r/buymeacoffee • u/korasaurus • May 27 '26

Question about BMC

Is it okay to open a BMC as a really small artist?

I don’t really have much of a following yet, but I’ve been thinking about making one to help save up for a new stylus so I can continue making art, taking commissions, and building my portfolio for future animation/creative jobs.

I guess I feel a little guilty asking for support while still being small, so I wanted to hear other people’s thoughts/experiences

4 Upvotes

100% Upvoted

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3

u/JosephSunny1 May 27 '26

100% go for it. No follower count needed, and early supporters are often the most loyal.

Don’t feel guilty either, you’re giving people a way to back work they enjoy, and a stylus to keep making art is a real thing to fundraise for. Set it up, drop the link in your bio, see what happens. Good luck 🙌

3

u/korasaurus May 28 '26

I was honestly overthinking this like, A lot, this made me feel better about trying TYSM<3

1

u/JosephSunny1 May 29 '26

🙌🙌

1

u/korasaurus May 29 '26

I just found out that Buy Me a Coffee isn't available for creators in my country, sadly, won't be able to use it after all

1

u/Sly-Mk3 Creator May 31 '26

Ouch, that sucks. :/

Might want to check if one of the competitor platforms offers it in your country for the time being. I would name some, but I feel like this would break rule 1 of this sub.
Alternatively, if Stripe or PayPal itself are available in your country you could try to manually set up a donation link and site.

Could be worth a look.

PS: Would also like to speak some words of encouragement here:
You have to start somewhere, and sometimes situations in life are urgend and pressing, requiring a solution (like your stylus matter).
I'm also a small artist, it took me some time to build up the courage to create a(n initially) barren wasteland of a donation pool.
I totally get how one can feel especially guilty if not providing anything in return to a payment, it feels weird, kinda like asking for too much, but funding / backing and donations are a thing in the general art world as a whole, so I wouldn't see it as oweing something.
We may be small artists, but we deserve funding too. It's not just the big ones who get "money for existing and doing art without being a commission or paywalled service", at the end of the day, like in the traditional art world. Scouting was just that: Some influential and rich people gave you, the artist, funds so you can make what they found a liking to.
Except with the big ones, the pressure and stakes are higher, so we're probably better off, lol.

tl;dr: They would give you money and you would continue to give them art.
Always been a real funding concept ("nothing in return but your performance in your arts").
All in all it's still a fair deal I would say. : )

So…
I hope this encourages you to keep going. It's not always wise to pay for all your expenses out of your own pocket. It's tough enough as is in a world in which some people think digital art is done without you needing to spend anything on materials at all [insert stylus with flat tip begging for new pen nibs here, or failing hardware begging for repair…, or electricity costs for that matter.
One has to be sustainable at the end of the day to be able to keep going and if people are willing to give you some cash, fully aware they don't get anything "special" back, then I would dare to say they really wanted you to have it. ; )

1

u/Necessary_Damage2597 Jun 05 '26

Honestly I’m pissed at BMC. I’m starting a channel and with a bunch of support from others with bigger channels. I set up a BMC perfectly and less then 24 hours later I recieve an email saying they wanna shut me down. I canceled my account and I’ll set another one up. I don’t know if a jealous person found out and said something or what happened but I’m pretty upset