Restore dignity to art

As an artist who's graduating from a course that wasn't focused on art, I found myself aspiring to and becoming more able to do more art-related things, whether it be making stories or making and selling fanmerch. I realized that I found my happiness there. I've been going through some tough times with unexpected bills and needing to pay for future cons. I was caught in the middle of a bad time mentally.

The grant has immensely helped me with being able to pay for cons at which I'll be selling my work, paying for an unexpected emergency situation, and helped me pay off this month's bills. It sounds so little but being chosen for the grant has helped me pull through this weird month. Thank you from the bottom of my heart ❤️

I've personally been struggling financially over the past year and have recently fallen on hard times again due to housing issues, so this grant had lifted an unspeakable weight off my shoulders.

It allowed me to continue to create art and do what I love the most in this world, despite all the hardships I constantly face, I wouldn't want to do anything else. I hope people keep supporting small art businesses like ours, because culture shouldn't only be for those who can afford it. Thank you to the creators of this fund and everyone who donates, I hope your pillows forever remain the perfect cool temperature forever🩵🌷🫶

Hello everyone, I’m Milacchi an artist from Germany! I mostly draw in Manga like style and hope I can make a lot of people happy with my art >o<)/

First of all I want to thank this project so, so, so much for supporting artists in financial need!

I was so lucky to get funded and It really helped me out lots! Thanks to the money I could focus on my work as freelancer more since it payed half of my monthly living expenses. This way I had more budget to pay back different things like the dept I have which is one of the reasons for my financial struggles. Since taxes for last year also needs to get paid this month, the extra money was really just like a blessing.

A lot of people might not know how expensive it can be to work as a freelance artist, pre-paying con booths months in advance, ordering new merch while working on more new stuff or commissions. All of that can be a lot for our mental health as well, so not having to worry too much about money really helps us out. (Especially with AI trying to steal our jobs now as well).

I hope that more artist and also supporters will join this great project and that they all get the help they deserve in times like this.

It took me a long time to find the words, I still don't think I have fully articulated my gratitude but I want to express my biggest thank yous.

These last five years I've been fully relying on a laptop that, whilst significantly better than an average Chromebook, was overall unremarkable to begin with on top of being put through the ringer throughout my university studies and projects. It began showing minor slowing down issue some couple of years ago, but this last year its functionality began to nose dive to the point of crashing with errors I had never seen before, having me lose tons of progress on work I was doing as a result, and hitting 90C* whilst idling. Before these issues I was already having trouble in my endeavours, like not being able to stream or art application crashing because the tasks were too resource intensive. Most recently though I began to stress about the risk of losing these last five years of work and important files entirely.

I had already been saving for a new computer, but this help allowed me to buy myself a much nicer, more reliable build so much sooner than I could have ever hoped for, soon I won't be held back by my machines fits and short comings. It could not have come at a better time either, considering the latest slew of issues, including a disappearing GPU, I doubt this laptop would survive being my main work machine much longer.

Beyond the material help, to know that there are people that believed in me and my work enough to think that I’m worth helping in this way fills me with determination to keep working on what I love. I will not squander this opportunity. I want to keep making things.

What's up fellow artists! I'm Cheri, or Adam as some know me, and I've been a freelance artist for a majority of my life now.

Through various ups and downs, art has always been my rock. The thing that keeps me going, the thing I wake up for every day. It truly is the thing that's kept me on this earth for so many years. However, with the trying times we find ourselves in, it can sometimes be very discouraging to keep going.

Artist Ally really put that spark back in my heart for the creative community. To not only see a group of amazing people enjoy art so much, but to also see them come together and help me reach a goal I had only DREAMED of for so long gives me so much hope. Thanks to the astounding effort of this fundraiser, I have the opportunity to chase my dream of living and working in Japan as an artist and work towards creating my own published pieces one day!

I really can not say 'thank you' enough to Artist Ally for giving me the jump start I needed!! But I'll say it again anyway! Thank you!

First of all, thank you, Artist Ally. To every team member and donors/supporters of the program, THANK YOU!

I was so shocked and surprised, my hands were shaking when I got the news, and it's still hard for me to believe that I got so lucky to get selected. Sometime ago, I was saving for a new monitor/tablet, and with this fund it's definitely a dream come true! But recently something had happened to my family, so I'm hoping the fund can somehow help out a bit. It's definitely a big help and relief for both my family and me. I wholeheartedly want to say THANK YOU, Artist Ally, again, and it will never be enough.

May more artists get support from the program, and more love and support from clients and art lovers to help us grow, improve, and have more opportunities to create more amazing artworks!

Again and again, thank you, thank YOU, THANK YOU!

For a long time, I felt alone in my struggles and I have always found it hard to ask for help. Especially as an artist struggling financially, I was afraid of losing my spark and having to give up my creative dreams. I was nervous while applying, to say the least, because it felt like a huge step. But I’m glad that I did it and that I was encouraged to.

Receiving the grant lifted a huge weight off my shoulders that I didn’t know got that heavy. I couldn’t contain my tears when I finally felt that sense of relief I hadn’t known for a while. That’s why it was such a big deal to me to have experienced and witnessed the immense support and passion from other artists and art enjoyers. It inspired me even more to continue being a creative and pursuing what I love most.

There’s so much I want to thank Artist Ally for that it feels near impossible to put all my positive feelings into words. Every bit of donation and support coming from people of all parts of the world is a huge reminder of the love that circulates in our lifetime. Thank you for the loving community that art has built for us. I believe with Artist Ally, we can help many more artists in their growth and improvement of both their art journeys and their lives.

Thank you, Artist Ally, for the difference you have made and for the hearts you have touched. I hope this encourages more artists to keep going and to keep their spark shining bright!

💌 Paid for groceries and rent.
🌟 For the first time I didn't have to stress about affording groceries and rent that month, so I was able to focus on my school work and internship applications and got an internship from that! I'm not sure if I would've had the bandwidth to achieve that otherwise.

Thank you so much for setting up this sort of support for artists, it really means the world. And to other artist out there, don't be scared to apply to things! the worst they can say truly is just no!

💌 The grant helped me set up a cupsleeve event/art market, and is currently helping me jumpstart a short film!
🌟 I am able to take the time to work on my film without as much monetary pressure.

Thank you Artist Ally for all that you do for artists around the world. It's so wonderful to see the effects of your work that change artist's lives even if in little ways. Your grant helped me gain so much confidence and build connections with my community! I hope you tune can into my short film when it finally comes out!

💌 Helped pay for groceries and prescription medicine.
🌟 I was able to have less financial stress for a couple weeks.

I want to thank Artist Ally for choosing me for the survival grant. Although I wasn’t able to use the money for my original purpose, I was able to keep my belly fed and get the medicine I needed because of the grant. What you guys do is admirable and I am truly grateful. Thank you so much!

💌 Bought a new drawing tablet to work on portfolio.
🌟 Completed my Kidlit Illustration portfolio and was offered my first position working on a book!

Thank you so much Artist Ally! With the Survival Pack, I've been able to afford a replacement for my broken drawing tablet, letting me finally finish my portfolio and helping me land my first Kidlit Illustration job! I'd hugely encourage other artists to put themselves forward, the Artist Ally team are friendly and kind and I'm so grateful for their support!

💌 Paid for the travel expenses and merch production for the Philippine International Comics Festival (PICOF)
🌟 It was my first comic festival and was able to sell out the first batch of my new comic, The Maiden of the Forest

Getting the opportunity to be in spaces like these is really important to me, especially as a budding comic creator. The experiences, lessons, and connections that I got out of this event is truly priceless! Thank you so much Artist Ally for helping me take my first baby steps as a comic creator and for taking a chance on supporting smaller artists like me <3

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💌 Paid for tent rental for first market and helped with print production.
🌟 I completed my first ever art market and got to share it together with my dad and his art.

Thank you Artist Ally for this funding! This support helped me create my first ever art market stall & inventory that I can showcase my art at local events. Also, thanks to this funding, I could share the support with my father bringing him and his arts to market together.

💌 Paid for website subscription and covered cost of prints to sell in local shops.
🌟 I was able to update my portfolio and apply to an artist residency.

Huge thanks to Artist Ally for providing support to artists like myself! We all need help pursuing our dreams sometimes, and grants like these can offer the extra boost we need to keep going.

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💌 Paid for parts of my rent and groceries.
🌟 Having some financial responsibilities taken care of helped me focus more on creating & building my career!

Artist Ally's community has quickly become one of my favorites to be a part of! Artist Ally's commitment to platforming & supporting talented creators is apparent in their kindness and encouragement behind the scenes. I would highly recommend artists to apply for any of these grants because I am so glad they took a chance on me-- a little help really does go a long way! Lots & lots of love to all the artists out there who are getting through a tough patch right now, you can make it through! Keep creating!!! :)

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