First I want to take the time as always to thank my Patreon (And Substar: There aren't any yet and I'll discuss it further below) supporters. You guys mean more to me than you'll ever know, and I really appreciate your continued support.
PARISHIONERS
Karakuri
Sypher597
Dr.Portal 455
Ver min
JustCallMeFaux
Unformed
FluffyWolf117
Vulpinator
BovineMage
Warwolf416
DuskyLycanroc
AmanCalledDominik
YFC
C. Archive
FOLLOWERS
Mariusz Lewandowski
Martin Nilsson
Eric Johnson
EkhonACT9
So where to begin? I guess we'll start with health stuff first. Mostly cause it's the most pressing issue that spreads out into all the other projects that are in motion. Around the middle of the month, I met with my heart doctor, and they put me on propranolol. And much to my surprise, it made a huge, positive difference in my day-to-day health. It's absolutely insane how much more awake and alive I've felt in general for the last two weeks. That said, I'm also terrified of getting ahead of myself...as I've had the experience before and...well...I'm trying to stay positive here, and take this as 'the one that will stick'. But old fears die hard, you know?
With that said, despite my Mom telling my to slow roll into stuff as to not over-work myself while trying this whole thing out, I really couldn't help myself in the drawing department. Thankfully, somehow by the grace of god I got my offshoot fic written before I got the meds, but It was like swimming through jello the entire time trying to get it written and it took longer to write than it should of because of that. Thankfully, my editor was surprised the first fifteen pages needed very little editing...hope the remaining twenty-five don't force him to take that compliment back.
So that was a positive...so here's a negative. Naturally, you've all heard about the Gumroad situation. But my Etsy store was recently pinged and one of my prints was taken down. I had to double-check Etsy's rules and apparently, you can't sell work depicting sexual activities. I'm not sure if this was always here, or if Etsy added it due to the whole payment processor crusade, but I'm not ready to call this one a Mandella Effect moment and merely chalk it up to bad memory. From the rules I knew I had to put a 'mature' tag on my items, but I assumed it was all I had to do. Turns out it seems like only pin-ups are okay for now.
The print that got pinged for breaking TOS was "Pressed Mutton", which was up for almost a year before this happened. To be safe now that I knew the hard rule on pornography, I also had to take down "Lamb Sauce, Pressed Mutton, Rockin' With Cherry, and Popping the Cork." You can still request prints of these works through DM's and other contact venues, but for the time being, I have no marketplace to pitch them with Gumroad is mostly dead. I'm honestly unsure where to go in that regard...from here I mean. As Etsy was good at getting eyes on my stuff. Now my store went from around a thousand views a week to barely two hundred. I do still want to work on keychains and standees myself, and those will probably do well. I am considering reaching out to furry product producers to make them if I can't do it myself...but honestly, I don't think I'm a big enough name to garner that sort of interest.
Also in response to the payment processor crusade, I've been revising my commission stuff, and actually making a commission rate sheet to post on my various sites. I've also invested in a Patreon backup, Subscribestar, in case they crack down there...not that it matters...what with it being a payment processor issue, they'd probably come for both at once, but I'm doing my best to spread myself out into multiple redundancies.
Here's my Subscribestar.
https://subscribestar.adult/wastedtimeee
And I've also got a new Newgrounds account, though there's nothing uploaded yet.
https://wastedtimeee.newgrounds.com/
So what's on the docket work-wise? I'm working on a big color commission that's slow going. I've got a one-shot fic in the editing bay. Two more commissions lined up that are simpler projects. And I've got a desktop filled with sheep gals looking to get cell shaded, and the backdrop fully colored for Spring. I've also got two Mother's Day projects that I'll be cranking out next month. One is a pinup, the other a sticker. I've also got a slew of asks to do for the blog. After that...ideally, I'd like to take a break...by that I mean put everything on ice save for commission work so I can actually start work in my 'art school' program in order to improve. I've been sitting on it since January and I meant to start months ago. I don't want to stagnate, but that of course means I've got to actually set time aside to delve into the schooling. I think I can come out of the other side vastly improving, but a lot of that 'practice' probably won't be super interesting to you guys.
I'd like to end this update I guess...mainly looking for an Etsy alternative for adult print work, and I guess maybe more. I don't want to simply give up on that, as my prints do sell well...but I need a place where folks can search for stuff to actually buy, and despite my best efforts, I don't think my art galleries have enough visibility for that sort of thing.
I guess that's all for now. I'll try to keep everyone posted with smaller updates going forward. That way you all will know if my health tanks again or not. Thanks again everyone...Please check out my Etsy store, Patreon, and Etsy if you haven't already. Patreon and substar folks get a 20% discount on merch, among other perks depending on tiers.
My Etsy Shop
https://www.etsy.com/shop/WastedTimesArtShoppe
My Patreon.
https://www.patreon.com/wastedtimeee
My Substar.
https://subscribestar.adult/wastedtimeee
-Wasty
