For years, artists have been requesting the ability to post more than a single image on their Patreon posts. That day has finally come. From Patreon’s blog:

Introducing Image Galleries in posts. Now, whether you’re a visual artist sharing a series of illustrations, or a podcaster sharing photos from a recent event, you can upload as many images as you like to a post, creating a beautiful image gallery with an intuitive viewing experience for your patrons.

Announcing Image Galleries, Patreon blog

According to the site: “When your patrons click on a thumbnail, it will expand into a full-sized light box, displaying your image in vivid detail. Plus, with the arrow button or their keyboard, your patrons will be able to click through the images, and see the rest of your works.”

That’s great news. But it has potential far beyond simply uploading multiple images. Here’s your chance to get ahead of the curve in what you’re offering Patreon backers.

Optimize the comics-reading experience for mobile users

Certainly, this new feature will be good for posting several different images for backers. But it has a second use that is far more practical — especially as the consumption of content veers increasingly towards mobile screens. You can now post your comic in a panel-by-panel format that improves the reading experience on small screens.

If you’re following the Multi-Channel Publishing strategy shared here previously, you’re already prepping your comic in this format for sharing on sites like Instagram and Webtoons. (If not, you now have an additional reason to consider it.

Using these individual panels to post your comic to Patreon backers would give those backers using mobile devises a vastly improved reading experience. Truthfully, you could easily have the best of both worlds. The primary image could be the full, multi-panel comic. This would satisfy overall display aesthetics and the concerns of desktop users. The subsequent images would then be that same comic, divided into a panel-by-panel display.

Better still, you can bulk-upload several images at once with a simple drag-and-drop function. And you can change the sequence of display by dragging an image into its proper position. So, for example, if your panels uploaded as A-C-B, you can click on “C” and drag it into its proper placement after “B.”

Here’s a look at the results, from the screen of my iPhone…

If you’re not sure how many of your Patreon backers are using mobile devices to access your content, this is a great excuse to do a Patreon poll and ask them!