Chapter 3: Production Costs Are Insufficient

“Not good…”

Okay.

‘It wasn’t like I started uploading illustrations and receiving commission requests on October 1st sharp, so if I assume my monthly income is roughly 1.5 million won…

The maximum amount of revenue I can collect in three months is 4.5 million won.

No, even that isn’t guaranteed income.

Most of my revenue came from commissions, and the membership revenue, which was supposed to be my main source of income, barely reached 500,000 won.’

“I did manage to get over 50 supporters in November, but…”

‘So, if you ask me if it’s possible to increase these supporters to almost 500 within the month of November…’

Honestly, I have to tilt my head in doubt.

Having 50 supporters in early November is too slow of a growth rate, and on Pixiv, I’m not getting any help from the algorithm, so the views on my illustrations are lukewarm.

And if you ask me if it’s possible to make ten million won with just commission revenue, that’s not very hopeful either.

‘Should I say that the timing is bad?’

“In 2019, it’s not like web novel authors were scrambling to commission illustrations.”

The peak boom of the domestic illustration industry, at least as I remember it, was right after the birth of Novelpia in 2021.

That was when authors were throwing money around to get illustration commissions, and about two years after that, AI illustrations gradually became more widespread, and the revenue of web novel-specialized commission artists also took a downturn…

“The 800,000 won in commission revenue I made this month is more likely to decrease than increase.

The boom in the market is coming, but I can’t enjoy it because of the time limit that the status window has given me, and the popularity I have steadily built up is useless in 2019.”

In the first place, commission revenue is very volatile, so I can’t rely on it, and on the membership side, the growth is too slow.

‘What if I check my revenue at the end of November and I’ve only made about 1.5 million won?’

I need to make 7 million won in a month, and even for me, it’s not easy to increase my revenue almost fivefold in a month.

Moreover, my opponent is the furry status window that killed a perfectly healthy twenty-two-year-old man and turned him into a woman.

If I have a naive thought like, ‘It’ll all work out somehow~’, I will lose my human dignity and fall into becoming a furry…

“If it’s like this, the best option is to increase my sources of income…

Get a job as an illustrator at a game company?”

‘It’s not easy.

There are hardly any cases where a new hire is given a starting salary of 4 million won, and in the first place, minors are cut off from the documents.’

‘Then should I join an indie game team?

No, that’s not easy either.

There are occasionally thirsty men who are crazy about women, so if I’m lucky, I might be able to join as a team member, but the most important thing, profitability, is unknown.’

“At my level, it seems like I’ll have to go out and do legwork…”

Then the only option left is one.

“Legwork.”

That is, attend a doujin event.

Seoul Cos & Comic Festival.

The event that is commonly called ‘Seope’.

It just so happens that today is November 1st, so if I’m lucky, I might be able to participate in the November event…

“Tsk…”

“The timing is a little off.”

“It’s closed?”

“The booth application for the November Seope is already closed.”

If this is the case, the strategy of building up recognition at the November Seope and then exploding it at the December Seope is impossible.

I have to burn everything at the December event…

“First, let’s order acrylic stands, desk mats, and wall scrolls.
I have to get the designs done before November 10th at the latest…”

“First, I will make the goods that are the least divisive.

Starting with the goods called the Three Treasures.”

Looking back, the status window told me to make ‘revenue’, not ‘net profit’.

That means it’s no problem to use high-quality materials without worrying about production costs.

“I am not selling to make money, but to avoid becoming a furry.”

“I will be able to invest a lot of production costs compared to other booths, and that will become my selling point.”

“Otaku have a lot of money now as they did then, and they want high-quality goods that will satisfy them.”

‘Targeting the needs of consumers is a basic skill for illustrators of my level.’

‘With this, the general plan is complete, and now it is time for a more detailed plan.’

‘It’s time to make a decision about what character’s goods to make…’

“Girls’ Frontline…?”

There just so happened to be one thing that came to mind.

That game that was released in 2017.

Girls’ Frontline.

Also known as Sojeon.

In the 2020s, we’ve become used to academy games where girls with rings on their heads come out and shoot guns, or games where you admire asses shaking from the recoil of firearms in a vertical view.

But at the time of its release, the existence of Girls’ Frontline, a gun mode game that appeared like a comet, was shocking.

And I remember that its popularity was still going strong in the doujin market in 2019.

Moreover, Girls’ Frontline’s business model is relatively user-friendly, so the purchasing power of hardcore users who come to doujin events is truly overwhelming.

Since they have money left over to spend on the game, their purchasing power for goods naturally becomes stronger.

“Girls’ Frontline is perfect, is it HK416?

Wasn’t that blue-haired character really popular?”

After searching for a character named HK-M4, I recalled my memories, saying, “Ah, her.”

It’s a character that I’ve even drawn as commissions several times before.

“For the desk mat, it’s good to go with a bunny girl.

Like she’s lying on a poker table?

For the acrylic stands, I’ll give a set-like feeling with a kimono and hanbok.

Good, and I’ll make a swimsuit with a lot of exposure into a wall scroll good, and give the merit that it can be hidden usually…”

Certainly, since it’s a character I’ve drawn several times before, it feels like things are going smoothly.

I started humming and started sketching on the iPad, that I got permission to use from my parents, and began to draw illustrations to be used for goods that would strike the hearts of Girls’ Frontline users.

***

“Hmm…”

Recently, my mother, Yoon Suhee, noticed that her daughter’s lifestyle pattern had changed considerably.

It was already strange that I had said I would quit the art academy that I had been attending well last year, but recently, the frequency with which I go to bed late and wake up late has increased dramatically.

As a mother, Yoon Suhee was worried if some kind of change of heart had occurred in her teenage daughter.

“Is there a problem or something?”

“What problem?”

“No, Hayoon has been going to bed late and waking up late every day lately.
If that’s not a problem, then what is?
She’s a child who should be attending school…”

“Since it’s already decided where she’s going to high school, what’s the big deal if she’s a little neglectful of her middle school life?
Rather, isn’t this the only chance she has to do what she wants as long as it doesn’t harm her health?”

My father, Min Jungyun, looked at Yoon Suhee with eyes that said, ‘What’s the big deal?’

Min Jungyun is an impassive father, but he has a clear set of values when it comes to raising his children.

“It’s money.”

“The most important thing for living alone in this harsh world is money, and even if Min Jungyun and Yoon Suhee die young, they need money to move forward…”

“Our daughter was also accepted to a Meister High School, even if she only graduates from high school, game companies will line up to take her as an illustrator, right?
It’s okay to let her play around a little now.”

Currently, I have been accepted to a Meister High School, which has the highest employment rate right after high school graduation.

I, who was frantically living after becoming a woman, doesn’t even know which school ‘my female self’ applied to…

But my guardian, Min Jungyun, had already been informed of his daughter’s acceptance through a notification from the high school, and the entrance was confirmed.

“Your daughter isn’t as naive as you think.
How many kids are there who decide on a career path for sure since middle school?”

“That’s rare.”

“I also like that she gave up on entrance exam art that doesn’t make money.
The trend these days is illustration, illustration.
I looked into it, and they said these days, they’re desperate to find skilled illustrators.”

“Is that… so…”

Yoon Suhee tilted her head, saying that she didn’t understand at all, and then took out persimmons from the refrigerator and cut them into appropriate sizes.

She was thinking of giving me snacks because I didn’t eat much rice…

“Here, eat while you do it, sweetie.”

“I’m, leaving!”

“Sweetie?”

“Ah, I said I’ll take care of it myself, so go out!”

However, her daughter pushed Yoon Suhee away, showing an unusually nervous appearance recently.

“Huh…?”

Like that, Yoon Suhee, who was denied entry, blankly stared at the closed door.

“See?
I told you not to unnecessarily provoke her?
Your daughter also has her own privacy.”

“Is it puberty…”

Min Jungyun chuckled faintly, saying, ‘Why are you provoking a child who’s doing well on her own?’ and Yoon Suhee pouted her lips, looking upset.

“Bring it here, I’ll eat the persimmon.”

“Huu, okay.”

Still, it made her feel better to see her husband eat well.

***

“Huff, huff… That scared me…”

In fact, there was a reason why I reacted like that.

“I almost got caught…”

‘Because I was in the middle of drawing HK-M4’s swimsuit illustration.’

‘I was in the middle of adding shadows to the exposed, pussy area where the swimsuit bottoms were wedged in, to create an alluring feel, and Yoon Suhee came in at exactly that timing, so I had no choice but to freak out and send her out.’

“I’ll have to apologize later…”

‘It’s true that I was rude, so I was a filial daughter who was planning to apologize separately later…’

‘There were some twists and turns, but with this, the illustrations to be used for the Three Treasures of inexpensive goods that I originally planned, and wall scroll goods, were completed.

However, there is one minor problem…’

“Production costs…”

‘The money that I have in my grasp now is 1.5 million won, which is the money I have earned over the past month plus her allowance.’

‘It’s quite a lot of money for a middle schooler, but it’s woefully insufficient to mass-produce goods.’

‘If I order 50 acrylic stands and 50 desk mats, I will have no more production costs left.’

“I could just sell 50 of each, but even if I sell them all, I won’t even get 2.5 million won.”

“If I predict the membership revenue for November and December based on the October revenue, it’s completely absurd to think I can make ten million won by adding 2.5 million won.”

“And if I increase the price of the goods, the 15,000 won for acrylic stands and 30,000 won for desk mats feel like the ‘national standard price’s’ final limit…”

“Is that the only option…”

‘In the end, I, who decided that there was no suitable solution.’

I made a fixed nickname to use the forbidden method and headed straight to the Girls’ Frontline gallery.

If I don’t have production costs, I can get an advance payment.

That’s what’s also called crowdfunding in professional terms.