Good evening, gang! If you're me, and you work the hours, I do, typing this 20 minutes to midnight is still 'evening.' Cool it.

Overall, while we didn't unlock everything, we had a pretty successful run. It was a difficult year for Pintopia projects in general, but I'm satisfied with where we're at. I know we wanna get to the meat of things, so...

Here's some quick numbers.

As mentioned, we have 79 total pin designs. Our two final 1.5" designs are the Duck Toller and the Werewolf!

The Duck Toller is our last-minute sponsor, from a very passionate breed enthusiast. These aren't the most common canines around, but they're an unmistakable working dog. Thank my buddy Fieldpup for this one, dog collectors!

Our Werewolf, ever popular (for better or... for, uh, rabid), will also be available.

You guys don't understand. I have already been paid unspeakable amounts of money to draw this character in compromising situations. Was the halal plate worth it? Who knows, man. But that fish fry got me through vectors, so, thanks, I guess.

We need to have a quick, downer, type of talk about the rest of the MONSTERS tier. I've tried to be pretty open about fraudulent, cancelled, or heavily downgraded pledges being an issue this Pintopia, and, lo and behold, it is going to bite us in the ass a bit here.

Our last-minute $600 pledge I was worried about did end up paying. However, we are out a startling amount due to failed charges right now. Cards just started charging today, so this is recoverable. But, due to an exceptionally high number of failed payments on my last campaign, and the extremely high rate of cancellations already, I am going to be erring on the side of caution.

Go make sure your card is up to date - mine wasn't! I was that guy, too. Sorry, everyone!

I may make the other MONSTERS pins available as cards successfully charge. However, it is a risky move to self-fund 4 more pins with the net amount we're looking at right now. I'm looking for total charges, plus after-campaign numbers, to reach about $16.5k to get here. I'll keep you posted. I'm sorry to disappoint, but, there are other options for now!

There are still preorders, too, to make up that number, so we'll see where we go.

 

So, what's next?

For me, it's custom pins. I have two of you, one with a good email rapport and references, and one who needs to send me some more information. I'm headed downstate for Chinese new year, so realistically, you're gonna be hearing from me the 20th or 21st. Not too late to send me additional refs or ideas, though!

We're on schedule for surveys, if not a little ahead of time. I've been getting pledge manager stuff set, getting giveaway and promotional backers smacked with some extra credits, and getting pin renders cleaned up. Late February, early March, is a good time to start expecting your survey.

Preorder store's probably coming then, or earlier! If you missed the campaign, you still have a chance to get pins at the $9 a head rate. While discount tiers are gone, and there won't be any more freebies, you can purchase most stuff at the campaign price, and you'll get it when our backers do in the spring.

I have some catch up work to do, too. There's still a few stragglers from CC who need custom work done. If this is you, please reach out to me.

If you purchased a CUSTOM CRIME for CRITTER CRIMES, you were subjected to unfair delays due to circumstances outside of your control. You are entitled to a $10 campaign credit on your C3 pledge. Contact me either in our work thread, or in a new email, to apply this to your campaign. This is even if you got your CUSTOM CRIME pledge already.

What's next next?

This is a hard one, and I will say, outright, I may lose a lot of you on my next project.

Let's stay vague: I am workshopping a mid-sized group event with several other creators for November. It's not golden age-styled animals, but it's something that became very dear to me this past year.

If this project is for you, it will really be for you. But, if it's not, there might be something else from another one of the wonderful, talented illustrators who have agreed to take the plunge with me.

That's all I can share for now, until we all have more done and we're given the green light by BackerKit. I'm hoping I have something to show you all soon.

As of right now, I'm OK with how C3 turned out. Things could have gone better, but in terms of everything I had in my reach, I did what I could. I turned out better than a lot of other Pintopia artists this year. Frankly, there's not really anything that made that difference except my audience. You turned out in droves for this, and for a project I was wary of taking a risk on.

Thank you for being here for these past couple weeks.

Let's talk after I get some damn sleep.

Good evening, gang!

So, pins are still in production, and after the eyebrow situation, I have asked the factory to check in with me a little bit more often. They have been doing so, and offering additional photos in separate lighting to make sure colors are correct.

Pin manufacturers - even the best of them - have a habit of taking sample photos with a SpongeBob disposable camera in the 5th level of the Backrooms. Colors are often wildly off from how they appear in-person.

My art style allows for some leeway in colors, as long as the idea of the pin stays intact. I allow some wiggle room as long as contrasts stay roughly the same and a pin still reads as its designated critter. But, sometimes, it pays to make sure, and we have a situation like that here.

Our KOBOLD pin turned out much darker than intended.

A fellow, very kobold-savvy artist let me know that this color series can have this problem. It often turns out darker than intended, and it may not necessarily be a manufacturer error.

This result is different enough from the intended ugly-cute anemic pink shown in the artwork to be an issue. I know you kobold crew are very passionate people, and any issues with this design could anger a vocal minority that could bite my ankles and throw rocks at my face.

Due to costs, and inconvenience, and all that shit, I'm not heart set on remakes... yet. I'd like to hear from you.

If you backed for the kobold pin... do you think he needs a redo? Do you still like him after a little too long in the tanning booth?

HUSTLE veterans know I usually offer some options when things don't go right, and this is no different. Store credit, extra free B-grades, or waiting for a full replacement of the medium rare kobold could be on the table here. 

Comments, suggestions, and desired outcomes are welcome. Let me know what you're thinking as soon as possible.

Good afternoon, gang!

Not the most fun one here - I have confirmation from the factory that we will not be seeing pins shipped until the end of June. When we factor DDP delivery times in, it is unlikely they will arrive until at least the second week of July.

A few designs have needed remakes, and this is a gigantic order with a lot to get through. Delays were never out of the picture, but, unfortunately, this does confirm some disappointing news.

I will not have pins here in time for Anthrocon pickup. If you're going to go make your furry pilgrimage this year, your CHALLENGE COIN CRITTER pins will not get to go home with you.

Because this was almost, kind of, hopefully possible until today, I don't mind comping shipping for you. If you opted for AC pickup, you will be getting an email to make sure this message gets to you, and you'll get your guys sent to you at no charge. I am sorry for the inconvenience here.

If I can't have pins for July 3rd, I definitely can't have them in June. Our July 21st WNY pickup also cannot happen without pins. Same deal, you guys will get an email from me shortly with some alternate options. I would prefer not to ship these at my expense, since half of you are a zipcode away from me, so, we'll figure something out.

Silver lining, this means we do have a clearer timeline of when pins will arrive and we can start the next steps. Grading will begin (with no Anthrocon rush, thank fuck!) as soon as C3 coins set foot on my doorstep, and we can expect the earliest order bracket to start shipping just days after.

Are you in that first bracket? Make sure your credit card on file's good! We had you guys for your last round of charges last week. Let's make sure those get covered so there's no delays.

I'm gonna go get those emails out to pickups, and go close up the job tonight. I'll check in with you next time I hear something.

Good afternoon, gang!

So, despite the best efforts of back-end features and code to sabotage my plans, we did have successful charges late last week. Thank you to BackerKit staff for working through that, and hopefully things work as intended to save everyone some trouble next time.

All USA C3-only backers, non-EU international backers, preorders, and local pickups were charged for shipping and any addons. Your money will be going to cover the final installment of pins paid on delivery, as well as some samples...

That being said, we do have some failed charges. I have 10 of you guys in that group who didn't go through.

Unpaid campaign backers had until May 12th to get their shit sorted. I'll be giving paid backers who are missing their balance until August 20th to pay their dues and claim their pins. Otherwise, thank you for your donation, I'll toss your pins to the local animal shelter to sell and cover animal care costs.

Did you back THE HYENA FAMILY? Are you in European Union Europe? Don't worry - you haven't been charged anything, and you don't need to worry. You will be on the hook closer to when pins arrive.

At this time, I am hoping and praying to any possible higher power that pins arrive this month. I am not counting on it but I am guessing late June or early July.

I caught a few issues at the factory before things shipped, which will save a lot of time and money in the long run, but it means some designs are being remade before the whole order goes out.

That's about it, for now. I appreciate you guys bearing with me, this week continues a streak of absolutely horrific luck and incidents happening outside of the HUSTLE. If you're waiting to hear back from me, please bump our email or DM and let me get back on top of things.

I hope to have something a little more fun to share next week. Take it easy, and enjoy a hopefully-mild early summer evening.