#birov talks

[beansnake]

gotta be honest man, not sure why we need an unfollow button right above the “give me a link to this post” button on desktop

[beansnake]

retirement + the future

Hey everyone!

I’ll cut right to the point: I am retiring from being a full-time artist. I’ll give further details below the readmore, but I know this will be a very long post due to my propensity for being verbose as all hell and don’t want to beat around the bush about the core update. Also worth noting this is a slightly edited copy+paste of a public post available on my Patreon. But tumblr hates links so... Anyway, onward!

Transitioning out of this job is something I’ve wanted to do for a while; it has been taking a great toll on me (multiple repetitive stress injuries a year, constant financial stress, and a huge amount of burnout), so I’ve been investigating other job opportunities for the last six months. I’ve finally found one I’m satisfied with in the form of a full-time remote position that I’ll be starting on July 11th.

I know this is a bit short notice – after all, the 11th is a little under two weeks away – but I didn’t want to make any grand announcements until this change was 100% locked in. Now it is, I wanted to provide some closure for the many, many incredible people who have been supporting me for so long. I also want to outline what will be happening with Patreon, any possible commission openings in future, and my art going forward.

I’ll split this into sections for easy reading: what I’ll be doing in the lead-up to the 11th (The Final Days), my plans for patreon/commissions (Art for You), what I want to do about art in future (Art for Me), and finally some words for my regulars/patrons (Many Thanks).

THE FINAL DAYS

As many of you are probably aware, I still have multiple commissions in my queue and some Patreon rewards to finish. I am also currently dealing with another RSI flare and my usual back problems. I had hoped to finish most of these in the past week, but I know all too well to not push myself when I’m in this state.

So! My tentative plans are: use this week to finish the Patreon pieces and stream them if needed to inspire increased productivity. Then use the remaining week to crack down on the commissions sitting in my queue. It is possible I will run over both of these deadlines due to my RSI flare, which I’ll discuss with those I’m working for right now. Please keep an eye on your messages/email if this is you!

ART FOR YOU

After finishing the commissions in my queue I will be closed permanently for commissions. It may happen that I’ll do the occasional paid piece here and there at my whims, but I have no plans to open regularly or publicly.

As for Patreon, this is something I want to discuss with my patrons. I think I’d like to keep it open as-is at least until the end of the year, but what I do after that is very open. I’m also not entirely sure how much time I’ll have a month to do rewards, so I will likely limit reward slots to 3-5 a month. This is a very ‘play it by ear’ situation.

Again, all of this will be discussed with my patrons – via the discord server and through the most recent post on my Patreon (sorry no link bc tumblr etc), if you aren’t in said server. Please give me your thoughts and input, you all have supported me through a lot of tough times and I really cannot express my gratitude enough.

ART FOR ME

You may be asking yourself, ‘Birov are you just not going to draw anymore?’ The answer is… I’ll probably always draw. Art has been the love of my life for years upon years. As much as I’ve struggled with burnout for the last three, I know I’ll never stop drawing permanently. The only uncertainty is how much I’ll be drawing.

My theory is that I’ll probably draw very little for the first few months while my brain resets and realizes art is something I can do for fun and isn’t just my job. After this period, I have the feeling I’ll be drawing a lot more than I currently do.

But who knows! I do know I have a lot of personal art endeavors I’d like to undertake and having a clearer work/life balance may actually encourage me to undertake them. I also want to get more into drawing for-fun fanart… The world is my oyster I suppose.

So the answer to this really is… I don’t know how much or what I’ll be drawing once I start this job. But I do know I’ll keep sharing whatever I do make with everyone. I just hope you’ll continue supporting me wherever my whims take me!

MANY THANKS

I’m not really sure how to start this section… I have a lot of very intense and deep-seated emotions about the overwhelming support I’ve received in the years I’ve worked as an artist. I’ve been so, so fucking blessed; I’ve worked with almost exclusively kind clients, grown a very tight and kind community, and been given so much love I literally cannot pay it all back.

To my beloved regular commissioners: as I said, I’ve been blessed to almost exclusively work with kind people, and you guys are the core of that. So many of you have been coming back to me year after year, asking after my health with understanding for any delays, and just generally being so good to me in so many untold ways. Thank you for trusting me time and time again to make your imagination reality. It was an honor of the highest order.

To my dear patrons: many of you fall into the previous bracket, but even if you don’t, you’ve all been taking such good care of me. Without Patreon, I would have been in such dire financial straits – especially with all of my health problems. Having both the financial security and the community y’all provided me with was seriously so life changing. Thank you for always telling me to rest, for working with me to create a system we all enjoyed, and most of all for being kind to each other as well as me. I owe you all so much. Thank you, thank you, thank you <3

To my followers (new and old, though some of you have been with me for OVER TEN YEARS!!): I wouldn’t be here without you. I can’t believe how many versions of me and my art you’ve all played witness to. Thank you for loving all (or almost all?) of them. I hope you’ll love where I go next.

So… That’s the end of it. Goodbye to Birov-the-Freelancer (for now, possibly forever). Thank you all again. I’m saying it a lot, but it truly is all I can do as I look back at my many years as a commission artist. I was lucky, is all I can think. It would be stupid on my part to not be insanely grateful.

Thus, for the final time: thank you for supporting me, loving my work, and being so good to me. And thank you for reading this incredibly long post. It’s kind of dramatic but I won’t lie, this feels like an insanely huge change in my life. I honestly at points never thought I’d do anything else but this. Forever. So forgive me the theatrics. Plus, it’s just my nature.

Anyway, I’ll end it here before I ramble anymore.

– Birov <3

[beansnake]

if you look at a piece I've drawn and wonder if a character is trans in it. the answer is always yes. every time.

[beansnake]

commissions open!

taking a batch of commissions to be worked on this month (+ next month, depending on volume). if you're interested in claiming a slot, shoot me an email at [email protected]

info+prices: beansnake.weebly.com

[beansnake]

after an extended break, my shop is finally open again!! prints, stickers, and the long-awaited fugio charms are all up for grabs 🐞🍓

☀️beansnake.bigcartel.com☀️

[beansnake]

opening slots for a few comms!

waist-up & shaded - $100 for a single character, $160 for two. to be completed in the next few weeks (done before dec 10th). there will be fees for complex armor or similar that would take extra time to draw + shade.

if you're interested, shoot me an email at [email protected]! i'll provide a form you can fill out and give you a time estimate. 

[beansnake]

oh damn i didnt post here about this did i.

i’m currently on Another and More Intense work haitus bc i managed to get tendonitis in my dominant hand. i am not allowed to use it for a week minimum and likely not draw (esp for work) for a lil longer. last two posts are my solution to keep myself busy, but im otherwise pretty quiet since im having to be careful with typing and other things as well.

[beansnake]

hey y’all, i have a little update for anyone who’s been keeping an eye on my commission availability. sadly not a promising one.

i've been grappling with health problems for most of this year that have come to a head in the past few weeks - all capped off by the fires effecting air quality in my area severely. unluckily, my health problems have to do with my lungs, so you can imagine why that's making everything worse.

i'd like to keep the specifics of my health to myself, but know that I'm currently on the path to find solutions (in contact w/ multiple doctors, appointments are being made, etc). however, it's reached the point where it's hard for me to sit down to work, or really do a lot of things in my life. because of this i'm taking an extended break from work until I can get this all in order and go about my day to day feeling... somewhat alive. and current timelines look like it'll be over a month until real solutions can be reached.

so, i'm going to be finishing my final owed patreon reward and canceling or pushing back all other pieces until i'm in better health. if you’ve been waiting for an opening, the soonest i foresee is likely january 2021 as I have a wait-list that will consume at least a month once i’m back in the saddle. 

i’ll probably be posting personal art here and there (my ipad makes drawing possible from bed + other places) but if i’m quiet for a while, this would be why. thanks for following me y’all, and i hope you’re all staying safe w/ everything going on rn. thanks for reading, too!