TwinEnigma

Hey, you guys!

might have noticed I'm posting more stuff

Okay so yes I have spent my Being Sick and Post-Op Health Pogo working on A: new stuff and B: building that inventory to keep things flowing.

You may also notice I'm being very Hey There I Have a Patreon (and a tip jar on dA and a Ko-fi). It's not to be obnoxious, but it's one of the ways you can support me without having to wait for a con to come around and I've tried to make it as easy to afford on an entry level for as many people as I can because I get it, I do. It's rough all around and, to be brutally honest, every bit helps.

I am trying to stagger posts as best the automation on these sites will allow, but I may also set up the scheduler on dA to be even more spaced out than the public release schedule on Patreon, just because of the limitations of the platform.

There's a lot coming down the road - I have some new items going into my shops soon and I've got some fun original concepts I've been developing that I'm eager to show off, plus new concepts to replace the older handmade charms. Patrons will see those first, of course, even in the rough stages of development lol.

Anyway, I'm crossing my fingers that this year is better for me all around. Thank you for following me even though I'm a walking medical disaster xD and sticking around to share in the joy I had making all these arts.

So, everyone, lots of stuff going on.

First of all:

Due to updates to the VAT in the UK and upcoming changes to the VAT in the EU, I've switched some of my plans for how I'm setting up my shops.

Etsy -

• All UK and EU based sales will shunt through my Etsy going forward, as Etsy remits the VAT on sellers' behalf.

• These sales will be set up as private orders.

• Pre-Orders will likely go through Etsy.

Square -

• The New Shop - https://twinenigmadesign.square.site/

• More directly integrated with my at-con stock and point of sale system

• The public part of this shop is mostly going to be original work, pride stuff and generalized, public domain nerdery.

• Patrons, however, will have access to hidden shop links for one of a kind stuff and fandom stuff, coupon codes, and, in the future, an entire private shop page.

Society6 -

• All my print on demand stuff is being handled by them.

• They do have regular sales and discounts, which is NICE.

Storenvy - Right now, I have it down for maintenance, but I'm probably not keeping it open. The fees have always been an issue for people with it and it never gets as good foot traffic as Etsy. It's also kind of redundant.

I'll still do private sales through Paypal for most people, if that's what they're comfortable with, unless they're based in the UK or EU, in which case they have to go through Etsy. I know that's a pain, but that's the situation.

Now for Patreon:

I kinda got a soft schedule rolling for how things are gonna work going forward with Patreon.

• Maintenance Mondays - both public and secret shop links will get updated, patrons will get a round up of all the available One of a Kind offerings.

• WIP Wednesdays - works in progress, concepts and development for stuff that might go to production

• Finished Fridays - Finished works go up, patrons get to see these a week ahead at minimum, but as early as two weeks.

• Sketchbook/Scheduling Saturdays and Sundays - since these are two days where most conventions are absolutely guaranteed to occur, I've set these aside for sketchbook work and setting up new posts in the scheduler.

Tuesdays and Thursdays will generally just be flex days for me, in case something goes sideways in terms of my being available or in terms of my health.

And lastly, speaking of my health, I have a new team of doctors and we're going to try a new medication therapy. It's slow going, there's potentially awful side effects, and I'm deeply immunocompromised in the age of COVID-19, which is not a good look and highly stressful.

For the love of all things, please get vaccinated. I don't care if you decide to collect all the vaccines or whatever like you're Thanos, but get it done and I can see you again on the con circuit without having to don a Tyvek hazmat suit.

Stay safe, all.

A bit of an update about the COVID-19 situation.

Firstly, Anime Boston has cancelled and therefore I will not be vending in their Artist Alley this year. While they have offered artists a return place, because I came off of waitlist and they are offering artists who cancelled ahead of me first dibs at coming back, I cannot confirm that I am going to be at Anime Boston 2021.

With regards to other conventions, I will keep you all informed as to the situation. Please be aware that I am immune compromised. As such, I am at high risk and will be considering that heavily in my decisions to attend or not attend conventions at this time.

In the meantime, I am going to be pushing online sales and commission work. You may order anything from my convention stock or public galleries at this time through DMs and I will attempt to make as much as I can available to you in my online shopfronts as quickly as possible.

Stay safe and if you have any questions, please DM me.

Hi all, Twin here! Still alive and kickin'!

For those of you who saw me at Katsucon and visited my table, thank you very much: I am grateful for your interest in my humble space art and geekery.

For those of you who are long time followers, thank you for sticking with me while I sort out my health issues. All these problems turned out to be symptoms of one big thing and we finally feel like we might have a handle on it (knock on wood).

Couple of things going on here in terms of updates:

1. My online shopfronts are being overhauled: they will be completely non-fandom at the end of the overhaul.

2. Fandom-based merchandise, one-offs, and prints will only be available to purchase through conventions, private sale (e.g. email or DM), or as optional rewards through my Patreon.

How does this break down for you in terms of where to get things from me?

NON-FANDOM

• Etsy: My Etsy will be for original concept artwork and completely one-off items.

• Storenvy: My Storenvy will switch over to non-fandom physical item stock from conventions and the few print finishes that are not offered in my Society6.

• Society6: Print on demand service. High quality - this is where you'll get non-fandom mugs, pillows, t-shirts, phone covers, et all.

• Private Sale: If it isn't available in any of the above or if you're just not comfortable using Etsy or Storenvy (completely understandable), you can always contact me privately and we'll work through invoicing with Square or Paypal.

FANDOM

• At-Convention: Whatever I have in stock, depending on convention restrictions, will be what I have available for that event. You may also order ahead or reserve and pick up an order there, instead of having it shipped to you. Pre-orders for fandom stuff, like keychains, will also be available.

• Private Sale: If you are interested in purchasing or pre-ordering fandom stuff online, you will have to contact me through email or DM me through my socials (dA, Twitter, Facebook, IG, Discord).

• Commission: As long as it follows my TOS, fandom commissions are completely fine. There are some fandoms or subjects I will not touch and that is non-negotiable, but it's a pretty short list.

• Patreon: I do offer sketches and one-offs as an optional monthly reward, depending on your tier. However, it is First Come, First Served for these.

But why, you may ask. Why this shift?

Well, there's a couple of reasons.

• My art business is now my full-time job. I rely on the income generated by my convention appearances, commissions and shopfronts to pay for my medical needs. Putting fandom in those shopfronts and risking takedowns is a financial risk I can't afford to take.

• The constant push to keep up with what's popular in fandom is very toxic and I want to actually keep enjoying my fandoms.

• I have original concepts and ideas I want to explore further and incorporate into my portfolio, which I can't do if I'm constantly focused on fandom. I recognize that a lot of my following was built on fandom and I've made some great friends through fandom over the years, but I do need to be allowed to have this space to pursue growth, too, and growing as an artist is something I'd hope my followers would want me to continue to do.

There is one other big change and that's the commission pricing and policies - again, this is due to the change in my financial and health situation. This change doesn't affect anyone who already has a contract with me. It is largely aimed at making the process of commissioning me easier to navigate and understand for future clients and also covers some new options and services I have available now that I didn't before. I've been paying attention to where people get tripped up with my commission pricing in the past and this takes all that and makes it very clear what things are, what they'll look similar to, and creates a safety net, both for clients and myself.

I've been trying to figure out how to best put it up, as it's a lot of info. It's most likely going to be a google doc - barring that, if it doesn't work like I want (especially in terms of playing nice with Eclipse), I'll put it in .stash and make it available on dA that way.

I've been working really hard on trying to put my life back together after this health crisis and getting my business shifted to a better, safer, healthier place for me. I appreciate all of you who've stuck with me, listened to me moan about this ridiculous disease (even when we didn't know what it was), and I hope to continue to see you all around, either online or at cons.

Friends, it's time.

I am proud and happy to announce that All Roads Lead To You, the 2019 NaruSaku Zine, is available for Pre-Order on Shopify!

This full-color zine contains artwork and writings from your fellow NaruSaku fans and artists, all of whom have been hard at work to bring you an amazing collection of alternate universes featuring Naruto and Sakura.

But wait! There's more!

This year's merchandise includes two amazing postcards, five pinback buttons, three charms and sticker sheets!

For those of you looking for a little more reason to be excited, you can check out a SNEAK PREVIEW of the pinbacks available on my Instagram. ; )

I'm so very excited to share this project with everyone of you at last and I hope you all get a chance to snag a copy, get some shiny goodness, and enjoy this collection as much as we have in making it.

Again, the Pre-Order Link is: https://narusaku-zine.myshopify.com/