HOLY MOTHER OF WTF Sakimi Chan's Patreon is at $23K

[villainesayre]

The only problem I've got with Sakimi making so much money isn't about doing fanarts or nfsw stuff etc. The only thing that troubles me is that her art got WAY worse since she started patreon. Previously she drew many kind of art, there was a variety in faces, bodies, even brushes she used.

Now every single piece she draws looks the same. It only shows how much a human can go to earn money. I would just like to now if she's happy with it...

Also a problem I've seen with patreon artists - I know that it's exclusive content drew only for people who pay - but I don't like when they are updating their galleries with "oh I'm doing a tutorial about anatomy but you'll get it only on patreon". It's convenient to sell it only like that but I wish I could purchase it separately whenever I can (if I'm interested) maybe get it for free after some long time when it's a little outdated, but there's even no possibility to get such content outside the patreon. And that's what hurts me. Patreon had a great purpose but ruined the idea of creating ART.

[yartzanaserenade]

Ugh, I know I should be happy and take her as an example that shows artists can actually be successful and stuff,, but she only demotivates me instead..
Maybe cause she makes it seem like that in order to gain popularity and make people care about you and your work, all you need to do is fan art and sexy stuff, which I don't really like doing.
Also, I recognize she's good but I find her work boring and plain and doesn't really motivate and inspire me the same way works of , Loish, DestinyBlue or Ilya Kuvshinov (to name a few) do. They are hypnotic to me but sakimi isn't.

[DuneDeca]

I don't think fanart should be entirely discredited, though people who make money off 100% fanart do make me uncomfortable.

One shouldn't forget how powerful of an advertisement tool fanart can be. It brings people to your page, which introduces them to your comics and original works. No one looks up original work tags, which fanart tags get hit many times a day.

Aside from that, man dat patreon! Life goals man, life goals! The only thing that comes to mind is how great that would be, one could pheasably save up enough money to buy themselves stable housing! A feat that is difficult in today's age.

[yartzanaserenade]

I just don't understand how can artists only work on Fan Art with that frequency , especially even after having such a large fanbase that would keep following you even if you drew pink poops all the time.
THIS is my most popular work on dA. A fan art. I did this just to see if I could get more attention by doing this, and I did. But I didn't feel proud of it, it almost bothered me to see how much people liked it and ignore all the rest.
So maybe I'm dumb but just can't draw fan art unless I do it right after I see a movie I like too much. But rarely happens .
I wish I could be more mainstream.

[zelkats]

Fan art happens to be something people can relate to easily because they already know the stories. My most popular artwork on dA is also a fanart and it does bother me some.

But think about it --- even if viewers see your original artwork and illustrations of OCs, why should they care about them as much? That's where comics make a difference, I think. People can see your characters' personalities and stories through them--- something for viewers to like besides appearance. That's pretty much why I focus more on comics and writing instead of illustration and so far, it's doing me more good than what my illustrations have done for me.

Edit: I want to add that original illustrations can definitely be popular without the help of fanart, but that's usually because of a style that's unusual or new, even. If you know your limits and know that your art style isn't revolutionary, you can find other ways to make your work stand out more. Using concepts that haven't been ventured much by others, animation, stories/comics, collabs with indie video game developers, etc. There are many ways to put your work out there besides fanart.

[yartzanaserenade]

@zelkats Good point. Even though even if one has a super revolutionary style I think it's still pretty hard to have all the stars aligned.
As you said before, people like relating to stuff, and things that are too different are often harder to like right away.
Most Revolutionary artists always had tedious unlucky lives.

Anyway, yeah that's why since I found out Tapastic I don't even open dA anymore.

[AnnaLandin]

It's convenient to sell it only like that but I wish I could purchase it separately whenever I can (if I'm interested) maybe get it for free after some long time when it's a little outdated, but there's even no possibility to get such content outside the patreon.

I run a Patreon to support a webcomic that I otherwise release for free - backers just get their pages a few days early. Also, backers get access to my little sideproject-comics as well - but I sell those comics via Gumroad too, for non-backers. And, occasionally, post them for free on Tumblr.

My rule of thumb is to give backers optional extras, but still keep most of my art public. Backers get to see sketches and WIPs, but most of my finished art goes up on Tumblr.

Patreon had a great purpose but ruined the idea of creating ART.

It's not Patreon's fault - how one runs one's Patreon campaign is entirely up to the individual. Some people just use Patreon as a tip-jar, and keep no content locked away behind a paywall - and that's fine too.

But remember - art is just as much art, even if you have to pay for it. Just because people are asking for money in return for art doesn't mean their art is of less artistic value than those who do it for free. Some people are using Patreon to supplement a very meagre income, and they deserve to be paid for their time and effort. If you don't want to pay them, that's fine - but you don't get to complain about how they choose to share their art.

[pixelsnplay]

Personally I think this is a win. A win for her obviously and a win for those in art- to show that yes art does have value- and a lot of value apparently. Whether we like her art or not, or even her personally- she is resonating with enough people that do. I say good for her. I hope this is a trend that continues not just for her but for other artists as well. ^^

[villainesayre]

Yes I know that there are artists who are let's call them "fair". I was mostly saying stuff regarding Sakimichan's patreon, so sorry for being ignorant. Also your patreon campaign is okay, I'd do the same if I wouldn't be afraid of taxes and stuff cause in my country we have a very little money we can earn without paying taxes...

And the thing I said about patreon's greater purpose - I meant that one can see that with more money earned the quality of art in Sakimichan's case has dropped. She chooses quantity over quality and I just can't call it art anymore. She's like a little company making huge money and draws the same stuff over and over, the only thing she changes are characters, their gender and if they turn right or left. And once in a while she makes a tutorial with mistakes in it.

I didn't say anything about art being less of art when people have to pay for it. In galleries you always have to pay to see it but you also pay for quality and that's what I've meant.

[sushy00]

wow that is sure a lot of money per two weeks. I do wonder if she really gets the total amount though. Sometimes you hear that some people back out very quickly again on Patreon, or that they do not pay? I am not too sure though. Even when not every dollar would go through, she still is making a lot I guess. Awesome to see that she can earn a good living with it. I wish I could do so too. XD
Her art indeed seems to be stagnating. It could also be that she is afraid to take risks now since so many people watch her.

[UzukiCheverie]

It's convenient to sell it only like that but I wish I could purchase it separately whenever I can (if I'm interested)

You actually can buy some of her tutorials separately on her GumRoad page. I purchased one of her digital PSD and video tutorials for $10 there a while ago. Definitely a better alternative for people who don't want to be paying $20/month just to get anything.

[puppetbomb]

This is coming really late, but I'm surprised that an entire thread that starts with swerving dangerously close to bashing an artist has been left alone for so long.

[tsukin]

wow that's really good for her lol. Her art is amazing, but lol just from my grammar nazi stance her patron blurb needs some editing #typos. And I'm not trying to be mean by saying that, it's just personally multiple typos like that just screams unprofessional to me and makes me less inclined to support monetarily. If she's making that much she ought to be able to hire an editor for a quick job like that lol. Or even just ask a friend. I do it for my friends all the time.

[ChanYE]

i dont think anyones going to wory about her making money off of things she doesnt own. evryone knows she made fanart. of it, as stated in desc..

[Kura]

@ChanYE I know this was an old post, but I wasn't talking about companies getting strict with fan art against her. I was talking about companies getting more strict about fan art in general because of artists like her making 'notably large' amounts of money like that of franchises they don't own.

Again, and this is covered in previous responses of mine. I also don't have issues with people making money off of fanart (because it's still WORK to make and people should be paid for their WORK) aside from it can be disappointing on a personal level with artists (NOT disappointing as a theme/medium) because a good amount of artists I know have fallen into the 'it's the only way they can make money off art' mind set.

[AndrewSutton]

Assuming it's who I think - their artwork is very nice.

I started a Patreon and have yet to get any backers which is why I came to tapastic to try get noticed a bit easier.
it's kind of working

[KoalaMari]

yes! I love sakimi chan's artworks, they are amazing! Another one of the great artists for me is kuvshinov ilya. They're my inspirations.

[miseryhunting]

I've seen plenty of artists complain that if they go original-only they can't even break even, that attendees are simply not interested in anything other than fan art.

I've been to a few cons before and I've noticed I buy mostly original work - I'm there to check out some new creators and their stories and come back with 90% original work. I don't buy fan art to be honest, I don't feel it has the same value for money.
That being said, this is just my experience.

[quakeulf]

She earns more than the people who created many of the characters she is fan-arting.

I know because I used to be a game artist for big gome companies such as EA.

Feels bad man.

[PotooGryphon]

Retiring this thread since it's a year old.

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