So, since the last time I did a status update, I've been trucking along at conventions around Australia and even dipped my feet in a couple of other ones overseas, namely Armageddon Expo in Auckland, New Zealand and Anime Expo in L.A, CA, U.S.A.
Long story short, convention business has been good but it isn’t consistent enough to be my main income and so, I decided that being full-time with conventions would have to come to an abrupt end.
For context, the shows I’ve done already this year has been pretty slow and I was in a similar situation last year. So, to be responsible, I decided to cancel the majority of my planned conventions, take on some part-time work and just only attend a select few of the conventions that I have either already applied and confirmed for, or ones that are aren’t too heavy on the upfront costs—as if that’s ever a thing (lol).
I do want to apologise to those that were looking forward to seeing me at a convention near them/wanted to buy something. I do have some things to mention that will hopefully turn your frown upside-down.
1. More Artworks
Main reason I personally think why things have been slow for me is that I don’t work on new artworks enough. Conventions I usually attend around Australia are ones I have previously attended. Aside from the conventions I attend for the first time, people have typically already bought something from me from previous occasions and that slows down sales significantly.
When I do try to make new artworks though, It’s usually down to the last-minute before heading to my local printers lol, so there are some artworks that I wished I had worked on just a little bit more.
Cutting down on the number of conventions to attend should hopefully ease up my art process and not feel like I need to prioritise when is the earliest I can book for accom and travel because savings, rather than just working on my goddamn art.
2. Commissions
After I get some work I have with some previous clients out of the way, I’ll be open to accept some commissions requests because I have been putting them off for the longest time, due to full-time conventions and only reserving commissions for serious clients looking for commercial commissions. I know that there’s a bunch that are eager and I just want to say; Sorry to keep you waiting!
3. Patreon
I have been asked often if I have a Patreon page. While I would be lying if I said that the thought never crossed my mind. In fact, I did make one but didn’t really make much noise about it afterwards because I wasn’t sure if it was the right thing to do and decided to just keep it under wraps until the time calls for it.
There is a couple of reasons why I haven’t already started using my patreon:
Short answer is 99% chance it will just be a virtual tip jar.
Long answer is that I don’t want to risk switching over to Patreon as my main platform of income. I also don’t want to paywall any significant online content.
It’s still in the works so I might re-launch it sooner than later. We’ll see. Stay tuned if you’re interested in supporting it.
4. Online Shop (Storenvy)
I used to have a Storenvy a long time ago but it fell into obscurity simply because I was only selling art prints which other platforms such as redbubble/society6 does a much better job at handling it for you—which is what I ended up doing and set up a society6 store.
I am considering opening up the storenvy again and use it to sell some originals, traditional artworks, and other stuff.
Again, It’ll be under wraps until further notice.
5. Youtube
Instead of not having time to record and edit speedpaint videos, I’m going to make an effort to try and get more of those out. I already have a couple of recordings that are just sitting in my hard drive, waiting to be edited. If you haven’t already, be sure to check out the ones I already have on my Youtube channel.
I think that’s all I have to say for the time being. If you’ve read this far, thank you. If you skipped to here in the hopes of a TL;DR, that’s cool too. TL;DR is only doing some conventions this year instead of a lot and will be considering some things to do in-between those conventions.
Jumin Han from #mysticmessenger Didn't get to finish this commission during the small convention yesterday, so got to put it in extra time working on it. Scanned it and filtered the heck out of it so I can show off the details lol
Phew, how long has it being since I last uploaded on tumblr? (This is what you get for trying to manage too many platforms lol) Anyways, allow me to dump a bunch of artworks I’ve done since last upload, for you guys. I’ll make sure to upload more frequently.
My late tribute for Pokemon day to celebrate their 20th anniversary. Stoked for Pokemon Sun and Pokemon Moon so of course I gotta draw Espy and Umbro :)
Here’s another artwork I did with Manga Studio. Gray Fullbuster from Fairy Tail. tbh, I only watched a bit of it. Only reason I drew this was because this was requested a lot, so I didn’t wanted to be someone that draws popular franchises for the sake of gaining traction. Still fun to draw though :)
Long time, no upload. Figured I would try to update the rest of my artworks onto tumblr, since I promised that I would. Anyways, here’s Kuroko Tetsuya from Kuroko no Baske.
It’s my first artwork I did on Manga Studio. Really fun to use, gives it that graphic novel feel plus it’s so easy to give it so much energy that graphic novels like to do!
Recently started watching your videos and subscribed but was wondering where you learned to draw? Was it just by practicing or did you take a class? You are really good and wish I could be as good! Anyway love your work!
Hey there, thanks for subscribing!
I am primarily a self-taught artist so I have learned to draw through observation but I did spend a year at an animation school where I would have to admit that if I had not attended that, my artwork would probably be in a different state than it currently is.
I started putting in effort towards my art about 13 years ago but finally settled on an art style I am comfortable with around 2008-2009. But do not let that put you off from wanting to become a great artist. It should not matter on how much time it takes for you to become the artist you want to be, it is all about staying motivated and positive about it.
g n a r l y This is a speedpaint of Gnar, The Missing Link from the League of Legends franchise. Character belongs to them & Riot Games. If you haven't playe...
If you liked watching the speedpaint, give the video a like on Youtube and leave a comment to let me know if you want to see more speedpaints in the future or what to draw next :)
Lately, I've been seeing a lot of people talk about how they used to have a passion for art but gave it up because they weren't good enough.
Hopefully, this picture I compiled together instils some inspiration for others. It's a common misconception that people think their favourite artists were amazing at art from the get go. But like EVERYONE else, they all had to start from somewhere too.
About 10-11 years ago, I said to myself that I wished I had an art style that people liked. But that didn't stop me from wanting to draw. For some, it might take their entire lifetime to achieve a style that would satisfy both themselves, and their audience. While others, they transform their style in an incredibly short amount of time.
Regardless of the time it takes, it's all about the attitude
A little sketch session during the bus ride back from Melbourne to Sydney after AMCExpo, because I don't draw enough (don't ask me how I managed to draw on the bus haha).
I'm just here to say hi! Honestly, no matter the platform, I think I would just follow your work anywhere. XD I do think tumblr is a great way to spread your work faster and get it noticed by more people so I wish you all the best! Just keep your artworks watermarked/signs since i do believe art theft is a lot smoother here
Hey fly, thanks again for your continued support!
Yea, when I first started on dA, I drew nothing BUT Sonic the Hedgehog stuff. And I’m sure you know what the fan base/community can be like when it comes to the art. Not only that, dA was essentially a cesspool for breeding art thieves. I would get A LOT of notes sent to me either privately or publicly on my page/artworks about people stealing my artwork(s).
dA has improved their art theft policy over the years though since my tendency to report the thieves myself became less and less over time. I do indeed watermark/sign majority of my art. I’ve even had artworks stolen with my signature still intact and it’s clearly right there!
I mean, there are some artworks that I’ve done just in lineart for anyone and everyone to use to hopefully stop people from trying to claim my art as their own but it’s something I grew accustomed to on dA, which is not a good thing. So, it’s one of the many reasons as to why I left dA.
Once again, thank you so much. I hope you continue supporting me!
Just wanted to quickly thank everyone that has made the transition from following me on deviantART to here on tumblr (or on Facebook). I figured my time was up a long time ago on that platform so I just want a more casual platform to use.
And to be completely honest, I wasn’t a fan of how deviantART has changed over time so all the more reason to no longer support the platform. I will still use it from time to time but the fact that I didn’t have a very active watcher base.
Except you guys <3 you guys are the best.
As I mentioned on dA. If you’re curious to know exactly why I left or curious about other things in general. You’re more than welcome to send me asks or just say hi. I’ll get back to you :)
