Nothing super major to report, I'm mostly only here to share the first promised video! I already had these on order before the campaign wrapped up since they aren't exclusives (...
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October
3 days ago
A new week!
Hope everyone's monday is going ok! I'm making this update for a couple of reasons. One is because I take weekends off and don't think I've mentioned this.
If you try getting a...
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October
7 days ago
And that's a wrap!
After a half hour of overtime on the Backerkit train the campaign finally ended last night, and now the real journey begins! I needed to give my poor heart a rest after the roll...
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October
8 days ago
JUMBO TERRA UNLOCKED!!!
HOLY. THAT'S. THAT'S ALL OF THEM, THAT'S ALL THE DESIGNS. OH MY GOD.
ALL 10 DRAGONS ARE NOW AVAILABLE IN BOTH SIZES!
I honestly didn't think we'd unlock ANY jumbo tiers, let a...
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October
8 days ago
JUMBO ECLIPSE UNLOCKED!!
You know what that means! There's only ONE MORE unproduced design to unlock, jumbo Terra! If we can unlock her the whole set will be available to everyone! We've got just 7 hour...
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October
9 days ago
FINAL 12 HOURS! Marathon stream+!
Sand is slipping through the hour glass bit by bit! Melissa Belladonna is busting tail running a Last 12 Hour Marathon Stream! Consider joining in the fun and stopping by, and i...
Nothing super major to report, I'm mostly only here to share the first promised video! I already had these on order before the campaign wrapped up since they aren't exclusives (though they do have a lower price for backers.) They turned out really beautiful and work exactly as intended, I am excited to have them!
I'd embed it but it doesn't seem to be working from my tablet at the moment, sorry about that. There's a couple other goodies at the end for anyone who is interested in my other projects, but it is brief.
Also, the final prototypes arrived!
Some of you may have noticed a disclaimer about wings with no wires on the photos of Terra, Eclipse, and Aurora. The edited prototypes finally arrived! They did get all mushed out of shape by being stuffed in to a very full box (I got a lot of individual plush at once oops) but these new photos show the most important part: their wings now stand up like the Comet and Nova prototypes!
I've been dealing with some tax related garbage (my state is making it very difficult to pay the $0.00 balance I owe them, sigh) so no update on the sticker art yet, but I probably won't share that until they're done anyhow.
Hope everyone's monday is going ok! I'm making this update for a couple of reasons. One is because I take weekends off and don't think I've mentioned this.
If you try getting ahold of me on Friday evening through to Monday morning I am unlikely to respond quickly, because thems the weekend hours. Please don't be upset, I'm not ignoring you! Just consider it being like pulling up to a shop but it's locked and the open sign is off, not like someone turning their back to you.
A round up of changes to the things I mentioned in the last update:
I filmed the stuffing tutorial and just need to edit it! I will go over all the tips I have for stuffing every dragon, but the one that will be in the video is just Comet.
This week I plan to start working on the freebie stickers Dark Horned King and White Flame Goddess as a main task. I should have finished art to share soon.
Funding is being actively collected bit by bit. We've come up pretty short so far, so please update your card if your charge failed! You have until the 22nd to do it before surveys start, otherwise you will have to fix it on your survey. Pledges for surveys that are not turned in by the still to be determined survey deadline will be forfeit.
On the subject of money, my account's backerkit deposits are currently paused for renewed bank account verification. I've encountered a document upload error I am having to fix manually with staff. It might not be unpaused until next week if I have to make a trip to the bank for physical documents, since I can only go on the weekend. This technically doesn't have any consequence for backers, I just want to be fully transparent with everyone about where the money is at all times, and right now that is Backerkit's pocket :)
Sticker and keychain orders are on hold. I decided to order them after the survey period closes so I have a more exact number. I do have manufacturers picked out and good to go so it is just a matter of waiting.
And finally, the fixed Terra, Eclipse and Aurora prototypes are in! I haven't gotten to photograph them yet but they are here and have the wing wires that the final products will have. I will share photos in an update soon!
HOLY. THAT'S. THAT'S ALL OF THEM, THAT'S ALL THE DESIGNS. OH MY GOD.
ALL 10 DRAGONS ARE NOW AVAILABLE IN BOTH SIZES!
I honestly didn't think we'd unlock ANY jumbo tiers, let alone getting all of them available!!! I honestly about passed out I let out such a wheeze. THANK YOU ALL. I keep saying it but really, truly, THANK YOU. The nest is fully hatched!!
NOW YOU TOO CAN SIT WITH A PYRAMID OF DRAGONS IN A CHICKEN MASK! If you want.
There are going to be a lot of updates coming as we get started on this journey at long last. For now the window is closing to guarantee your plush at the campaign exclusive price! This also means the additional freebie sticker is gonna go out to everyone too!
After a half hour of overtime on the Backerkit train the campaign finally ended last night, and now the real journey begins! I needed to give my poor heart a rest after the rollercoaster that was the 8th so sorry to just now be updating. Once again, thank you SO MUCH!! Now that the campaign is done I will have a lot less to update about, but I don't want anyone to feel out of the loop. For the update process I will be doing full break downs of the immediate steps at each major milestone (completion of said steps) and will otherwise be sharing more minor updates whenever they happen.
There is a lot of work ahead! Here's the immediate next steps!
Card charges start now! If your payment fails, there will be a second attempt in a week, and another in 2 weeks. Please make sure you have a proper card on file by then or you will lose your campaign discounts!
I won't receive the payment before a week has gone by. However as soon as I get access to the funds I will be ordering our 8 safety tests to get it underway and make sure we can go to production as soon as possible!
While we're waiting for funds to be released I will be doing the art for the 2 bonus freebie stickers. Dark horned king won last second by a single vote so that design will go to everyone who pledged before standard size Terra was unlocked! White flame goddess will therefore be a freebie for EVERY BACKER! Expect to see updates here!
While safety testing is going on I will also be ordering other rewards: stickers, keychains, scent sachet materials, and voice boxes.
I will be reaching out to custom dragon backers via survey! Your survey questions will have brief instructions to follow.
Once safety tests for all the plush are completed we will be moving on to manufacturing! The goal is to get that underway by July ideally.
The rest is all officially down the line enough that I won't bore you with it, but once we have reached the manufacturing stage expect another break-down update for the manufacturing + overseas shipment. After that we'll be breaking down fulfillment. At current October 2024 is still holding as a good estimate for pledge fulfillment. We will re-evaluate this at every break-down! Other updates you can expect in the near future:
A jumbo stuffing tutorial video! I've learned a couple of tricks handling as many of these dragons as I have, so I will be sharing them to try and make sure you all have an easy time dealing with your unstuffed jumbos.
Reward unboxings! I will be sharing whenever items arrive. The first one is either going to be Guz stickers or the sticker books because I've already ordered those out of pocket. Keychains are likely to be the last non-plush unboxing due to production and shipping times.
Convention announcements! Once the plush are in production I will be opening pre-orders like I normally do, so the prototypes will be doing a little more traveling. I will not be announcing shows without the prototypes, though. For that you will want to check out our convention schedule.
Some smaller announcements:
Lairbrew is undergoing an update visually. Don't be alarmed if you see an icon you're not used to associated with it!
I do lots of projects without crowd funding and have been holding back on announcing a couple for the Backerkit to be finished. Consider following us elsewhere if you want to see more new stuff!
You know what that means! There's only ONE MORE unproduced design to unlock, jumbo Terra! If we can unlock her the whole set will be available to everyone! We've got just 7 hours to go... Think we can make it?? I sure hope so! Jumbo Terra has the most boopable snoot out of all the designs since her nostrils stick up a little more than the standard size. I hope her pretty grin will get to go to everyone!
Jumbo and Standard Terra
As stated in the last update, if we unlock the jumbo Terra there will be an additional freebie sticker for every backer!
Sand is slipping through the hour glass bit by bit! Melissa Belladonna is busting tail running a Last 12 Hour Marathon Stream! Consider joining in the fun and stopping by, and if you're new here take a look at these surprise perks she has generously offered!
If we manage to unlock both Eclipse & Terra I will throw in a free sticker for every backer since two of the thumbnails in the current vote have remained neck and neck. Get more dragons with your dragons!
I will attach the pole in case you haven't seen, but in this instance it would be the winner as a freebie to everyone who pledged before we unlocked standard Aurora, and the second free to everyone!! I'll even splurge and get some pretty effects going for them.
A big reminder that The Whole Nest backer level gets you ALL 10 DRAGONS REGARDLESS OF UNLOCK STATUS!
If you want to guarantee you will get all the dragons without paying skip-the-line prices you will only have until the end of the campaign to do so! Whole Nest packages will not be available as add-ons or in the pre-order store.
BEST OF LUCK EVERYONE!! Let's see what we are capable of!!
We have a day left and are about 2K from unlocking Eclipse! Thank you all yet again, I know I say it every update but I really am grateful and very excited to get this project underway.
All the plush!
There are some important things for all backers to think about at this time!
I am currently working on getting everything for the surveys ready! I will want to send them out ASAP so I can get final order numbers. Please be ready to keep an eye on your associated email!
Cards will be charged at the end of the campaign! Make sure you have a viable payment type on file! You will have a window post-campaign to update in case of payment failure, but it isn't indefinite.
Campaign exclusive designs will be available as add-ons but will NOT be in the pre-order store! This means if you want them you have to back a level with shipped rewards before the campaign ends!
Considering ordering from Lairbrew but not in a hurry? Several of my completed items will be available to add to your rewards to let you combine shipping if you don't mind waiting til the whole order is good to go
Did you get a skip the line standard Terra, Eclipse, Aurora, or a skip the line jumbo Aurora? Make sure you switch from the skip the line add on to the regular price now that they're unlocked before the campaign ends!
Consider following me as a creator here on Backerkit if you want more plush! I plan to do another similar campaign around this time next year, and may have a much smaller project inbetween!
We're running out of time, but with a hard push we could unlock Eclipse and Terra! I'm SO HAPPY I get to add Aurora to the jumbo lineup! She is now a part of the regular add-ons and the Skip the Line option has been taken down. Skip the Line is still available for Eclipse and Terra and will remain unless they are unlocked.
Officially stackable children!
There is one last custom available! Just so no one is caught off guard I do want to clarify! Customs will not be available as a post-campaign add-on. Once the campaign ends, any unhatched eggs will remain unclaimed. For anyone on the fence who wanted to know what the finished product is like: I got to photograph some newly completed customs today! Fans of Melissa will recognize at least one of these.
A silvered OC pal
A steely baby buddy
A lunar rocks friend
A reminder that the campaign ends May 8, 2024 at 8:00pm CDT!
We're so close to unlocking the Jumbo Aurora! I hope we get there, it would be awesome to have more than Comet and Nova to offer folks regularly!
The Freebie Sticker Poll is ending soon! This poll is for a free sticker given to everyone who's pledge helped unlock the 5 standard sizes! Surprisingly 2 options are neck and neck. One is my favorite which makes me happy, but I won't say which to avoid influencing anyone. If they somehow end up actually tied I think I will make both and let folks choose which they want! Maybe your vote will be the deciding one.
Thank you DemiCon attendees! If we met there, hi again! I hope your weekend was great! It was awesome to see so many people and talk with all of you. Our number of backers really climbed during the weekend and I'm willing to bet many of you are folks who stopped by because you saw the giant dragons from across the room. Thank you for your support!
Our booth at DemiCon!
Thanks to some icky experiences I don't think I'll be returning to DemiCon, (or 50%+ scifi cons in general) but if you go to other cons in the midwest (especially fantasy ones) I bet we'll meet again! I look forward to hearing about the adventures you have with your Comet & Friends plush.
A small heads up, DemiCon was my last show before the campaign ends. I likely won't have the prototypes at future shows!
Anyway, THANK YOU ALL yet again! If you have the chance considermsharing the campaign with your buddies, we just might unlock some jumbos!!
Even though we didn’t unlock the jumbo goals the project did unlock the standard plushes. I wanted to ask if and when you want to do another campaign if you intend to have different dragons?
Before the campaign ends I’d like to say I am amazed of how many pledges a project like this has gotten. As much as I’d like a whole pack of available jumbo dragons, I can only afford the current two Jumbos. Mostly cause I want a voice box and scents, unless the standards are big enough to have a voice box jammed into it
As thanks for helping unlock all 5 dragons, I want to give everyone who pledged before Aurora was unlocked a free sticker! It will also become available as an add-on in case someone wants extras or pledged after Aurora was unlocked, and leftovers will go in my shop. Since this is just for backers, the votes will be backers only, sorry for others peeking in.
These are not in the style of Comet & Friends but they are things that should be relevant to the interest! I wanted to make some stuff that was a liiittle less like what I've been drawing non-stop for several months now haha. I'd be happy to make any of these, so please pick the one you like the most!
Classic Fatboi (not chunky movie lad, the Before one)
Dark horned king (if you know him you know)
White flame Goddess (canon forgot this queen but I never will)
Cockatrice (Because chickens good, and dragons good, so why not both)
Zappy leg thing (Not impressive as a thumbnail but I can play w/sticker effects)
The thumbnails. I'm a messy sketcher, sorry 'bout that!
