SUMMARY:
I'm taking a break until April 8th, and will be changing my posting schedule to 1 post every 6 days in a staggered comic-comic-illustration-illustration post order.
EXPLANATION:
Hello! You guys are hearing a lot from me this week, seems like, between the store launch and this. I apologise for the inconvenience, but truth be told I've been running myself a bit ragged lately.
It's been a mixture of factors, including personal life matters and some annoying physical issues with my hands (nothing serious, just some irritants that make it difficult to sit down and draw for long stretches of time) but the most significant and long-running problem I've been bumping up against has been burnout. I love getting to do this as my job so much, so it's endlessly frustrating when it feels like sitting down and drawing is the last thing I want to do some days. I've had periods of burnout before, where I just forced myself to barrel through it headfirst and come out the other side, but the gaps between rough patches are seeming to shrink and it's scaring me a little. As much as I love this job, I don't want to permanently sour my relationship with art because of it.
For what it's worth, I don't think I'm close to that stage right now, but I'm noticing some warning signs that are making me realise I need to change or else something's going to give. A lot of this pressure is undeniably self-inflicted because I'm always trying to make sure people are getting their money's worth, but I'm realising that at some point I need to prioritise my own health and longevity...I hope that's understandable. So I'm taking a break until April 8th, and will be changing my posting schedule to 1 post every 6 days in a staggered comic --> comic --> illustration --> illustration post order. I'm hoping that giving myself more buffer time between each post will give me some breathing room and prevent me from having to take breaks in these random bursts, as well as give me the time to send out store orders promptly.
However, I want to assure you that no matter the change in schedule, I'm fully committed to maintaining the quality of the art I post, and hopefully improving it! I really want to make this subscription worth your hard-earned money. And my store launch has kind of reinvigorated my brain - I want to spend this extra time cooking up new standee and charm designs and sticker sheets and tote bags...it's just so cool to get to hold art in your hands, y'know?
This is getting a little wordy, so I'm going to end it here. Thank you all so much for your support so far, I hope these changes don't disrupt your day too much, and I'll see you all again with the next merchandise preview+preorder information on April 8th!