Some August Rewards + Update on July Rewards and Move
Added 2018-08-16 12:13:07 +0000 UTC✿ HI EVERYONE! I'M (KINDA) BACK! ✿
And I'm tired out of my mind, but at least we are finally, mostly, almost, settled into our new place! More on this at the end of this post, and in the meantime, here are a few updates and announcements.
And so, first of all...
...to all our new Patreon peeps! Thank you to Carolina, Phoebe, Thasmiel, Sierra, Anette, Kim, and Christin, for joining us and offering their wonderful support. :)
I am thinking about putting up a post to get to know you all a bit better, I would love to hear more about each of you, who you are, what you love, what you do, where you live...etc...(Obviously only if you feel like sharing ^^).
Second of all, the main course of this post :
Since some of the July rewards were late because of my move, some August rewards will also be a little delayed, since I need to work on the backlog before I can move onto the more recent things, but here is a breakdown of the status of each reward.
❶ AUGUST GIVEAWAY WINNERS
✦ Sticker : Ana Maravic
✦ 8x10 + Sticker : Marina Smith
✦ In addition, Carolina will be receiving a postcard of one of my sketches (the same one $20 get monthly and vote on) as a welcome to the $10 tier!
❷ STICKER DESIGN
The winning design, as voted on by you all, was GOLEM.
I have sent it off to be printed, and am hoping to receive the brand new, 7x10cm, vinyl stickers next week!
All physical reward packages will include a sticker, and the remainder of them will go on my shop. Future new patrons will also get a sticker if they sign up for any physical reward tiers, and future giveaway winners will also receive this new design, until another one is voted on.
❸ DISCOUNT CODES
As per usual, 10% and 15% discount codes for this month have been sent to qualifying tiers via personal message, so don't forget to check your Patreon inbox if you would like to purchase anything from my shop. :)
❹ POSTCARD DESIGN
The postcard design for this month (that new $10 patrons, and $20 patrons will receive, and as voted on by $20) will be Sketch 3.
❺ SKETCHBOOK PDF
Because of the move (everything is because of the move at the moment, haha), I wasn't able to sketch much last month, so I'm afraid I have barely any sketches to make up a decent PDF for August, so I decided to include the few I have in September's PDF, and, instead, give you a PDF of one of my older sketchbooks, as an August PDF.
I hope that is ok with everyone?
I will post the PDF as a separate post tomorrow!
It will be of a 2010 sketchbook I am really fond of, as it is filled with what I considered at the time some of my best creature sketches, haha.
❻ PROCESS PDF AND SENDING PHYSICAL REWARDS ⚠
[More on this in the next section of this post]
- Process PDF :
This month's Process PDF will be somewhat delayed, as I still need to create a piece for July's PDF, and then I will need to create a piece for this month's.
It might be that this bleeds into September also, but don't worry, I always keep a record of who has pledged what and is due something, so even if you can't pledge again in September, you will receive any outstanding rewards once they are ready, even if you stop being a patron.
Again, I am sorry for these delays, I am working hard at catching up!
- Physical Rewards :
Any outstanding physical rewards will be sent either once I receive the stickers, if not dependent on me creating a piece (sticker giveaway and welcome postcard), or once I have painted the pieces I need to (all $20 rewards).
The only outstanding July reward is the Process PDF for that month.
That was due to me not having had the time to finish the piece I was planning for it, and my focus will be on wrapping that up before the end of this month.
This might mean that I won't have a Process PDF for August, as I don't know if I will manage to paint another big piece and put a PDF together before the month ends, but I should have the time to catch up with all of that in September, since I won't have half of my month eaten up by a time-consuming move!
Please bear with me while I work at catching up on the backlog, I will get back up to speed as quickly as I can. :)
I mentioned this before, and this is a little overdue since we have long passed that amount, but we reached our $250 goal a little while ago, and I promised I would do an original piece giveaway to celebrate at some point.
I have obviously not had the time to create an exclusive piece for this yet, but I am putting it down as a September To-do, and am hopeful I will be able to organise this then.
So sorry for the delay, I will make sure the piece is worthy of all of you when I get to sit down to make it!
Thank you SO MUCH for helping me reach this incredible milestone everyone!
I was trying to keep you guys updated about the move via Lense (the Patreon equivalent of Stories, or Snapchat, available on the Patreon app), but for some reason, my app keeps crashing whenever I try to write in it!
It was incredibly frustrating, and I am sorry about my continued silence!
I hope you guys enjoyed the few posts I did manage to schedule while I was busy though?
- The move and the flat :
As far as the move goes, things were very hectic for a while, as my boyfriend and I moved in at different dates, and not only did I have to organise my own move, but I also helped him when his turn came.
The move itself went well, I couldn't afford hiring two moving men to load the van, so I got one guy, and helped him put everything in the truck, and then asked my boyfriend to meet him at the other end while I drove down with my own car absolutely crammed with my more valuable belongings.
Carrying my very heavy, very cumbersome, somewhat unnecessary, filing cabinet up the 3 flights of stairs was fuuuuuuuunnnn....Especially since it was a ridiculously hot, muggy, humid, day!
The new place is lovely, save from being right next to a major road.
I love the flat, and have never had the luxury of a flat of my own ever before, so I am reveling in the emptiness and spaciousness and cleanliness and all around absence of messy, noisy, flatmates, but I am also exhausted, as it is taking me some time to adjust to the noise from the road. My previous place was very quiet and dark, and I slept like a baby, and it really helped me manage my anxiety, however, this new flat is a lot louder and I am finding it difficult to get used to. Hopefully it will just take a bit of adjusting, and won't be a permanent problem...fingers crossed...I hope it won't be a problem with recording videos either...
Last week was the bulk of the move, as James moved in, and then it was unpacking galore, as well as "shopping for furniture" party time. Thank god we have an Ikea less than 1/2h away...
We managed to spend a lot less on furniture than we thought it would which, obviously makes me very happy.
We got a massive TV (which I was unsure about initially, since I had never owned a TV in my life, and have never felt the need for one), and although I don't watch TV myself, I have to admit that curling up on the sofa to watch a TV Show with James in the evening is rather luxurious...
This place is upping my living costs quite a bit (including my car insurance going up...yay...), which is also partly why I am so exhausted at the moment, since it is really triggering my anxiety, and I am worried and scared, but I have always been quite good at managing my money, so I will just have to be careful and meticulous.
I am paying for our own, unshared, London flat after all, and all things considered, we have definitely found a good deal, and the place is cheap by London standards. But hopefully I will one day be able to leave this unnecessarily expensive city....T_T
Other than that, I am nearly finished with setting up my studio, and as soon as I am content with its layout, I will put together a studio tour. :)
The space is nowhere near as lovely to work in as my old place, but again...I now have a whole flat...:) And having a dedicated room to work is actually pretty wonderful, instead of working out of a bedroom.
Our flat is in a house with 3 other flats, and the windows on one side give onto a big public park, with a small lake, giant dinosaur sculptures, a gym, swimming pool, and a farm. I am excited to visit the area in more detail, and you can expect some more plein air painting posts in the future, as those dino sculpts are just begging to be painted, haha.
We also have a communal garden, which has a couple of bird feeders that attract a mob of pigeons, squirrels, and parakeets throughout the day, and which I definitely spend a lot more time gawking at that is normal, hahaha.
I am really glad we found a place that is so close to nature...I will miss my little, peaceful, cow filled nature reserves, but at least we are not buried in the city...
I will update you as things go on, but for the meantime, this is where I am at....:)
As I often do, here is a little breakdown of the things I have planned and the different projects I will be working on during the next few months.
❶ SPONSORED VIDEOS
I still have one sponsored video to work on for next week (sponsored by Skillshare), which will take up a few days this month. Sponsored videos are a really great way for me to earn some money, but are very time-consuming, especially as I always got the extra mile with them, and try to cater the topic to the sponsor as best I can. So next week's video will be about how I practice human anatomy, and will detail a bunch of exercises I use to improve.
❷ EXHIBITION
Those of you who've been with me for a little while might recall me mentioning a group exhibition in a Florida gallery in October I was invited to be a part of.
I haven't heard anything from the curator in a while, but neither have my fellow artists participating in it, so I think it is more due to the gallery being busy with another show at the moment, and not anything amiss. Hopefully.
I was hoping to get as many pieces done for it as possible during the summer, but obviously, Time had other plans and buggered off, so I haven't been able to produce anything.
Therefore, after next week's sponsored video, my time will become consumed with creating pieces for the show. And you will obviously be privy to all the WIPs. Some of them will also become the Process PDF and Print pieces for August and September.
❸ INKTOBER AND SKETCHBOOK ZINE
I know it is still a little while away, but we all know how time is broken and likes to zoom by, so I need to start thinking about Inktober!
I am definitely going to try participating again this year, although I am terrified of following in the footsteps of last year's incredible success.
I don't have a precise idea of what I will be doing theme wise, but I know I would like to do a red and black ink series. With hopefully a booklet at the end again?
I am also planning on releasing a 50 copies only 2nd edition of last year's Inktober booklet to celebrate one year since that amazing endeavor!
I would also like to work on a booklet of some of my sketches, to be released some time before Christmas perhaps? I'll have to think about it...
❹ CLEARANCE SALE
I will be doing a sale in my shop in September, to help with my moving costs, as well as to give everyone one last chance to grab a copy of some of the pieces I will be retiring for good after that (See picture below).
My store needs some cleaning up and refurbishing, and I want to make room for new pieces and new series.
I'll keep you updated as to the prices, dates and all relevant details soon, so keep an eye out for that if you are interested in snagging any of those before they disappear! :)
I have a few questions I would like to ask you all about my page, and what you'd like to see more/less of in the future?
✦ Do you guys watch Lenses? Do you find them useful/interesting?
✦ What would you like to see more or/ what are you most interested in?
Why did you choose to support me?
✦ I am thinking of creating a new tier, around $15 probably, that would have a monthly sketch postcard as a reward every month. What do you guys think?
✦ I am planning on creating a few masterposts, one about how I make your prints, one about how I stretch my watercolour paper, one about my career as a make-up artist..etc...Are there any topics you would like me to cover in the future?
✦ And last but not least, are you all well? :)
Thank you for being with me for another month, thank you for bearing with me while I was busy moving, thank you for always being so kind and supportive, and patient, and understanding. You are all incredible, and I hope you are all the best you can be.
All my love,
Comments
That's awesome!! I used to write short fantasy stories too when I was younger, I really miss writing! I hope you'll get one published one day! Your poetry also sounds fun XD I love how you describe it!
2018-09-07 07:52:59 +0000 UTCI mostly write epic fantasy books :P I write what enjoy, but I think I put my own spin on it too. One day I'll get one published, but for now I'll just write and edit them for me :) I also write surreal poetry with lots of forced metaphors, cliches, and good old fashioned over romtanticization. They are less likely to be published, encase they bore someone so much their eyes dry up in disgust. I don't want to be guilty of that so they can remain safely hidden.
2018-09-02 13:31:23 +0000 UTCOh my god Alice, I can't believe I didn't reply to this comment, it is amazing! So sorry! Thank you for such a long, kind, and thorough message :) I am indeed quite meticulous in all I do, and although it is exhausting, it also means I feel more organised and rounded, and sticking to my work ethic helps me deal with my anxiety. I'm sorry to hear you have BPD, but glad to hear you deal with it well and I hope you have a supportive environment around you. I am always awed when people tell me how much my work resonates with them, especially when they are going through difficult times. I can only hope to create work like that, and the fact that it can help others in the same way it helps me when I create it is just incredibly rewarding. :) Thank you for choosing to support me, I am honoured. So glad to hear you are currently doing well! I used to love writing too, and I miss it. What kind of things do you write, if you don't mind me asking? PS : The world definitely needs more dinos...
2018-09-02 12:58:57 +0000 UTCThank you for your kind words <3 I work as a saleswoman in a big warehouse. I like most of my coworkers and my bosses are great too, but the constant noises (escalators, chatting customers, bleeping cash registers) and switching between different tasks quickly is exhausting for me. So I try to find a good "middle" between working enough to earn enough money to survive but working as little as I could to survive too (bcause I observed recently that if I'm really exhausted my thoughts get destructive ._.) But I'm on the right path I think. I have to keep trying, practice makes perfect in art and in life I think. When I decided to support your channel I hoped to find a tier I could afford. So I was glad you had a 5$ tier! Then I checked what I would get for my money and found it great! Yes I pay money, so I want to get something for it, but because I think I want to pay for the free contet I get anyway (youtube and instagram) the things I get here are somewhat bonuses. I would have pledged that tier too, if you had said you can make a big process pdf only every second month (for example) and I wont stop to pay if you would change it know because you realised you could do one every month without sacrificing your creativity or health or whatever. I love your sketchbook pdfs but again I think if you hadn't enough time to sketch enough that particular month, then it isn't the end of the world to skip a month. And yes I wish I could pledge to to the physical tiers, but I totally understand that you have to pay your bills too! And that includes your time, your materials for drawing and painting and of course the materials for printing (paper, ink and a little amount for your printer because maybe you have to repair it some day...) and you have to pay packaging and shipping too. So its only a expression of regret if I say that I'm sad I cant pledge that much and no intention to make you feel bad!
Christina Wenzel
2018-08-19 12:53:19 +0000 UTCHello Lovely, -I try to watch the Lens things but I'm not bothered when I miss them. I'm happy to wait for the long posts, they're like reading a letter. But I imagine they take time- everything you do seems to have a certain muticuloussness to it, and I imagine it can get very stressful. -i support you for many reasons. There's the very selfish one that according to economists people living in England today have more luxuries than medieval monarchs, and medieval monarchs got to be patrons of the arts, so I want to too. But the real reason is a lot of your things mean a lot to me. I have BPD, which makes life unpredictable and exhausting because my emotions and mental health have the attitude of a cat and just do there own thing. I deal with it well, but your work constantly helps. I have lost count of the times I have opened up my copy of your Inktoberzine and pointed to a page and gone 'like that' when my partner asked how I was. Being a patreon felt like the bare minimum I could do. There's also the fact I find your process inspiring. I paint, but my 'art' of choice is writing, but I only get that done when I'm patient and do ground work, so I love seeing you, someone who's work amazes me, practicing and working hard. It remind me that ground work works, if that makes sense. I love your sketchbook PDFs a lot. -yeah seems like a good tear. -I'm doing really well, thank you lovely. The sort of happy no poet can write about because from the outside it's dull, but from the inside it's just right. Like a hot bath or a hug from an excellent hugger. You Ok? Settling in? As ever, I care more about your health than rewards, so try not to exhaust yourself :) Best wishes Alice Ps omg dinosuaurs. Wish my local park had dinosaurs... the world needs more 😁🐊🐢🐊
2018-08-19 09:30:31 +0000 UTCI agree, I do wish lenses could last a little longer, or be rewatched afterward. I can't even reply to comments in writing, I have to do another lense, and that feels excessive sometimes, or unnecessary. When you decided to support me, were you expecting a certain type of content (and if so, do you feel like you are getting it), or do you regard any extra content as bonuses? I really wish I could make physical tiers cheaper, but unfortunately, I would end up loosing money from it, especially with shipping. :( I am thinking of also maybe doing cumulative rewards, to thank people who have been supporting me for a little while, like you, so I need to think about that some more :) I'm so sorry to hear you were in a bad place, I hope you have good people around you to help you through it. What is your day job? Are the people nice? Life definitely is a roller coaster of ups and downs, and I know first hand how difficult it can be to feel like you're making progress to only feel back down to the bottom the next day. But every moment were we feel good is another moment of victory of life over darkness. All my love to you, you sound like you're going in the right direction :) Thank you for always being so kind and understanding!
2018-08-18 10:38:11 +0000 UTCI would definitely like to make more tutorials, maybe a few written ones with accompanying drawings, about basic concepts and tips. I'm not very good at halfway points, I generally tend to spend a lot of time on everything, trying to be as comprehensive as possible, but I think smaller, quicker tutorials could be good, for both me and you guys. Do you have any specific topics you'd be interested in seeing as small tutorials? Glad you're doing well, that's the best thing to hear!
2018-08-18 10:29:51 +0000 UTCThank you for this detailed update <3 - I miss the lenses most of the time because I dont log in daily. I think its sad that they are gone after 24 hours because when I'm able to watch them, I like it. - I chose to support you because I love your art and like your youtube videos. Patreon is an easy way to give something back, because showing your art on instagram and making youtube videos for free is great (thank you!) but you have to pay your bills too! - I like your sketch postcards and the ideo to do a tier with these as a reward, but I could not afford 15$ a month :( - I'm recovering from a depressive episode (was in rehab and now I slowly try to do my dayjob again) and sometimes I struggle a bit more then I hoped too, but there are good days too and that I'm able to see that is a big improvement. I know I repeat myself but: take your time and take enough breaks! Your health is more important then a pdf or picture-scan!
Christina Wenzel
2018-08-16 17:19:27 +0000 UTC
