sfmdh
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Progress Report, 02/06 - 23
🕑 Added 2023-06-02 10:41:10 +0000 UTCHello everyone and welcome to the first progress report of June!
First off, an apology for not managing to sort out the Wednesday Wallpaper this week. My schedule has been hectic and my phone's been ringing so often that my brain has been absolutely full of cost-benefit analyses regarding its physical well-being and how much it'd be to buy a new one later. I'll endeavor to make something interesting for next Wednesday to make up for it.
Secondly, some analysis of the past month's happenings. While actual data is limited, the first Scenario seems to have been generally well-received, shooting up to become one of the most liked and shared Twitter posts I've ever made (and subject to more cursed repost accounts than even some of my projects) while hitting like and comment ratios here on Patreon that clearly eclipses regular loops. Simultaneously, it's (sort of) a new content form, and in the moment effectively a singular data point, so we'll see how opinions shift as time goes on.
I've also received feedback and criticism that I hope I have answered adequately to - though some of it stems from people who, no doubt thanks to Patreon's rather archaic design, missed my announcement of the compromise to the update schedule poll:
Many seem to be under the impression that regular loops are going away, which I want to make clear, once again, that they are not - regular loops are not going away. The animation schedule settled on means the first two Mondays of every month will see regular loops, meaning we have one coming up this Monday, and then I'll use what remains of the month to sort out a Scenario. We are, in essence, losing out on one loop per month to make the Scenario, which is still a loop-esque kind of product.
I've also had a lot of questions lately regarding patreon backing numbers, so I figured I'd elaborate on that here for those who are interested:
There's roughly a 100-200 backer fluctuation that occurs over the course of every month, with significant upticks occurring at loop releases and then a distinct drop towards the end of the month owing to pledge cancellations and failed charges. Forgoing one loop means losing out on that surge, and it seems that the Scenario itself, despite its massive spread, did not materialize a backer increase similar to that of a loop, which means that as of June 2023 I'm seeing backer numbers that are on par with November 2021 figures. As you might imagine, the way Patreon backing overall grows is through a manner of attrition warfare, where each month means gaining and losing a certain amount of backers but with a small, consistent net positive once the dust settles. The height of my backing, purely in terms of amount of people supporting me, occurred during the summer of 2022, and has seen a slow but steady stagnation ever since, with current numbers within statistical projections of that trend, meaning the schedule change at least hasn't had any (judging purely by the numbers) negative impact on support numbers - in fact, it might have alleviated the trend somewhat.
This stagnation is one of the reasons I opted for refurbishing tiers and, most importantly, why I ultimately decided on holding the poll and going through with this schedule change in the first place. After all, getting new backers isn't doing me any favors if I cannot keep both them and the old guard, which is the solid core of this venture, interested in my work. Conversely, it behooves me to take surrounding factors into consideration as well, with people's pandemic stimulus funds drying up, and the impact of the global economy worsening with several countries now on the brink of (if not already in) recession, so while I have a tendency to lay this all at my own feet I do realize there are extraneous circumstances to consider as well. I really want to stress here that this isn't me finger-waggling at people or my backers - this entire venture exists thanks to you folks, and I wouldn't presume that you owe me anything in that respect.
I also want to note that this isn't me being disheartened so much as it's me trying to look at the numbers with sober eyes - in other words, I still have faith in my new update schedule working better than my old one. Change is clearly needed regardless, and if anything, the greatest feedback that I get pertains to larger project work, which people seem the most excited about over literally anything else I do, so I sincerely hope that Scenarios will at least serve as a something of a band-aid, bridging the gap between larger releases as I struggle to sort those out.
I hope you're doing alright out there with all the crazy stuff going on in the world, my apologies for the wall of text, and thank you, as always, for your support and for all of your kind words. The weather up here remains mild, with cool nights allowing for decent enough sleep, but we're bracing for the incoming heat that we've been promised with ominous glee by our local news - announced with fanfare and joyful images of people bathing and the likes.
I imagine the newsrooms have proper air condition.
Take care of yourselves, and each other!
/DH
Comments
FPM
Thank you for your message and for this detailed information, DH : indeed, I didn't take all you describe, regarding the art raffles/lotteries, into account, not knowing about these issues. Anyway, thanks a lot for everything, DH, and have as good a Sunday as can be !
DH
Thank you for your kind words and feedback FPM! I have considered creating a collage of sorts with models that I currently use and feature for polling, but maintaining some kind of online gallery as you describe it might actually be a better solution for that. I'll definitely be looking into how to accomplish that as it would reduce the work load of having to make a new collage for each vote, every time. Just need to find the right webpage medium for it :) Art raffles/lotteries were actually pretty common during the early Patreon days when the platform took off and it was something I was looking into doing at that time, but they were at some point outright banned by the platform owing to them falling within the definitions of gambling and the likes, where various regulatory laws would come into effect across the globe - something I genuinely don't blame Patreon for wanting to avoid, what with the legal nightmare of having navigate all that. In that sense, creators are simply not allowed to hold any kind of lottery-like events on the platform these days, but the prospect of shaking up the possibility for more varied poll winners is something I am always looking into and interested in hearing suggestions for, so thank you :)
FPM
Thank you for this extensive, well-written, well-thought and enlightening report, DH ! It's always a pleasure reading you, the more so thanks to your unfailing display of humor (ah, the cost-benefit analysis ^_^) and good-naturedness, even in the face of hardship (the brain 'over-heating', which none of us wish you being led to...). As an aside, have you ever considered doubling your polls with a link (Mega or such) to a simplified static rendering of each of your models (be it in the current poll or not), a kind of 'Catalogue' if you will. I'm sure it would both help your 'followers' decide with better ease which characters have their actual preference (I confess I never vote for some if only because I simply don't know either what they look like, generally-speaking, or which of the several renderings of them you're actually putting to the test this time) and give an added incentive for your 'patrons' to promote (eventually materializing into a more steady subscription) gorgeous models they would never have thought about otherwise. At last, I don't know if there's still room for that (what with the polls that are frequently organized, and with the choice that (thankfully, IMHO) remains entirely yours from time to time), and even less if it is technically easily feasible (the problem of generating a random selection), but have you ever considered managing a kind of 'lottery' (say, once held each two or three months), leaving the choice of the animated character (the same could go with the scenario, so that could mean two 'lottery-winners') to a randomly-selected actual 'backer'. Of course, choices could only be made within limits set by you, since this is your art, hence your responsibility alone and a reflection of your own willingness to perform it (I, for one, am no good at doing things I'm not convinced of the desirability, so I guess it's just the same with other people...), at the end of the day. The issue on that matter is that, IMHO, a poll consistently tends to end with conservative results, whereas an individual decision can bring some 'fresh air' (those familiar with a Gaussian will know what I mean, as to the actual chance of having an 'out-of-custom' choice being the result of a poll...), meaning it can result in a disappointing result or, conversely, in a completely unexpected wonderful surprise. Anyway, thanks again for your great art as well as for your endearing personality, DH !
DH
Back when I did the model poll for the two PG models it was mainly to establish which of the models would be the one featured in the case she won in basic polling, making sure people knew what to expect if "Power Girl" won. She's still in the game in that sense - and currently also in the Alley Crew poll owing to that tier having requested her inclusion specifically, and doing pretty decently in the current voting. Her being featured again just requires that she either wins there or that I use the GB model personally for that one time a month where I get to choose a loop character, or for wallpapers by all means. One of the most common complaints I get as a creator is a lack of character diversity in the stuff I make, so it's been difficult finding a gap to feature the GB model when Rigid's keep winning polling and the likes.
AlphaPrimaris
Any chances we’d see the old General_Butch!PG model again? And maybe have both PG models in one pic? Was wondering if GB’s PG model is out of the picture!
