artists_beware | Shizuki

I hesistate to post this, because I do think this person is very nice and does wonderful art, but I'm feeling slightly frustrated and want to save others from experiencing the same.

I commissioned Shizuki back in December for a colored chibi. At the time, I'll admit, I hadn't paid much attention to her previous journal and I merely skimmed her FAQ. Because of this, I understand the current situation is my own fault. I hadn't taken notice of the fact that a) she didn't issue refunds and b) the type of commission I purchased offered no deadline.

A few weeks after I paid her for a commission, she posted a journal lamenting her backlog, at which point I learned some people had been waiting over a year for commissions from her. This worried me, but I decided to just give her the benefit of the doubt and kept quiet. A month or so afterwards I came upon other people's complaints about her wait time. During this time, she continued to take in more commissions, in spite of making it clear she was overwhelmed by the backlog she already had.

I decided to try and write a polite note asking if the commission would be done by the end of January (as it was suggested to me by an accquaintance of hers that giving her deadlines helped), and if not if it was possible to ask for a refund. I was pointed to her FAQ and reminded of the previously mentioned 'no refunds' and 'no deadlines' rules. As I stated previously I take full responsibility for this, and that is not the reason for this post.

Just today, I noticed she posted on

teenycom offering icon commissions, and I couldn't help but feel a little frustrated considering she has many times made it clear she knows she has too much on her plate.

So, I suppose this is a 'beware' in the sense of 'beware of being careless like me, and always CAREFULLY read an artist's FAQ before you commission them'. I'm now stuck in a situation where I have no idea how long it will take to get what I paid for, with no chance of a refund. I suppose it's also just a general heads up to those interested in the artist's work that you (as friends of hers aware of her backlog issue have advised me) make sure you're able to give her a deadline before you make your purchase.