Patreon Membership Update

After coming back from my brief hiatus around February, you may have noticed me not really enforcing the membership structure of my Patreon page.  $2 tier members all got the same benefits as $5 members.  This was fine for a while because I was just getting back into the groove and wanted to ramp up interest in my work.  I also switched to "charge per creation", to give myself flexibility in case I needed to take time off.  I only charged once per month anyway, so the payment amount remained the same.

I'd like to go back to enforcing a proper tier structure.  This way, $5 members can at least feel like they are getting value, and $2 members have the incentive to upgrade. 

One important change is that the $2 members will only get line art and basic coloring going forward.  It's such a low amount of money, that I can't really justify releasing that much free content.  So...sorry $2 members.  But the good news is it's really not that much more to join the next tier.

I'm also going to change my payment plan back to monthly as well as enable charge upfront.  My Patreon page now has a library of 2 years of content.  Anyone can join to see all of it, and then cancel.  This didn't bother me too much before, but I didn't think it was fair to people actually supporting me.  So...sorry people who just wanted a free preview.  The good news is, if you wait long enough, I may eventually post pieces publicly to DeviantArt (it may take a while though).

Finally, I'm introducing a higher tier called "Super Fan".  It's $15 a month.  This tier is really for those members with extra cash who really want to show some extra support for my work.  Remember, I'm still paying to keep my sites Sleepycomics.com and Sleepy Clips running!  I had to think a bit about what to offer Super Fans: do I offer commissions?  The ability to request art?  Exclusive art?  But I came up with an interesting idea.  

My process for creating art involves creating a list of ideas and prioritizing that list.  I only have the capacity for about 4 pieces per month, so this list is crucial for deciding what gets drawn, and what is pushed to a future month.  Right now, I'm the only person who manages this list.  That's where Super Fan's come in:  you're going to help me plan next month's line up.  This is not the same thing as simply "requesting" art.  It's a collaboration with me and my creative process.  You'll be feeding me ideas for characters and scenes.   You'll tell me what works and how I can create better art.  You'll help me figure out the line up of artwork for the coming month.  

Of course, none of this is obligatory.  You're free to join the higher tier just to show support.  Given its exclusive nature, I may also limit the number of members in the higher tier.  But I'd like to see how this pans out first. 

This higher tier solves a problem I've had with my art request structure.  It was too loose and lacked discipline.  People would suggest ideas but I obviously can't do them all, so it left some people feeling ignored.  But it's also awkward having to explain why I didn't want to draw someone's idea.  Committed members to this higher tier can be more open about what they want, and I can give more honest feedback about their ideas. 

I plan to implement these changes starting in September.  Let me know what you think in the comments below.  And thank you for your continued support!