Waddup Habgoblins, July is right around the corner, and I figured it was about time we had an update. I hope you all are having a extremely joyous summer so far! A lot has happened, so let’s get to it! Oh, and by the way, you should absolutely read these on my website for the full experience!!
THE FINAL FANTASY FANDOM VS HAB OH
Yes, you read that title right. Internet Beef Sandwich. If you’re reading this on my website, you most likely see that video about my critique regarding Square Enix’s Final Fantasy 16. I found out that the game has zero amounts of Black characters, let alone any People of Color. So, I got on stream and had a critical thing to say about it and it didn’t go well with a small portion of that game’s fandom. Who woulda thought? Ha!
Anyway, even as I type these, there’s a ton of boneheads on my TikTok not only replying with poor arguments but also being outright racist and disrespectful towards me. Unsurprisingly, most of these people have cartoons for pictures, go figure.
This guy spent two hours calling me names and expected me to have a real conversation with him.
Since then, I’ve seen more engagement on my YouTube, TikTok, and Twitter than I have in….ever. Would be wild that my opinion on a video game would garner more interest than all the actual work that I do. Haha. I’ll ride this wave and see where it takes me, maybe I’ll draw the characters as Black people and see how that goes.
THE BLACK SUMMER MARKET
Don’t worry, the rest of this newsletter is relatively drama free! Especially when it comes to a recent event that I participated in called the BLACK SUMMER MARKET, presented by Adorned in Taji. I had the opportunity to display my work at the amazing Nicolas Brooklyn shop here in Bedstuy. It being my first ever art market as opposed to my usual exhibitions turned out to be a huge learning experience. I talk about it all in my latest vlog and you won’t believe what happened that day. It involves Popeyes, an angry chair, and a giant bowl of sweet-smelling incense.
And guess what?! I’ll be BACK at the Black Summer Market on July 15th! You can RSVP (it’s FREE) by clicking these words. That same link also takes you to vendor sign-ups, in case you wanted to sell your wares alongside me; 40 bucks for a table ain’t half bad.
NEW SERIES: HAB OH DRAWS…THE 90S
Last month I debuted a brand-new art series called HAB OH DRAWS…The 90s. The goal of this new project is to try my hand at recreating classic cartoons from our past. The first video and illustration was a success! A lot of folks engaged across all my platforms and the best part is…YOU control who I draw next. I’ve already gotten dozens of amazing suggestions, so who knows, you might see your character next!
I plan to do about 10 or so episodes of this before moving on to another decade. We’re gonna continuing winding the clock back! Stay tuned!
YOUTUBE PARNTERSHIP AND THE STREAMER WARS
As I stated, a lot has happened since my last newsletter. A new streaming platform called KICK has arrived to shake things up in the content creation space. I have no plans of going over there but they’ve offered many big-name creators (who are White) millions to switch over from their current platforms. It’s been said that this is a landmark deal in this industry, equating to NFL Level contracts. Unfortunately, the site sucks and has no moderation so many people have already faced racist, homophobic, and sexist comments from viewers. Not to mention that it’s owned by a gambling organization, yikes!
Twitch, on the other hand, has been updated a ton of their moderation systems and tools. They’ve even updated a handful of old policies to keep in line with new regulations due to what I speculate comes from their recent deals/partnerships with the WWE and other entities. One of those policies states that a Twitch Streamer, of any level, cannot multistream to other platforms; meaning if you’re live today on Twitch you can only be live on Twitch. Can’t do multiple platforms at the same time anymore. Which leads me to my next point…
YOUTUBE
The Google-owned company has also updated their policies but more in favor of the creator. Now, to reach YouTube Partnership, you just need 500 Subscribers and 3,000 Watch Hours within 365 Days vs what it used to be, which was 1000 Subs & 4,000 Watch Hours. Guess what? I already have one of those requirements down!
I’m now closer to YouTube Partner than I’ve ever been and it’s exciting! I just need to get those Watch Hours up. Which means, more quality video content for y’all. Come through and watch me, I won’t bite! Haha
Lastly, due to Twitch’s new “exclusivity” policy, I’ve switched up how my livestreams operate. I still stream on Tuesday & Thursday Mornings BUT art project-based Live Drawing streams will be on YouTube and gaming-based streams will be on Twitch. So far, it’s worked out pretty well and I appreciate everyone’s support during this, somewhat confusing, transition. Make sure you tell your friends to subscribe and watch my amazing videos too! Haha!
DA ART BLOC SEASON 2 IS IN DEVELOPMENT
We cookin’ over here and Season 2 of DA ART BLOC is going to be my best podcasting work yet. I’m so excited to officially announce the guest list for the upcoming fall season. You will NOT be disappointed! Season 2 will have pre-recorded episodes as opposed to a livestream.
A proper release date will be announced later with the possibility of MORE guests being added. If you don’t know what DA ART BLOC is, I’d advise you to check out season 1 and see for yourself, enjoy!
THE BIG PATREON REVAMP
The latter three membership tiers out of the six offered.
Back in May, I told y’all that I’d be revamping my Patreon Page. Well, it’s done. There’s a new About Section, Intro Video, and even brand-new Membership Tiers. I’m changing the way that I engage with the page and want it to serve the community in a better way. There are now six membership tiers with the final two tiers being an Erotic Art Tier and a Creator Workshop Tier.
I’ve been wanting to dip into the world of erotic art for a while, but I wasn’t sure how to go about it but after taking a long time to think about it and receiving feedback from a couple of people, I believe it’s time. With the Creator Tier, I want to offer tools, resources, and a space for creatives to network; and possibly collab. You can check out all the changes here and if you have been on the fence about signing up, this is the perfect time to hop off the fence and come over. You won’t regret it.
There’s new Patron-only content uploaded frequently with the erotic art on the way VERY soon.
A FEW MORE THINGS BEFORE YOU GO
+ I’ll be offering free creator assets soon (emotes, etc).
+ Emergency Commissions are currently open once again. I’ve got an unexpected expense that I need to settle. I’ll drop the flyer below, please share it out to your communities!
+ Revamping my Ko-Fi Page with a set monetary goal I’d like to reach. Ko-Fi will be used more as a TIP service than a monthly subscription ala Patreon.
+ New EPIC Ethel art and mini-comics are coming in July.
+ I’m going to lean more into art world and gaming news a bit, as that seems to have given new life to my platforms.
+ Don’t forget to come through to BLACK SUMMER MARKET on July 15th!
+ The Mass Effect 1 YouTube Series is on the way!
+ Diablo IV Build Videos are on the way!
+ The Nu Xanti Discord is OPEN and growing. Come join us!
As always, thanks for reading and for your continued support!
Until next time, stay gold
- Hab