Pikajane/Princess Etch loredump - 3 year anniversary edition

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I know I brazenly referenced the evil icky TikTok in this video but it's relevant to the story! Once upon a time I taped a big ol CVS-length thermometer to my wall and decided that any revenue I'd earn on TikTok LIVE would go toward the remaining balance of my student debt. I figured it was as good a time as any for that goal because my federal loans were on pause. I had at that time recently rearranged my office which meant there was prime real estate available for the gigundo thermometer, so I threw a video on the internet and expected the journey to take well over a year. What I was not expecting was that the fickle gods of virality would smile down upon me from their algorithmic clouds and bestow the video upon the FYPs of millions of kind souls. The journey began 3-31-22, and ended 3 years ago today - 4/29/22.

Since then I created additional streaming thermometers to pay for the computer I'm currently typing from, and the phone for which I filmed all this footage. I received countless hate comments that initially told me what a stupid idea it was, but then when the idea took off the hate comments turned into 20 different iterations of "get a job". I'm grateful to say that I have been a full-time professional Etch A Sketch artist for the last 8+ years - going on 9 this June. It's been a lot of peaks and valleys as freelance tends to be. This video is arguably one of my highest peaks, and one of the brightest jewels in my proverbial crown.

Thanks a bunch for reading/watching if you got this far. If you'd like to learn more, here's an interview that shares more about the journey!

https://www.cnbc.com/2022/07/28/etch-a-sketch-artist-on-tiktok-jane-labowitch-paid-off-13k-in-student-loans.html

Stay tuned for the next episode of the Etch A Sketch color of the day. There might be a bit of a break before the next episode, but in the meantime I hope you enjoyed this pitstop down memory lane.

As a final note, if you'd like to support more of my silly videos, I recently launched a new web shop which contains a boatload of Etch A Sketch art! You can check it out here:

https://princessetch.bigcartel.com/

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etchasketch

thotterpop

Awesome, and congrats! I love seeing your posts, but this one is especially heartwarming.

1 year ago |

lildude52ca

Good for her !

zafner

Couldn't have happened to a more creative, deserving, and fun creator of silly internet videos. Good for you and thanks for making the world a brighter place. So many dark stories right now, it's delightful to see a bright one

FascisTyrant

This gal has the most flamboyant and wonderful sense of fashion. Absolutely love her outfits.

rbudrick

Obligatory, cuz pikajane is the best.

TheSharpieOne

Do the math and they made more than the 13k she got. People sent around $36k worth of roses/items and she only got $13k. Tiktok made $23k

The math was a bit different in 2022 but you're not wrong. Back in 2022 if people bought coins (the TikTok stream currency) through the website, I received 50% of the cut. If you purchased coins directly through the app, there is a 30% surcharge on top for the buyer. I'll never know how many people paid the in-app surcharge, so the amount of money spent overall is somewhere theoretically between 26k and on the highest end ~$34k. Likely closer to 26 bc my top supporters knew to buy on the site

Kevinbfree

Congratulations!!! I hope you keep your chosen profession for as long as it makes you happy, which, btw has brought me considerable happiness to follow. 😘

I love that you framed your comment in a way that puts my happiness into consideration. It's really thoughtful! I've always told myself that I'd keep doing this as long as it was fun for me. I don't know if this is my life's calling for the rest of my life, but I do know that Princess Etch will always have some type of presence in my life and even if Etch A Sketch takes a back seat for my career it will always be important to me.

DropDrop

I don't know, seems pretty sketchy... I'm the first to ever make this joke because I'm so clever

Kadiemus

Every time I read post of yours, my day gets a bit brighter, and my hope a bit more plentiful. Thank you for being such a great inspiration and for all you do!

Can I just say how enjoyable the dialogue has been in the comments? This is honestly one of my favorite things about Imgur. I always have really quality discussion about a variety of topics in the comments, and it's especially engaging to discuss a topic like this for which I feel a lot of passion!

MCroft07

That's awesome, so glad that you were able to do what you love for a living and pay off your debt in a creative way!!

angryparrot1980

You glossed over how you took your student loan debt from $53k to $13k which i thought was really impressive. Great job!

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Thank you! I had a moderately longer version of this video which briefly mentioned the other 40k (+ interest) but you're totally right. For 9 years I grinded away at the main chunk of the debt, often putting away $750+/mo while I lived in a shoebox apartment that I shared with a roommate for $300/mo back in the day. I'm glad my scrappier days are behind me haha. So grateful I lived in Chicago where I didn't need a car - it helped A LOT in tackling the bulk of the debt early on!

MantisTobagganMD

$300/month in CHICAGO?! It really just have been a shoebox!

This woulda been back in 2013. It was a STEAL though. Albany Park, 2 bedroom, the ceiling was coming in on both sides so it was kinda like living in a triangular prism lol. Was everything I needed it to be during a very frugal chapter of my life. The craigslist gods really blessed me with that one!

nintendolunchbox

Seeing your college went defunked, do the people who still owed them money still have to pay it off ?

excellent question - I received a fair amount of loan forgiveness paperwork after the college went out of business, but it was only for then-current students. I know they were working with Columbia College of Art & Design in Chicago to transfer students over which helped those who wanted to continue their educational journey without retaking courses. Overall the news was definitely a bummer tho. I miss my alma mater :(

Redser

Well done. Excuse my ignorance but does a rose relate to asum of money donated?

Yes! I didn't do the best job of explaining it. A rose on TikTok LIVE represents the lowest amount of currency one can donate on-stream. Back in 2022 a streamer would receive 1/2 a US penny for every gifted rose

Thanks for explaining

harmsebamse

I allways upvote etch... Umh.. I mean. Roses!
RoseO'meter rose fast!

Smayds

That's amazing, well done OP! I don't use Tik Tok so can anybody explain roses to me? I thought briefly that wherever you live, expensive pretty flowers could be had for half a cent each...

Hah, understandable confusion! A rose is the simplest default donation you can send to a streamer on the platform. The recipient receives the equivalent of one half of a US penny for each rose donated. TikTok doesn't allow for direct cash donations - those who desire to support streamers donate via converting their local currency into "coins" which you can spend by selecting a gift which has a monetary value. Hope this helps!

Thanks, that does help! And well done once again, you have honed an amazing talent.

wadatahmydamie

Thank you for disregarding the haters

I refuse to believe there are pikajane haters. Not possible.

Poppypoppoppop

The more jealous people are the more you are proving to be doing something uniquely incredible. I myself don't have the patience to etch a sketch, so what you are doing is amazing to me, and that it is followed by success is double amazing. And thanks for sharing your posts. "I fear not the man who has practiced 10,000 kicks once, but I fear the man who has practiced one kick 10,000 times." -Bruce Lee

Nightcaste

I want a gif of a middle finger being drawn on an etch-a-sketch so I can go talk to these haters

nachosyndicate

And yet Elon wants a bigger tax cut.

OhIfIMust

Carl99

Throw it you monster.

xj4low

I read an article about a few months back that covered how you paid your student loans off with the etch skills you learned as a child when you spent the summers at your grandmother's house. Nothing to do except draw with an etch-a-sketch.

You should be proud. Living debt free without school loan payments is a major life goal. I'll let you know if I ever accomplish it.

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I'm grateful that the article you read was memorable enough for you to recall it now! :) that warms my soul. Thank you - I'm very proud of the accomplishment and I'm so grateful to no longer be burdened by the debt I was so used to carrying. Wishing you the best on your debt payoff journey - please let me know when you cross the finish line too!

Will do. Have enough in savings and do it be would leave us tighter in these uncertain times. That and if I can get some direction on what the companies are doing, I'll be happy to go back to paying. Especially now since my current employer will contribute an additional $100/mo to things (another reason to not just go paying it off).

It i recall, the article went into you using twitch to live stream drawing then there was the custom commissions. Very impressive. Always happy to see you post.

I totally respect that - the value of having liquid funds at the ready in these (sigh) unprecedented times is definitely not to be trifled with. Sounds like you're on a wise financial path. Though I'm sure it's fun to fantasize about tackling it all in one fell swoop knowing you have the power to if you want! Happy for you that you're in a place to do so if you wanted to be cavalier haha

It's been years of working, then unemployed for 9 months then finding a better company. Mad props to my wife for putting up with me. Having no kids also helps. I wash hoping to replace an aging 2011 GMC with 170k+ miles next year but looks like that won't happen during this administration.

PedanticAsshat

Do whatever works, and don't listen to the hate. Get this bread!!!

imjustheretoholdyourhandwhenyoudie

Very cool! I love seeing your art and your posts and I appreciate you sharing this. The only thing I can think of that's better than an artist being supported by thousands of appreciative patrons is a world where such things are not necessary. Until then, I'm so happy you are able to create and share it with all of us.

I hear you there. I believe an article about my student loan journey was shared in the orphan crushing machine subreddit. I'm glad my story has a happy ending but also systemically understand that it's a bummer that it was even necessary.

That makes sense. I hope I didn't bring you down, I'm so glad to see you student loan-free and happy and making more art. I favorited your post so I can come back to see it when I'm getting discouraged about my projects ❤️

Aw thanks a bunch! I started this idea when I was in a low point - as a freelancer the 1st quarter is almost always my slowest season, so I deal with the post-holiday blues. This experience really helped me get past the rough season and propelled me through the rest of the year. It reminded me that inspiration can still strike when we're at our low points. I hope inspiration strikes when you need it too!

As a fellow freelancer, thank you so much!

DaisyfromDownunder

There's nothing wrong with TikTok and this shows it. By the way Trump told TT that it had an extra 75 days to sell itself to one of his friends. That was 100 days ago, and China has told him to fuck off, again.

JPRiddles

There's a lot wrong with tiktok

That is why Trump wants to buy it. He wants a slice of its 1.8 billion turnover and so you have been conned.

bitemark

I think the worst thing I've heard about tiktok (aside from how much it's spyware) is that they take about 80% of any donations users make to other users

Just today I hosted a stream on TikTok LIVE for the first time in forever. When I ended the stream I was furious. I'm used to half of the diamonds (in-app stream currency) going to me. TikTok has changed that to instead give users an even smaller percentage of their cut (~35%). Users need to jump through additional hoops to be lucky enough to be qualified to earn back their rightful earnings that they used to get by default. I'm so furious about it that idk if I'll ever stream there again :(

That's Trump's tariffs for you.

samuelthastings5

That's nuts

Probably doesn't mean much but I appreciate it everytime you post

It means a lot, really. I sometimes wonder if I should share videos like this because it doesn't necessarily connect as well to my Etch A Sketch career - so truly, thank you for your comment.

SamSpayed

I'm glad you shared. I think posts like this very much connect to your EAS career, in that it demonstrates that it *is* a career (not just a quirky side gig or hobby) with real-world payoffs.

Awesome :) please don't hesitate to share!

MySpiritAnimalIsTheUnpopularOpinionPuffin

Many unjustifiably demonize TikTok. Your story is a common thing of how engaging, active and supportive the community is there. If people are seeing what they call undesirable on the platform, it's because of the content they engage with through the algorithm. It's basically them telling on themselves.

I'm not sure my career would still be afloat if it wasn't for the second wind TikTok provided for me when I lost all of my calendar bookings in 2020. That app is the reason I'm even comfortable in front of the camera! I'll save you all the awkwardness of my early videos haha

Einstein9073

that's a bit of a straw man, there, friendo.
People - users of tiktok - are generally good and kind people, like most people everywhere.

The management and owners of TikTok continue to make decisions (largely motivated by money) to the detriment of ticktock creators and users, and so many people decry the app.

I'm simply commenting on the typical engagement people tend to give when providing their opinion about the app saying it's "cringe" and "full of little kids". As for the monetary decisions, is it much different than any other social media app aside from it not being directly influenced by American politics?

I think I understand what you were getting at. I feel like on Reddit especially there has historically been a very surface-level stigma against TikTok that I do agree is summed up rather simply by "it's just girls in bikinis dancing". While that stigma has certainly decayed over time, I still find the sentiment shared.

I agree with Einstein that the managerial decisions made by TikTok have been ultimately to the detriment of the community. idk if my Roseometer is possible on TikTok today :(

I know Facebook also prioritizes content delivery in a harmful way (things that make you angry boost engagement which makes Facebook more money) and I consequently speak out against Facebook whenever the subject comes up. (I still USE it, because extended family, but 😠)

I don't think pre-Elon twitter or Bluesky do. Imgur is "flexible" about the conditions to end up in Most Viral, but despite volumes of questionable or downright bad-faith moderation I don't think they promote bad content.

As seen by the downvotes. People hate any positive talk about TikTok with absolutely nothing constructive to add to the conversation besides "TikTok Bad".

what more do you think needs to be said? tiktok bad, because (reason list) and consequently no one should use it.

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