Into the rabbit hole of Patreons

includes my 3 top tips for beginners

Hello friends!

Today's letter is about my experience with Patreon¹, as a patron not a creator of course! And let me say that writing about it was as difficult as my (small) journey on Patreon, but I want to write about it as it helps me to reflect & to process things, also sharing my thoughts with you is wonderful too because there's always someone (even if it's only one of you) who feel the same ❤️ we are definitely not alone!

The first time I tried Patreon was in 2020, and to be honest I joined just to support a Portuguese artist that I admire, but since the beginning I disliked the platform, for me it's not an intuitive one and definitely not friendly to use*. I left after a few months and returned in 2022 till now... (in between there was a period that I was not supporting anyone there tho). *the platform is a little better by now, recently they added some new features that help the navigation.

Sketchbook Challenge from Emma Carlisle patreon

Why I returned to Patreon? 

2023 has been the year that I invested more time in learning and trying to figure out things that I like (if it's even possible to figure it out!) and watching/absorbing content from artists which work I love seemed a nice way to help me in this quest. Also supporting artists is always a pretty thing to do😊

I still don't know if Patreon is a thing I will maintain in the future, but here's an insights list of what I've experienced and learned so far:

- Always found a very friendly community through all the Patreons that I've tried. There is no judgement, people are honestly kind to each others.

- You may admire an artist and its work, but the way they share knowledge and content may not be the most appealing to you. Nothing wrong with that and you can continue to love the artists work regardless that. 

- I watch videos/read the posts more than I practice from Patreons, but lately I am trying to change this and apply more what I learn to my daily practice.

- Drawing Sessions - yes they can be fun, but they can also be daunting. If you are a chatty person, this probably is thing for you😄I am not chatty, I am super shy and drawing sessions sometimes remind me of classroom (and that feeling of speaking to a large group of people, even if they are people you know). One more time I need to recall that every session I joined there were only good vibes among the participants. And it's always possible to join with video/audio off.

- There are so many drawings sessions in a month from different artists that I really don't know how people can fit them all (even with the replays) in daily life. Sometimes this makes me feel I am bit disorganised with my routines🫤 

- A nice thing about Patreons is that we can up/downgrade on tiers (honestly I prefer when there's only tier to choose, simplifies everything but I understand that it's important for creators to have different budget options for their audience) and also leave & return whenever we want. I struggle with leaving 🙈 especially when it's artists that I connect more on Instagram. This is a issue for me, still dealing with it. 

- Even if everyone around you seems to be talking about this or that Patreon or the FOMO feeling, not joining Patreon(s) is a option!

Drawing Session from Puapualena patreon

We definitely don't need to join Patreon(s) to learn (more), there's plenty of content everywhere out there and we can always learn alone by trial and error, by repetition, experimenting and doing, doing it all again...probably this is the best way to improve but also can cause so many disappointments and backdowns. It takes time (a lot). Learning takes time. And joining Patreons will not reduce the time needed neither the practice but there's tips, knowledge shared and very nice communities that can help on this journey. And we can also join just to have fun and to find new fellow artists! 

at this time seems I am being sponsored by Patreon, but this is just me rambling about it and trying to make sense. 

Tips for beginners/people who never tried Patreon:

- Choose one or two Patreons to try (don't do like me, I joined many at the same time - it can be overwhelming - not the best way!)

- Define a number of Patreons or budget to support each month. If you can support endless patreons/artists great, do it! ✌🏻

- Find a Patreon(s) that suit your art/feelings best at the time, you can always change later to others. 

Drawing Session from Bina Tangerina patreon

I could leave here a list of Patreon(s) suggestions, but instead I will tell you my favourite one at the moment, which is Puapualena. I love the artist style, very sketchy, how she uses different materials - for a mixed media person like me it's important - and she is constantly trying new techniques and approaches. If you would like me to suggest more Patreons just leave a comment or send me a message, I tried a quite amount of them and there still a few I would like to try out.

Well seems I had a lot kept inside me about Patreon! If you got this far, thank you for reading🤗 and tell me, do you like this platform? Which one is your favourite? 

Wish you a nice weekend and happy drawings! 

Till the next time, Teresa

1. ”Patreon is a membership platform that helps content creators earn a monthly income by providing rewards and perks to their subscribers.”