hollyqk

Incoming tax stuff

Hello! I haven't made any announcement posts in forever, so I apologize that this first one in a long time is about boring tax things.

Patreon will be messaging patrons themselves on June 1st to bring the news, but I'd like to offer my own explanation here first so that everyone's aware before the new month's pledges go through in a couple of days.

The taxes come

Starting June 1st, taxes will be applied to some patrons' pledges. This isn't so new to EU patrons as it is to those in the US and elsewhere. How much the taxes add up to, as well as if any are applied at all, depend on a given patron's location (not mine) and the benefits of the tier they are subscribed to. Patreon reassures us that most people won't see any extra taxes, and that those who do will only see very small amounts. Think 20-50 cents on a $5 pledge.

For my stuff specifically

As the rewards offered in my tiers are limited to "downloadable digital goods," pledges from the US should only be taxed in about half of all states, according to Patreon. They made a little table and everything. Actually, I'll just link the page that I'm referring to for everything I'm writing in this post. There! 

It'll vary by country and you'll need to check the paged linked above for the details. Again, it shouldn't be a particularly life-changing thing, but it's best to know beforehand anyway.

So yeah

Stay home, stay safe and thanks for the support as always. I'm off to draw more Hololive fanart because that's my life purpose now...

- holly

Ookami Mio log 1

Log 1... implying more of them. No one can save me from Vtuber streams now...

nozomizo

shopping friends, who also play instruments together sometimes.

01. Nozomi

02. Mizore

Ichigo

Just a girl and her idol activities.

>> hi-res version: https://www.patreon.com/posts/32644520/

XP-Pen contest results!

Hi!

I joined a contest recently hosted by XP-Pen, a brand of drawing tablets and pen displays. The contest was Christmas-themed with the main requirement being to include a Christmas tree in your submission, with their fox mascot Fenix being a natural element to incorporate. I managed to score the grand prize: XP-Pen's Artist 22R Pro! Cool!

I ended up having to draw a fair amount of new things, the main new thing being the anthropomorphic fox right in the foreground. Also the composition work and trying to fit in so many elements and colors into one picture... and also doing it all on pretty short notice. In the end, everything worked out and naturally I'm pretty happy with the results.

Anyway, here's the results announcement tweet, below which you can see all the runner-ups and other winners. Congrats to all and thanks to XP-Pen for giving everyone the chance to win some cool stuff!

By the way, XP-Pen has so far been a pretty good and cost-effective alternative to stuff like Wacom Cintiqs, which I think tend to be pretty far outside of people's budgets. They also have a bunch of other traditional drawing tablets, which I haven't tried myself but look really cool either way. Check them out if you're interested!

Christmas Break! (and other news about WisteriA and new plans)

Hello! holiday speaking... to say happy holidays.

But also, I have some updates on the status of my Patreon activities that I should share. First I'll address the state of updates on WisteriA, my webcomic. After that is about the changes to the paid rewards resulting from the change in my schedule. Finally, a short note about winter break!

WisteriA

First of all, I'm still working on WisteriA. I have lots of story planned and I think about it every day...! But I've decided to turn my attention to more illustration work lately since I felt I was getting a bit out of practice in that regard.

WisteriA has proven a bit difficult to monetize, unsurprisingly because my audience started out very small and the comic couldn't create the momentum needed to grow it. This is fine; I knew it wouldn't be a straight line from nothing to something. Still, a year in, I think it's time to adjust once more. I'll be continuing to post updates to the comic, but I've decided to do so whole chapters at a time. The story really lends itself better to continuous, interrupted reading, being a character and story-driven series rather than a daily humor one.  The bottom line: WisteriA chapters will be posted one chapter at a time from now on, with whatever time it takes to make those chapters between updates. I'm guessing like, two months at least, depending on chapter length.

Naturally this means the rewards system I have currently in place (advance page viewings, namely) is getting totally uprooted. This is also fine.

New rewards, and duration of change

The main thing: I'm switching back to illustration-based rewards, with the usual PSD and full resolution files and all that. It aligns more neatly with my current art goals, so you'll start seeing posts of that nature coming along soon. I've already actually posted a few of them previously, like this Riamu one, this Rika one, and this Marnie one. More to come!

Here is something important to note: I launched my own pixivFANBOX last month where I've set up essentially the same rewards structure that I've used here: PSD/CLIP data, high resolution exports, and WIP screenshots. The only difference is that, as of writing this, there is a second tier planned where I'll be including a more titillating variety of works on top of the usual family-friendly work I have released here lately. For now, I plan to start that content off exclusively in FANBOX, but I'm still unsure whether I'll bring it over here. I still plan to release things like WisteriA progress reports and such here, and I'd really like to keep this and that separate. In any case, the main takeaway is that FANBOX is the surest way to access everything I have in store. If you've never used it, don't worry: it's pretty simple, works basically like Patreon and they PayPal and all that! Cool.

You'll find my FANBOX page over at this link. 

Break

That concludes the outline of my current plans. Drawing a lot, studying, brushing up on illustration style and technique, with comics work sprinkled on whenever I can. That said, it's Christmas! Which means it's time for a bit of rest...

I'm not sure exactly when I'll be back to doing nothing but drawing all day, but I'm guessing sometime after 2020 kicks off. I'll get some much needed rest, and then throw myself back into it with new ideas and renewed drive! Excellent.

I have some unpublished files that I want add to the current month's rewards, so I won't be suspending Patreon/FANBOX or anything going into the new year. I've already outlined what changes you'll be seeing in the rewards though, so just be aware of that.

With that, I want to thank everyone for all the support up until now. It's not easy starting something from nothing, but I've seen the small glimmers of potential now, and it's kept me going all this time. I hope to continue drawing and improving, and creating nice things for the world. Thanks so much.

Merry Christmas!

-holiday

08-30 Someone in mind

Momo in: Nighttime Ruminations, part II.

In case it wasn't apparent, though I hope it was: this is a big revelation...!! And you will find out more in chapter 9, publishing soon.

It's definitely been good stretching chapters out to the length they need to be to tell a good story, but they take kind of a long time to make... Oh well, I guess. I'll get faster at drawing Eventually™.

08-29 Not nothing, but something

Momo in: Nighttime Ruminations, part 1.

pixiv FANBOX!

ＦＡＮＢＯＸはじめました！

FANBOX is a part of pixiv that's basically like Patreon... but on pixiv. It has the same monthly billing and tier-based rewards setup, so if you're reading this on Patreon right now, it probably doesn't really need much of an introduction.

I've started making hi-res illustrations again for posting there, and since I still have some patrons here on Patreon, I decided to make those same posts available. I'll post one right after this, as well as a few more down the road. The header image is the main content of one of the posts I made shortly after launching it.

Here's the link if you're curious. You could even join FANBOX if it's more convenient than Patreon for any reason. I actually kind of prefer it, so far...

That's all for now. I'm still working on my comic, WisteriA! And getting better at drawing in general! Thanks for reading.

-holiday

08-28 Oyasumi, Moomoo

Moomoos need their sleep. I'm still debating whether Moomoo is a nickname Yaya will be sticking with or if she changes it up.

Also, it seems that for some reason I hadn't scheduled this page or the others that come after it! Sorry it's coming a bit late, but things are on track now.

08-27 Ask the cat

Just ask the cat. The mysterious, deadpan, talking cat. From your dreams!

Not the most unbelievable thing.

08-26 Anything or anyone

What's on the Momo mind...?

FUN FACT #86: Momo's phone has been upgraded from a Nexus 5 in chapter 3 to a Pixel 3 XL.

FUN FACT #87: I actually keep a list of who owns which phone. Important details and all.

08-25 Like, exciting

I feel kind of bad that Yaya has recently been having more conversations over the phone than in person, but she's my go-to for getting Momo's thoughts out in the open, especially when no one else is around for her to talk to.

At the same time, I think it's kind of sweet that they talk so much even after school hours. They're good friends, they are.

08-24 Things to look forward to

Momo can't really know everything that's in store for her, especially now that she's undertaking yet another new endeavor. But sometimes, it just takes a vision to keep you moving forward.

08-23 I'll try it

She'll try it!

08-22 The way forward

08-21 No more limits

On this day, one girl discovers a new way forward. With limitless potential, she takes the first step of many to come...!

08-20 The girl who could

08-19 To see a dream once more

It was but a single moment in one dream among countless others that she would think back to as the beginning of it all.

08-18 Good morning

08-17 The reality before her

08-16 You'll be fine

08-15 Your strength

08-14 Don't let go

A long, dreamlike quest comes to a close... Hold on to that which you found at the end.

08-13 The dream she saw

ch. 08 CIP: Cats in progress

Did I mentioned I had to learn to draw cats for the purpose of this chapter? I spent a few days prior to starting my storyboard to try and figure it out...

I'd done a few animal-focused studies in the past, but nothing that involved drawing a single feline character consistently and in various poses, so this was fairly new in that regard. If you look back at the earlier pages of this chapter, I'm not sure if you'll be able to tell that I was still figuring out the finer details of it, but I can assure you that it sure felt like it.

The way I've drawn the cat by this point in the chapter is the culmination of all that practice, and I'm happy with the direction its design went in terms of style and looseness. Cool!

Still a lot of practice to be had, though. It's time to look into other animals to learn about and broaden that horizon.

Momo is getting into some nice discoveries soon. I hope you'll continue reading to find out.

08-12 More to do

I found a cool texture to use for the notebook! Should probably try to vary my tones a bit more...

08-11 Even more

Momo of much pondering.

The style changed again! But I've been feeling like it's been pretty easy to be consistent this way. Perhaps a sign of good things to come.

08-10 The way things are

It's the famous "if you could change any one thing in your life, what would it be" question... but there are always implications to the possibilities. Momo seems to realize this within herself even if she doesn't know it yet. 

08-09 Possibilities on the horizon

Deep cat talk today.

There's way too many books to draw in this chapter. I can't possible set up perspective grids for each of them, but I've practiced enough with guides that I can mostly manage without them for small things like this... It just kind of takes a while.

That said, working without CSP's rulers gives it a more natural look as each book is slightly off from the surrounding books' own perspectives, so it works out!