April (2024) Monthly Update
April (2024) Monthly Update
Hello world, hope everyone is doing well. Currently it's nearing the end of March but I felt like it would be best to write it down and share with everyone as soon as possible.
Attempts to get back to Normalcy (Art, Streaming, Videos)
March was/should have been a break month, but it became far from that due to multiple factors. But luckily, things are looking a bit better.
To start, the weekly art is coming back starting April 6th but will be trying a new time of 3pmET/12pmPT/7pmGMT. This is an attempt to adjust and see if the time works better for growth or if going back to 5pmET is a better choice.
I'm hoping to return to Streaming April 13th at most likely 7pmET. I took it off for a month as I did not want to deal with it, but I think now is a good time to get back to it. I can guarantee any gaming streams for a long while to be honest. Perhaps things like Lethal Company, Helldivers, etc. but I want to stick with art and creativity. I'm also going to continue Dual streaming, it does feel nice to be streaming to two places at once incase anything happens.
On the videos front, I have many ideas but a lack of energy to do them. I want to do shorts again, as I really like them and I feel they are a great way to show art time-lapses. I don't want to mention what the videos I have are because I don't want to get people's hopes high, but I'm hoping to have at least another one done before the end of the year. I was also really happy with how the bigger time-lapse video came out so maybe expect a handful more of those?
Community Night For April
April's is going to be an interesting one. Suggested and Hosted by toasterslinger1, it'll be a movie night featuring 3 unique movies.
Update on the Merch Progress
So, while I do believe I have a lot of good OC-related material to use as merchandise, I am not in a scenario where I can easily make merch. One of the New Year's Resolutions was to get applied to Artist Alleys this year, that goal might have to be pushed to next year as the lack of merch with opportunities popping is making it hard to reach the goal.
The best thing to do now is to work on the test merch goal. Once I have merch ready, I'll be opening an Etsy store and see how that goes. Worst case scenario is that it'll be near the end of 2024, but there's at least one more charm design and then should be all set for printing.
A brief telling of what's been going on
Honesty is important right now, and I want to be that with you people. Right now, I am not in a financially-well position. I've been trying my best to push commissions especially recently, on the other side the job market has not been kind. This was the major hurtle and will become the major problem going forward.
Until something more grounded emerges, any amount of support would be fantastic. From a monthly donation to simply help spreading the word of my art.
deviantArt: Uncertainty and My Stance
I've been feeling the need to talk about this as with everything going on, it feels best to talk about this. Over the month of March, deviantArt has been pushing more AI-related content, on top of feeling like it's been undermining the community it has been building. A lot of issues have started with the Eclipse Update and has been getting worse.
Due to this, I've been seeing many artists no longer uploading certain subjects related to IPs, and even those disconnecting all together.
I want to reiterate my point: I am staying on deviantArt, but I will most likely be pushing those away from deviantArt. dA to me has been a home for more than a decade, something that has helped changed my life for the better. But, I also completely understand why people are moving away from dA, hence why I'll be pushing other platforms. I mostly use Bluesky, and I also have a Ko-Fi with both an updated gallery.
I've also added an account to a new site/rebirth of an art site called Sheezy.Art, I'm currently in the process of uploading art from 2023 so it'll be a while before more art is added.
If you do enjoy my content, any amount of support is appreciated.
Month of OCs Theme Reveal this month
Had to push it back but finally, the theme for Month of OCs will be revealed on April 6th! This theme has been voted on by people in the OC Ballot for 2023, and it's going to be a bit ambitious.
There will also be no contest this year, mostly a focus on an Art Jam. Pay attention to your socials and you'll soon see a great collide.
Conclusion
This year ended up being much more turbulent than I envisioned. To say that 2024 might be the hardest year yet might just put a pin on things. I'm not "black pilled" and I'm stil pushing forward. I can not thank you all with your continued support. Please stay safe out there and have a Great April!
Discount for Newsletter Subscribers
As a thank you to the people who subscribed, here's a discount code to get 10% on one commission, but can only be used once.
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