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
