To take a look at my initial thoughts as Patreon saw a rise/growth in users, click here.
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When I initially saw lots of my favorite cosplayers opting in to use Patreon as a means for fans to help fund/support their hobby, I was definitely worried and skeptical at first. Even though at the time of my last post on the matter I was subscribed to a very small amount of creators. I thought these individuals understood Patreon the most and didn't take advantage by setting up a dozen or so tiers with little to no difference than the lower levels. That was a little over 6 months ago and now it seems that everyone and their mother has a Patreon now. Which I can imagine may be frightening for some fans even with cosplayers who don't really post much on their page to begin with. Though that could all be on Facebook's part to destroy reach and make sure you don't see the posts even if you "liked" the page.
For me, I've had the opportunity to further increase the amount of cosplayers I support by a small amount. Danielle Beaulieu and Lisa Lou Who are still some of my all time favorites to follow (re: fangirling over them daily) with Jessica Nigri injecting a healthy dose/balance of sexy and cosplay progress (which has me so excited for what she has planned next). Karlibra is one of my best friends and posts so so much that it is well worth the tier I'm in. Plus she's an incredibly passionate individual! Kristen Hughey ranges in similar territory to what Jess offers. Katyuska Moonfox also made one and given my history with adoring everything she does, her Patreon was like a no brainer for me.
Some cosplayers are going all in with non stop promoting their Patreon in order to gain more support. Like I mentioned in my first Patreon post, I pretty much see those as ads so it's more so like a fast scroll through. Though I won't deny some of them offer awesome content and I can only hope that their Patreons succeed. It's become pretty apparent now that there are areas of Patreon split up by the type of content if you're looking at the realm of cosplay. Mainly on the side that many are opening up to boudoir shoots and lewd photos as you go into the higher tiers. Some of which are experimenting in POV shoots/groping sets (more on that in a bit) and other interesting things.
Specifically, when a small segment of cosplayers were doing the latter option, it had me and many others concerned for a bit. Mainly in the fact that how far are they willing to go to nearly cross the line that separates porn with cosplay. Granted some groups do combine the 2 but they're totally separate from Patreon such as Cosplay Deviants. Though now I see those that do the POV shoots/groping sets as people who are incredibly confident with their looks. I think if what was being done with Patreon 6 months ago was that bad, it would have quickly died out. It hasn't so I take it that majority of people are ok with it having such a presence though I imagine some still aren't. I also imagine there are those out there that do offer very little that's cosplay centered but they are given very little coverage so that's a good sign.
I feel fortunate I'm able to support the ones I am and cautious at joining more for now. I honestly don't know what the overall message I'm trying to get across here is, but basically Patreon looks like it has a comfortable place in the cosplay world and I can only hope that the worst case scenario doesn't happen. As long as cosplayers spread out their rewards fairly and don't restrict their content to only Patreon, I can see the platform being used at a healthy rate instead of abused like I feared before. I've also grown to be more open in looking at new ones that pop up over time. I hope this articulated my thoughts well and not just a giant mash of words XD. Below I've provided links to Patreons that I'm a part of as well as ones you should definitely check out! Variety in terms of cosplay content, tutorials in other avenues and those that are mostly devoted to sexy pics/boudoir ^_^.
Karlibra
Danielle Beaulieu
Katyuska Moonfox
Lisa Lou Who
Jessica Nigri
Kristen Hughey
Stella Chuu
It's Raining Neon
April Gloria
Momokun Cosplay
Kaybear Cosplay
Ireland Reid
Kayla Erin
Vanity Fox
Darshelle Stevens
Ivy Doomkitty
Vivid Vivka
Azumii
