We did it! All the derpies will join the hoard!
4 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!
4 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
4 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
Oops, I did it again... And just in a nick of time (48 hrs left!)
4 months ago
– Wed, Jul 17, 2024 at 09:23:21 AM
Greetings hoarders,
Can you believe we're down to the final hours? I'll be honest, part of me doesn't want this campaign to end because I'm enjoying hanging out with you guys and talking about dragons.
While I was reflecting on the derpy dragons and plotting future dragons, I *might* have done some shopping and accidentally bought those derpy dragon stickers we were talking about. All 10 Derpy dragon designs are now available as 3x3 sticker add-ons!
But, I only ordered 100 of each design. So if you were waiting for these derpy stickers, now's your chance to add them to your pledges before the campaign ends! They will be available in the pledge manager as well, but I can't guarantee how the stock will look as I'm not planning to restock anytime soon.
So go hoard those sticky derpies! (Bonus: every derpy you add gets us that much closer to unlocking the last two designs and that FREE pin!
I also come with a slight dilemma...(because I'm indecisive)
The text on the common sense dragon has to be UV screen printed, but I can't decide on the colour...so it's your vote which you prefer!
And for today's backer question, tell me your top 3 derpies!
Have a wonderful day!
Yours in art,
Therena
If you haven't backed yet, don't miss out!
Every backer gets a FREE sticker and you can help us
unlock this FREE pin for everyone!
When common sense is not so sensical...
4 months ago
– Tue, Jul 16, 2024 at 12:53:45 PM
Greetings Hoarders,
I can't believe we have only 3 days left!
And I managed to get the 10th derpy dragon design finished just in time. Presenting the "Have you tried common sense" derpy. The hardest of all of them to conceptualize due to limited reference resources out there 🤔.
I tried to incorporate as many suggestions as possible as you guys voted on a "combination of everything" 🤣 (way to be indecisive, you were supposed to guide me🤣).
For this one's text, I have to UV print the text to make it readible.
All the derpies look so cute together!
I'm already plotting where I should display them!
(The answer is everywhere! I'll probably keep like 3 or 4 each for multiple displays, it's purely for '
marketing' purposes,
not because I'm obsessed with dragon pins
at all...)
For today's backer question, tell me where you plan to display a your derpies!
And because I'm trying to start getting an idea for how many pins I need to buy, the next 3 polls will ask for your favourite derpies! Starting with your #1 favourite now that you know all the designs 🥰.
Have a wonderful Tuesday!
Yours in art,
Therena
PS: If you haven't joined the fun yet, you still have 3 more days to help us unlock the final 2 derpies and be part of the campaign!
Back today! 
And after you voted go check out and follow my next two campaigns!
