Patreon Rewards Update

Hello Everyone!

I wanted to take a moment to talk about some upcoming changes to the Patreon rewards. I started this Patreon at the beginning of the year because I was struggling financially. Your response has been amazing and has definitely helped alleviate some the stress caused by that, thank you all so much; I can’t tell you how much I appreciate the support!

However, I've realised that the current reward structure isn't sustainable. While most of the rewards are manageable—like the reference images, character files, and project files—researching, planning, recording, and editing 6 to 8 lessons every month is a lot of work. Every month I am dissatisfied with the quality of the lessons because I do not feel I have enough time to properly execute them. It’s also why I keep running into delays- I’m finding that it's too much to stay on top of.

So, I've been thinking about how to reduce my workload while still providing you with valuable content. Here’s my proposal for the new rewards structure:

Current Rewards:

• 7 Video Lessons

• 100 Reference Images

• Scene Files (e.g., ecorche, sculpt)

• Character File

• Discount Codes

Proposed Changes:

Each month I will create a new character illustration and the Patreon rewards will be derived from this illustration:

• Character File

You will continue to receive the character file as you have been, but with extra time to work on it the quality of this will be better - better shapes, better textures, better renders, more background elements and overall better work

I will also deliver the character in an A-pose with the rig intact where possible. This means you will be able to use the character to work on rigging or animating or whatever you like!

• Ref-Mesh

The next reward will be step by step meshes, similar to those I created here, here and for the head sculpting course here.

In case you haven't seen these before, they basically provide a very clear roadmap for you to follow when you’re sculpting.

I break the process down into easy to understand steps/shapes so that you can follow my process, learning from each shape

It's sorta like the Andrew Loomis method of putting together a character drawing, but updated for digital sculpting

The benefit of doing it digitally means that you don't need me or any other teacher to critique your work to figure out whether or not you missed the mark, because you can use Blender to check it for you

Just morph between your sculpt and the ref-mesh to see exactly which areas your result differs from the reference. The areas that have the biggest difference is what you want to work on.

The meshes have proved very popular amongst my students!

• Reference Images

I will continue to provide reference images except now the reference images will be of the ref-meshes. This means you can see the ref meshes from multiple different angles at the same time while you’re sculpting.

• Back Catalogue

Another big change will be the availability of the files. For as long as you are subscribed you will have access to the back catalogue of the new rewards packages (the previous lessons/rewards will not be included in this as it’s not fair to everybody that has already paid). As I currently do not have a back catalogue, I will spend some time at the beginning creating new rewards packages from previous characters.

• Course Discount

Initially, the plan for this Patreon was to gradually build up a course piece by piece. However, aligning monthly rewards with the overall course has proven tricky. Moving forwards I intend to create stylized character courses but without the pressure of delivering lessons each month. This will allow me to properly plan out the lessons and deliver them to a quality I am happy with. I can’t guarantee a delivery date for this, but if you stick around you will get a special discount on this course. I may also post bonus lessons and behind the scenes content related to the course here on Patreon, but without a set schedule.

• Credit to you

While I would like to stop making lessons as Patreon rewards, I would like to make tutorials available to everyone on YouTube, for example the upcoming GeoNode hair tutorial. This content is made possible with your support here on Patreon and as such I believe you should be credited. All patrons will be credited at the end of each video.

• Discount Codes

Discount codes will continue to be available each month for subscribers

I hope you find this new approach valuable and continue to support me on Patreon. If you have any suggestions or concerns, please let me know. I'm always open to feedback!

Thank you once again for your amazing support!