My work is being stolen.
My work is being bootlegged...I naturally have a lot of thoughts about this but I don't feel like entering them right now. As a consequence I'm removing my concept art and I may start deleting plush photos..I don't know yet. I have a lot on my mind. amazon won't do anything either. I reported it and they told me point blank they don't believe my claim even with proof I made the piece of which the images are being used to support bootlegs.
All I can say is..when you buy bootleg plush..more often than not you're not ripping off some massive corporation. You're ripping off someone like me who is barely getting by as is.
Just a general update.
Hey guys. I've been getting some inquiries I haven't seen. I took a long hiatus form DA and I'm still not used to all these new features like chat. If I don't respond feel free to leave me a comment somewhere or a formal Note to pester me. THOSE I know how to see at least lol.
There's been an influx of commission questions. I've updated my main page to include this but I'll make a journal too.
Commission information: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1BkaXo7S-5t72Sq66waSSZZilSX92fa7yMwJUJayyNNg/edit?usp=sharing
Commission Queue: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1ZpL9T2_Rlsugw9DEDZwtFLX02-MWNcjPVcIpoj8fykA/edit?usp=sharing
Commission Inquiries/Price quotes: Always Open
Commission status: CLOSED. Reopening mid-late January LIMITED
Untitled
I don't know why I keep changing my mind on if I want to be here or not and what I intend to do with this account. I'm still doing a lot behind the scenes I just..don't post it anywhere?
I have so many irons in the fire right now it's kind of ridiculous. I'll try to come back here more often to actually post content.
I'm still ify if I want to post my censored NSFW content over here or just on Derpibooru and FA.. I think it maybe more appropriate to keep this page clean and just keep a link available for the NSFW content. I may change my mind later.
Anyway. This is just an obligatory..I'm still here post. This account isn't abandoned or anything.
Commissions OPEN
Anime NebrasKon Wrap Up
Anyway, it was a good note to end on. I still have pieces of things that I never finished that I'll work on in my spare time and post for sale when done.
Anyone with gifts or trades who I currently still have access to, I'll be reaching out over the course of the week so we can finalize discussions and solidify an action plan.
ALSO, the bigger news! I'll regret this because it means I have to update ALL OVER MY WATERMARKS. But. I am going to be splitting my DA accounts. I know I said I wouldn't do this but I'm going to. I'm going to keep this account for my plush work and SFW art and a second account solely dedicated to suggestive and NSFW art. I don't plan on stopping either of these things and I'd like to keep my audience comfortable, my own pride be damned. Yes my work is censored, but even so.
~
And now for a longer note about WHY I'm at least temporarily haulting selling at cons and most commissions:
I never really talked about WHY I'm discontinuing selling at cons etc. I don't like to discuss my numbers usually, but I'm going to in order to make a point. This is not profit, this is solely sales. Taking into consideration the value of a trade item as well I alone made over $750 dollars in sales (pretty sure Sarah's numbers were higher, so jointly our table did very well). For a 3D artist with a higher price tier, that's relatively common on a 5k person con that isn't a MLP con. HOWEVER. That does not mean profit. You have to account for the table itself, potentially for lost wages at work, the fabric and other materials..and then the rest is labor really. And I can tell you that leftover amount does NOT even begin to properly cover the cost of labor that went into anything let alone the hours spent trying to sell. 3D artists have it hard because we must make each individual item we sell. We cannot create art and then just keep duplicating it. Furthermore, when you're in a higher price tier already, you feel pressured to keep your costs low in an effort to off set sticker shock. Many plush artists limit themselves to commissions and online sales solely because the cost doing business at conventions is often not worth it unless you have a cheap passive income to serve as your core (hiring a factory or a certain item, doing art, doing buttons, etc.). For Sarah, that's patches. For me..it's nothing. I only have my higher ticket items. And sometimes that doesn't pay off. Anime Iowa I sold two things the entire time. It's a HUGE gamble, and even if you do well, you're rarely making what you are actually worth. If I calculated out what I sold vs the hours and overhead affiliated I'd be making far below minimum wage. I participate because I enjoy having something to do. To be a part of the con without the need of non business social interactions which terrify me. And over time, this gambling game has been too much stress. I cannot handle the ups and downs and I ALWAYS assume the worst which is why I'm so largely negative when I post about my sales. I'm not saying I'll close down forever, but, for now it's just not profitable for me to stress out so much over this stuff. I want to enjoy my hobby and I can't do that when it's all about the bottom dollar. Support your 3D artists, that's a given. But, even so, it's not a stress I want to deal with. Furthermore..my quality has not changed but I've changed the way I feel about it. Frankly, watching Sarah work has forced me to realize ways I can improve, and ways I intend to. However, it's just more energy than I can pour into the amount of stock I need to create to make this kind of a sale number to break even. Sarah has higher ticket items as well as a nice passive income with the patches. As such, she can spend more time developing that higher ticket item to keep the price fair while also paying herself properly and the quality speaks for itself. My issue is my item at my price point does not afford me that. My quality is good, i don't cut corners, don't get me wrong. BUT..you have to see it to understand. How she works vs how I do. And what it boils down to..I don't have the energy to try to compete with that. I'd rather support her whole heatedly and be there with the business knowledge and the firm hand to help her continue to grow as long as she wants to.
I plan to occasionally make things for sale and may even take commissions still on my pricesses..but..for now I'm just content with where I stand. Commissions may formally open up at some point down the road but for now, this is okay.