Tag: ko-fi

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A Ko-Fi Shop Update

Normally I write about projects, but today I’m giving a ko-fi shop update. Because there’s new stuff, clearance stuff, and stuff coming soon.

Wait…New Stuff?

Yes! New stuff! I have new mini-prints, yo.

These are all now available on ko-fi.

By the way, there are only 3 Dragon Baby keychains left as of this writing.

But I Still Have Clearance Stuff?

Yes, I do! I did remove the things that are sold out, so those things I removed are gone forever. BUT…I still have mystery bags. Plus I will be making more mystery bags soon. Also, they’re now $1 (and shipping is $5 for USA shoppers).

What’s Coming Soon?

The Case of the Wendigo! Unfortunately, I sold out of copies of this book at Free Comic Book Day on Saturday, so I’ll need to re-order those. I also need to order more copies of Witches: A Sketchbook and Gods & Spirits: A Sketchbook. Those 3 were the most popular things on my table on Saturday. (Them, and the Dragon Baby Pins.)

It also occurred to me that I haven’t posted the other Charlie & Clow books OR my other stickers up on ko-fi yet. So that’s going to get fixed this week.

And MAYBE there will be original art soon? Who knows? There’s still a gallery show I need to prepare for. But I’ll go into that next time.

That’s all for now. Thank you for reading!

You. Are. Awesome.

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What’s Next for Fantasyville?

To say this year took me by surprise is an understatement.

My original plans – “just keep doing what I’ve been doing, but go to 10 conventions/shows, not 14” – HAD to shift hard to the left.

As it turned out, though, canceling convention season meant I could work on the following things:

NeverEnding

I started working with these folks back in February this year. In that 10-month window of time, we’ve run a successful KickStarter, started production on a new app, and got some buzz going with Satine Phoenix, the Sirens, and a LOT of tabletop gaming companies. INCLUDING some folks connected to the Hugo Awards (but I can’t give more details). Like, holy dang.

I’m still working with the crew as the Creative Director, leading the art team while we make art for the app. It’s my first time being in charge of other artists. I’m still getting the hang of it.

Livestreams

In lieu of conventions, I ran livestreams. For a while, I did them every Saturday, until I burned out on the schedule. I stopped for a bit to reassess.

It all started with live-draws, where I streamed myself drawing new stuff in Clip Studio Paint. But the most watched streams have been the most recent ones I’ve done: with guests, talking about some business aspects of comics. Things like how to run a successful KickStarter campaign, and converting KickStarter backers into long-time patrons.

The Switch from Patreon to Ko-Fi

I dragged my feet on this decision for a while, until I couldn’t anymore. Patreon just kept on dropping pledges from patrons – often, from the high-tier patrons. And this had been a problem for OVER A YEAR. A problem where, each month, I had to reach out to patrons individually to ask them to check their information. (I had originally reached out in group messages, but a previous patron stopped pledging because they saw this as “public shaming.”)

And then, in the last month, every time I made a new post, the website would just…shut off. My internet connection worked. I could save a DRAFT of a post. But when I hit “publish,” the Patreon site would just…stop.

In short, Patreon as a system has bugs that aren’t being meaningfully addressed, and it’s aggravating myself and other people.

I made the switch to Ko-Fi recently. While it lacks some things (like scheduling posts ahead of time), it has other things Patreon does NOT have. Like more consistent payment processing. And the ability to leave a tip just once.

What’s Next, Though?

I want to continue growing the audience I have on Ko-Fi. It’s a platform with a lot of promise and I want to help it grow. A lot like what I’m doing with NeverEnding, actually.

I also want to keep going with YouTube. Livestreams, yes. But I’m THINKING about dipping my toes back in to making proper, edited videos…I just don’t like editing because I don’t have the right tools for it. So an upgrade to better video editing software is on the table.

Another thing on the table? Better audio recording set-ups. I wrapped up doing vocal tracks for a friend’s punk song and it made me realize…I miss doing audio work.

Other than that? The Legend of Jamie Roberts will keep going. CB and I are remaking some early pages of Tiny Unicorn. We’re also doing more with Tiny Unicorn (and Mr. Dino & Friends) in the near future. BreeBree Bootique is a new project I’m doing with chubby cat art (now on Instagram and RedBubble).

AND…

Keep an eye out for two new book projects that Fantasyville Productions will be releasing in the next few months. One’s a prose anthology, the other is a comics anthology.

I’ll write about those two books in the next update.

That’s all for now. Thank you for reading!

You. Are. Awesome.

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Claire and Tracy – A Sketch

claire and tracy work in progress art sketch

Today’s Throwback Thursday features Claire and Tracy.

These two starred in a story called Traveler’s Road. Unfortunately, the project has been shelved, and probably indefinitely, by the looks of it.

Why? Well, no matter how many chapter I wrote for the thing, they never came out right. So, the project is shelved.

Still, some good art came from it. Like this piece.

And now this is available as a hi-res download on Patreon and Ko-Fi.

This will likely be the last hi-res download on Ko-Fi, because it will be for written works only moving forward.

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…I’m Asking for Help

I know I said I would be ok. That I didn’t need anything. That if you had the energy and funds to spare, share that with other artists in need. (Which, if you have helped other artists, thank you.) But now, I’m asking for help.

scarlet the black long haired cat

This is Scarlet. She and Bree-Bree are keeping me company during this weird time we’re all in. Both of the girls will be 14 years old on May 16. Which is impressive for cats!

Scarlet is a fussy princess. She knows she’s pretty. She’s VERY mouthy. You can have full conversations with this cat. She’s appeared quite a few times in livestreams over the past month, because she wants people to give her attention…on her terms.

scarlet the black long haired cat looking at the camera

I am her human. She doesn’t really tolerate much of anybody else. She will sniff you, and she will meow at you. But you pet her on HER time. When she does want love, though, she can be incredibly sweet.

Sadly, she’s been losing weight and vomiting. I took her to the vet this past Tuesday for a physical, and the vet said there’s muscle deterioration around her hips. The vet was unable to get a blood sample, so they told me to bring Scarlet back in for a round of testing today. They think there may be some hyperthyroid issues.

Now, financially, I prepared for a lot of things… but I did not prepare for vet bills like I should have. That’s on me. Moving forward I will do better.

But right now, IF YOU CAN, I’m asking for your help. I have half of the costs covered, but if you can help with the other half, that would be HUGE.

For the next two weeks, I’m running a sale on commissions if you are so interested. I’m offering these discounted rates if you’d like to jump in on this sale:

  • $15 $10 Head and shoulders in black and white
  • $30 $25 Full-body black and white
  • $40 $30 head and shoulders in color
  • $65 $60 full-color full-body

These prices are PER character (or person, or animal if you wanted a pet portrait). More info on the Get a Commission page if you’d like to get a commission.

If this is a bit much, I have an online store with comics, buttons, stickers, and original art.

Need something more unique? Well, you can also support me on Ko-Fi if you would like…

  • $5 for a social media icon
  • $3 for a blog post tacking a question you have for me
  • $3 for a poem
  • $10 for a short story of 1500 words or less

Or you can just give a donation through Ko-Fi with no strings attached.

I accept PayPal (just specify that it’s a gift to friends to avoid extra charges). And I also accept Venmo ($KelciDCrawford) and the Cash App.

IF YOU ARE STRUGGLING FINANCIALLY, DO NOT BUY.

I don’t want you stressing out just because I planned poorly. Just share this post with folks whom you think could help. Shares help a LOT.

That’s all for now. Thank you for your help, however you give it.

You. Are. Awesome.

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Ko-Fi and Patreon: How Am I Using BOTH?

tiny painting of princess rosetta with art tools framing the photo

As far as platforms go, Ko-Fi and Patreon have similar goals: make it easy for fans to support creatives. I get the impression that some folks use one but not the other. I DARE to use both. So how do I do it?

Well, let’s cover the similarities and differences first:

Ko-Fi (I think it’s pronounced ‘coffee,’ and you’ll see why) is a platform that lets you donate the price equivalent of a cup of coffee (get it?) to your favorite creative person. By giving, you support the creative, AND you get access to some supporter-exclusive posts.

Patreon lets fans subscribe to their favorite creatives by pledging a specific amount of money, to give either each month, or for each project. You get rewards in exchange for how much you give. The more you give, the more rewards you get.

Ko-Fi also has an option to let folks subscribe to their favorite creatives with a monthly donation, but this option is only available if the creative pays for a Ko-Fi Gold plan. Otherwise, it’s just one-time donations.

Patreon grandfathered me into a particular package deal, because I had been on the platform for so long.

As of this writing, Patreon has 3 plans, depending on how big your team is. If it’s just you, you get a simple button and you don’t break down your rewards like tiers (like KickStarter does). If you’re a handful of people, but not a huge team, you can get on the Founder Level, which is what I have. This allows patrons to select their level of patronage from the options you provide just like you would with KickStarter. Patreon also has a level above Founder, but that’s intended for creative teams that are 10+ people, or folks who run a business with subscription boxes that ship.

In the indie comics verse, I’ve seen some folks use one platform, but not the other. More often, I see both. I decided to be kooky and use both platforms, as well.

So how am I using them?

Admittedly, I sought out using Ko-Fi to fund a side project. Then the side-project fell through. So then I thought, “Maybe I’ll offer this as an alternative to Patreon! I’ve seen some people’s eyes roll at the mention of Patreon. Maybe they just need an option that’s different.”

But after having received a few donations through Ko-Fi, and after having been on Patreon for many years, I’ve discovered this in my experience:

The support I get from Patreon is for my art. The gifts I’ve received from Ko-Fi come with notes thanking me for my blog.

So – I’ve decided that Patreon will fund my art…and Ko-Fi will fund my writing.

Yes, I DO write. I’ve done the National Novel Writing Month Challenge two years in a row, and I’m hoping that this year will be my third.

And obviously I write blog posts. And, curiously, I’ve had patrons on Patreon ask me to make poetry for them.

So that’s the plan moving forward!

If you would like to support the art-side, check out Patreon. Heads up – I will be revamping the reward tiers and promotional art soon.

If you would like to support the blog, check out the Ko-Fi. I have new rewards available that are writing-specific. You can give once OR give monthly (I opted for the Ko-Fi Gold).

That’s all for now. Thank you for reading!

You. Are. Awesome.