Creator Spotlight – Laura Jolly

April 7, 2016March 30, 2019

Creator Spotlight: Nick Pitera

Week 7: Nick Pitera (www.patreon.com/nickpitera)

Nick is one of those awesome, upbeat creators that always manages to put a smile on my face. He rocks a unique niche of “upstairs/downstairs” music (yes, he sings in both male and female registers, and even does duets with himself). His songs and videos are fun, and his charming smile definitely adds a little extra oomph. He is wonderfully engaged with his patrons on Patreon, which is why I’m excited to feature him this week!

About his work

As I mentioned, he makes dual-register music, with an exceptional vocal range and charming sense of humor. He just released a lyric video TODAY for his original song, Like a Boy, and he describes himself pretty well in that so go watch it. 😉 –>

Many people don’t realize that on top of singing and making music videos, he’s actually an animator at Pixar by day! He worked on films like Inside Out, and even got to sing a little in the background of both Inside Out and Zootopia!

Why he’s a Spotlight Creator

Besides Nick being a positive, talented guy, he’s also a very engaging and grateful creator. His demeanor and optimism are infectious, and I always feel valued as a patron.

Other reasons to support Nick:

Cool rewards! He designs and signs digital postcards with each new music video to commemorate the release and thank his patrons. It adds a bit of a personal touch!
Insider info. He shares exclusive information and updates not just about upcoming music, but some of his outside projects (Pixar movies, events).
Video updates. He checks in from time to time with video updates, just to say hi, which gives all sorts of warm fuzzies. ^_^

My favorite of his videos is his collaboration with Peter Hollens in a super fun, silly Wicked Medley!:

My question to Nick: When are you going to make an animated music video for us?? 😉

Check out Nick’s work: Patreon | YouTube | Twitter | Facebook

March 30, 2016March 30, 2019

Creator Spotlight: Tami Veldura

Week 6: Tami Veldura (www.patreon.com/tamiveldura)

Tami is one of my absolute favorite writers. Her short stories and novels are written elegantly and descriptively, and capture the imagination from the first line. She also draws and makes beautiful art (I’m focusing on her writing here because it’s my favorite part). I adore supporting her on Patreon – she’s active across all her social media, and engaged with her patrons.

About her work

Her writing is focused around science fiction, fantasy, steampunk, and queer fiction, including short stories, anthologies and novels. She shares some short stories exclusively on Patreon, and I’m telling you, if you’re not a patron you’re really missing out. Her writing style is really something else; chock-full of description, but not in an annoying way. Every moment is important and captivating. Even in short stories, she creates entire worlds and characters that I fall in love with and desperately want more of!

Her anthology, Fanged, is an erotic paranormal M/M romance that is impeccable and unique. Tami’s debut novel, Perihelion, is being released on April 15 (just a couple of weeks away!). It’s a wild adventure set in the space between worlds, featuring a diverse cast of characters ranging in race, gender, and sexuality, in which sentient space ships, rogue AI, and feuding political families all want a piece of the galaxy.

My four favorites of her short stories are available exclusively on Patreon, and I highly recommend them. 🙂

The Forever Storm
“…Lightning flashed in the tent and woke Duliya from a sound sleep. She jerked up in the straw, tangled in sweat and the blanket. The whole tent glowed blue. Lightning flashed again to her right. Duliya jumped. She swept her hair back and realized it wasn’t lightning, it was Elion. The elf lay in the straw, still asleep. His runes pulsed and throbbed between white and blue, lighting the tent and everything in it…”
The Work of a Dragon
“Keytie stepped in her mentor’s tracks. Ulroe breathed with the forest. She sensed its moods and read the animals that had passed through here before. Keytie followed Ulroe’s movements like an echo. Her long ears caught the drone of a beehive not far off, twittering finches here and there, but no sign of deer…”
Chepi and the Wolf
“Chepi fluttered her broad wings. She twitched the width of her tail and soared into a thermal rising against the edge of the cliffs. The red rock was hot and it pushed her higher. Her view expanded as she rose in great circles, searching. Searching. A feeling in her chest had pulled her for days… There. Chepi screamed and her sharp voice cracked against the cliffside. A murder down in the trees below scolded her…”
Blessed
“Piet smoothed the grey robes of his service down over his chest and insured the ropes of his station lay flat. The tassels dangled by his knees. He checked in the mirror for any stray hairs the cleansing may have missed. He didn’t recognize his own face. Something about the lack of eyelashes made it more alien than he expected. He smoothed the grey robes again. His sandals were wrapped tight, he carried nothing. It was time…”

Why she’s a Spotlight Creator

I support her because of her phenomenal talent, but also because she’s active and hard working. She’s not one to sit back and let things run on their own; she talks on social media, asks questions, shares ideas, gets feedback, and constantly, constantly writes. I truly feel that her patrons are important to her (I can’t tell you how disappointing it is when creators drop off from updating their Patreon pages).

Other reasons to support Tami:

FULL-LENGTH, EXCLUSIVE SHORT STORIES. There’s no doubt you get a bang for your buck with Tami – you can read Patreon-exclusive stories for just $1 per story.
SHE TAKES FEEDBACK AND IDEAS TO HEART. Tami really listens to her supporters. At one point, I suggested trying out recording herself reading her stories because I wanted to hear how she interprets her own writing, and she did it!

Check out Tami’s work: Patreon | Website | Twitter | Facebook

March 25, 2016March 30, 2019

Creator Spotlight: Julia Westlin

Week 5: Julia Westlin (www.patreon.com/JuliaWestlin)

Listening and watching Julia sing is quite the experience. As I get lost in the music, it becomes more than singing; it feels like Julia becomes the music, that her body and voice are just instruments for our souls to be able to see her soul’s expression. And as a person, she shines with such a beautiful light, I can honestly say it’s an honor and joy to be her patron.

About her work

Julia is originally from Sweden, and has been making music videos on YouTube for a few years now. She creates both covers and original music, sometimes in a cappella, and sometimes with instrumentation. She recently released her newest original, Fire and Gold.

One thing I love about Julia is her style – not just the music (although her soulful, gentle melodies and lasting notes of raw emotion are certainly impeccable), but her fashion and visual choices. Most of her full-featured originals are shot out in nature, where she feels most at home, in gorgeous settings. The at-home covers, while shot on a simple background, are spiced up with her eclectic clothes and jewelry. She’s a fan of thrift stores and loves putting together her own outfits.

I’ve always loved split-screen a cappella videos where you can see the artist singing all the parts, but Julia one-ups Peter Hollens in the fashion department; each “Julia” on screen has a different hairstyle or outfit, which adds some fun visually. (Ok, maybe it’s a girl thing…)

One of my favorites is Julia’s cover of “I See You” from the movie Avatar, which she said was a dream come true to make. She went all out on costume and filming, and says videos like this are only possible because of her patrons.

Why she’s a Spotlight Creator

The real reason I am absolutely thrilled to support her on Patreon is her beautiful honesty, knowing her music is touching the lives of others and bringing something pure to the world. She has a humble, giving soul and lives a life of simplicity and honesty. By supporting her work, I know I am helping bring more beauty into the world.

Other reasons to support Julia:

HER GRATITUDE. She is so completely grateful to her patrons all the time – thanking us in videos, sharing updates, and making sure we know how important and special we are to her.
HER HONESTY. She tells us what’s going on behind the scenes – the good and the bad – and never feels the need to sway her art to “please the masses”. She is 100% genuine to herself, which can be a rare thing to find these days.
HER TALENT. Not only is she an excellent musician, she paints too! Again, she manages to tap into a whole new level of beauty and show the world something completely unique and straight from her heart.

Check out Julia’s work: Patreon | YouTube | Twitter | Facebook

March 16, 2016March 30, 2019

Creator Spotlight: Amanda Palmer

Week 4: Amanda Palmer (www.patreon.com/amandapalmer)

Amanda is a no-holds-barred, ruthlessly honest yet compassionate and empathetic individual. Her art is raw and relatable; making everything from music to writing to statue appearances, her Patreon page charges per ‘thing’ and she pretty much does what she wants (and people love it!). She has an amazingly close-knit community of fans who actively engage and support one another online, as well as get together in person and attend Amanda’s events. It’s probably the most enthusiastically honest and supportive fan group I’ve seen.

About her work

<a href="http://amandapalmer.bandcamp.com/track/machete"><span style="color: #ff5900;">Machete by Amanda Palmer</span></a>

Amanda has been around the internet for a while. She is known as a pioneer in the crowdfunding and indie industries. From touring in a rock band, performing on the street as a living statue in a wedding dress, making albums and writing books – she describes herself as a “performer, writer, giver, taker, yeller, listener, love-lover, rule-hater”. And now she can add to that list “mother” – a completely new adventure she shares with fans via blog posts and social media. She even wrote a song about it.

Amanda wrote a book called “The Art of Asking”, where she talks about the terrifying challenge of asking for help when you need it, and the struggles of being an independent artist and what she’s learned along the way. She lives a very bold life – making waves and rebounding from mistakes to channel that energy into her art.

Why she’s a Spotlight Creator

My main reason for featuring Amanda is her unique community of patrons that channel her own enthusiasm and empathy – sharing artistic endeavors, celebrating and building one another up, and saying F*** off! to the Fraud Police.

Other reasons she’s killing it on Patreon:

HER RAW HONESTY. People are way more likely to throw money at a creator who is clearly a real person, not a mystery celebrity. Someone who will be straightforward and appreciative. Someone who shares their flaws and gets excited about every new creation. Sure, sometimes it’s a bubbling mess of emotion, but that’s the best part!
HER COMMUNICATION. Amanda gives no f***’s about tl;dr. She will write blog posts that go on for days if she has something worthwhile to say. If you don’t want to read it all, no problem, someone will. She shares all of her thoughts, emotions, ideas, and excitement, and is constantly appreciative of her patrons. She also keeps an open dialogue about her Patreon page, to make sure people know what she’s working on and what they’re paying for. Shortly after she launched on Patreon, she was planning a last minute event and her patrons asked if it could be livestreamed, and since so many patrons were on board she was able to turn around a high quality livestream event in less than two days, funded by her patrons. That wouldn’t have even happened without feedback from her supporters – which just goes to show, you never know how your patrons will surprise you unless you keep talking to them!

March 10, 2016March 30, 2019

Creator Spotlight: Sakimi Chan

Week 3: Sakimi Chan (www.patreon.com/sakimichan)

One of the most successful digital artists on Patreon, Sakimi Chan, makes phenomenal character art ranging from anime, cartoons, videogames, Disney, and other unique projects (Web browsers as characters? The 4 seasons?). Not to mention, she pumps out work so fast, you have to imagine she draws in her sleep! And not one lacking in quality.

You might look at her Patreon page and think, “$25,500 per term, 1-2 terms per month?! How could I ever be that successful on Patreon, I should just give up now, I’m not that good.”

Fret not, young creator. Her success isn’t just due to her innate talent; she employs a variety of techniques that make her Patreon page so lucrative. Read on!

About her work

Sakimi Chan is an individual artist (as much as I’d like to think she’s a team of elves working from a magic treehouse in the woods) who puts an incredible amount of hard work and engagement into her art. Taking suggestions from her patrons, she does both requested pieces and passion pieces, all with her own distinctive flair.

She’s been moving further into Yaoi/Yuri art (which has been a smashing success among her fans!) and continues to practice and get better at it.

Why she’s a Spotlight Creator

Her phenomenal success on Patreon is due to a variety of things, and if you’re working on building a successful Patreon empire (err, community), take note!

HARD WORK. I know, we all groan when we’re told that again and again, but it’s a cliché for a reason. She works constantly to produce the highest quality art, engage with her patrons, provide tutorials and resources, and be a hub for learning. In fact, she recently sat down to have an honest chat with her patrons and explain that she needs to *gasp* take a vacation because she’s been overworking herself for two years! (Yes, please, it’s ok to take vacations too!) Patreon isn’t just a sign-up-and-the-money-comes system; you get out of it what you put in.
- Addendum: “How do I know what to put in? Is it enough? Is it working?” ASK PEOPLE! 🙂 Ask your patrons if they like what you’re doing and what else they want to see. Don’t have patrons yet? Find an online community like the Patreon Creators Support Group on Facebook and ask for feedback!

GIVE USEFUL RESOURCES TO YOUR PATRONS. Not only does she make art, but she offers a variety of reward tiers with great content – Photoshop files, tutorials, video processes, voice overs. A good chunk of her success is from practicing artists who study from her work. Maybe you’re not into tutorials, but think of other ways you could provide value to your patrons. And if you don’t know, ask them! Every creator is unique, and I have no doubt you can provide something valuable.

ENGAGEMENT! ENGAGEMENT! ENGAGEMENT! I can’t stress this enough. Your Patreon page doesn’t run itself, you need to keep people engaged. Sakimi Chan responds to patron comments, runs polls and takes feedback to heart. With close to 3,500 patrons she can’t get to every single thing, but she’s honest about that and makes every effort to be responsive. Her posts are thoughtful and friendly – and the smiley faces are adorable too. (^_^)

HONESTY. When she got to the point of being overworked, she decided to rework her Patreon structure to be more flexible, allowing her more breathing room. She implemented this change by being completely honest with her patrons about how she’s been feeling, and presenting a thoughtful solution. Always be honest with your patrons – they care about you as a creator, not just your work.

BE FLEXIBLE TO CHANGE DIRECTION AND TRY NEW THINGS. When Sakimi Chan first started, she saw immediately that people loved the tutorials and resources she provided, so she created milestones to help her increase those assets. She also saw that people loved her NSFW art, and even though she still needed a lot of practice with certain types of, ahem, anatomy, her patrons were thrilled to put their hard earned dollars towards her experimental work. My point is – don’t be afraid to try things that you think you might not be good at. The more you do it, the better you will get. Patrons understand that. Explain your process, ask for feedback!
- Addendum: Don’t feel like you need to do work you’re not interested in just to please your patrons. If something is highly requested, maybe give it a try once and tell them how it felt for you. If it doesn’t fit into your artistic vision, just let them know you’re listening and that you appreciate the suggestions.

UTILIZE YOUR FRONT PAGE! This is one I rarely see other creators do, but it’s a godsend. When prospective patrons land on your homepage and read through your intro, it’s more than a little offputting to read something like “I have big plans for 2014!” … in 2016. Sakimi Chan updates her front page every couple weeks, with two features – she shows the most recently completely term package, so visitors can immediately see her recent work and what they would receive as a patron. She also features artwork from some of her patrons (as part of her reward system). It’s an awesome way to keep patrons engaged AND encourage aspiring artists to sign up so they can be featured on her home page. I strongly encourage you to consider updating your home page regularly with what things you have going on (maybe the date of your next Google Hangout?). Yes it’s a little more work, but it’s no harder than writing a new post.

It sounds like a lot, but when you’re talking about a single artist earning upwards of $500,000 per year just with Patreon, you can bet there’s a lot of hard work and initiative put into it.

Check out Sakimi Chan’s work: DeviantArt | Patreon | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram

March 3, 2016March 30, 2019

Creator Spotlight: PelleK

Week 2: PelleK (www.patreon.com/pellekofficial)

Metalized pop, anime, videogame, and Disney song covers – oh, AND original music. This is PelleK.

About his work

With an impressive 4 octave vocal range, the Norwegian singer / instrumentalist has not only found success on YouTube, but recently starred in a Norwegian television show and danced his way on screen in Dancing with the Stars Norway. Meanwhile, he releases a new music video every week on his YouTube channel. (Does this guy ever sleep?)

His Tokyo Ghoul – Unravel video is at almost 10 million views (as of writing this), and his cover of Frozen’s Let It Go went viral in 2013. He also has an album of original music (my favorite song is Cloud Dancer).

What not many people realize is that he doesn’t just sing in his videos – he arranges and does all the accompaniment – guitar, drums, all of it. (Personally, I wish he would film all parts each week so new viewers can see the variety of his talent on screen, but that’s just me.)

Why he’s a Spotlight Creator

PelleK is one of the hardest working creators I know. His schedule is rigorous and allows little time for sleep, but he loves what he does, AND keeps continual engagement with his patrons along the way.

Other things I love:

His excitement. With every new video, he can barely contain his excitement. He describes how the video came together and what he likes about it in each post. Many creators post their new videos with a “Here’s my new video guys!” type of note (no offense, I love you all too), but it definitely adds a personal touch to tell us about it – and it encourages engagement from patrons.
His life updates. Every so often he gives us a little update, which mostly centers around how busy he is and how excited he is about what he has in the works. And we continually tell him to GET MORE SLEEP for goodness sake. He’s a stubborn man. 🙂
His Patreon promotion. He promotes his Patreon page in every video, but in a non-annoying or intrusive way in his intro.
His branding. From his logo and website, to social media, to the (not too frequent) email newsletters – his branding is professional and spot on.

My question for PelleK: When are you going on a worldwide tour so we can all meet you?? 😛

February 24, 2016March 30, 2019

Creator Spotlight: Evynne Hollens

Welcome to Creator Spotlight! Each installment features a new awesome Patreon creator (don’t worry, I’ll tell you what exactly is awesome about them!)

Week 1: Evynne Hollens (www.patreon.com/evynnehollens)

One of the most under appreciated – in my humble opinion – singers on YouTube, Evynne releases new music videos and singing lessons every week on her channel. She has the phenomenal vocals of a Broadway Star, but shares her talent from her home in Eugene, Oregon, where she’s a wife, mother, teacher, director, performer, and all around positive individual.

About her work

With an infectious smile and upbeat personality, her music and vlogs seek to inspire and uplift others (successfully I might add!). She has covered such songs as Hello, Let It Go, Shake It Out/Off, Brave, Try, Fight Song – as well as a variety of Disney and Broadway covers, garnering over 5 million views on YouTube thus far.

Her vocal range is outstanding! Just close your eyes as you listen, and you’ll be amazed by the clarity and perfect pitch of each note – from a low D2 in She Used To Be Mine, to a belted high E5 in Ghost – her years of training and daily practice are evident. Each note feels like she wraps it up with love and care before sending it out into the world. Her variety of vocal styles is also an impressive testament to her work – she can go from Broadway Star to Disney Princess to Pop Diva to Jazz Goddess with the switch of a song.

Her singing lesson series covers everything from healthy singing to belting to how to sing like a Disney princess. If you weren’t already convinced of her talent with her music videos, just take a few minutes with her lessons and you’ll be sure of it.

Why she’s a Spotlight Creator

On Patreon, Evynne is engaging, grateful, charming, and supportive. She listens to her patrons, receives feedback gracefully, and genuinely takes an interest in the lives and wellbeing of all who listen and support her work.

Not just on Patreon, but with the HollensFamily as a whole – a Facebook group with a growing 2,600 members – where fans of both Evynne and Peter Hollens gather to share music, love and support.

Out of all the fandoms and Patreon communities I’ve had the honor of being a member, the HollensFamily is the most loving, positive, and family-friendly. Peter and Evynne both care for their Family – as the family cares for each other. For Evynne, her music is about more than just, well.. her music. It’s about sharing a common love for a language understood around the world; for inspiring and encouraging others to pursue their dreams; and for expressing her beautiful, unique soul.

*Special thanks to HollensFamily member Tomi Pizi Pizúr for compiling Evynne’s vocal range!