Hey everyone,

Last but not least, it's now time to dive into the tier changes that will come with the update to my Patreon. As with the previous two posts, my goal here is to be completely transparent about what's changing, and why.

This is part 3 (and the last) of the series of post the update to my Patreon:

Part 1 - Feedback Takeaways

Part 2 - What's Changing

Part 3 - Tiers Update (this post)

Why update tiers?

The purpose of this update is to introduce new benefits and reorganize existing ones into a new tier structure that aligns with upcoming schedule and content update (described in part 2). I'm also taking this opportunity to update prices in order to ensure the long-term sustainability of my Patreon.

Why a price update?

Since the launch of my Patreon in 2020, tier prices have remained unchanged. The setup that felt right six years ago is now a little outdated, largely for economic reasons.Prices have increased for everyone since the Covid pandemic, the value of the dollar has declined against many other currencies, and taxes where I live have gone up. Combined with a decline in the number of patrons over the past two years (by about 15%), I've lost about 30% of my income compared to four years ago, which was my first year working full-time on Patreon.While I'm not at risk of having to find another job in the coming months, it's still not a particularly comfortable situation to be in. If updating what I offer here is the first half of the solution, updating prices as fairly as possible is the second half.

What does it change for me as a patron?

I want to immediately address the legitimate concerns that a price update can raise : whether the new tier structure will affect you or not is entirely up to you.I won't apply the new structure and prices to current patrons, but create new tiers instead. I want to convince new people to join at the updated price because they find my content worthwhile, not to shove an arbitrary price increase down the throat of current patrons. Like many I dislike it when companies do that to me as a customer, so there was no way I was going to do the same to the people who have been supporting my work for years.

All your current benefits will remain, and I'll continue to honor them for as long as there are patrons subscribed to what will become legacy tiers.

What does the new tier structure looks like?

Currently this is what it looks like:

$2 - Chubby Tier: Log Myu, sketches and WIPs, and about a fanart a month. I'll refer to this tier as the Legacy Chubby Tier from now on.

$6 - Plus Size Tier: Access to all content. I'll refer to this tier as the Legacy Plus Size Tier from now on.

$12 - Super Size Tier: Characters and content suggestion on top of all content. I'll refer to this tier as the Legacy Super Size Tier from now on.

A quick note: I occasionally post a reminder, but if you don't recognize the prices above (assuming you're paying in USD), please make sure you didn't subscribe through the Patreon app from an Apple device. Subscribing on the iOS app adds 30% to the regular price because of the App Store fee. It's literally giving Apple money for no reason other than using the App Store. So please (re)subscribe through a browser instead, unless you're comfortable with Apple's way of doing things!

This is how the tier structure will look like after the tiers update:

$3 - Chubby Tier: Early access to all core content. It's meant to be an entry point with Log Myu and sketches/WIPs immediately accessible, then everything else beside exclusive content after some time.

$6 - Plus Size Tier: Early access to all core content on release day.

$8 - Super Size Tier: Early access to all content, including exclusive content. It's meant to be a content tier with optional versions and bonuses.

$10 - Ultra Size Tier: For patrons who want to influence future content on top of accessing all content.

$20 - Supreme Size Tier: For patrons who want to support my work even more and/or have greater influence on future content.

The first three tiers, content-oriented, have the following benefits:

The Ultra Size Tier (that replaces the current Super Size Tier) has the following benefits:

And finally, the Supreme Size Tier has the following benefits:

New and updated benefits overview

Exclusive content

From the very beginning of my Patreon, my goal was always to eventually release everything publicly. However some things have changed since then. As a result, I want to clarify that the following types of content will now be subscriber-exclusive and presented as such:

Nude versions. These haven't been released publicly for a long time due to issues I've encountered in the past with content being removed or flagged on public platforms, which has effectively made them exclusive already.

Textless versions have been exclusive to subscribers since I started creating them

Bonus pages to short comics

HD versions

Bonus pages

The way I create short comics, they are drafted in their entirety before publication starts. Bonus pages are inserted between two existing pages after the draft is complete to create sort of an extended version. Their sole purpose is to provide additional scenes or panels without affecting the storyline in any way. They are numeroted with a dot: for example a bonus page between page 5 and 6 would be page 5.5, two bonus pages between page 7 and 8 would be pages 7.1 and 7.2, etc.

If you worry about missing content by remaining in a lower tier than the new Super Size Tier: don't! If you were happy with how Lai-E or Midori's Growth turned out, then this is what you'll get without bonus pages. With them you would get more shots/scenes at the same weight without the constraint of having the story to progress.

I don't intend to have bonus pages stall the progress of short comics for long durations, so most of the time only one or two will be published successively.

Suggestion revival

This new benefit coming with the Supreme Size Tier will allow a patron to revive abandoned suggestions. Currently, suggestions must be submitted in consecutive polls to keep their bonus votes, with a tolerance of one missed poll. Reviving a suggestion will restore all its bonus votes, at any time.

I'll create an index of all past suggestions (though it will take some time!) to make them easier to browse than having to go through every poll individually.

Opening polls to Free Members

If you've never heard of them, Free Members are users who receive some updates from my Patreon without subscribing to a paid tier, like watchers on DeviantArt or followers on Twitter/X. Former patrons become Free Members once they cancel their subscription.Normally, I release content to Free Members shortly before public release happen, although I haven't been able to do so recently because I've been prioritizing content creation.

This is sort of a trial balloon, because to my knowledge nobody else is doing it. I've decided to open poll to Free Members for three reasons:

To increase poll participation

To allow Free Members to become more involved if they wish

To gains insight into what non-paying users would like to see

Of course, Free Members won't have as much voting power as paying patrons:

Rework of voting power

Currently, participation in polls is lower than I'd like, between 20% and 30% of patrons depending on the poll. To (hopefully) drive it up, I'm updating how voting power is calculated.

Previously, the rule was that voting power per dollar pledged increased with each higher tier, resulting in voting power not being proportional between tiers. With this update, I'm changing the rule: you now gain x1 voting power per dollar pledged. This means that lower tiers will now have greater voting power relative to higher tiers.

The voting powers are as follow for the new tiers:

Free Members: x1

Chubby Tier: x3

Plus Size Tier: x6

Super Size Tier: x8

Ultra Size Tier: x10

Supreme Size Tier: x20

For legacy tiers, the voting powers will be updated as follow:

Legacy Chubby Tier: x2 (from x1, +100% voting power)

Legacy Plus Size Tier: x6 (from x4, +50% voting power)

Legacy Super Size Tier: x12 (from x9, +33% voting power)

New tiers overview

Chubby Tier

Purpose: To make all of my core content available before public releases to people who are willing to wait a few weeks for art and short comics.

Price: The price is $1 higher than the Legacy Chubby Tier to reflect that all core content will now be available in the lowest tier. Additionally, it's a more efficient price point in terms of processing fees than the $2 of the Legacy Chubby Tier.

Expectations: By making my core content more accessible, I expect new people to join us. This tier is likely to become the most popular one in the long run.

Plus Size Tier

Purpose: To make all of my core content avaible on release day. Like now, this is where newcomers should have their eyes first.

Benefits: It's pretty much identical to the Legacy Plus Size Tier : all content accessible on day 1, with the exception of exclusive content (nude versions, bonus pages, HD versions), exclusive Discord channels, and a stronger voting power.

Price: The $6 price remains the same as the Legacy Plus Size Tier, as it offers roughly the same benefits. Increasing it wouldn't make much sense, and lowering it below $6 could compromise the viability of my Patreon which currently relies heavily on the Legacy Plus Size Tier.

Expectations: This is where my core content is. In its current form, it's the most popular tier. I believe patrons will gradually spread between the new Chubby Tier and the new Super Size Tier over time, making it the second most popular tier.

Super Size Tier

Purpose: The new Super Size Tier regroups all exclusive content that won't be released publicly or made accessible to lower tiers. This is intended for the people who are willing to support my work a little more for this exclusivity.

Benefits: Bonus pages for short comics, nude/explicit versions and HD versions, stronger voting power.

Price: At $8 It's right in the middle between the new Plus Size Tier and the Ultra Size Tier, making it a natural upgrade from the first and a downgrade from the latter.

Expectations: I expect this tier to receive some attention, but I'm also aware that nude versions aren't the main drive to the Legacy Plus Size Tier. And while the occasional short comics are, we're only speaking about bonus pages, not entire comics.

Ultra Size Tier

Purpose: The Ultra Size Tier has the same purpose as the Legacy Super Size Tier, which is to grant patrons influence over my content, in addition to what the previous tier offers.

Benefits: Strictly identical to the Legacy Super Size Tier.

Price: Compared to the Legacy Super Size Tier, this new tier is $2 cheaper. The main reason is that I consider that with fewer individual pieces and fewer suggestions, the value of this tier decreases. Additionally, most artists offering suggestion-based tiers price them at $10, and I wanted to align with that.

Expectations: The price decrease should bring new patrons to this tier, which should in turn make up for the price reduction. The number of suggestions should increase slightly as a restult, but I don't expect a major increase.

Supreme Size Tier

Purpose: For the people who want greater influence over my content, or who want to support my work even more than in other tiers.

Benefits: The main benefit is the ability to revive abandoned suggestions. The other two benefits (two automatic supports with suggestions, and three supports instead of one when supporting) are simply stronger versions of what the Ultra Size Tier offers.

Price: At $20, this isn't a standard tier intended for everyone, but rather for people willing to strongly support my work, or who feel the benefits are valuable enough to actively push their suggestions.

Expectations: I only expect a handful on patrons in this tier, and that would already be more than enough to justify its existence.

What to do as a patron?

I obviously have a horse in this race, so take my advice for what it's worth. That said, if you're wondering what to do as a current patron, here's what I can tell you:

There's no obligation to switch to a new tier. Unless one of them has already convinced you to move from one of the legacy tiers, waiting is the safest option.

If you're currently subscribed to the Legacy Chubby Tier, moving to the new Chubby Tier may be well worth considering if you don't mind waiting a little for content. For $1 more (and losing immediate access to the monthly fanart), you'll gain access to all core content two months after its initial release to higher tiers, but still at least four months before its public release. Core content includes all individual pieces (such as fanarts, sequels, upgrades, reworks, etc), sequences, and short comics that are currently exclusive to the Legacy Plus Size Tier until their public release.Alternatively, if you're interested in nude versions, upgrading to the Legacy Plus Size Tier before the tier update may be a good option as the new Plus Size Tier will no longer include them.

If you're currently subscribed to the Legacy Plus Size Tier, I'd say it depends on your interest in comic bonus pages and HD versions. Moving to the new Super Size Tier is only worth considering if these two benefits appeal to you. Otherwise, staying in your current tier is the better option as you'll still retain access to the nude versions without needing to upgrade.Switching to the new Plus Size Tier offers no benefit to you at this point.Downgrading to the new Chubby Tier may be worth considering if you don't mind waiting for content and aren't interested in nude versions.

If you're currently subscribed to the Legacy Super Size Tier for its benefits, I highly recommend moving to the Ultra Size Tier: you'll keep the same benefits while paying a lower price.If you'd like to support my work even more or have a greater influence on future content (or both), take a look at the new Supreme Size Tier. This is not a tier whose price is proportional to its benefits as it's mostly intended for the patrons willing to support me more than normal, but if you're currently paying for multiple Legacy Super Size Tier subscriptions for the influence, it's a much better deal.

An important note: if at some point you decide to switch to a new tier or to cancel your membership and later return, please be aware that you will no longer be able to subscribe to any of the Legacy Tiers as they'll have been unpublished.

Some concluding words...

Creating a tier structure is very challenging. Finding the right balance between overvaluing and undervaluing your work is difficult. Recreating a tier structure from an existing one without alienating current patrons is even harder. So many things can take an unexpected turn. Will the new Chubby Tier attract more people now that it includes all of my core content? Will its existence result in massive downgrades from the Legacy Plus Size Tier? Are bonus pages and nude/explicit versions enough to make the new Super Size Tier appealing to some? The questions are endless.

While I've done my best to avoid this outcome, there's always a chance that this update could end up hurting my Patreon. Only in a few months from now will we be able tell whether I made the right decision.

As always, if you have any question, don't hesitate to ask! I'm also completely open to feedback and willing to adjust the new tier structure if any issues or oversights become apparent.

The new tiers won't be published for a few more days, and you'll be notified before they go live.