Hello dear readers,

I hope you are well and that you have already had the opportunity to eat some good crepes to celebrate the season!

Although… in my humble opinion, it’s always crepe season, we can’t get enough of them.

Since I just ordered the stickers for my Patreon subscribers, I was going to write an article today to show it to you, talk a bit about the theme of the month, explain the reasons behind it…

However, I recently received several messages from people wishing to support me on Patreon who were having trouble figuring out the reward set-up.

The questions were always the same:

What do you get with the first €1 level?
Do you get the sticker with the 3€ subscription?
From which level on, do you get the exclusive postcard?
What are the new subscription Tier set up ?

Anyway, I discovered that I hadn’t done an article about the new subscription tier set-up since they were changed on the first of January 2022. 😅

So I’m going to explain it all to you and then I’ll devote an article to the creations of the month in the next few days.

Edit : This article has been edited following my decision to stop offering stickers and to replace them with a monthly bookmark.
Read more about this decision in this article.

Let’s start by talking about subscriptions and modifications, as many of you have asked me at what level they can receive the sticker and/or the illustration.

Edit : From 31 March 2022 the sticker is replaced by a bookmark: more ecological and more useful!

It is true that I was forced to change the subscriptions on 1 January 2022 and I have not yet taken the time to communicate on this change and the reasons for it.

What is the the New subscription Tier set up ?

First of all, I need to go back and explain what the previous set-up was and why I was forced to make changes.

Subscription levels from September 2021 to January 2022

In September 2021, I wanted to extend access to certain rewards to the second and third levels.
Subscribers to the 2nd level, “The Rabbit Hole“, received the exclusive monthly sticker, while those to the 3rd level, “Into the labyrinth“, received the sticker plus the exclusive postcard.

Why did I make this change in September?

Well, for two reasons:

On the one hand, this distribution allowed me to face the obligation to order large quantities from the printers without having any stock left at the end of the month: I distributed more and kept less.
” It makes sense “, I told myself, I thought I would make my orders profitable.

On the other hand, this distribution relieved me of a guilt that creators with Patreon/Tipeee/Ko-Fi or Utip pages know all too well: the feeling of never giving enough worthwhile rewards for the donations received.

Why didn’t I keep this set-up?

Unfortunately, I soon found out that the costs of mailing and printing exceeded the amount of subscriptions received.

Not only was I not earning a penny, but I was no longer cover my costs, in short in was literally volunteering.

As the purpose of a Patreon page and subscriptions of this type is above all to support an artist so that he/she can renew his/her stock of raw material more easily (watercolour paper, paint…), I absolutely had to review the distribution of the counterparts according to the levels.

Because I didn’t have a penny left to pay for the prints the following month.
What a shame!

Here is the New subscription Tier set up since 1 January 2022

As you can see in the presentations below, the second tier, “The Rabbit Hole“, becomes a level with no monthly material reward, as was the €1 level, “The Black Hole“, from its creation.

If you want to know more about the very first level, you can visit the article I wrote when it was created (without reading the description of the other levels which is obsolete).

What makes the first two levels different

However, subscribers to the second tier receive the exclusive welcome bundle containing the three Gormenghast bookmarks and the (ultra exclusive, not for sale) signed and numbered print of my Sailor Moon.
This welcome bundle is also included in all higher subscriptions.

The second benefit of this level is the preview access to my YouTube videos before I make them public.

In addition, the second level subscribers have, unlike the first level, access to some more private publications:
Copyrighted work, previews of private commissions that I cannot publish on social networks, hence access to restricted “Stories” on Instagram.

This is also why they can vote on the evolution of subscriptions and the way the Patreon Page works.

In the same vein, “The Rabbit Hole” subscribers have access to a private Discord server to further the discussions started in the comments of the Patreon page.

This is a good way to exchange on various themes, either in writing or by video/vocal.
Finally, subscribers of this second level have access to private live drawing sessions on YouTube, visible only to my subscribers.

Which subscriptions offer material rewards?

Following the change implemented on 1 January 2022, you must now be a subscriber of the 3rd level “Into the Labyrinth” at €5 to receive the monthly sticker bookmark.

Other benefits of Into The Labyrinth

This subscription level offers all the benefits and accesses of the first two levels combined:

Firstly, it gives access to the Exclusive Welcome Bundle with the numbered print and three bookmarks.

Then, it gives access to the monthly downloadable wallpaper, to the video previews, to the possibility to vote for the evolution of the Patreon subscriptions and contents, to the access to the Discord server, to the access to the more private or copyrighted contents on Patreon/YouTube/Instagram…

In addition, I get a 5% discount on my shops.

For the moment only the shop on this site and my InPrnt shop are concerned, unfortunately, because RedBubble doesn’t allow artists to create codes for their own customers.

The discount also applies to private commissions (which will reopen in March 2022).

Benefits of the latest Yellow Brick Road subscription level

The latest monthly subscription tier currently available is “Yellow Brick Road” at €10.80.

This is the level where you can receive the monthly postcard in addition to the sticker bookmark, on top of all the benefits of the previous levels:

Downloadable monthly wallpaper, access to preview videos, access to copyrighted/private content, live drawing sessions, access to the Discord server, etc…

The promotion code for shops is 10% Off for this level and not 5% as in the previous one.

What I’m trying to achieve with this new subcription tier set-up

My goal is to make sure that the balance between donations and rewards is fair, adapted and corresponds to the expectations of my patrons (hence the votes that I regularly propose on the page).

I try to be attentive to their needs and desires and to anticipate the problems they might encounter during their subscription.

What else is there to know about my Patreon page at the moment?

So here is new subscription Tier set up on my Patreon page on January 1st 2022.

As I said, I try to make sure that everything is indicated and specified so that my subscribers don’t have any bad surprises when they subscribe.

I am also trying to listen to their wishes so that the levels reflect their expectations.
That’s why I’m going to clarify two more things about subscriptions and the rewards offered.

Small pragmatic tips/advice:

• Memberships are charged at the beginning of the month (between the 1st and the 5th day), so if you wish to subscribe, I invite you to do so early in the month so as not to see two charges too close together.
• You can pay with a PayPal account or your credit card.
• You can choose the currency in which you support the artists/programmers/authors you support on Patreon: Dollars, Euro, British Pound… feel free to adapt so as not to be overtaxed!
• If your credit card expires, your subscription is suspended but neither you nor I will be notified.
  Therefore, if you have not received your monthly counterpart and if you no longer have access to my Patreon page, I invite you to check that you have indeed changed your payment method and entered the details of a valid credit card.

Are there any other changes planned?

I was also recently asked if I would consider opening a new subscription in which I would offer A5 printing instead of the monthly postcard.
This was indeed in the pipeline because I create my exclusive illustrations of the month in A5 format (148 x 210 mm) and then have them printed in postcard format.
It is therefore quite possible to make a medium-sized print.

However, for budgetary reasons I am not in a position to make an advance payment for an order of at least 10 prints.
I would need to be sure to have 10 subscribers to this new level to make the creation profitable.

If the number of Patreon subscribers were to increase, then I could consider opening other tiers. But for the moment it’s completely impossible and I’m sorry about that.

Nevertheless, I’m listening to the wishes and proposals of my “bosses”/patrons to make the offers evolve as well as possible.
In any case, I will tell you all about it, believe me!

On that note, I hope that I have answered the questions you were asking and that this is a little clearer for you.
If not, feel free to leave a comment or use the contact form of this website.

So I bid you farewell for now.

Of course, I’ll be back very soon with, yes, a new illustrated dream and even two, as I’ll be presenting you with the exclusive Patreon creations of February (the sticker + the postcard). 👁️⭐☁️🌈

Until then, take good care of yourself!