Patreon Is Where It's AT

NYC is FINALLY mostly “over the curve” and now we’re all in the phase of “NOW WHAT?” Definitely a time of soul searching and exploring career/life choices for many people on Earth. One thing I’m super happy about is that through all this, my wonderful patrons on Patreon have not only STAYED, but I gained some NEW ones and some people even pledged MORE! I’m truly grateful to each and every patron that has supported my work.

Backing up a bit, Patreon is a crowdfunding website, much like Kickstarter, but it’s for ongoing work, not for one particular item. For example, I launched my Patreon so people could see the behind the scenes world of how I create the AER HEAD comic series. Whereas I launched my Kickstarter specifically to print 100 copies of AER HEAD issue #1 once it’s all complete. Building my Patreon definitely helped me understand how to better launch a Kickstarter when the time was right, and I highly recommend artists launching both.

If you’re an artist, musician, or other creative and don’t have a Patreon, BUILD ONE NOW! Now is the time where, even though you may feel like the world is crumbling around you with instability, there ARE actually people out there that still have stable jobs working remotely that would love to support you during this time. I share a lot about the stages of building my own Patreon in the first few public posts. Public posts are posts everyone can see, whereas you’d need to join one of my monthly membership tiers to see some other posts.

For example, here’s a sneak peek of a recent post for the “See the Present” tier (lowest tier level at $2/month) where I went into detail about the scanning and cleaning up process for my AER HEAD comic. If you want to level up your comic creation skills, this is a great tier to join at a low price!

Also, as part of MerMay (drawing prompts where you draw mermaids for the month of May & post on social media), if you join my “Custom Character Artwork” tier, you’ll get a drawing of one of my AER HEAD characters as a mermaid, usually on a surf board!

This is a $50/month tier, but this is the price I normally charge for a color sketch of one character at a comic con anyway (btw MoCCA Fest is officially cancelled). If you’d like a mermaid sketch, you can always sign up for one month, then cancel later. If you’re missing that in-person comic convention experience, this is a great way to get some cool unique art and support me as a freelance artist in these troubling times.

Just go to patreon.com/mindyindy and select a monthly tier. It’s super simple - you can even pay with Paypal. Many thanks, and I hope to see you on Patreon!

Look out for my Kickstarter!

Recently I did a public post on my Patreon about how I’m using Patreon and Kickstarter together! Check it out! The world of crowdfunding is so amazing. At first it seems overwhelming, but I think anyone could do it if they had enough motivation. It does take time to learn how to plan correctly to launch your project, and that plan varies by platform. I’m glad that I started with Patreon first rather than jumping into a Kickstarter before I was ready. But really, it’s high time I did one for AER HEAD by now!! Stay tuned for more updates, as my current plan is to launch in early September :)

Meanwhile, no conventions or events planned for me in the comics world in August! At first I thought I’d try to exhibit in more beach/boardwalk events, but I really do need to focus on planning the Kickstarter. And untangling the massive mess that is getting a new computer. And getting more ongoing work. Yes all these 3 things at the same time make my head spin but it’s the journey of life!

As for my computer, I’ve made my 2011 MacBook Pro last until now through upgrading the parts over time. It’s one of the last macs with this ability, but 8.5 years later, the writing is on the wall and it started acting up. I solved some things and am typing to you on it now though.

I’ve put my Business Basics for Freelancers class on hold to prioritize other projects. I’m considering adding a special business tips section to this blog/mailing list, but really this whole post is a kind of tip. But let’s try it out by talking more about the differences between Patreon and Kickstarter:

Business Tip

If you’re a creative person of any kind, or a teacher, or an inventor, I highly recommend crowdfunding on Patreon, Kickstarter, or both. Here’s a quick rundown of differences:

Patreon

Ongoing campaign with patrons pledging a monthly subsciption.

Behind the scenes peek at your artistic process.

Feels more laid back and organic, and you can post very sketchy sketches and feel ok.

Kickstarter

Short campaign usually lasting only one month where people pledge only once.

Usually focuses on the finished product like physical comic printing. Usually most of the project must be done before launching.

Feels like everything needs to be perfect. Definitely more pressure and stress to fund a successful campaign in a short time.

Ok trying some new things out with layouts on this blog. I’m using Squarespace and wanted to make a side-by-side list, but seems like it may have been better if I created my own graphic in Illustrator. But whatever I need to move on with my life. I’m considering moving to Mail Chimp but it doesn’t use an RSS feed. Ugh other tech problems.

This really is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to differences between Patreon and Kickstarter. Please let me know what you think by replying if you get this via email or commenting if you see it on my blog!

Made My First Patreon Goal: IT'S POSSIBLE!

I'm so happy to say I've surpassed my first Patreon goal of making $100/month and celebrated by taking my first surfing lesson!  This was important research for AER HEAD, the comic I'm creating, which features surfers.  See how I persevered through fear and how I'll apply my surfing experiences to my comic on https://www.patreon.com/mindyindy

Y'know, when I first started Patreon, I wondered if it could really be possible to make legit money from it because I'm not a famous YouTuber with thousands of fans (which is a large portion of their creators).  But I felt like I had to at least try it!  My Patreon has steadily grown, thanks to the support of family, friends, and fans!  YOU could start a Patreon too.  Anyone could, really.  There are so many categories of creative things people are doing on there.  Even if you have a regular 9-5 job and want to get motivated to do your side passion, I recommend Patreon.  You really have to plan it out well though and consistently post and reach out to people to start to see successful results though. 

Do you want to be a part of the Mindy Indy community on Patreon and get the behind-the-scenes scoop on how I'm creating AER HEAD, the story of a surfer who predicts the future in his dreams?  Just go to  https://www.patreon.com/mindyindy  and click the orange "become a patron" button.  Then select the reward tier you want and you'll be able to have access to posts according to your tier!  I'm particularly excited about the next set of "see the present" posts where I'll talk about how I'm directly applying what I learned from my surfing lesson to the comic.  

Patreon and AER HEAD Progress!

Progress on my AER HEAD comic project is going very well!  As for the Patreon itself, as of this posting I'm 38% of the way towards my goal of $100 in the first month, with 2 weeks to go.  If you're considering donating and want to check it out, but are unsure about long-term commitment, remember that you change your donation amount at any time. 

I've also added a NEW $50 tier, which is custom art of any AER HEAD character, or you AS one of the characters!  I think my comic con peeps will like this tier, because it's similar to my sketches at comic cons!  If you select this tier, you'll get one 5"x7" original color illustration per month of one character, mailed to you.

I recently did the math on how long this project will take given my current pace.  If I continue working on AER HEAD for 20 hours a week, I can complete issue #1 in ONE YEAR!  I'd be able to do a 6 issue series in 6 years.  But if I don't reach my larger goal by mid-October, I'll need to cut the project's time by half or more to make ends meet, and the project may stretch beyond my 40s.  If you donate, you're not only giving the gift of $, but of TIME as well.

If you have any questions, feel free to comment on this blog post or on social media, or email me at " mindy at mindyindy dot com ".  Please help me to raise another $62 by August 14!  Since I'd like to celebrate reaching the $100 goal by taking my first surf lesson (the comic features surfers) I realized I have to achieve this before it gets too cold in the fall.  Every dollar helps, and I really appreciate all the donations!  If you've been following my career and have been inspired in any way, now is your chance to give in the name of art!  Go to https://www.patreon.com/mindyindy and select a fun reward tier and get a behind-the-scenes look at AER HEAD!  Thank you very much!

MoCCA Fest THIS WEEKEND!

It's springtime, and that means the start of the comic convention season!  This weekend, I'm tabling once again with my friend Nadia Burgess of Toughspirit Creations at MoCCA Arts Festival!  Here are the details:

Sat April 7, 11A-7P

Sun April 8, 11A-6P

at Metropolitan West 639 W 46th st.

We're at table E174 on the first floor near the Wacom booth.

Tickets are just $7 per day!

https://www.societyillustrators.org/mocca-arts-festival

I was just emailing someone today about some differences between MoCCA Fest and other comic cons.  It's an indie comics festival, so you'll see lots of self-published comics focusing on personal stories, rather than a more hard-core comic con with Marvel/DC stuff.  But there's something fun for everyone at MoCCA Fest!  There's a Wacom booth where you can try the latest tablet gadgets, Patreon Lounge where you can learn about all the awesome stuff Patreon does (and if you're a freelancer, you SHOULD know about Patreon), and a RisoLab.  There are panelists who will talk about issues like "Comics, Community and Career", and everything from the New Yorker comics to experimental comics.  Hope to see you there!