After much thought, I’m announcing that I’ve finally launched a Patreon page to support my AI work and also provide a 'cheaper' way to get all my early access models than pay for each individually on CivitAI. The recent release of Flux was the tipping point in making this decision, as it's become clear that this is a necessary step to sustain and grow this project. Creating checkpoints is central to what I do, but it requires significant time and financial investment. With Flux, this process is even more demanding—about 3-4 times more costly and time-consuming compared to previous models like SDXL.
In today’s landscape, many creators, including myself, face the unfortunate reality of not receiving fair compensation for our work. Platforms often exploit content, and some creators have merged my models with others (without asking me), placing them on the same level as fully trained models, which undervalues the time and resources that go into proper training.
The challenges have only intensified with Flux. Without a commercial license, I can’t monetize fine-tuned Flux checkpoints like I could with SDXL, which helped me cover costs without needing donations. But for now, that option is off the table (I'll see what I can work out with BFL), and I find myself needing to seek your support to continue this work.
Currently, I’m putting the finishing touches on what might be the final updates to two of my SDXL checkpoints while also exploring training settings for Flux finetunes. I’m also excited to be working on a range of new LoRAs for Flux, including some of my well-known SDXL LoRAs and a new project involving LoRAs for card games, which could open up possibilities for creating custom cards and unique gameplay experiences.
Your support on Patreon will be instrumental in keeping these projects alive. It will allow me to continue developing and releasing high-quality resources while also contributing to the broader open-source AI community.
Thank you for your continued support! If you have any suggestions for additional benefits to offer supporter tiers, I’d love to hear them.