I understand everyone is growing impatient with me and fed up with the excuses recently so if you want the whole truth let me break down why commissions are a month delayed. Just please keep in mind, I don't like talking about private issues so this will be the only time I will share it:
1) * I spent half of May-June job hunting and getting used to my new part-time gig.
This decision was due to personal financial reasons. To make a long story short, over half of our income was being taken away and we needed to act fast. So guess who had to run around the city to find something flexible?
I'm sorry for being vague, but the TL;DR of my sap-story is this:
Someone wants to see me fail to validate their point. They threw me under the bus; tossed me in the deep end and I am fighting like hell to stay afloat not just for me, but also my side of the family. And these guys won't admit it, but I'm getting the vibe that since I don't make a certain amount nor have any extra mouths to feed or go to a community gathering like a church, I'm not worthy of their empathy or support. So I have to work twice as hard to shove their money where their mouth is - because I am stubborn as all hell, and loathe the "my way or the highway" gospel these guys are shoving down my throat. Yes, I have and still do take blame for being ill-prepared for adulthood via dumb decisions... Call it karma for being stupid, or call it G-d's wrath for "sinning" all you want but still, this additional unnecessary weight on my shoulders is getting ridiculous and I am beyond fed up. .
Yeah, so much for "love like Jesus" and "women's rights"... but I digress...
And please don't ask who it is, I prefer to keep this entity anonymous.
(Side note: Yes, this stress has affected my health. My weight has been up and down, my sleep cycle was off, I wasn't eating much due to stress and being *cough* broke *cough*. Don't worry, things are getting better and I'm doing routines to keep myself in shape. Thankfully my new job encourages me to walk and lift and (when necessary) eat - kill two birds with one stone!)
2) Clientele correspondence.
Not everyone falls into this category, this is the 3% that kinda makes things slow down too much for the remaining 97%. People either don't respond, or ask me to redo their commissions, or keep nit-picking at every little detail. Let me elaborate a bit:
By "nit-picky" I am not talking about the casual "Oh, omit this object and can we change this to that color/pattern?" or "Hey, can we add/take out so-n-so if that's okay?". That's an easy edit! So if you asked me for tiny favours like that, don't sweat it. That's not you.
What I am really talking about is people nit-picking the commission such as: "Change the pose to this." or "Make this bigger, make that smaller. I don't like the pattern. I don't like the ink. Can we change the character/setting/decor?" To the point I have to constantly edit the WHOLE piece three times. This basically doubles or triples the time spent on the commission.
It's basically getting to the point where I am tempted to charge extra if you tell me to do that... it's not fair for anyone guys.
( Foot note: I also work in a clientele heavy workplace where customers pick on everything, so I can tell when someone is just BS-ing me for entertainment, spite or just in a sour mood in general - just a little heads up, folks.)
Then there are is the opposite!
There are those who don't respond at all. Hey, if you think my irresponsible ass is late to the game by a week or even three, there are people I haven't heard from since last year and their commissions are just hanging around on my folder untouched. I don't know where they went, I don't know if a refund will resurrect them from the dead but, when I work on their projects and receive nothing... I don't know either to keep going or stop. So technically, that's time wasted but I can't really point who is at fault per se. Sometimes shit happens that is out of our control and people unintentionally become Danny Phantom and "go ghost".
Now time for a note I just want to share:
I don't appreciate being tech support.
Guys, I'm not certified to tell you how to work apps like PayPal or DeviantART or even a freaking email works (yes I have had a couple of those). So the more you drag me into explaining how the applications work for a whole three hours (including having to repeat myself again and again), more time I lose that should've been meant for working on a project/commission. So please, do me a tiny favor, make sure you know how to navigate your way on these platforms. The FAQ is there for a reason.
(I am thinking of working out a refund procedure in the the future, but if you guys do any of the above that affects the progress of other commissions, you won't be qualified for said refund! The refunds will have to be issued due to my lack of work or cancellation.)
3) Comic commissions
I haven't been able to work much on comics due to Number 1 and Number 2, so if you ordered comics earlier this year... "Sorry" doesn't make the cut. But comics also have a time consuming factor as well now that I think about it. "Rose of Sharon" pages take a WHOLE day to put together on average from sketch to finish. So with that in mind.. patience please. Just because I update RoS every week doesn't mean that the page is magically done in three hours like a poster is. (I mean give me some "snow","speed", or adrenaline that could be a possibility, but I prefer to not be under the influence while working.)
I know, I know... "WOW that's slow!"
Sorry, I'm not a mangaka. I'm an American amateur that likes to take her time with her projects, thank you.
Good news: I would like to dedicate the weekends to comics only again since I have way more free time given how I am catching up with everything. So comic updates will resume the 9th since we have short waitlist for September.
4) Art blocks due to fatigue
... but that's usually 10% of the time. If you want to know why, look at Number 1. Because I overexert myself admittedly, I tend to end up more tired than usual. I am working giving myself adequate rest, but I'll be honest I have caught myself falling asleep at the computer while working on commissions. Adorable, but... not good. LOL
5) Working on my personal projects
"Rose of Sharon" has been on hiatus a couple of times due to myself falling behind on commissions and I really don't like that. Not only that, but any tutorials and fun content I have planned for Patreon is on hold as well, basically making all those fun things I've discussed empty promises.
Also, the comic does need minor editing with speech and art, so once the first volume is done I will go back and fix those up... however that may take a while.
Am I angry? Yeah (kind of)... but I'm more disappointed than angry, and that discouragement really effects and reflects in my workload. I end up not wanting to work some days, but I push myself still.
"Rose of Sharon" is my baby, and the studio I have dreamed of is still something I wish to do to help the next generation tap into their creativity. I have to make time for that, too.
In conclusion:
If you ask me the main culprit here, it's Number 1 the job hunt.
This accounts for 85% of why commissions have slowed down. Clientele correspondence is the 10% (not a big deal as I have explained) and workload is the 5%.
I admit I should have sent the message to everyone, but not everyone checks my homepage - they check their messages. So please guys, be sure you check my webpage or DeviantART if you want to know what is going on.
Also, I want to clarify that I'm not angry at my clients, and I am not saying my part-time job is an issue. I love y'all in different ways... I am angry at people who decided it would be funny to put me in the current financial situation I am in. I understand people are getting impatient with me... but if you want me to explain myself here we go. It may not be the best explanation, or the explanation you all want to or expect to hear, but it's the truth and I don't know what else to say other than ... This is how life has been unfolding for me recently and yeah, it sucks.
I'm rolling with the punches as much as I can, so until I figure my crap out - please, work with me.
I know May-June commissions are late as hell - look above.
So am I working on them?
YES.
Will it take a while?
Of course. But that really depends on the demand.
Is my new schedule working for me?
YES!
Priority commissions will be pushed to the front, but I don't want to force another delay for July-August commissions either and we end up back here again.
So, if we all want this to work out all I ask is for your patience. Once more, I don't like talking about my private life, but it's what is going on in my private life that is affecting my work life that I am obligated to explain myself. Please, understand.
Once again, I'm not angry. Everyone is justified in their impatience to a degree. I am pushing myself, but don't expect me to be the perfect AI printer.
With that, I'm going to head off for now. Thank you for reading, and I'll see you all around.
Haleviyah
Comments