Hello everyone.

[crocosaur.livejournal.com]

I am trying to hunt someone down so that they can give me something that I commissioned at MFF a little over two months ago.  I'm wondering if anyone knows or can give me the contact info for GM; if you were at MFF, he was at the table with the "Surrender the Booty" pirate flag draped in front of it.  I commissioned a badge from him...and I still haven't seen it or heard from him since.  I know...leave it to a raccoon to take my shinies and run! (j/k)

If anyone's seen him around or has heard from him, let me know!  I've moved out of one place and into another so I'll have to give him my new address on top of wondering WTF is taking him so long.  Hope someone can help me out...thanks! 

Comments

[alcyione.livejournal.com]

Some kind tips from a con artist (wow, that sounds totally wrong! XD), and this is directed at everyone who reads it:

First of all, if you're not going to pick your badge up at the con, please please PLEASE make sure you get their contact info, and that they have yours! This is vital and open communications ensure that months later, we don't have to make posts here!

Second - two months is not a long time to wait for a badge. When you have multiple orders, plus work and/or school (if applicable), a life in general, believe me, times run slow. We'd have them done right away if we could. :) Sometimes life just doesn't grant us that luxury.

The customer is not always to blame, but patience is a virtue!

[sunhawk.livejournal.com]

I think two months with no updates (or any communication) about a possible delay due to work/school/etc is a little too long, but that's just me.

The customer is not always to blame, but patience is a virtue!

Not always to blame, how... generous of you? I mean, I don't think the customer is always right but I think taking it to the other extreme isn't helpful either @_@

[alcyione.livejournal.com]

Good point - blame me being cranky after work. ^^;

I stand by what I meant, though. It's... rather panic inducing to accept commissions because furs mostly demand a quick turnaround time (even with proper communication), which can be difficult at times. Taking too long is the biggest complaint I see in the art community, along with lack of communication.

Some communication from the artist would be helpful in this particular situation. I honestly don't know anyone who gets commissions done quickly, though. However, it seems kind of silly and redundant to send the commissionee an email every week to let them know it still isn't done.

Something I think is very helpful (for the artist, at least) is to be up front with the commissioner, and let them know that they are busy/plate is full/long waiting list/whatever, and state in their terms of service what the usual waiting period is.

I hope that Croco gets their badge soon. It would help if we could know who "GM" is. *nod nod*

[spiffystuff.livejournal.com]

Well "taking too long" is a nicer way of saying "they've taken my money and given me nothing in return so far". Of course it's the most common complaint! It's the most common problem in most business transactions!

[sunhawk.livejournal.com]

I wasn't saying that commissions can't take a long time, whatever the circumstances, or that updates need to be sent out every week but that it would go a long way (and generally DOES go a long way) for the artist to give their commissioners an update, even if it's a short "Hey just to let you know, there may be a delay of a week/2 weeks before I get to work on your commission" because I think a lot of people complain when they feel they have no idea when their commission will be done and start to get the feeling the artist has taken their money and run, so to speak. And unfortunately, there ARE artists who, purposely or accidentally, do this with their customers, so I don't think the complain is unrealistic or invalid.

And I personally have seen a number of artists start commissions at the start of a con and finish those commissions before the end of the con, so everyone's milage may vary about how long art takes.

[alcyione.livejournal.com]

S'all good. :) I get it now. XD Sorry, I can be kind of dense. I wonder what people think of artists who take a long time, but don't accept the money until the art is done? Or artists who offer discounts because of long waits?
I guess this sort of thing really does depend on the person.

[sunhawk.livejournal.com]

I generally think that it's better to try to eliminate the delay rather than try to mitigate it by making it more palatable, especially since doing things like not taking payment until the art is done can lead to situations where the artist is ripped off. The common method of accepting half payment before and half after is to prevent artists from not being paid for their time and materials. Some delays are hard to avoid but if an artist is finding themselves regularly behind commissions due to their life, they either gotta re-prioritize their life or maybe think about not making art professionally. Because you gotta act like a professional to be one and that means getting stuff done on time.

[auradeva.livejournal.com]

It's perfectly natural not to contact someone if you don't know their contact info. I can't tell you the number of sketchbooks I've gotten with NOTHING in them. I have it posted on my sales sign now that name, address, and phone number must be in the sketchbook. I try to write it in a note book for badges but things can get confusing after you get a dozen or so orders.

[saitenyo.livejournal.com]

I have to admit I was a bit baffled by this comment. If the turnaround times furs demand on commissions is panic-inducing, then how in the world do any artists survive the serious freelance illustration industry?

I've found the furry community to be excessively lenient in terms of turnaround time. Two months for a badge without any updates -is- a bit of a wait and somewhat unprofessional in my opinion. Any non-fur client would doubtlessly never stand for that so I'm rather surprised at how many people expect clients to stand for it in the furry community.

This is actually a running pet peeve of mine. As an artist, I obviously do not mind the leniency of furry commissioners since more time to complete a project is always welcome, but I often get frustrated when I see artists in the furry community expecting clients to be easy-going about less-than-professional business practices and ridiculous wait times and then getting annoyed when they're not.

If artists in this community want to be taken more seriously and improve their reputation, then they need to get better about wait times or at least about communicating with their clients. A waitlist with a full commission plate after a con is understandable, but they should at least give the commissioner a timeframe upfront and then keep them updated if that timeframe changes.

[lilenth.livejournal.com]

2 months is kind of long for a badge unless it's a super detailed, ultra researched one. I'm working on one that taken two months both research and in developing techniques to get it to look right. Standard con badge though shouldn't take more than a few days.

[crocosaur.livejournal.com]

I don't know...do you have a link to his stuff?

BTW: if you're the artist of the same name as the one on FA, then you kick ass!

[theredwolf.livejournal.com]

God I'm a loser. I read that and was like "Wait, there was a GM at a furry con? SWEET."

Yep. Going to hell. or, atleast black temple.