Derpy surveys are out
about 2 months ago
– Fri, Aug 02, 2024 at 11:31:18 AM
Greetings Hoarders,
Most of you have noticed that I sent out the surveys where you get to select your derpies.
I meant to send this update before I did that, but sometimes I get distracted and do things out of order. 🤦🏽♀️
Regardless, here's the official "surveys are out" update 😅.
61% of you already completed it, thank you!
If you haven't yet, please do so as soon as possible so I know how many of each derpy I need to order. I would like to place the order by Sunday before I go camping. So if we can get at least 85% of surveys done by then I would be very happy.
A few things you will see in the survey:
-
Add-ons - you will have the opportunity to add more derpies, books & more to your pledge. These won't be charged until I plan to ship everything (sometime in October if all goes to plan)
-
Stretch goals - I have added two stretch goals to the add ons. The 3" Shadows are Friends sticker (we only need 1 more to unlock it) and the backer pin. If enough of them are added to pledges I will buy both. The pin will be a limited edition. And I'll only buy enough for those who buy it. So if there's only 20 backers it'll be an edition of 20 etc. I am locking this pin add-on on Sunday when I order pins.
Other exciting news
If you have been a fan for a while, you know that I love running campaigns and run anywhere from 3-5 a year. And I still have two more planned or 2024, coming in only
a few weeks!
My next campaign is my most ambitious of all, and one I've been working on for over 2 years. It's the sequel to my debut novel "
Star Found" - "
Star Awakened". And I am going all out this time.
And while the campaign is all about the gorgeous hardcovers, I do have treats for my pin collector backers.
This campaign is a part of Backerkit's Booktopia. And, if you backed any Pintopia campaigns, you know that means lots of
FREE loot!
Naturally I had to design pins insp red by my novel for me and my partner. (Because I need more shinies for my hoard!)
You can get this set either as add-ons from us, or FREE when you back both our campaigns! And, we both have not only book tiers, but a special pin tier! (I designed all her art as well)
For my pin tier, I designed my biggest pin yet. This one will be 2"! With glitter & glow in the dark sky!
So if you like free pins & deluxe epic fantasy novels, you can
follow the campaign before it launches. My goal is to get 100 followers before launch to help push the campaign to new heights on the first day as I want to do a print run!
In the wake of this exciting book campaign, I am running my last campaign of the year. In the same spirit as Pintopia, I have partnered with several of the Pintopia creators to bring to you another pin collaboration:
Pintober - Haunted Dragons. 
This campaign will feature both darker derpies and regular dragons. Set against the backdrop of a graveyard, these dragons will have a touch of darkness and the features you have come to love in my pins. From serious to derpy.
Details are still being finalized, but like pintopia, we will have Free treats as you explore the sleepy town of
Pinner's Hollow
So
join us on this exciting adventure into a shiny world of pins. Well, that's all the news for today. I'll touch base once pins are ordered and things start arriving.
I will be taking a much needed break from technology & be out of internet service between Aug 5-22 to refuel my soul. So any messages or emails will be responded to after Aug 22.
Have a wonderful August!
Yours in art,
Therena
Derpie Hangover. 11th derpy reveal & sneak peek.
2 months ago
– Sat, Jul 20, 2024 at 10:30:06 AM
Greetings wonderful weirdlings and derplings.
Does anyone else feel like there's a bit of a derpy hangover? Or is it just me? I keep coming here looking to read all your wonderful comments and poll results... And it's kind of bittersweet knowing it's over...for now.
Well, just because the campaign is over doesn't mean it's the end of the derpies.
For starters, I just finished the
Shadows are friends derpie! The custom derpy by one of your amazing fellow backers, Cassirole!
He will join the hoard and be one of the options you can choose from for your pledges.
I am personally in love with this little guy!
And thrilled to add 11 derpies to the collection.
All the designs are going through their final approval stage at the manufacturer with finalized tweaks.
I'll share their mockups in the next post once I send them to the manufacturer.
Looking at the future of derpies and dragons.
I won't deny these derpies have stolen the my heart. And I will make more. Looking at the last poll results, I get the idea that you do too.
I'm thinking "
Bookish derpies" as part of pintopia next spring, and "
derpie dragons volume 2 (life derpies)" ...um at some point. Could be sooner, could be later...
But what about my deliriously dark derpies? Some of them will join the
haunted dragons campaign in October. While not initially intended as a derpy campaign, how can I possibly deny these guys?
So, here's one of the first "haunted derpy"
For the
haunted campaign the pins won't have the sayings. Just adorable, wonderful dragons of all shapes, sizes and darkness.
Here's some more concepts I'm working on.
I personally love skulls & bones. I don't know why, probably because I grew up surrounded by medical tomes (my dad was a surgeon). But there's a certain appeal to the stark contrasts of white bone and black shadows. So expect many 💀 skulls and dragons in Haunted Dragons. (My campaign did afterall invade the graveyard section of the
Pinner's Hollow village for Pintober!)
I'm also making a 3D limited edition pin for that campaign. With stained glass. My most ambitious design yet.
You can
follow the campaign here:
Question for all of you
✨Do you like pins with sayings (like the derpies were), pins without (like my gilded dragons were) or both?
I want to cater to what you guys love, so vote on the poll to help shape the future of my dragon pins!
✨And second question, do you like only derpy dragons, or is there interest in other fantasy derpies? (Derpy-corns & Derp-llamas) My children want to know as they are trying to get me to make pins for them 🤣😅. Maybe derpy dragons vs drama-unicorns 🤔.
In more relevant news
Most payments have now been processed, but there are a few stragglers. Double check your credit card information to make sure it's up to date to claim your derpies.
Surveys will go out in a week or two where you can select your derpy and any other add-ons you might have bought. I just wanted to share the final 11th derpy here so you can make an informed decision before I send it 😊.
Before I take off, I just wanted to take a moment to thank you for helping bring this campaign to life. You have made it my most successful campaign ever, and I am grateful for each of your support.
I've genuinely enjoyed my time with you, and hope you will stay in contact with me! Because you are my tribe.
✨💕You can follow me on my
Patreon.
It's one of the few places I still share my art online. I know there's a way to follow for free, though I have no idea where to find that button. (If someone has insight please let us know in the comments!)💕✨
🐉You can also
join my weekly Museletter. While more consistent, it has fewer posts than my Patreon. But it's the best place to know what is going on and when things release. You'd also get a weekly dose of my art. 😊
And, of course I do have multiple other social media accounts. I'm just no longer active on them. But I do check in once in a while. At least on
instagram (@therena_carlin) &
Cara (@therena).
So don't stay a stranger. Say hi. Let's geek out over derpies and dragons and fantasy or anything else for that matter.
Have a wonderful weekend.
Yours in art,
Therena
We did it! All the derpies will join the hoard!
2 months ago
– Fri, Jul 19, 2024 at 06:06:14 PM
But there is more. As we have a custom derpy pledge, there will be 11 derpies in total!
And here's the rudimentary sketch so far.
I can also finally share the stickers for the early birds & all backer stretch goals which I finished making yesterday. These will be limited edition with the year of the campaign. And going forward all derpy campaigns will have these collectable stickers featuring designs from that campaign.
For everyone who commented and participated in the updates, I will design a 3rd limited sticker design. I'm still debating which derpy sketch to use 😊.
I'm also excited to share a sneak peek for some of the derpies sneaking into my
haunted dragons campaign in October as part of Pintober!
So what happens next?
Over the next day or so, Backerkit will charge your cards and import your information into the pledge manager. It takes 2-3 weeks to receive the funds. In this time I'll set up the pledge manager and once funds are received I'll send the surveys where you will choose which derpies you want as well as get a chance to add more to your hoard! It's important to complete the survey as soon as possible so I know how many derpies to order!
Once I have all the funds, I will order all the derpies. It takes about 5-6 weeks to get them after that. Once I do, I will lock all orders and addresses and start sorting and mailing them. By my estimation this will happen sometime in September.
While you wait...
The hard work is mostly done, but I'm never done creating. I mentioned that derpy dragons started as a side quest. The actual quest I am on comes to fruition in September as a part of
Booktopia.
It's the brand new release of the second book in my epic fantasy romance novel,
Star Awakened. But I never do things half-assed, and I'm a sucker for shiny books filled with art. So I am releasing it as a deluxe gold foil edition. Of course this meant book 1 needed a facelift as well. So both books will be deluxe editions, filled with illustrations, endpapers, sprayed edges and more.
And, because I know many of my backers love pins, I will have a pin tier as well as the deluxe hardcover tier.
So whether you love books or pins, be sure to
follow the campaign! There's some limited edition tiers you won't want to miss!
Until next time.
Yours in art,
Therena
11 derpies? We only need 4 more backers! Only 8 hours left! Plus HUGE surprise inside!
2 months ago
– Fri, Jul 19, 2024 at 09:03:25 AM
Greetings Hoarders!
It's the final hours of the campaign, and I'd be lying if I said I wasn't clicking refresh hourly to see when we unlock the final derpy!
In fact, I decided that I will unlock him at 175 instead of 200 backers! So we only need 4 more!
But wait, there's more!
One of your fellow backers is adding an 11th derpy to the pile with the custom derpy tier!
Which means that no matter what, there's 10 derpies! (more likely 11!)
I bet you are as curious as I was what this mysterious derpy's quote would be. So I emailed them and asked. And I might have squeed a little when they told me!
🐉"Don't fear the shadows, they are friends"🐉
I love it so much. In fact, when I told my husband, he asked if I was sure I didn't secretly back it myself or pay off the backer to get this quote. I assured him I just have the most incredible backers and have found my tribe of dark dragon loving weirdlings. And that the quote was theirs.
So, if you have been hesitant to upgrade to 10 derpies, you can now know with all certainty that there will be 10 different derpies, possibly 11 to choose from!
Yesterday I asked if you wanted to see more behind the scenes steps, and the hoarding books and side quest was requested. So here you go.
"It's not procrastination, it's a side quest"
"It's not hoarding if it's books."
So there you have it. The making of derpies in 4 easy steps!
By the way, if you enjoy seeing my art process, my hardcover "Gilded Dragons" artbook has something like 8+ pages on my tools and a more detailed process breakdown for my art!
Not only are the pages filled with dragons, but there are gold foil elements on the cover itself and this is one of the only ways to get a signed copy!
For todays backer question, tell me what type of magic you would want if you were a dragon!
I'll be back again later today once the campaign ends. In the meantime, if you are a backer,
share with your friends! Lets get the final derpy unlocked! (though there is a certain irony in "common sense" being just out of our grasp 🤣😂)
Happy hoarding,
Therena
9th stretch goal unlocked & 28 hrs to go! Living life in hard mode - a look behind the scenes
2 months ago
– Thu, Jul 18, 2024 at 01:53:22 PM
Greetings Hoarders,
We did it! You guys just unlocked the 9th derpy dragon!
Not-a-damsel will now officially join the hoard! I know she was a fan favourite and I'm so glad we unlocked her 🥰.
Thank you and welcome to all the new backers! You are officially part of the derpling tribe.
I thought today I would share a little insight into the process of how my pins come to life and the inspiration behind them. We have come so far in this adventure together and I thought you guys might appreciate it.
I'll show one of my favourite pins: "Living life in hard mode".
It was inspired by a saying my husband repeats to me on an almost daily basis.
It was my 6th design, so by the time I sketched this little guy, I already knew he'd be a pin design. This meant I approached him slightly differently than the first ones.
As with my other pins, I sketched the concept on my remarkable 2. I typically use it for writing my novels, but I didn't want the pressure of perfection so I used it's sketch mode instead of my Wacom mobile studio pro.
Once I liked the sketch, I uploaded it to Photoshop and redrew clean "line art", followed by fill colours.
Choosing colours based on a limited pallette can be challenging. But I love how they turned out.
For this little guy, I decided I needed a glow-in-the-dark book about "Life" so it pops.
Once I have the basics, I do a mock up with gold to symbolize the metal. (Plus I love gold ... So shiny)
At first I keep the lines minimal for the pin. But then I get caried away with details for stickers and the hoodies/shirts.
Adding little details like "A how to guide for dummies" on the book. And shading lines.
Once I'm happy with the design, I send it to my manufacturer, who converts it into the pin file and sends me a mock up with options (if I request them).
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I then look over everything and approve or tweak the design.
Sometimes I'm further inspired to fully illustrate the pin design and turn it into a fully rendered illustration. This little guy was no different. And I absolutely love how he turned out!
Once everything is approved to my satisfaction, it's a matter of running the crowdfunding campaign so I can afford to buy the little derpy dragons!
Which is where you guys came in 😊. By backing this campaign, you helped bring these derpies to life.
So if you already backed, thank you!
If not, what are you waiting for?
These cute dragons are eager to be set free and you
only have 28 hours left! We have 1 more design to unlock, and we need your help.
You can back by
clicking this banner. 
Our final two pins to unlock await your encouragement & support!
For todays backer question, let me know if you want to see other behind the scenes steps of more derpy dragons in the comments below! And which derpy you want to see.
Yours in art,
Therena
