Important March 2025 PSA.

Hey everyone,

This is not an easy post to write, but I want to be upfront with you, because you’ve supported me not just as fans, but as people who believe in me and my work. After a lot of soul-searching (and some painful spreadsheet math), and after being told, multiple times, by people who care about me, it’s clear that my current Patreon reward system is unsustainable.

What’s changing?

For the rest of March, I’m pausing all sketch rewards across every tier. No new sketches will be delivered this month. If you already have pending rewards from previous months, those will still be completed. I’m not running away from my promises, I just need time to deliver them properly, without trying to juggle new rewards at the same time.

This is NOT me skipping work, this is me hitting pauses so I can catch up and deliver what you’re owed with care, instead of rushing out work and burning myself out.

The truth is, the time I spend grinding out sketches rewards every month eats into the hours I desperately need to work on the comics, stories, and larger projects, the very things most of you originally joined this Patreon to see. Instead of having space to create exciting new art, I’m constantly racing against deadlines just to survive, and it’s left me creatively numb. This cycle isn’t healthy for me as an artist, and it’s not giving you the best work I’m capable of, and that’s something I need to change.

This pause is also part of something much bigger that I’m calling Project Zero. Project Zero is my plan to rebuild my entire workflow from the ground up. Right now, my creative process is a chaotic mess of overlapping commitments, endless commissions, creative burnout, and sheer panic. I want to fix that, not just for me, but for the sake of the stories I want to tell and the art you’ve been waiting for.

Project Zero means clearing out my commissions queue without living in perpetual catch-up mode. Ever wonder why I work in frantic bursts, or why I have awesome ideas that seem to vanish into thin air? This is why. There’s never been room to follow through, because I’ve always been drowning in immediate deadlines.

Project Zero means creating actual breathing room, to think ahead, to plan art packs (which have been paused for months because I simply ran out of time), to deliver regular comic pages, and to finally organize all the behind-the-scenes content you deserve. Most importantly, it means protecting both my creative health and my physical health, so I can keep creating for years to come, instead of running myself into the ground.

If you’re here mostly for the monthly sketches, I understand if you need to adjust or cancel your pledge. No hard feelings, and your support so far has meant the world to me. But if you’re here because you believe in me and the worlds I’m building, I hope you’ll stick around. What’s coming next is going to be bigger, better, and more sustainable, especially for those of you who’ve been patiently waiting for Zippers to come back to life.

Once rewards return (April),  I’ll also be restructuring the tiers to reflect this healthier system. There will be fewer sketch slots and they’ll be priced appropriately. The focus will shift more toward finished content, early comic pages, art packs, and proper behind-the-scenes looks at my creative process, all the stuff I haven’t had the time to organize because every hour went to sketches or commissions. I’ll also be adding special perks for long-time supporters, because your loyalty deserves to be recognized.

I want to be clear about one thing, I know change like this can feel scary, but this isn’t me quitting and it’s not me running away. If anything, this is me finally grabbing the wheel and steering my career properly instead of slapping duct tape on a sinking ship. Every owed sketch will still be delivered. Zippers will finally get the attention it deserves. And this Patreon will work for all of us, not just drain me dry.

Thank you for understanding and thank you for believing in me. This isn’t the end. This is the reset I’ve needed for a long time. If you stick around, you’ll get to see exactly what Project Zero grows into.

With love and a deep exhale,
Zandaka - Your Art Tanuki

TL;DR:
Sketch rewards are paused for March so I can catch up and restructure my entire workflow. The current system is unsustainable and hurting both my creativity and the quality of my work. Project Zero is my plan to fix this by focusing on finished art, comics (Zippers), and a healthier Commissions and Patreon system. All owed sketches will still be delivered. Tiers will be reworked to focus on quality, not endless sketches. This is a reset, not me quitting. Thank you for believing in me.