October and November will pause Patreon rewards.

This is something I had announced already on the Telegram Clubhouse.

Next two months, October and November 2021, I will pause giving some Patreon rewards.

But that only includes those that I need to generate: Sketches, Stickers, Flat and Full Color Illustrations, Badges and Icons. But of course the Clubhouse will still active, as the same as the Discord server, I will keep sharing Full Resolution Versions of my pictures, I will keep sharing WIPs, and Christmas surprises will be a thing also this year! Yay!!

I want to be completely transparent with all of you why I'm doing this, I don't want to just go to say "Sorry I'm busy, this is for my health and my well-being". Instead of just that, I really feel all of you deserve to know what's going on and why I really need to do this.

It's so ironic that this year I had a goal to clear completely my queue, so during 2022 I only could be working on Patreon rewards and my own projects (new comics). And I'm still far from completing my queue. I could blame my Kickstarter project of Art & Biro, but honestly I'm so grateful I decided to do it, I'm so happy to see that story printed in a book, and knowing that many people is so looking forward to have it on their hands and read it! It's hard for me to explain that feeling but it's so exciting. But it's right! It was that Kickstarter that delayed absolutely all my plans for completing my queue, hehe.

Usually, September-November are my busiest months every year, especially since I did the Inktober challenge. Actually this year I had a very clever idea to do for Inktober this year, that I was even researching about a specific topic, researching a lot, writing up my notes about it. But then I realized it was going to be simply impossible to do the Inktober challenge this year. And I could feel some kind of preassure when some people were saying "I can't wait how Paco is going to surprise us this year for Inktober!" Oh no! Well, I have to announce that this year I'm not doing an Inktober challenge, but a very special topic is going to be prepared for next year, for Inktober 2022, wait for it!

And then.... why are you so busy this year that you decided to pause your Patreon rewards, Paco? 

First of all, I need to say.... I CAN'T COMPLAIN at any of this, I just want to let you know what is keeping me so busy, but to be fair.... I'm so happy that all this is what is keeping me so busy!

Art & Biro Books

Yes, it's one of the reasons. My plan was to print the books on August and take all the month of September to pack and mail them. But the edition of the book was delayed one month, and it was very unexpected from me that the printing process was going to take another whole month. I had experience printing conbooks and I knew they usually took around one week to have them ready, but the quality I requested the books took even longer than simply "magazines" (Because after all, conbooks were ordered like if they were magazines). I received them around a week ago, and I already mailed 40 books, those were the beta test shipments to know exactly how the process was going to be, and now it will take me a really long time to do. Fortunately Roni is helping me with this!

Also I'm so glad I decided to organize all orders during August, I'm thanking so much the Paco from some months ago to have done that, or right now I would be completely crazy!

Art & Biro Rewards

Well, for sure I need to take these as a priority if I want to send the books at time. I'm completely done with the tier "Art & Biro Sketches" and I'm almost done with the "Traditional  Art" tiers, but I still need to draw 100 sketches inside the books. I don't take so long, I also make 10 of them as a test and I just took 2 hours to complete 10, so I'm sure I can complete 80 more in 16 hours. I'm thinking on streaming those, so I can go faster! 

So when I start working on these sketches, wait for my announcement on my Telegram channel, there is where I announce when I start streaming: https://t.me/panda_paco

Confuror

Confuror, for those who doesn't know, is my local convention where I staff. I staff in total for 3 conventions, all of them on art departments, including Confuror. But my commitment with this local one is higher because I'm also part of the board of directors (I don't know if I should regret the day I accepted that position, naah.. it has been fun!).

This year, sadly, Confuror is going to be back on its 2nd virtual edition. This is sad because I really wanted to see so many people here in Guadalajara, I was already making so many plans with friends who were coming to visit. But the situation in Mexico...despite being improving, it's not ideal yet, there are so many people who are still waiting for vaccines to arrive, including my boyfriend, who is not fully vaccinated yet. The second dose of vaccines are still on the waiting to arrive to the country. So that situation made very difficult to make a face-to-face convention possible in Mexico, yet.

And the virtual edition means so much work for us, even more than a physical convention. But why? If you don't have people at your convention!! Well... at a physical convention we have an army of volunteers (Really, thanks to all who volunteer at conventions, you mean the world for the event! We love you!), and most of the work, at least in my position on the art department, was already done, and I'm usually at conventions with all my work done and just enjoying the event (From time to time checking some issues but not a big deal).

But in a virtual edition.. the whole event depends on us. So that whole weekend we're on the same room making everything possible. For this virtual event, I'm not only at the art department, I'm also at the script department, making scripts with the characters of the event, and producing many videos that were going to be shown during the event. I wrote and directed a shortfilm that is going to be shown some days before the event, and I'm also organizing the fursuit parade (If you have a fursuit and you want to participate, you're still on time, check the guidelines on: http://www.confuror.org/en/activities/fursuit-parade/ ). And I also volunteered to direct the virtual dance competition, since last year it was a mess for trying to make it live.

And during the event, I will need to be directing the events that happen live with the Confuror's characters, including the mascot of the event. It's going to be fun but surely stressing. And...hehe, I will need to direct another event that are the fursuit charades live. It's going to be very entertaining but surely fun!

So yup, I'm also editing and rendering many videos, Koidel is also helping me to edit more (Thank you!).

BLFC!!

Oh yes, I'm telling all of you I'm being the most transparent and honest possible! I'm planning a trip, after a long, to go with friends, visit them, drive around, and then go all together to BLFC.
Planning BLFC was something I had done since early 2020: I had my flight tickets that I had to be pushing over and over again; I had my hotel and registration ready that they just moved to October 2020 and then to October 2021. And it's going to finally happen!
Before this happens, I would already love to have all book orders ready to mail, and it would be Roni who could be helping me with the shipments. (Thanks, Roni!). So I'll be away for some days, and coming back home just in time to spend my time almost only for the virtual edition of Confuror. 

Who am I seeing at BLFC? Also remember you can request me to give you the Art & Biro books in person if you are attending BLFC!

November Plans

More and more things are happening in November, that's why I'm also pausing the rewards for this month. A friend is visiting me in the first half of November. I will try to be a nice host and not to work while he's here. But at the same time that's a month I need to finish two illustrations that were commissioned from many months ago and need to be ready before December, so on my early free times while my friend is here, I really need to complete those illustrations. I'm pretty sure my friend will understand!

Also those are the only days I will be able to make the Christmas tradition thing I do every year! Those who are on the highest tiers on Patreon know what I'm talking about. And that's a tradition definitely I don't want to take apart.

ANW and MFF

And being more honest... I already made plans for attending these two conventions in a row, especially because I staff at ANW. Also I want to resume my yearly tradition of spending thanksgiving day with a friend in California, and that's already so dang close to MFF and I want to take advantage I'm on the states.

Then what?

When I'm back from all that crazyness... I will be free again to resume doing the Patreon rewards are on my queue, and take new ones. I'm going to try very hard to not accept absolutely anything until I complete this queue. I'm going to make this resolution of clear my queue a reality, even when 2022 reaches me. On January I won't travel nor anything, so I will do my very best to complete especially that part of the queue on Trello that says "Full Color Illustrations", that there are picture from more than a year ago waiting to be worked on.

I really appreciate your understanding of why I am doing this. And I will understand if you decide to stop supporting me. Because indeed it can be taken kind of unfair to keep supporting me when I'm not considering two months of your support as part of the rewards I've been promising. But I'll do my best for those who remain on the Clubhouse to keep giving you exclusive things, awesome rewards and the best you deserve for being so awesome with this silly panda!

Any question, don't hesitate to ask me, despite I may take some time to reply, but I always do my best to reply everyone! 

This panda loves you all so much!!

*panda hugs*

Paco.