Welcome to the new Blue Fish Apartment + Future Plans

September 1, 2021

Previously on DeviantArt Journal Updates: I had big plans. Then Corona hit! That pretty much pushed all of my plans out the damn window, save for one thing: Building the new site. You can pretty much check out why I was doing it over on the previous journal. Long story short: FC2 Blog was great, until it turns out it wasn’t and was built on toothpicks and a prayer. So I made the tough decision of leaving it in favor of making a brand new version of the Blue Fish Apartment that was more stable and easier to manage.

So about a year and a half later and some consulting with the few in the BFA’s Beta Discord Channel, I finally finished the new site! It’s got many new bells and whistles that were not possible on the old version. It’s been built from the ground up to be viewable on either desktop, tablet, or mobile. Artwork posts now display variants in a slideshow. And all of my WIPs now have their own posts that are updated periodically. There’s an email newsletter system in place too if you want to be updated on new Artwork and WIPs. And I’ve implemented a comment system that’s better than Disqus and its bloated code. There’s still two pages that, while live, aren’t fully functional. This is the next part that I want to talk about right now.

If you visit the Support page, you’ll see Rhapsody beckoning for patronage… without being able to accept anything. Some time last year, my Patreon Creator page was reverted back to being just a regular Patron account. This is because while I was working on the website (as well as the remaining commissions I had left), I wasn’t letting charges go through and pushing them to the following month. This began in late 2019. If I wasn’t making self-started content for my Patrons, I didn’t feel right charging them for a month with nothing to offer. Eventually this went on for 6 months straight, to which Patreon’s systems kicked in and reverted my account. Thankfully everything is still in its place and I can re-launch the page back as I left it whenever I want.

But I don’t want to do that yet. Things are slightly different compared to 2019, and there’s different things I want to offer (and stop offering) when the page re-launches. I still gotta brainstorm some ideas with my Helper and Discord peeps on what to do. I know for sure Timelapses are now viable and on the table thanks to Clip Studio Paint’s addition of the feature. Before, recording raw video of my drawing sessions would be MASSIVE, with a complete 8-10 hour beginning-to-end session taking up nearly just over 300GB. Now, complete raw timelapses only take up around 250MB. While only the canvas is viewable and not the entire workspace (to see what tools I’m using exactly), this is a much more viable option for me to work with.

But I digress. I’m hoping to relaunch the Patreon page in the next month or two when my artwork schedule stabilizes. I already met one goal of having 4 pics ready to offer rewards for. But I still gotta iron out the details on the handling to the page.

And if you go on the Shop section, it’s also live but with no other function. I was hoping to launch this last year, but because of Corona, that never happened. Given the nature of the artwork I do as well as my personal preferences on how to display my art, my options are limited. On the merch side, I already have a site lined up that’ll be handling things. But on the Prints side, this is where it gets tricky. For this I’m eyeing two potential services to help me out. If one doesn’t work, then I’ll do the other. I still have the means to print the artwork myself thanks to my Canon photo printer. All I need is a shop front and a payment processor. If you’ve followed me on Instagram, there is one other good thing to come out the pandemic that’s sort of print related. But I’ll be staying hush on that for a later date.

If you remember in the halcyon days of January 2020, I also mentioned that I’d be selling my artwork on the streets of New York City and trying for Artist Alleys at local comic and anime conventions. That too went right the hell out, which was understandable. I too was like “Nope, fuck this, I’m not catching Con-Flu, and I’m sure as hell not catching Corona over this!” We already know how unsanitary and unwashed the venues and con goers can be, to which I say watch this and memorize it. Not to mention I wouldn’t necessarily be allowed to sell on the streets since I wasn’t essential (it’s a tough pill to swallow, but artwork is a luxury and not life sustaining). Fast forward to this year, I reached my goal of being fully vaccinated. However a new wrinkle introduced itself that I didn’t quite take into account: NYC’s crime rate. If you live in NYC or follow the news from it, you see that the crime rate has become unacceptable. Whether it’s the guns, the gangs, or the druggies buggin’ out, it’s not really the safest place to be right now, both above ground and in the subways. Unless things change with the new Mayor in the next year, it’s likely I’ll be moving out of here soon and taking my business elsewhere.

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With that said, while I did cross one finish line, there’s still others to cross. So for now, check out the new Blue Fish Apartment and subscribe to the email newsletter if you wish. And do join the Discord server for any updates to either the site or my future plans.