Tag: kelci d crawford

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Prints Are Coming Back??

Look, I know I wrote a blog post about not doing prints anymore. And that IS true for conventions. Buuuuut prints are coming back – with a catch.

WHY CHANGE MY MIND?

Funny story: I turned in my notice at my office job. To get ready for returning to full-time art-making, I took a hard look at a bunch of numbers. For this story, just know that I was looking at the tally of sales I made online.

(I have a separate spreadsheet for convention sales, but I’ll get to that).

After looking at the data, I realized a surprising fact…

Prints made up 47% of all online sales. That’s close to half of everything!

This blew my mind. When I looked at the spreadsheet for convention sales, prints didn’t even make it to the top 3 categories. But prints DID make it in the top 3 sales categories on Ko-Fi, right up there with original art and PDFs.

So people are buying prints. Which goes against what I initially thought in the original announcement.

WHY IS THERE A DIFFERENCE BETWEEN CONVENTIONS AND KO-FI?

What makes prints sell better on Ko-Fi than at conventions?

I think it’s two things: prints don’t usually appear on my convention table due to space restrictions. And the best-selling prints on Ko-fi were limited edition AND framed.

Keep in mind that shoppers are, above all, lazy. If you can offer a framed piece of art (original or print), that saves the shopper the time and effort of finding a frame to fit it. Shoppers are willing to pay for the convenience if it means less work for them.

SO MOVING FORWARD…

Prints are coming back – and staying exclusive to online. That means Ko-Fi, crowdfunding campaigns like KickStarter and Crowdfundr, and possibly even Faire.com. (I’m not on Faire yet, but I’m looking to join.)

That said – prints and original art will be collected into art books. So if you have the means to get upcoming prints, great! If you miss your chance, watch for future art book announcements.

The best way to know when new prints and original art is coming out is to be on my email newsletter (shameless plug). So be sure to sign up to get the first sweet, sweet notice when new stuff comes out.

That’s all for now. Thanks for reading!

You. Are. Awesome.

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I’m Going to SPACE (In Columbus, OH)

Find me at SPACE this weekend! That’s the Small Press and Alternative Comics Expo in Columbus, OH. I’m sharing a table with Canonwrite Productions. Find us at table W26, yo.

If you’re in Columbus – I’m sending a special email to my newsletter subs. It’s about a reward for folks who can make it to SPACE. If you want to know more, get on the newsletter.

Can’t make it to SPACE? That’s ok! There are still plenty of comics to catch up on, from The Legend of Jamie Roberts to Vanita and the Demon King, and my Ko-fi shop and commissions will remain open this weekend.

WHAT I’M BRINGING TO SPACE

At SPACE, I’m marking down all stickers and mystery bags. Stickers are 2 for $1 (or get 1 free with a book purchase), and mystery bags are 2 for $5 (or get 1 free with a book purchase). I want to clear out all the stickers and mystery bags to make room for new things, like more keychains and pins!

I’m also bringing misprints of The Legend of Jamie Roberts, volume 1, available for $12 each. I still have a BUNCH of these, too.

Also at SPACE: original pages from my sketchbooks, a framed piece of art (this one will be pricier), and the last of my 11 x 17 prints. Again, I want to clear out a BUNCH of stuff to make room for new things.

IF TIME ALLOWS…I’ll bring along BOYZ, my Dragonball Z zine. I make no guarantees on this one, though. 

There will be a newsletter sign-up sheet there, as well. Do you think I WOULDN’T talk about my new tabletop RPG, Toe Beans & Broomsticks? I mean, it’s coming out in less than 10 days, on June 17! It’s available on my newsletter first before the rest of the world gets the game. That’s why I’m bringing the sign-up sheet – so folks can sign up to get the game!

Toe Beans & Broomsticks is a game where players roleplay as magic-casting Cat Witches, Dog Warlocks, Crow Witches, and Owl Wizards. Practice magics like Neko-mancy, cast spells like Meow-maturgy or Purr-estidigitation, and fight alongside friends against the dark forces of The Madam.

If you can’t make it to SPACE, but you reeeeeeally want Toe Beans & Broomsticks – good news! You can sign up for the newsletter using this link and get the game on release date.

And with that, I must be going. I have some last-minute prep to do for the show.

BY THE WAY…

I was featured this week on the Columbus Cartoon Coalition’s YouTube channel! Check it out, yo.

That’s all for now. Thanks for reading, and I hope to see you at the show!

You. Are. Awesome.

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Alternatives to Patreon

In case you didn’t see it, I had a chat with comics buddy Jade, creator of Ask the Werewolves and Fox Me Gently. In the video (now on YouTube), we discussed why we left Patreon and alternatives to the platform we found.

I highly recommend giving it a watch! It’s less than an hour and a half long. But if you need cliff notes, here are some highlights.

Jade and I Both Left for Security Reasons

I left Patreon in 2018-ish, returned in 2021, and then left again last year. And I did that because Patreon had laid off their security team.

Jade left on March 1 (just over a week ago!) for the same reasons. On top of that, she found out that Patreon is outsourcing its security to an outside company. One that may sell the data of any NSFW creators at any time.

Not only that – Patreon requires creators who make NSFW content to post their IDs for face recognition software (already a YIKES). But patrons are not scrutinized to the same level. Any patron can check off a box saying, “Yes, I’m over 18,” even if they aren’t. If Patreon’s goal was to stop underage consumption of NSFW content, this policy is a failure.

What a Platform Deems as NSFW is Often Never Defined Until You’re Punished

Ko-Fi is a Patreon alternative, but it has its faults. The first of which is that yes, you can mark your page as NSFW. But you’re not allowed to post NSFW content on Ko-Fi.

This is already a “…What?” But don’t worry, it gets worse.

I’ve shared this story in multiple places, but I’ll repeat it here – back in August 2022, my Ko-Fi page got taken down by the platform. They did not email me about it. They did not tell me why they did it. I had to reach out to them and ask why. They only responded, “You’re posting content we disapprove of. Please remove it.”

No specifics. No details. Just that.

By process of elimination, I figured it had to be one of two posts I did shortly before the take-down. It was either this page of The Legend of Jamie Roberts that dared to show off male nipples. Or it was a product listing with the words “Fuck off” in the title.”

To be safe, I removed both. And my page was immediately up.

That scared the hell out of me. So I researched alternative platforms in earnest.

Alternatives DO Exist.

Thankfully, there are sites like Buy Me A Coffee, Stripe, and Big Cartel. Jade and I discuss other options in the video (which you really ought to watch). But we do hope that these are just the start. We both hope that there are innovators out there who want to build alternatives to Patreon and Ko-Fi.

(And now for the shameless plug.)

I chose to build my own alternative from scratch, using Stripe to process payments. I’m calling this Subscribe.

By going to Subscribe, you can choose a Club that works best for you and your budget! To check out the options, head over to Subscribe. Members get early webcomic updates, exclusive crowdfunding rewards, and discounts on commissions. The more you pledge, the more rewards you get.

That’s all for now. Thanks for reading!

You. Are. Awesome.

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I’m Off To Detroit Zine Fest!

I’m off to Detroit Zine Fest this weekend!

March 4, from 11 am to 7 pm EST, at The Jam Handy in Detroit, MI.

This time I’m sharing the table with other members of the Columbus Cartoon Coalition!

Be sure to check out Samir and Nick. They have cool stuff and they’re coming with me to the show! Find Samir on Instagram and their website, and find Nick on his website, Instagram, Tumblr, and Twitter.

Now, I’ve never been to Detroit Zine Fest before. I think this is their first year as a zine fest in existence.

But hey, this could be another Feminist Zine Fest Pittsburgh – a cool show with cool people.

Hope to see you there!

Thanks for reading.

You. Are. Awesome.