I come bearing great news! I have shipped all of the pins as of today! Well... except there's one survey with a failed card and 4 unfinished surveys. So, if your haunted derpies don't arrive in the next 2-3 weeks (Canada & USA) or 2-5 weeks (everywhere else), double check your pledge!
Now, there's a few things I do need to discuss.
1: Digital rewards / eBooks (specifically Star Awakened pre-orders)
I have turned on the eBook fulfillment. However Star Awakened has experienced some delays which were out of my control. So if you pre-ordered it, fear not, you will still get it once it's finished (might be another 4-8 weeks unfortunately). I will make an update when I do this as well so you don't miss it. But please check your emails.
2: Broken/damaged items on arrival
Sometimes mail gremlins act up and break the shiny pretties you ordered. (Aka damaged during shipping) Should this happen to your treasure, please email me photos of damaged boxes/pins to [email protected] and I will do my best to replace your treasure. (Please note, you'll also be required to file a claim via email once I put it through so keep those pictures!)
3: Missing items
While I do my best to double and triple check pledges while packing it up, I am still only human. And it can happen that we miss an item. (Usually only when you order multiples). Or sometimes I might grab the wrong pin. In this case, please let me know ASAP (you have a week after your package is marked delivered - all packages are sent via tracked mail, so I can confirm this date.)
A thank you
I just wanted to shout out a big thank you to my offspring for their assistance in helping me pack these little treasures for your hoards. My dragon lair was a disaster, but we had a good production line going 😊. And we had some help...
I hope you all enjoy your little derpies and dragons!
I know I just finished my bookies derpy dragon campaign. But there's so many side quests with these guys...like my next campaign: Dungeons & Derpies! (Which happened while drawing a pin for the bookish campaign) So if you like mimics, gelatinous cubes, and other D&D shenanigans, come join the adventure! I plan to launch April 1st. Naturally there will be another chance to give ideas and help decide which ones unlock. But unlike my other campaigns, this one will only be 14/16 days.
I'm also contemplating a limited edition 3" dragon pin set with this derpy:
Design not final...large dragon will get more details if it's 3". Only the large dragon will be limited edition.
And then there's the "Life is better with Derpy Dragons" pin. Which may or may not be a 2" pin too... I hope you will join us on this derpy side quest! And no, it's no April fools. I really am launching that day 🤣😂. But perhaps I will make a special April fools derpy sticker to anyone who backs on day 1 🤣.
And if you want to join the conversation, you can join my Patreon. You can be the first to see sketches (and other art) as they happen! And you can follow for free as well.
Exciting news, the haunted dragons & derpies have arrived!
2 giant boxes
Nearly 2000 pins!
Stacked and ready to count...
It's better than Christmas when I get pin mail, and when I can finally hold these derpies in my hands.
They all turned out so pretty!
The full collection of all my pins together 🥰
I'll share close ups at the end of this message. But first some house keeping.
Charging cards & locking addresses:
I'll start processing cards later tonight and tomorrow. Also double check your addresses, please.
Fulfillment:
Over the next 2-3 weeks I'll be sorting and packaging the orders for each of you. And as I complete your orders I'll be marking them as fulfilled once I ship them.
Expected arrivals:
Expect your derpies to start arriving late January/early February until late February depending where you live. US & Canada shipping is tracked, international shipping is not tracked.
EU GPSR:
If you live in the EU, this campaign should be grandfathered into the program as it was "on the market" before the implementation of the new policies. I am looking at options going forward to get a representative so I can continue shipping pins to EU backers.
Check out the pins:
3D - stained glass limited edition pin:
Backer exclusive pin
Freebie skelly pin - it's so cute!
Adult dragon skull - the odd one out 🤣
I love them all! Which is your favourite?
Now, it's been requested that you guys might need a place to display your Derpies. Well, I just ordered some custom Derpy Dragon banners which I'll sell in the next Bookish Derpy Dragons campaign! Here's a look at the design and mock-ups.
The banner design - because "Life is better with Derpy Dragons"
Mock-up of design
The design will eventually join the Dungeons & Derpies campaign as a pin in the spring.
Below you will find the upcoming derpy dragons campaigns you can follow for 2025. I already revealed 3, but to kick off the year I started sketches for a 4th one in the fall. (I can't help but sketch derpies) These will be all about life derpies. Starting with these two concepts:
Hanging in there (barely)
Dumpster fire Derpy
But more on that campaign on another day.
While you wait for the haunted derpies & dragons to arrive, you should check out my Bookish Derpy Dragon campaign which launches in just over 2 weeks!
Happy new year! (Well I'm only now waking from the final day in 2024, but I know some of you are already celebrating the future 😄 😅)
To start, I wanted to thank all of you for making 2024 the best year possible. It'll forever mark the year the derplings were born and side quests became main quests. And all this was possible because of your support! Sometimes when you are in the middle of life you don't realize how much you accomplished until you look back and reflect. And I am so grateful for everyone who not only encouraged but also supported my dream of becoming a professional artist & author. Whether backing campaigns, commissioning art, being a Patreon or buying art/books/pins at markets.
This year I did: 🌟52 full personal illustrations 🌟50 commissions 🌟49 Derpy Dragons 🌟18 kids book illustrations 🌟8 fantasy photoshoots 🌟5 successful crowdfunding campaigns (4 were dragon pins/3 derpies) 🌟1 kids book published 🌟1 novel fully written and almost ready to publish as well as one and a half in draft! 🌟Read 51 books
Seeing this list only encourages me to do even more next year! And I have a headstart with some of the derpies.
But first the good news:
All the haunted derpies have shipped and will be here in about a week 🥰.
I can't wait to hold the haunted derpies! This also means that I'll start charging cards once they arrive in the next week as I'll start fulfillment as soon as they get here.
There's only 5 surveys which weren't completed, if it's you, you will have received a reminder email today. Without the survey I can't send you your pins!
Now, looking ahead at 2025 Side Main Quests & more Derpy Dragons:
(Because we can all use more derpies in our lives!)
10 dragons are all ready to join your library next month! With more to come. (You can see them all in my Patreon if you want a better look)
Plus as part of pintopia you can get this Derpy set FREE when you back both me and my son's campaign (plus only pay shipping once!) So be sure to follow his campaign too:
I am still in the process of designing a Derpy Dragon canvas banner for your pins for the bookish campaign. So once I have that ready I'll share it here.
I mentioned side quests earlier. Well, as I was drawing a bookish derpy, this little guys emerged:
Which led to a whole series if side quests... because Dungeons & Derpies deserve it's own campaign!
D&D is a way of life in my house. And my family wholly encouraged the creation of these derpies:
But it'll only be a 2 week campaign. As you can tell from the banner, there will be regular dragons as well. You can see them individually on my Patreon as well to start planning which one you want to hoard.
And just when you thought Christmas was over - I had alluded to a Christmas in July Festive Derpy campaign. Well, the first 4 derpies are ready to be revealed!
This will also be a 2 week campaign. With more designs coming later. But it'll be perfect so your derpies arrive for next Christmas season!
So there you have it. The currently "planned" Derpy Dragon quests for 2025. I can't guarantee there won't be other side quests as these Derpies seem to emerge like daisies popping out of the ground. But I love these dragons so much, I can't help myself from drawing them.
But with 49 finished derpies, it means we are halfway to making the derpy dragon art book! (I'd like 100 at least 😊🙃) And who knows, maybe a derpy dragon Oracle card deck 😅.
But those are future me dreams. And I hope you will join me on this grand adventure!
Speaking of adventures and art. I'd love to invite you to follow my Patreon where I share all my art. You can "follow" for FREE or join any tier. And I have a 25% off your first month sale on now with the code YEAROFART.
Today I get to share exciting progress news, as well as early looks at the pins!
But first timeline: Pins are expected to ship to me by Jan 7th, so I should hopefully have everything by the 14th and start shipping by the end of January!
Stickers arrived and are so cute! I unlocked the hexed sticker too, so those who ordered it will have him 😊.
I realized I didn't add the Hektor Derpy to the add-ons during Pledge manager, so he'll be in the next campaign.
All the postcards also arrived, though I haven't sorted it yet. But they all look amazing!
And now for the pin sneak peek! (Keep in mind these aren't the best quality photos as some are blurry, but these were sent from my manu.)
And as a special treat, I upgraded the "Hektor" custom Derpy to be glow in the dark eyes for the dragon and pumpkin! Like a real Jack-o'-lantern! And the weirdling tribe is grey pearl swirl for the dragon 😊.
I can't wait to add these to my own collection!
In other Derpy news
I have completed even more derpies for my bookish derpy dragon campaign in January. Bringing the finished designs to 6, plus 2 collab design sets. That's 8 possible new Derpies 😁. I tweaked the text for the "Shhh" derpy and it's now "I read banned books", which I think really suits him.
I also added the "tortured artist/author" Derpy, which is based on the sketch I made while my son was in the hospital after being run over by a car.
I plan to make 4+ more derpies based on bookish quotes before the campaign, or at least during it. But here's a peek at the full collection so far:
As always, backers will vote on which ones to unlock and I will make an 11th backer inspired derpy as well, once we hit that stretch goal. So start thinking of favourite bookish quotes you'd like as derpies! And share them in the comments!
I had a lot of fun drawing the stretchgoal bookshelf for these Derpies and can't wait to share it with everyone in January 😉. (Though you can see it on my Patreon in the meantime.)
You can follow the campaign here: Like before, I will have early bird stickers and returning backer stickers. I will have a limited super early bird 10 pin tier again and returning backers will be invited to early access 24 hrs before the campaign launches.
So keep your eyes on your emails on January 22nd.
My next update will likely be when the pins arrive in January, so I wish you all a wonderful holiday season and happy new year!
I look forward to making more derpies for you in the new year! (And even the possibility of a derpy art book in the pin style art! Thanks to a backers' suggestion!)
Yours in art, Therena
PS: here's my son's campaign to follow as well to claim this Curious Inky Derpy set when you back us both:
Exciting news! You guys unlocked both the "Spells" - hexed bookish derpy AND the weirdling tribe pin!
Just look at all the pins you guys! They will look so good together 😍.
I have locked all orders now, and sent final numbers to my manufacturer. You can still complete the survey, you just can't change anything except your address.
So who was the favourite?
I've honestly never had such close results for every single pin! But here's the winners: Skelly mini (with an unfair win and therefore disqualified) - 105
I'll finalize any little tweaks to designs and pay for manufacturing. There's only 3 minor tweaks to designs so it shouldn't take long to fix.
And then it's a matter of waiting for the production fairy-dragons to work their magic.
In the meantime, I have been hired by 3 other creators to draw their pins for Pintopia 2025! All of them authors who needed pins for their merch. I'll share those once they have their campaigns set up.
Plus I'll be working on my own bookish derpy dragons in the meantime. I have 4 official designs and my two collab stretch goals with my son finished. Which means I need to make 6 more bookish derpies. And I welcome any ideas as always! You can either comment here, or email it to [email protected]
On a completely side note, who has watched Arcane? I don't often get inspired to do fanart, but I just had to draw Jinx😅. I want to draw VI too, but first I need to get through commissions and editing my novel 😅.
And since it's Black Friday 🛍️ you can get a 10% discount off my store with the code BLACKART10 between now and Mon!
Have a wonderful weekend!
Yours in art, Therena
It's not too late to get these derpies! Pre-order store is open!
Url>https://haunted-dragons.backerkit.com/hosted_preorders</url>
