The Artistās Abode - the rotting rowhouse home of an ailing artist, his house filled with half-finished and ruined canvases.
You can download the free watermarked version from my Patreon here, and get access to the Patron only variants here. Patrons get access to the night variant, WebP files with transparent backgrounds, and DD2VTT files to handle the walls and lighting for Foundry VTT and Fantasy Grounds!
You can also check out my 75+ Free Curse of Strahd maps here!
This one was inspired by the Pickmanās ModelĀ episode of Guillermo del Toroās Cabinet of Curiosities, and a brief trip down memory lane last month when I played Layers of FearĀ again - I had to make a horror-themed map for an artist in decline!
take your self-promo to the next level (again, without being icky): michael scott's #1 sales tip for indie creators
indie creators rarely have large marketing budgets--or money for paid marketing at all. but you can learn to make sure whatever self-promo you do has maximum impact. the sales tech i'm gonna show you will not only make you better at highlighting what's truly special about your project, it can also make you immune to sales pitches (since you'll know how they work under the hood). let's get started!
there's a scene in the office i've wanted to talk about for a long time, and here on tumblr i have the space! it's the episode where michael and jim are co-managers and go on a sales call together:
Michael Scott:Ā You should wear this watch. I will loan it to you. It is a Tankard. I highly recommend you wear that.
Jim:Ā No thanks.
Michael Scott:Ā They are into style. They are into appearance. We are selling success.
Jim:Ā ...and paper.
Michael Scott:Ā That's sorta secondary.
it gets played as a joke, but michael is right.
the product itself is secondary.
think about it from the perspective of the customer. you can buy paper pretty much anywhere. if every salesperson that comes into your office showcases the same kinds of products, you'll probably go with the lowest price.
the solution isn't to lower prices. most indie designers (myself included) could stand to charge MORE actually. the solution here is to elevate your project.
and the #1 way to elevate your project is to focus on the emotional benefit: how will someone FEEL when they play your game? that's what you're selling.
the FEELING someone gets with your project is paramount. that's how people decide to get their wallets out and pay for your Very Cool Thing. people do not buy things out of logic (very generally speaking). they buy with their feelings. here's an example.
let's say i wanna sell you on HEXFALL. here's the logical approach:
new school narrative-focused hexcrawl with modular hex tiles so you can add your own
every roll is 3d4, so it's easy to learn
gmless and everyone builds the story together
12 unique playbooks, including BLADEWING, MOTHERTHAWED, HORIZONCLAD, and OSTEOMANCER
zero prep required
this isn't bad honestly. it's specific, it's clear, it gets the job done. heck, i've written copy exactly like this for HEXFALL. if someone knows they like all these things, they'll give it a shot. but let's see an emotional approach:
gameplay feels like wanderhome meets interstellar
because every roll is 3d4, you can immerse yourself in the story without sweating mechanics
explore the existential phantasmagoria of the Rift, where all players can decide reality
the game provides everything you and your friends need to sit down and start playing immediately -- no gm or prep required
playbooks like the BLADEWING, MOTHERTHAWED, HORIZONCLAD, and OSTEOMANCER embody never-before-seen yet poignant archetypes for an electrifying roleplay experience
see how different you FEEL after each one? the first one sells a game. the second sells what it feels like to play.
you might have heard this idea framed as "features vs benefits" which i still find useful, but i wanted to drill down into the nuance a bit more. the logical approach above still translates features into benefits. that's why it's not bad. it totally works. but focusing on emotional benefits in the second bullet list makes for a more impactful pitch. the idea here is how to take your self-promo to the next level--again, without being scummy.
final takeaway: when promoting your indie project, focus on how it will FEEL for the person who buys it
good luck!
lex
titanomachy rpg
some questions i imagine might come up
"can't I simply make a really good product?"
the problem with selling on quality is unfortunately, no non-essential thing sells itself. sure, maybe your project IS unique and IS literally the best in its class. but if you cannot get someone to download it and see that for themself, what difference does it make? word of mouth, sure, but if you're waiting for your thing to magically become popular, idk about that strategy friend.
"does learning sales make me a capitalist pig??"
no! learning how to sell is one way to seize the means of production for yourself, imo! the cool thing about being an indie creator is you are getting the full product of your own labor, instead of giving the majority to some leech. in my view, by learning how to sell better, you are essentially giving yourself a raise on your personal projects. no one else can give you that raise. plus, learning how to effectively but responsibly and respectfully promote your creative work is a good skill to have! just make sure you're paying collaborators and freelancers fairly!! i don't wanna see that $0.05/word shit out here
**if you use these techniques in a scummy way, however, people WILL ignore your projects. and i will be v mad at you. so use responsibly.**
More assets!
Above are manipulated to fit the scene, below are original as I drew them.
Everything is drawn by me *except* the light asset put over the fire. That's Inkarnate's :)
I started my art journey in 2019 and havent stopped since š¤š”ļø You will find mostly DnD related works on my blog + the odd videogame related fanart here and there
If you enjoy my style give me a follow as I post my art updates regularly here ^^
Hey friends, as a long-time tumblr user who never left, allow me to offer a few tips to make your lives a little bit easier. This is targeted at the twitter community
1. Use your tags!
Itās gonna make your own life ultimately easier. Yes, tumblrās search functions are questionable, but you can generally rely on being able to find stuff via tag on your blog.
Reblogs do not show up in site-wide searches. So, if you tag a reblog as āpokemon,ā it doesnāt show up in the site-wide pokemon tag. Not even if you added something in your reblog. But it will show up on your /tagged/pokemon. This is basically the best way for both you and your followers to be able to find and sort through your own stuff. So if a follower wants to find a specific post of yours, they can go to YourBlog/tagged/my stuff. And followers browsing your blog is pretty normal hereāit is a blog, after all. Donāt be weirded out if someone suddenly likes your post from 8 months ago.
And for that matter, most people here also use tags for commentary. Itās generally less obtrusive than adding commentary to a reblog, so you can add some thoughts without necessarily interjecting - the OP doesnāt get any special notification unlike they do with replies or reblogs with text additions. Itās a little spice just for your followers. (Just be aware that they are visible in the notes.)
As a general rule of thumb, you shouldnāt use dashes in your tags (links get confused), but spaces are safe.
2. Reblog (& Reply Culture).
So unlike with twitter, replying to something doesnāt put it on your followers feeds. (In fact, your followers canāt even see your replies unless they actively interact with the post itself.) Your likes arenāt necessarily public. (They are, by default, but only if your followers have certain settings enabled will they be able to see posts you like on their dashboard.) Basically, if you have a post you want someone to see: reblog it.
Replies are mainly for quick comments. Itās a pain to hold a discussion in the replies, so itās mainly just for a quickĀ āthis is a neat takeā kind of comment. Responding by reblogging + adding commentary in the post is how discussion actually happens. Thatās the equivalent of actually replying on twitter. Tag commentary is for informal thoughts that arenāt necessarily inviting active discussion. Itās the spot for anecdotes or funny commentary that whoever posted it doesnāt necessarily need to have put directly in their activity feed.
3. Use the Readmore
Unlike Twitter where nuance goes to die, you may have noticed thereās no such thing as character limits here. Tumblr does automatically cut long posts unless you change your settings, but itās generally still considered courteous to put a readmore. This little button here (also ctrl + shift + k).
Itāll prevent people browsing your blog from having to scroll through a huge wall of text unless they actively want to. Itās a good way to keep things organized. Iām breaking my own rule here for the sake of accessibility, but in most other cases, if youāre doing a long thread-type post, you should usually cut it to be courteous. Especially if itās image-heavy.
4. Post Types (Photo vs. Text Post)
Most of us are probably gonna be using image posts and text posts. You can put images in text posts, yes, but generally speaking, you shouldnāt. At least not large images. If you have multiple large images (like covers, for example,) a good rule of thumb is to put them all in one image post. Itās also more eye-catching when the pretty picture is at the top. This isnāt a hard rule by any means, but generally speaking, it should usually be either that or one flashy image at the top and a readmore to spare your browser.
My name is Graeme (sounds like Graham) and I make maps and other cool things for D&D 5e! I use Inkarnate to make all of my maps and put them up for FREE over on my Ko-fi. I also am available for both personal and commercial map commissions however commissions are closed until the new year.
If you want to check out my ko-fi shop you can find it over at https://ko-fi.com/graemebloodworth62675/shop š
I also have a D&D 5e supplement coming out on January 1! A compendium of new player ancestries including tons of lore, amazing art, and mechanics for 9 new races! I'm really proud of how its all come together.
There's lots more to come from me, so keep your eyes peeled!
Complete Curse of Strahd Map Collection - 75+ completely free maps for Curse of Strahd, with a focus on detail and atmosphere, covering every location from the module, some fan-content, and plenty of locations for random encounters and exploration along the way.
I hope you like them!
https://www.patreon.com/posts/complete-curse-59475823
