Hey everyone, thank you for your questions! I’m happy to explain, but please understand that it’s now a bit slapped together and I had intended to create information that clearly introduced everything in consumable amounts.
There are only two versions. The public version comes with UV, is gilded, and with all features as shown on the campaign. It is limited to 1000, with 515 spaces available in the project. I think it looks lovely and the UV is really cool.
The Patreon version is limited to 250, and has the following changes: a different, starry gilding; an additional second foil layer on the tuck, adding details and showing 250 limited run; and a collector’s band showing that it is the Patreon 2024 piece.
Regarding the prototype, I wanted to make a couple needed to test the artwork, and for photography and other purposes. As I did last year, I negotiated with my printer for the prototype and had a limited run of 30 made so that I could give them to Fellow Pioneer patrons. They do not have gilding, or UV, or foiling on tuck (because such a print run can’t afford such features). They are for the artwork. Instead, I handmade a wax seal stamp of mixed wax for these limited pieces.
In order for me to make this a career and stop teaching, I need to make the Kickstarter projects more stable and increase Patreon to make it more sustainable. My hope was that people would love this simple campaign but highly deep and whimsical deck. With the level of Patreon as it is currently, I was able to afford half payment up front. So, the decks are made. I wanted to give back to my Patreon platform and encourage more to join to make it into that sustainable image. So, in addition to the weekly behind-the-scenes and real involvement in projects (some of the artwork for this project was a collaboration with a handful of children (my son and patreon members’ children), early access and more, I am trying hard to create exclusive content - for only $3/month I think it’s very reasonable.
but I couldn’t exactly afford a Patreon exclusive only for this project. This split system, which I believe many do, is something I am exploring and I hope works moving forward.
In addition, Who Art in Heaven has been a deep and time-consuming project but is not my main project I have been working on this year. This is a project begun on Patreon and in order to achieve this it meant working through the night and needing that Patreon platform support for printing. My main project has been 1.5-10 years in the making, depending on how you see it, and is a sort of magnum opus of my work, and is coming hopefully later this year. I’m super excited to share the innovative ideas and highly detailed work for that. Also, I had been creating a very, very personal project in full collaboration with my son. I had planned on bearing the crazy costs and printing just a handful for my family. I’m yet to reveal it, but I shared a little on Patreon and there was wonderful enthusiasm there, enough for me to ask if they would like it to become a real Patreon exclusive for 2024. That said, with my Patreon level I can’t afford to print such a piece, so I’ll need to take pre-orders on the platform to hopefully add enough additional funding to be able to bring that to print.
I will continue to strive to give back to my Patreon platform subscribers in content, engagement and new windows into my worlds. And my goal is to reveal all of these plans over the next few months in order to grow that platform for the new year.
At the same time, I will continue to push my main projects and any others that become Kickstarter campaigns to the limits of bringing narrative-driven, innovatively designed pieces of art. This is my main platform and I have and am continuing to create fantastically whimsical journeys to bring you all on, one coming up.
I have held the Who Art in Heaven (main version) and though it pushed me in various experimental ways that are also outside of my typical design aesthetic - I’m very, very happy with it…it seems to be my wife’s favourite of my work to date.
I apologise again for the deluge of information. As said, I had planned on sharing this in a more digestible way. The purpose of this post is to answer some questions above that come from the natural curiosity having seen images online, and to clarify my plans and intentions.
. You'd be the first (I have never blocked anyone on this site before).
@playingcardophile