Patreon | Polygamer

Polygamer #111: Artist & unschooler Ivy Dolamore

Posted on March 17, 2021 by Ken Gagne

Ivy Dolamore is an artist, cryptid, and unschooler. The product of a curriculum-free homeschooling education, Ivy quit her job at GameStop to become a full-time artist, supported by commissions, Patreon, and an extensive social media following. Her creations span a variety of art styles and media, including prints, jewelry, and Diamond Art.

In this episode, I chat with Ivy about how she made the leap to being an artist; how her retail experience lends itself to her new craft; which social media channels she finds most valuable; the vulnerability of vlogging; how unschooling differs from homeschooling; how an unschooler finds teachers and fills gaps in her curriculum; and what her next big projects are.

Stream the audio edition of this interview below or from iTunes, Stitcher, Google Podcasts, Amazon Music, Spotify, Overcast, Pandora, Pocket Casts, iHeartRadio, TuneIn, RadioPublic, or the Internet Archive. Click past the jump for a transcript and links to resources mentioned in this episode.

Podcast: Download (Duration: 1:00:51 — 35.7MB) | Embed

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Polygamer #89: Twitch variety streamer SlyTQ

Posted on May 8, 2019 by Ken Gagne

TQ is a Twitch variety streamer and Take This Ambassador. Her channel frequently hosts charity streams in support mental health, children’s hospitals, and other non-profits close to her heart. This advocacy recently extended to PAX East, where TQ appeared on the panel “Avoiding Burnout in Creative Professions“, speaking from her experience working 60+ hours a week to maintain her channel and audience. In all her work, she focuses on how our differences as people make us better as a whole, rather than something we should have separate us.

In this podcast, we talk about how to launch a streaming career; separating one’s success and failures from one’s self-worth; using Patreon and Discord to build a community; the offline work that goes into maintaining a Twitch subscriber base; maintaining a healthy work/life harmony; avoiding creative burnout; how emotional support animals are different from service dogs; and the games she keeps to herself and won’t stream.

Stream the audio edition of this interview below or from iTunes, Stitcher, Google Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, Overcast, Pandora, Pocket Casts, iHeartRadio, TuneIn, RadioPublic, or the Internet Archive. Click past the jump for links to resources mentioned in this episode.

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Podcast: Download (Duration: 1:12:46 — 34.3MB) | Embed

Polygamer #76: Gaming Patreon at PAX East 2018

Posted on April 11, 2018 by Ken Gagne

In four short years, Patreon has enabled thousands of gamers to take their journalism, podcasts, and channels to the next level. It’s proven a popular alternative to the whims of Google’s “adpocalypse”—though Patreon’s had a few bumps of its own along the way. On the PAX East 2018 panel "Gaming Patreon: Building Community for Fun and Profit", I chatted with three Patreon creators to learn about their crowdfunding strategies, setting effective goals and rewards, building a community, and how artists and patrons can steel themselves against potential changes to Patreon’s model.

Panelists include:

Ken Gagne (Digital Content Developer, Gamebits)
Tanya C. DePass (Founder & Director, I Need Diverse Games)
Lon Seidman (Content Creator, Lon.TV)
Ian Danskin (Founder and Editor, Innuendo Studios)

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Podcast: Download (Duration: 1:02:35 — 29.5MB) | Embed

Polygamer #34: Violinist Taylor Davis

Posted on November 25, 2015 by Ken Gagne

Taylor Davis is a renowned violinist whose video game, movie, and anime covers have earned her a loyal following. On YouTube, where she has over a million subscribers, her music videos employ stunning backdrops and intricate costumes inspired by the pop culture from which she draws her many tunes. Taylor has released six albums, including a Christmas album and, most recently, a self-titled album of original music. Her music can also be heard in rock band Critical Hit’s first album, as well as in the soundtrack to The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt — Hearts Of Stone.

In this interview, Taylor and Ken discuss her recent debut tour of the United States and her upcoming European tour; how Patreon and Twitter give her direct access to her fans, and vice versa; whether making music for a living makes it feel more like work than play;how licensing rights influences what music videos are shot next; and her cautious optimism for the upcoming Final Fantasy VII remake.

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Podcast: Download (Duration: 33:47 — 16.3MB) | Embed