Patreon is great, I support fantastic creators and get awesome stuff in return, what’s not to like? (shhhh don’t mention the extortionate creator fees, payment processing fees, the annoying VAT thing or the estimated annual revenue of $50-$75 million).
I really hope patreon is worthwhile for the people I follow, seems like a lot of work to maintain a page on top of what is already a very busy freelance workload.
There is so much pressure for artists to work continuously these days (newsletters, social media, livestreams, online shops, the list goes on) and I often wonder if I’m just adding to that heavy burden by subbing. I can imagine that, particularly on patreon, creators feel obligated to provide ‘value for money’ spending time on posts at the expense of some other area of their life/work.
On a more positive note, I get a lot from my memberships – inspiration, tips, recommendations, exclusive peeks and goodies like the stuff below.
I spotted Ewan’s entry for the 2000AD art comp a few months back and immediately started following his work on patreon. Ewan works primarily in acrylic and his style is violent, frenetic and visceral, I love it! I’ve started dabbling with paint again for the first time in years as a result of seeing his process vids and I’ve also started sketching along with his hang and draw podcast.
Russell Mark Olson’s patreon page is immense. I recently started following and found I’d unlocked years of process posts and incredible artwork. One of my favourite things to do before bed now is read through his archive from the beginning, Russell’s writing is full of insightful observations and critical analysis.
The Gateway City Quarterly is a gorgeous 16 page newsprint format posted to members of the Sub-Editor tier four times a year. I’ve received two now and the latest edition has a fantastic bonus backup by Gavin Mitchell (above). If you’re not already on Russell’s patreon I can’t recommend it enough.
Gavin Mitchell has also been creating some nostalgic riso prints and offered first dibs to his patreon supporters. I nabbed a wee hero quest print and cheekily added a copy of his self published Spatchcock mystery “The final curtain” to my order. Gavin posted the entirety of final curtain on his patreon as he produced pages and I couldn’t resist buying a print copy, it’s fantastic!
