatched people whose whole content is patreon only.
Some possible solutions.
1. Make only a part of your art patreon exclusive, while the rest becomes public (with a delay.)
2. Continue to offer public commissions and post them publicly upon completion.
3. Focus on quantity rather than quality in terms of patreon supporters, and allow basic access for $1-2 or whatever the equivalent is in your currency. If an artist who didn't meet my strict criteria offered those prices, but still put out work I enjoyed, I'd support them.
Most artists don't like or tolerate people criticizing their patreon usage, and rightly believe that they have a right to earn an income off their work. I agree, and this isn't a criticism of using patreon. By all means, use it. Just don't use it to the exclusion of all else. If you fail to keep your options open, you're making things needlessly difficult for yourself if the one path you've decided to focus on should fail.
Please only comment if you've read the whole journal. Butthurt comments trying to rebut a point I wasn't making because they've only gotten 3 sentences in will be ruthlessly shamed for inability/unwillingness to read.
Some possible solutions.
1. Make only a part of your art patreon exclusive, while the rest becomes public (with a delay.)
2. Continue to offer public commissions and post them publicly upon completion.
3. Focus on quantity rather than quality in terms of patreon supporters, and allow basic access for $1-2 or whatever the equivalent is in your currency. If an artist who didn't meet my strict criteria offered those prices, but still put out work I enjoyed, I'd support them.
Most artists don't like or tolerate people criticizing their patreon usage, and rightly believe that they have a right to earn an income off their work. I agree, and this isn't a criticism of using patreon. By all means, use it. Just don't use it to the exclusion of all else. If you fail to keep your options open, you're making things needlessly difficult for yourself if the one path you've decided to focus on should fail.
Please only comment if you've read the whole journal. Butthurt comments trying to rebut a point I wasn't making because they've only gotten 3 sentences in will be ruthlessly shamed for inability/unwillingness to read.
So far I think Fluff-kevlar has one of the best business models when it comes to Patreon, now there are some exclusive perks, like getting older art in HD or having additional alternate versions of the monthly pinup, etc. But for the most part, 75% of what he makes ends up on FA if not more, for everyone to enjoy. His tiers are reasonably sound in how they are leveled, and you get amazing quality for your money.
Vader-San is another good one, but he also just uses Patreon and art as a whole as a side thing from his regular job, so his is per illustration which happens like every other month or so, but again, his tiers are reasonably leveled, and he doesn't offer a lot, but all of his art still ends up on FA.
Most people I support follow a similar scheme to Fluff-Kevlar, and some others I support with small amounts because they are like fursuit makers or artists whose perks are not suited for what I want, but I still give a little anyway.
From what I've seen - based off the numbers - someone can't really support themselves alone and live off of making art - the numbers just don't add up unless one is making something like at least 60$ per day - which I don't think most do with their art. So the point of "Art is my job" etc - unless they're pulling at least a few thousand per month on patreon its not enough.
To restrict one's own methods to only having patreon and nothing else - is a pretty bad idea because it alone shouldn't be able to support someone financially. And even my favorite artists who are so good don't pull that much per month off of patreon. They can call it their job - but its paying even less than minimum wage if they choose that route.
So I agree because patreon donations alone are not enough to support oneself - it should be a tip jar not a paywall.