It’s not every day that a webcomic makes a legitimate attempt to go solo. Five years ago we could probably name, off the top of our head, every single webcomic that fully supported their creators. In this day and age that has changed drastically with the number pushing past the 40 mark. For this to happen there are usually three paths to take: advertising, merchandising, and donations. That would be in the order of most common use. Believe it or not most artists start their careers with a donation drive. They get to a point where their committed and number of fans exceeds their spare time and they lay it all on the line with a donation drive.

That’s where Patrick Farley steps in. The creator of Electric Sheep is making his second attempt at webcomics as a full time job. Here’s how he puts it:

This is it, my friends. Like the dog from the Roman poem, I’ve been going around in circles, licking one bone then the other, for long enough. Today, the Equinox of 2010, it’s time for me to exercise my freedom of choice and make the fateful decision once and for all:

Is Electric Sheep going to linger on as my B-game, spare-time, side-project “hobby?” — or am I going to devote myself to it FULL TIME and make it my career, my A-game, my FLOW?

Hint: I would like the answer to be Number 2 🙂

This time around he’s using a tool that’s been popping up more and more. Kickstarter is an online fund-raising platform, focusing on creative projects, which operates on an “all-or-nothing” basis; funds are collected only if the fund-raising goal is met. If and when Farley makes his $6000 goal that will mean there is a sufficient demand for Electric Sheep Comix that Patrick can very likely parlay it into a full-time, self-sustaining career. It will mean Electric Sheep has enough fans to include it among the  Webcomics Professional Elite.