Possible Change to the Patreon - Let me know what you think!

As we come up on my one year anniversary on Patreon, I’ve been considering a change to how the page works that will affect the exclusivity of my art and how I distribute it.

Just to get this out of the way now and alleviate any worries: tier prices will remain the same. I have no desire to change them. Also, please note that what I’m proposing below is not set in stone yet and I’m still thinking about it. I also want to get everyone’s opinions on this before I make a decision, which is why I’m adding a poll at the end of this post so you can have your say.

Here’s what I’m considering:

• Starting in December, any new 18+ art and HD versions of SFW art would only be hosted on Patreon for a period of roughly 2 months.
• After that, they'd be removed from Patreon and hosted on Gumroad, where they would be available to purchase in digital packs. This would happen on the 1st of the month. So, for example, any new 18+ art posted during January would then be moved to Gumroad on March 1st. So, patrons would have 40-60 days to download the new art.
• The Gumroad packs would include nearly everything available to Mythril patrons, excluding polls and discount codes which will remain 100% Patreon exclusive. WIPs would also remain exclusive to the Patreon as they are now.
• This would only apply to new art posted after the change has been made (so, anything posted in December 2022 and beyond). All art that is currently on the Patreon would remain available and exclusive to patrons.
• Mythril patrons would receive a monthly discount code for the Gumroad shop, so they can buy any art they might’ve missed at a cheaper rate. These codes would be refreshed each month, just like the print codes.

So, for you current patrons, nothing really changes. You would still have access to all the same stuff you currently do, as well as any new art that gets posted in the coming months. The only difference is that there would now be a time limit on downloading that new art before it gets moved to Gumroad. This is similar to how a lot of other Patreon artists do things, except I would leave the content here on the page for a few months rather than send it out through DMs.

I haven't fully settled on the price of the Gumroad packs yet, but I'm leaning towards the same price as the Mythril tier (maybe a little higher for packs that contain more than the standard 4 illustrations). This insures that subscribing to the Patreon is still the better deal, since you get access to 2 months' + the entire first year's worth of art, along with any extras available to the different tiers.

Why make this change?

Currently, a single month’s subscription grants you access to ALL of my content since I first began posting in September of 2021, and it is 100% exclusive to this Patreon. This was great in the first half of the year because there wasn’t that much art on my page to browse and I still wasn’t sure if I could keep up with a regular release schedule. However, now that I've been doing this for a full year, I’ve definitely settled into a groove and I think I’ve proven that not only am I able to reliably put out fresh artwork each month, but also occasionally deliver even more than what I promised by adding extra illustrations or making full comics.

So this has resulted in me putting out quite a bit of art in the last year and, as I continue this trend, a single month’s sub will get access to increasingly more and more content for the price. This has started to make me feel like the value of my work is decreasing over time, which I think is unfair to both myself and the recurring patrons who've chosen to support me month-to-month when they really didn't need to.

The simplest solution would be to raise tier prices to reflect the amount of art on the page, but like I said above, I really don’t want to do that. I feel like that would be a disservice to all of you loyal patrons who’ve stuck with me and supported me all this time. You guys have gotten me half-way to my current goal: reducing my office hours so I can work on my art even more. The last thing I want to do is try to make you guys give me even more of your money, especially with the current state of the economy in a lot of countries right now. So the changes I’m proposing above would let you guys keep receiving the same benefits for the same price you’ve been paying since you signed up.

I won’t pretend this is for entirely altruistic reasons, though. Part of it is also just business. I think giving people the option to buy the exact stuff they want off of Gumroad will be more convenient for those who would rather not pay a subscription. It will also (hopefully) encourage new and current patrons to stick around and see what else I have to offer next month. And I can breath easy knowing I’m not devaluing my work any further.

What do you think?

I didn’t want to just make this change without checking if you guys are cool with it first, so please go ahead and vote in the poll below to let me know your opinion. Also, feel free to leave a comment if you’d like to elaborate further on your choice or if you have any questions.

And to be clear: A majority vote in either direction won’t guarantee I’ll go with that option. I’m just trying to get a feel for where everyone’s heads are at. If enough people are against the change, I could try proposing alternatives. Ultimately, I want to make sure you guys still feel like you’re getting a good deal while also making sure my work retains the value I believe it’s worth. 

Thanks so much for taking the time to read this! You can vote below and tell me what you think.