In the not so distant past, I made multiple comments about the state of the community and where I thought I fit within it. More to the point, I mentioned how our reliance on a certain few artists placed us in a position where we're limiting ourselves in what can actually be shown or done around the community itself. Though Patreon was a small part of it then, it has since ballooned out of control in ways I had hoped to be wrong about. You see, about a month ago, an artist I followed over on Inkbunny (where they seemed the most active) stated that they were going to shut down their Patreon due to lack of donations.

Now, having just checked back in on that site, I was greeted by a journal stating they were going to open it back up and use it "only to fund comics" that they really wanted to work on in addition to the commissions that they normally did. With me so far? Alright, here's where it gets stupid - They also said that they would no longer delay image uploads between Patreon supporters and regular followers. So...then why did you make the Patreon to begin with? What was the endgame? Did it just boil down to a lack of support or did you so grievously overestimate your fanbase that you couldn't justify keeping it segmented anymore?

Look, I get it. You're an artist and you want to get paid for your work. Makes sense and all that, but this constant breaking up of an already fragmented community isn't helping anyone. That is not to place all the blame on this one artist. This is purely to point out a problem we've created for ourselves: We support people not based on actual skill or desire to help them, no, it is done almost purely because we think we have to support the "brand".

To use a more commonplace connection, let's go with cars. Let's say it's come down to either a VW Golf or an Audi A3. You've been doing the math, maybe you've taken them out for a drive, but in the end, you really want that Audi. You don't know why, you just decide to get the A3 instead of the golf. Here'e the problem: Mechanically speaking, they're the exact same car. Audi and VW share platforms and parts, because one owns the other, so the only thing you really did was pay for the name.

Such is the case with our community right now: You will run to the names, over-looking the end result while other (and probably cheaper) alternatives stand there with no one to do commission work for. I make no judgement on what you personally pay for; my problem is how we're letting it happen. I had hoped to avoid naming names, but let's use It'sJustMeGabeNewell as an example. His/Her prices are very high, but the quality is consistent. How do I know? Because they don't have a "You pay or you see nothing" paywall-based Patreon. Just commissions and they fill up fast. To use another name, Let's try Aaron/Psychoram. Been to their page lately? It has some commissions, sure, but there, in with the usual work, are Patreon plugs.

I get it, makes sense to promote it, but when you go to the actual Patreon page, the buy in amount hits and hits hard. You want to support them just for funsies? Buck a month...and it gets you nothing. Want access to some, NOT all, of those Hi-Res pictures, "along with art you won't find on any of my other sites"? Fifteen bucks a month minimum. That's it, all or nothing. Hell, if you're insane, you can drop $35 or more a month to actually be able to do everything.

So, you may be asking, why single him or her out? Simple. The pricing structure they use, along with my previously mentioned name recognition, has turned this community into a collection of starving art whores, desperate to get commissions where they can but only if they think the artist is important enough to bother with...or is available. As a result, up and comers, or just people who don't take commission work often, are left to rot. The market stagnates, to use a fancy economic word to discuss mostly porn, and here we sit. Stuck choosing between gigantic wait lists or equally absurd paywalls.

We have the power to change this kind of thing. I took a quick cruise around FA (which is still an ad-coated joke by the way) and found artists who take commission work for less than forty bucks for a colored piece. That's lower than half the donation required on most of the popufur Patreon's for crying out loud!

This has been a long journal, I know, and a lot of you may be mad that I singled out Aaron. As I've said many times about Patreon and most everyone who makes a campaign there: My concern isn't with what they draw or who they are as a person. It's with how they handle the campaign itself. Why would they strive to get more commissioners when they can "cash in" their popularity and make thousands a year for doing what they already were doing? In fact, they do even less now, locking images in packs and then coasting till the next month's set is due.

I don't blame them for the marketing push per se, I just find it endlessly irritating that a group of artists take the easy way out so very often.

In before people scream hipster: I'm not trying to say that I remember when the community used to be "pure" or some crap like that. I'm just saying that they're alienating a shit load of people for guaranteed cash....quite a bit of it in fact: $32,832 a year in Aaron's case (Before Patreon/Taxes takes their cut of course).

I guess what I'm saying, more than anything else, is this: Branch out and try new artists. Don't let the lack of customers be a turn off. Instead, see what they're made of and give them a chance. It may work out, it may not, but at least you'll be able to see the work you paid for without having to pay a viewing fee later.