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pawcanada

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2024 Update

4 min read

Totally not stealing this idea from QueenAlchy.


Current 2024 Goals

  1. Producing one drawing a week, namely on a Wednesday. I've heard having a schedule can help with engagement as it encourages people to check your socials etc. at a specific time. Obviously this is subject to change depending on IRL stuff goes (busy week, illness/injury, tech issue etc.) but I will try and keep people informed as and when delays happen.

  2. More fanart. I've held off doing this for a while, but I know fanart is a good way to grow on these platforms. I had planned to a fanart poll for January, but events delayed this from happening. I'll look to launch this in Feb with the idea being it'll be for March, as I want to draw Kafka from Honkai: Star Rail and Narmaya from Granblue for Jan and Feb respectively.

  3. More sexytime stuff. This has been a long time in the planning, and after recent drawings allowed me to dip my toes in this more than before, I'm slowly lowering myself into that pool. As always, I'll take my time as I want to produce the best I can as I don't like biting off more than I can chew, and these sort of pieces (to quote a Patreon supporter), "lots more limbs to take account for".

  4. Bringing back neglected OCs/making OC sheets. The latter is something I've wanted to do for a while, especially when I ask someone to draw one of my characters for whatever reason (trade, commission, raffle prize etc.). Having one source to show their design rather than five drawings because one has an updated outfit, one has different proportions and a third has an updated weapon/accessory etc. is impractical. Jadago-Art has this as a challenge on his server, but it remains to be seen if I do this. Even if I miss that window, I'll likely come back to it at a later date. As for neglected OCs, I've got a few I've not drawn since the early to mid 2010s who are in dire need of either being brought back or scrapped.


Commissions, Patreon Rewards, Art Trades and Raffles

  1. I do not take requests. Ever.

  2. I'm aiming to open both YCH commissions and "regular" commissions later this year. The YCH ones will reuse some of my recently drawn sexytime pieces. I want to draw a third so I have three options for people. Once I've gotten a hang of this and improved my skills more, I'll allow for more "open" commissions. Prices TBD, but I'm thinking around the $20 - 30 range. I judge myself with my peers and the way I see it, if Otocai takes $35 for a base commission, I should charge less as he's a better artist than me. If I charged as much as him, if not more, it's all the more reason to choose him over me. Discounts will also be offered to Patreon supporters as well.

  3. I want to open more Patreon reward slots. I have an idea for a $10 reward in mind, but again, want to fine tune a few things skill wise before I do.

  4. Art Trades are always semi open, but. I'm often working on a drawing and have one or two queued up next, so it needs to slot in around them. I am VERY picky who I will do one with. First, I want to make sure the person I do a trade with has a certain skill level. I've seen situations where an artist does the best they can for their half, and then someone else spends 30 minutes to produce the bare minimum. I want to avoid that. Second, I have to have some degree of rapport with the artist, and I'm someone who tends to take time building it, but will also lose it easily.

  5. Raffles are whenever I hit a milestone on dA, Twitter and Bluesky. Currently my goals are 750 on dA, 2,500 on Twitter and 500 on Bluesky. Any help you can give me achieving these goals is appreciated.

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My, what a year.

Burnout

I had hoped 2023 would be a better year for me, after losing family members and beloved pets during 2022 and while personally 2023 was a better year, it wasn't without it's mental drains. While I don't feel burnout in the artist sense (far from it, but I'll get to that later), life as a whole has left me feeling a tad burnt out. Instead, it's mainly been burnout in the social and work sense.


As some may recall, around this time last year one of my two team mates had an accident where he broke three bones across both of his arms, rendering him unable to work as he recovered. He came back around March, but by that point I could definitely feel myself getting burnt out from having to take on the additional work. Just because we were a man down didn't mean we had any less work to do. As the year went on, our workload has continued to expand, often having to help a neighbouring team with his workload, leading to a case of feeling like I was doing an extra half a person's work, while also neglecting some of my own due to the dire nature of it. Whether or not it will continue like this in the new year remains to be seen.


So yeah, very mentally draining. Even when I'm not directly involved in the situation, it has still been on my mind during all of this.


Thankfully...

Artistic Achievements

Generally, I think 2023 has been a good year for me art wise. I'm not quite at the part where I can produce a drawing a week, but I do think I am getting close. I've also noticed I need less red lines/hand holding during the sketching and shading phases, increasing my turn around time.


2023 also marked the first time I drew a drawing containing a sex act (not counting collabs). The piece itself has not been uploaded to dA (despite the amount I've seen that have been regardless of the rules) and while I've thought about uploading it to the paywalled option, as I don't have ongoing core I'm not sure how that would work. The piece can be found on my Twitter and Bluesky, but it will be a tad lost due to me posting other stuff on those sites (I should get round to uploading my backlog to Pixiv). The piece in of itself, is nothing too special - Felicia fellating a guy (may or may not be my main OC Silrun) - but it's something I didn't think I had the skills to do. However, a mixture of a week off from work and a gap in my art schedule meant I gave it a shot, which I find is often the first step. I hope to expand on this in the coming months. I ran my second raffle on Bluesky and have agreed to draw an intercourse pose with the winner's OC (a cropped version MAY be uploaded here), and I hope to draw similar for some of my own characters during the course of 2024. This is why I encourage people to follow me on other platforms as I know I can't post it here, at least not unless I use dA's paywall system, which I am unsure about.

Art Production/Patreon

First of all, my goal for 2024 is to produce four drawings a month/one a week, ideally releasing every Wednesday. I feel I am getting close to this (though the Christmas piece was a few days late due to the scope and IRL stuff) so I'm hoping 2024 is finally the year I can crack this. I'm hoping once I get such a production speed out, I can look into doing more fanart, gifts, trades and perhaps even opening up commissions, YCH or something similar.


Similarly, it may also mean I'll be open to doing more trades with art friends/moots. I emphasise the latter as I've seen the rather unpleasant situations a friend of mine was put in earlier this year with regards to trades.


With that in mind, as well as how what I offer for my $5 tier has evolved over the last few years, I've been thinking of opening up a new tier on my Patreon. This one would be focused on more complex, less straight forward, perhaps even intimate type poses, vs what the $5 offers right now. I'm ball parking this in the $10 to $15 range, as I don't want to undersell myself but also don't want to charge too much for what I'd offer. Due to the limited success my Patreon has had so far I've admittedly been unsure about this. I am also looking to open polls there where people can vote for a fanart drawing. Again, the limited success of it means it's likely only one or two people will vote, so it's something I need to think more on.


Here's to a great, creative 2024 filled with more growth!

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Taking a leaf out of @Jadago-Art's book with the posts he's made about his art projects, I realised I've never fully explaining my own art projects and where they currently stand. If we haven't had a chat, you might've seen my characters around, but know little about the projects they come from. Put simply, these projects are either a bit of a mess as they're made up of possess numerous disjointed ideas that lack cohesion, and are in need of either a reboot, or the project as a whole needs a lot more fleshing out.

Main Projects


Gems of Radiance: Evolving into a Monster Odyssey

This started off as a mix of an elf fetish, Castlevania, and Power Rangers, "Gems of Radiance" has undergone some reworking. Inspired by a recent chat with @Otocai, I'll be shifting towards a "monster of the week" approach. The core monsters, now not just vampires, are using their powers to turn others into creatures too. I'm excited about this evolution, but @Otocai's suggestions and my notes still warrant careful consideration.


As a side note, there may be a potential change for Annie. Before she was one of the six elves, whereas now she may instead become a human who joins the other five. She'll still be part of the core party and use a gem as the source of her power like the rest, but I do think this may open some interesting possibilities narratively, especially as I still plan for her mother Alice to remain an elf.


Solar Ascension: A Magical Overhaul

The core of "Solar Ascension," my flagship project, is getting a major reboot. After nearly two decades of ideas, this has turned into various ideas mashed together like a crazy jigsaw puzzle that didn't sit well. Originally it centred around Gods creating elements and a Highlander-style battle with their chosen warriors, recent changes have lead to me scrapping the notion of Gods, necessitating a comprehensive reworking of the magic system and overarching narrative.


Despite having a rough outline for the series, to be frank, due to the muddle mess it's been for the best part of five years, I've found myself focusing more on my elf project as it felt simpler and easier to work with. So, I'm hoping to focus a bit more on this one in the future. And also a possible name change, as I don't like how "Solar Ascension" sounds these days.


Monstergirl Pantheon: Divine Turf Wars

My newest endeavour, the "Monstergirl Pantheon," serves as a creative playground for characters that didn't quite find their place in Gems or Solar. It'll focus on Jemma and other divine monsters (mostly Monstergirls), having a mystical turf war. It's early days, but similar to my elf project, I feel it lacks a lot of the baggage making it easier to work with.


Goal: Streamlining, Developing, and Long-Term Reworking

Despite the chaos, I'm all in for the rework. Streamlining characters, giving them some much needed love and development (and maybe cutting down on my OC addiction). It's a long-term hustle, but I'm diving in with all the enthusiasm and dedication I've got.

Side Projects

Monstergirl Variants: A Playful Remake

I got inspired by the drawing of Marie and Annie as "Lesser Succubi" in October. Now, I'm turning characters from "Gems of Radiance" and "Solar Ascension" into Monstergirl Variants. One-off drawings and short stories coming your way, probably with some NSFW situations due to the nature of Monstergirls.


Gyaru Redesigns: Stylish Departures

A recent commission by Pedrariall-art reimagined Lydia as a "Gyaru," and I plan to make a similar commission soon for my elf Jun. Similar to the "Monstergirl Variant" mentioned prior, these will provide an avenue for non-canon side pieces as I delve into "what if" scenarios, exploring the creative opportunities offered by multiverse narratives, pairing characters who'd normally not meet and portraying the lives of these "Gyaru Variants." It'll probably be my most grounded story (if we ignore the fact Jun will still be an elf girl) and once again, expect NSFW situations as these characters navigate their early twenties.


<hr>


Next year, it's all about shining the spotlight on characters. Some of them haven't seen the light of day in ages, and others got a makeover from friends. Plus, character sheets are something I want to finally start. I want to detail things like their core outfits, key colours, the main weapon and other accessories, as well as naked references because I am still a NSFW artist at the end of the day ;)


As for other art goals, aiming to do more trades and gifts in the new year. Had a blast with @Jadago-Art and TalesForge in 2023, and more of that in 2024. Likewise, a fair few have some great OCs I'd love to draw at some point, maybe even as a semi-revival of my old "Beautiful Beach" series? Same goes for collabs; it's been a while since I last did any but I hope to bring them back in 2024. And commissions are still an eternal maybe. I've had a few people reach out to me about them this year, and while there is a slot open on my Patreon, I've not really expanded beyond that.

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Mini Update

1 min read

Apologies for the delay on art. Life's been a little manic and draining recently, which has slowed down my pace by quite a bit.


I'm aiming to have the next piece done by the weekend at the latest.

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Recently a friend of mine (I won't say who but they're welcome to out themselves) did a couple of art trades; some with friends, others with new people. Most of the artists did their half without trouble but a handful required extra prompting before churning out a piece that could serve as a prime example of what it means to "phone it in".


Now, while I am annoyed for my friend, the point of this journal is to emphasize the interconnected nature of the artist community; artists talk to one and other. If I know someone is a right wanker, be it their attitude, badgering artists for requests, how they handle trades etc. I will warn my friends in the art community, and vice versa.


A past experience illustrates this desire well. I had someone badger me for requests and after saying no multiple times, eventually warned my friends about them. It turned out that another acquaintance had faced a similarly disheartening interaction with this person and shared their own account, further corroborating my reservations. In another instance, during my time as a moderator on a Discord server, a user incessantly pestered others for art trades. They frequented a designated channel for trade requests, posting daily in a predictable pattern. This persistent approach seemed to hinge on the notion that if they were unsuccessful on one day, perhaps they might elicit a response the next. When someone finally took him up on his offer, they got a shitty drawing and then bombarded with "Where's your half?!" style messages. Busy with life? Tough shit, draw for him. Have a piece you want or need to finish first? Tough shit, draw for him. After the user got banned from the server for other reasons, the person who did the trade shared their experiences and after hearing it I warned a few people I knew about him. Sure enough, he happened to cross paths with one of them and tried to arrange a trade, but because he was prematurely blocked couldn't.


I could list a few other examples, but my main point is - if I think someone is a wanker, I will tell my art friends, and if they feel someone is a wanker, I want them to warn me. I'm not above prematurely blocking someone if a friend said they're a person I don't want to bother with, are a toxic jackass or something similar.

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