March 24 Update (Important)

Hi everyone,

I have an important update but before that, here's stuff I'm working on:

 To start, I want to make it clear that things will be changing, but I will continue to make art and comics like I always have. I will be taking a new approach to setting goals/deadlines for myself, mainly making art at my own pace instead of trying to crank out art on a self-imposed schedule. I'm still going to be making art as usual, but at my own pace.

A little over a week from now will mark one year since I was hospitalized. Some of you know it was a complication with my heart, and that it was very close to being my last day on Earth. It was an eye opening experience for me. Though it wasn't caused directly by my pursuit of art, the choices I made in my art grind played a significant role in my ending up in the hospital. Mostly, I neglected my health to make more art over the last few years and ending up paying for it. Since then I've been taking better care of myself physically and am mostly recovered, though I still struggle emotionally with it. Through all the difficulty from the heart incident, I continued to grind out art, putting out a comic page and 1-2 pinups every week on average. I give this context to show that I'm very passionate about my art.

In spite of that effort and passion, things aren't really going how I hoped they would for me as an artist. My situation as an artist is actually worse compared to a year ago: social media engagement with my art is way down, and my Patreon has dropped to less than half of what it was. I recognize that this is likely due to external factors (US political and economic factors) and that it is not a reflection of the quality of my artwork. Regardless, I've been straining myself over the last few years trying to turn the art I loved creating into a career, and it just hasn't worked out. If I'm being honest, it's discouraging. There was a short period last year where things were looking up, and that was great, but it quickly reverted and things have continued to decline. This makes it clear to me that straining myself to put out art hasn't worked, so after some thought I've decided to change my approach to making art/comics. I don't want to strain myself to make art on a weekly schedule, instead I'm going to work on my art at my own pace. I might not have a comic page every week but I'll have something that I actually felt like making and not a comic page that I felt like I had to grind out. In the end, I believe this approach will make me happier while I make art and will result in higher quality artworks. If support for my work turns around for the better (either here or on social media), I may increase the output back to weekly. My ultimate goal is multiple pages a week, but realistically that's only possible if I can make a full time career out of art rather than a hobby I do on my free time after my real job.

In the meantime, I'll be focusing on taking care of myself both mentally and physically, while also working to grow as an artist. I want to express my heartfelt thanks to everyone who has supported me, whether over the past year or even longer. Your support has meant the world to me, and honestly, I don’t think I’d still be creating art without it.

Thanks and have a great week.

-CriKai