i knew a guy who was one of the first digital artists to do patreons, before that he streamed on twitch and had a paypal donation button in his profile

he was easily one of the better artists streaming at any time, but i was still surprised how fast his bills got paid when just a few people started signing up to his subscriptions

when you think about it lump sums, living off your savings seems difficult, but when you can thrive off a monthly amount, the calculus becomes much more do-able (but you have to maintain your audience)