DeadPhoenX

Ahoy fellow fishes! It's been a while!

Some of you might've noticed that once again for 2023, I've only uploaded three bits of artwork for 2023. I still have more artwork down the pipeline, but now it might take even longer to get completed and uploaded. Might. It all comes down to the new schedule I have with... okay, I think I'm getting ahead of myself here. So let's start around... Summer-ish to around Autumn.

I've got a new job. A full-time one, and it's one that's pretty big. It's not artwork related at all (but it can be in the future). Like most jobs, I can't say who or what I'm working for online to the public. When I got the call last Summer, I just couldn't turn it down. I don't like to talk about it much, but my personal life wasn't quite going the way I'd hope when I quit my last job in 2020 due to a poorly handled COVID outbreak at the job site. What I had in savings since then started to dry up. And now with the unfortunate proliferation of AI “artwork”, commissions have dried as well. I saw the chance to apply for my current job from a friend. And when I got the call back that fateful morning, I just couldn't say no, especially with that starting pay-rate.

I've now been at the new job for a few months now. I've have my good days, and my bad days. But it's still the beginning, and I'm hoping to hold on to this job (and its benefits!) for as long as I can. It's possible that I may be working here for the rest of my life and retire here. As the training period and the actual work started, I kept thinking back to the artwork. Can I actually continue it? Can I still draw in my spare time? Can I still take on commissions? Can I still run an online shop? I don't want to stop drawing and leave it all behind me because I'm exhausted when I come home. I'd be turning my back on nearly 20 years of artwork and honing my skills. I still want to draw. So I've spent some time thinking about all the things I had planned to do with my artwork, like the Print Shop and the commissions and whatnot, and weighing it next to the fact that I have a full-time job now and not as much free-time as before. To give the Cliffnotes version now and explain more after, quite a few things are ending, with only a few continuing.

Let's break it down.

Artwork: Continues, but without possibly lowered output. My schedule should stabilize soon, but it still comes down to exhaustion when I get home. The content isn't changing, there will still be booba. So rest assured it's not going anywhere.

Patreon: May never reopen now. I never bothered to revert it back to a Creator account when it was forced into being a Patron account after I stopped taking pledges due to a lack of consistent artwork uploads. Now, the upload schedule is gonna be VERY inconsistent, too inconsistent to justify taking monthly pledges like that. It also feels weird, to me at least and for now, to take pledges with the kind of salary that I have right now from my full-time. Maybe in the future if my salary (which should go up yearly) isn't keeping pace with the bills, I may consider taking pledges again. But for now, I'll just be another fish in the sea of Patrons. But...

Commissions: ...I still won't say no to money for a service... However, this is where things might be in hard flux. My low artwork output, which is definitely continuing now that I have this Full-Time, is making it really difficult to justify keeping commissions open. Even though clients have dried up, the few that I still get have been left waiting MONTHS (one beyond A YEAR) for work to get done. I still don't feel right letting clients wait that long for artwork. And now that I have this job... it might be time to close the commissions. I've already issued a refund to a friend of mine recently. And I may issue another refund to another client/friend of mine unless they're willing to wait ANOTHER YEAR for the thing to be completed. There's another still being negotiated with a regular of mine. But these may very well be the final commissions I take. After these, the commissions will be closed.

Merch Shop Poisson: This is something that I could actually continue. Redbubble can still kiss my ass with those new fees they added. But Print-On-Demand is still something that can be worked on without input from me. All I have to do is create the artwork and upload it. I might drop some of the more complicated stuff, like leggings and bags and whatnot. But the simpler stuff like stickers, mugs, and shirts are still on the table. That brings me to...

Print Shop Baguette: ...the Print Shop. I've been trying to get this off the ground since 2021, and each time a new obstacle presented itself. It'd be wrong of me to call my new full-time an obstacle, but it does bring on new challenges to get this off the ground. While Print-on-Demand sites do exist for prints, I still would prefer to handle the creation and sale prints myself. There's this... feel to homemade things that On Demand sites lack. It's hard to describe, but if you've ever bought anything from an indy creator on Etsy, I think you'll get what I mean. I wanna maintain that with the future Print Shop. HOWEVER... The question is “time”. Will I have the time to juggle the full-time job, drawing artwork, AND making prints and shipping them? And the answer to that is... maaaaybe? The price of entry for creating and maintaining the Print Shop is no longer an issue for me now. But the scheduling of it all is something I'll have to think about.

Blue Fish Apartment (And Other Galleries): BFA is my personal site, of course it'll continue. And it doesn't really require much input from me beyond uploading new artwork. There was a brief domain issue before I started writing this. The site's back on now, but I still gotta fix parts of it that broke during the downtime. But the BFA will remain. Same with the others like DeviantArt, Pixiv, Newgrounds, and Picarto.

Picarto Livestreams: I've been wanting to get back into doing livestreams like I did for a small bit back then. But, again, will I have the time? On my normal days off, I usually spend that time to relax, do laundry, and relax more. Admittedly there's a level of urgency when I go live to draw, like I gotta go a bit faster, or think faster on my feet. It can be a bit stressful in that aspect, but I did enjoy my time livestreaming. And I do have a decent mic this time to respond to chat. For now, this'll be a TBA. I'll give this a month or so before I make a final decision on livestreaming.

So to recap:

Artwork: Continuing with no change in content, but lowered output.

Patreon: Will stay as a Patron account, not going back to Creator anytime soon.

Commissions: Will close when final commissions are completed or refunded.

Merch Shop Poisson: Will continue, but with simpler merch being sold.

Print Shop Baguette: TBA

Blue Fish Apartment (and other galleries): will remain open.

Picarto Livestreams: TBA

There's a lot that's gonna change, and some that'll remain. In some ways, it's a new way of life that I'll have to start living. It's not gonna be easy, and it may very well be difficult. But it does give me a sense of personal (and in many ways financial) security knowing that I have this job now. It's not fully secured yet. But after a year, I'll be locked down to it (unless I royally fuck up after). In some ways, it feels like my artwork is going back to being hobbyist thing again and not a career goal, like how it was pre-2014. But I would like to continue doing artwork for years to come, albeit at a smaller scale and lowered output. And who knows, my skills in art might be incorporated into this new job in the future. Only time and patience will tell.

Until the next update in 2025. Stay safe out there!

Just posted some new merch on my Redbubble shop! This time, it's the Main Circle of Ladies! Got stickers, shirts, phone cases, mugs. Even leggings!

So go ahead and bloom into Spring with some anime girls on... well, anything you want 'em on!

https://www.redbubble.com/shop/ap/102224988

Yes, the two shop you see on the Home and Shop pages of the Blue Fish Apartment weren't just for show this whole time! Shops were actually happening! Took a little longer than usual since I had to design the merch while also working on the BFA and other artwork too. But it's finally here. If you wanted to have my artwork on something like a mug, as a sticker, or even on a clock, you can finally make it happen and own it!

Right now on the shop is the Pocky Collection. All six Pocky-tan have products based on each one that can be purchased. Starting around January, I'll be adding more products to the catalog based on more artwork as well as the Silly Sketches.

So hit up the shop now and get something nice for ya! It's Christmas season while I'm writing this, so now's a good time to not only support my artwork, but to also make someone else happy!

So Why RedBubble?

Throughout 2020, I was shopping around for Print-On-Demand sites that would handle doing prints. This alone spiraled into something else I'll get to when the Print Shop opens next year. But one thing I kept worrying about with this new venture is the content of some of the artwork I do, and keeping potentially unsold inventory in my home. With the content, RedBubble is the more friendlier of the bunch in terms of more risque content as well as selling one's own fanart. Given, there's still some fanart I won't put on products for some rather obvious reasons. They're also friendlier with more risque content and have the ability to put a filter on it.

Some time during my shop hunting, I was pointed to another site (that I won't mention) that was a-okay with more adult content. The issue was that it was all curated, meaning there's a chance of a design being rejected and not given the time of day. While I understand why some sites curate their products, I'm more of the mindset that the public should decide that after the fact. If it doesn't sell, that it comes down, and if it does, it stays up. If I'm wasting time designing a product that fails, at least I can say that it was given a chance.

What About Prints?

That's one thing I won't be selling on RedBubble, or any P.O.D. Site. I won't explain why just yet. But just know that all you'll be finding on my RedBubble shop is merchandise. I still have to iron out some of the logistics I'll be facing, but prints will be coming at some point next year.

So what kind of artwork are you slapping on products?

As mentioned earlier, right now I have the Pocky-tan Collection up. They're on things like mugs, shirts, clocks, phone cases, and stickers. Down the line I'll be looking at my past artwork to see which ones would look good on some products. I'll also be adding my Silly Sketches chibis on some products as well.

With that said, I hope you like the artwork on your new mug, the sticker on your laptop, or the coaster under your cup, some (or all) with my artwork on it. It's only me and another person making this happen. So buying from Merch Shop Possion will be supporting a very indie artist and his helper.

Here's the link the shop again.

http://www.redbubble.com/people/deadphoenx

Whatever you buy, I hope you enjoy it!

Previously on Journal Updates: I had big plans. Then Corona hit! That pretty much pushed all of my plans out the damn window, save for one thing: Building the new site. You can pretty much check out why I was doing it over on the previous journal. Long story short: FC2 Blog was great, until it turns out it wasn't and was built on toothpicks and a prayer. So I made the tough decision of leaving it in favor of making a brand new version of the Blue Fish Apartment that was more stable and easier to manage.

So about a year and a half later and some consulting with the few in the BFA's Beta Discord Channel, I finally finished the new site! It's got many new bells and whistles that were not possible on the old version. It's been built from the ground up to be viewable on either desktop, tablet, or mobile. Artwork posts now display variants in a slideshow. And all of my WIPs now have their own posts that are updated periodically. There's an email newsletter system in place too if you want to be updated on new Artwork and WIPs. And I've implemented a comment system that's better than Disqus and its bloated code. There's still two pages that, while live, aren't fully functional. This is the next part that I want to talk about right now.

If you visit the Support page, you'll see Rhapsody beckoning for patronage... without being able to accept anything. Some time last year, my Patreon Creator page was reverted back to being just a regular Patron account. This is because while I was working on the website (as well as the remaining commissions I had left), I wasn't letting charges go through and pushing them to the following month. This began in late 2019. If I wasn't making self-started content for my Patrons, I didn't feel right charging them for a month with nothing to offer. Eventually this went on for 6 months straight, to which Patreon's systems kicked in and reverted my account. Thankfully everything is still in its place and I can re-launch the page back as I left it whenever I want.

But I don't want to do that yet. Things are slightly different compared to 2019, and there's different things I want to offer (and stop offering) when the page re-launches. I still gotta brainstorm some ideas with my Helper and Discord peeps on what to do. I know for sure Timelapses are now viable and on the table thanks to Clip Studio Paint's addition of the feature. Before, recording raw video of my drawing sessions would be MASSIVE, with a complete 8-10 hour beginning-to-end session taking up nearly just over 300GB. Now, complete raw timelapses only take up around 250MB. While only the canvas is viewable and not the entire workspace (to see what tools I'm using exactly), this is a much more viable option for me to work with.

But I digress. I'm hoping to relaunch the Patreon page in the next month or two when my artwork schedule stabilizes. I already met one goal of having 4 pics ready to offer rewards for. But I still gotta iron out the details on the handling to the page.

And if you go on the Shop section, it's also live but with no other function. I was hoping to launch this last year, but because of Corona, that never happened. Given the nature of the artwork I do as well as my personal preferences on how to display my art, my options are limited. On the merch side, I already have a site lined up that'll be handling things. But on the Prints side, this is where it gets tricky. For this I'm eyeing two potential services to help me out. If one doesn't work, then I'll do the other. I still have the means to print the artwork myself thanks to my Canon photo printer. All I need is a shop front and a payment processor. If you've followed me on Instagram, there is one other good thing to come out the pandemic that's sort of print related. But I'll be staying hush on that for a later date.

If you remember in the halcyon days of January 2020, I also mentioned that I'd be selling my artwork on the streets of New York City and trying for Artist Alleys at local comic and anime conventions. That too went right the hell out, which was understandable. I too was like “Nope, fuck this, I'm not catching Con-Flu, and I'm sure as hell not catching Corona over this!” We already know how unsanitary and unwashed the venues and con goers can be, to which I say watch this and memorize it. Not to mention I wouldn't necessarily be allowed to sell on the streets since I wasn't essential (it's a tough pill to swallow, but artwork is a luxury and not life sustaining). Fast forward to this year, I reached my goal of being fully vaccinated. However a new wrinkle introduced itself that I didn't quite take into account: NYC's crime rate. If you live in NYC or follow the news from it, you see that the crime rate has become unacceptable. Whether it's the guns, the gangs, or the druggies buggin' out, it's not really the safest place to be right now, both above ground and in the subways. Unless things change with the new Mayor in the next year, it's likely I'll be moving out of here soon and taking my business elsewhere.

With that said, while I did cross one finish line, there's still others to cross. So for now, check out the new Blue Fish Apartment and subscribe to the email newsletter if you wish. And do join the Discord server for any updates to either the site or my future plans.

Here it is, the Big Shift I hinted at over on my Twitter. But before I begin, let's talk about what happened back in 2019.

So as you may or may not know (and if you saw on DeviantArt I've kept the same journal from last year up all year 'round), I had a part-time job, and currently still work there. For how much longer remains to be seen, but that's a topic for another time. What is true however is that for all of 2019 I had to juggle between the part-time, artwork, and quite a few personal matters that cropped up in the middle of the year (which still hasn't quite been settled yet, but the situation has improved). This has led to some really noticeable slowdown on my artwork, with output being at its lowest since 2014. If you were a patron of mine on Patreon, you may have noticed constant pausing of my campaign due to no new, non-commission artwork being uploaded. Well, I'll have to be pausing it again, this time for 2-3 months. More on that near the end.

While there were some downs, there were quite a few ups thanks to my part-time. As stressful as the job was, the pay helped jumpstart some much needed upgrades to my art studio and equipment. I was able to get a second monitor, more HDDs for artwork video storage, and two big ones: my Wacom Cintiq 16, and my Canon Pixma IP8720 printer. More on the printer in a bit as well! So things are really looking up with my artwork.

What I have planned in 2020 (and beyond) with be coming in 3 steps.

Step 1: Leaving FC2 and rebuilding The Blue Fish Apartment from scratch

Around Fall of 2019, you may have noticed that I tried to table at AnimeNYC's Artist Alley. Sadly, I was left in waitlist hell. But I was able to meet two of my biggest art inspirations, Sakimichan and Reiq. This gave me quite the morale boost that weekend, and it gave me a better idea of what to expect if I do table at AnimeNYC in 2020 (and other conventions as well). But the whole experience of AnimeNYC – the registration, waitlisting, and attendance – reiterated one crucial flaw that's plagued me since its inception: my main gallery, The Blue Fish Apartment. As you may know, I chose FC2 as my host since it was free and I was allowed to post my NSFW artwork that I couldn't really post elsewhere. On top of it, I had all the control I needed to present my artwork how I see fit. However... FC2 is antiquated. Support for the English version pales in comparison to the Japanese one. And the servers are absolutely trash when more than 10 people visit the site at the same time. Images frequently take too long to load, or worse, they won't load at all and falsely put up a 404 error. While I'm certain other factors played a role in my waitlisting, I can't help but shake the feeling that FC2 servers being trash didn't really help matters. With that said, I'll be leaving FC2 and moving to a new host. All of my artwork from 2014 to now will be hosted on the site, as well as new artwork of course. My Sonia Belmont pic will stand as my final upload to FC2.

Step 2: Gettin' Physical! Prints and Apparel coming soon!

You read that right. Coming soon, I'll be selling prints and other things with my artwork slapped onto it. I'm still trying to iron out the plans with my helper on what to do about the prints side of things. I currently have a printer at home, my earlier mentioned Canon Pixma IP8720. And it's capable of printing rather large sizes – around the same as the large prints you might see at an Artist Alley. Because of the limitations of selling NSFW prints on a POD (print-on-demand) site, it's highly likely I'll be selling my prints from home and handling the packaging and shipping. I was told about SharkRobot from one of my fans on Twitter. However their selections are curated, which ups the chance that certain pics of mine will be rejected, so I'd rather not bother. But for sure the apparel will be done by a POD. There's two I'm thinking of, but the benefits of one of them outweigh the benefits of the other. As for what I'm selling, I can't reveal just yet. Still wanna iron out details with my helper, but I do have a couple of ideas.

Step 3: Hitting The Streets

Starting this Spring when the weather gets warmer, I'll be hitting up the streets of New York City to also sell my prints directly to the people there. My time spent working within lower Manhattan has shown that selling my artwork there is a viable option. And since my artwork is bound to stand out of the crowd, being one of the few (or only) anime artists around, I think I like my chances. I'm gonna test market my neighborhood first and see how things go. If all goes well, then I'll be setting up in Manhattan. I've already looked up the laws regarding the selling of art prints, and it's more or less legal and protected by the First Amendment right to free speech and expression. There's still some zoning laws I have to abide by, but nothing too crazy. Which neighborhoods I'll be selling at is still TBA, but SoHo and Chelsea look like good candidates.

While I'm laying out all the plans for this and putting them in motion, I will have to take about 2-3 months off doing non-commission artwork (aka the Self-started stuff that goes on Patreon) so that I can focus on these things. Commissions will still be worked on, however it's likely that during this break I'll have to refrain to taking on any more. This does also mean that I won't be letting Patreon charge patrons for the months that I'm on hiatus and working on the new gallery site, prints, and apparel shop.

With that said, Merry Christmas, Happy New Year, and many thanks to all of my Fellow Fishes for all of your support! Ya'll cracked the 1000 followers mark on both DeviantArt and Pixiv, and I just hit 800 on Twitter. I also have a Newgrounds if you want to follow me on there as well. I'll still be active on Social Media (primarily my Twitter and Instagram).

Take care and stay safe out there!

-DeadPhoenX

P.S.

=D