End of a Chapter : Incoming Hiatus & Permanent Changes

This is going to be a long post so I will put a little summary right at the top :

I am moving again because I found a full-time job in another country.
Therefore, I will have to pause Art for an undefined amount of time.

Now, this may come "out of the blue" for most of you so if you'd like to know the reasons behind this and how it's going to affect my Art, here is the full story. 

"Why the sudden change ? What's wrong ?"

My financial situation has never been ideal. I've been a freelance designer and artist for a few years now, I managed to stay above the poverty line all along but while I hoped to "grow" above that some day, the evolution of social media and networking platforms, along with the rising taxes and the insane inflation rates we currently have made it all really hard for me to stay afloat, and it feels like despite working twice as much, I earn less and less. I simply don't have what it takes to make a living out of it.

Other than my financial situation, there is also my mental health. I'm an optimist at heart, and a stubborn one at that. So naturally, in my hubris, I thought myself above the dramas, the engagement-fueled algorithms, NFTs/AIs/techbros, and whatever one might so easily dismiss as the "Stupid & Silly Side of the World Wide Web". But this, with all the financial pressure, still wore me down beyond what I could have imagined. I tried freelancing after I left an abusive workplace (and started Grand Sage at that moment) but this past year made me feel like all I did was build my own abusive workplace, one "achievement" at a time. Unable to take breaks, always swinging between the feeling of working too much and never doing enough... And when I realized that, everything started to feel a bit "dull" and the joy I usually feel when making and sharing Art has been awfully short-lived as a result.

And despite having met a lot of nice people during my freelancing career thanks to the internet; clients and patrons, creators, mutuals and sometimes friends, and despite having made a lot of things I'm really proud of, the "good" doesn't objectively outweigh the "bad" that is affecting me anymore. (I may be optimistic and stubborn, but I'm not deluded.) I do not want to turn into a bitter old man before my 30's, nor do I want to ruin my relationship with my girlfriend because of money-related issues. So, when I saw a Graphic Design job opening, in a company that pays well, with a healthy work environment, I applied. And after a few tests and interviews, I got the job.

"OK, but can't you keep making Art as usual once you're settled ?"

Unfortunately, no. The whole reason why this was a tough choice to make is that while this new job pays pretty well, it is "full"-time ("fuller" than the average contract in my country in fact), and pretty far from where I'll live, leaving me with a lot less free time, if any... Art is tough work, and I'll probably have more than enough on my plate already.

"So, what is going to happen to this page ?"

• In a first time, Patreon / Etsy / Social Media and everything "Grand Sage" will be paused. All rewards due before this date will be completed (the Karlach and then the Shego illustrations, the Monthly Sketch reward for my highest tier, original files, etc.) but probably with a delay of a few weeks; the time for me to move and set everything up again. Not sure how long this will last, it may very well be permanent, I do not know yet...
• In a second time, I will see if I have enough energy and free time to make art casually for myself again. I may experiment with simpler styles, draw more Miss Tira and less fan-arts, try 3D or animations... All in all; focus on things I want to "create" for myself. 
• And finally, if I manage to create and share enough stuff again, Patreon might resume and tiers' rewards will probably change toward a simpler "tip jar" kind of page (with only one 1$ tier for everything.) and everything might resume. I say "probably" because this is not 100% sure yet, I'll have to see the amount of time and energy I can put into this.

"Is this the end of the journey then ?"

Not really. I don't think this is the "End of the Journey" per se, as I love art and pinups too dearly to fully abandon them. My dream of being "a great artist like Xa" (the reason I even started to learn how to draw as a 13 y.o.) is still intact, deep in my heart. But it is the "End of a Chapter" on that journey. This still leaves me with a pinch in the heart to be honest, but it also leaves me with the hope of coming back, stronger than ever, some day. 

I know this will probably drive some -if not most- of you away from here, and I understand. I just hope that if/when you decide to leave, you can find another artist that would benefit from your support. Because while I couldn't live off my dream, your kindness and generosity still made me live that dream for a bit. And it is a feeling I wish all of my peers to experience, something I'll never be grateful enough for. 

Now dear friends; ladies, gentlemen, and every soul in between, take care of yourselves and your loved ones. Until my next post, I bid you all "Au revoir" ✌️