Gunmouth Aka Cownugget

[pingpong101.livejournal.com]

Edit 1: I have sent him messages through FA to inform him of this post.
Edit 2: He and I are talking it over. http://i.imgur.com/qbiLO7a.png
Edit 3: Paypal screenshot as requested. I censored lots of sensitive stuff, but you can see the dates are close with my other screenshots. http://i.imgur.com/FAtuPFm.png
Edit 4: Gunmouth and I worked out an agreement, and he was super cool about the whole situation.


WHO: GunMouth Aka Cownugget

WHERE: http://www.furaffinity.net/user/gunmouth/

WHAT: digital art set

WHEN: March 12th, 2013

PROOF: Probably best to read it in the explanation.

EXPLAIN:

I would like to start off by saying how sorry I am it has come to this. I know Cownugget/Gunmouth has his own problems, but this is one of mine, so I am dealing with it.

So this all started last year back in March, specifically on March 12. I contacted GunMouth through furaffinity to tell him that I loved his art, as well as see if he had time and want to take a commission. He told me he could Squeeze me in, as seen here.

http://i.imgur.com/x2jWjWz.png
http://i.imgur.com/Xlriqem.png


March 12th is the official date in which I sent him 50$, which was a single image commission , and that is the point where I consider him commissioned to draw art. Later in the day, he did send me a sketch of the image I had asked for as a preview. I am going to try to avoid getting too detail heavy to avoid explaining fetishistic things. So having seen his art, specifically from someone that really knew what they are doing, I got excited, and wondered if perhaps I could have my idea extended on to multiple images. This means that I was going to send him more money after the initial payment of 50$ in order to get more content. This turned out to be where the bulk of my issue is, because I later sent him an additional 60$ on top of the previously sent 50$, bringing the total to 110$ of the discussed 170$.

Here are some screenshots of our exact conversation:

http://i.imgur.com/SE4iT2a.png
http://i.imgur.com/L5HDxUQ.png
http://i.imgur.com/G9Syvi5.png
http://i.imgur.com/aiHurHR.png
http://i.imgur.com/xeGYDj2.png



Since then I have tried: A) Sending him the rest of the money, but he refuses it because he does not want to take it until he has time. Fair enough, but why did he take it in the first place then?
B) Tried to get a refund, but he merely read my message and then ignored it, as well as my attempts to talk to him through other means.
C) I've tried to contact him in order to talk it over (plus he is a pretty nice guy, so talking to him is usually fun) but I guess because I never got my commission completed, it means that I have the plague and should be avoided at all times. Really unprofessional and disappointing.

Here are some screencaps of notes that were never opened, or never replied to.

http://i.imgur.com/9IOnAvO.png

http://i.imgur.com/oDL4yXx.png
http://i.imgur.com/wftJYa2.png


Now, I would be a liar if I said he never replied. Because whenever I talked about anything except money or the commission, he usually replied if he opened the note.

I feel it is also important to mention that I've since commissioned him an additional three times during his livestream event. So this is some quick advice, that if you want art from him, buy it during a livestream, because you will know it is going to be done.

You also might be aware that GunMouth aka Cownugget has also since posted a journal to FA claiming to have done this to so many people he probably does not have an accurate count, and that he would like to issue refunds as well as art as needed. I've since gotten one reply from him, heavily implying that he did not even read my message and more or less used it as a checklist for himself. As if I were not important enough to be an immediate concern. I don't know what I did to him, but I am avoided like shit on a pancake now to him. Take a look yourself.

http://i.imgur.com/IqOt2Bl.png

His reply acts as if I had asked for a refund, and it's almost like he did not even read the message. I am rather annoyed by this, but I stand by what I said. At this point I had sent him two reminders on what my commission was, let alone how much I had sent him. Both commission summary messages went unread, even to this day. I don't think you should commission Gunmouth AKA Cownugget without knowing what you are getting into. He is a really nice and cool guy, his art is amazing and he has great input. This bothers me in more ways than one, because I hate bringing a guy that is so chill down because he has terrible communication skills and could not hold a promise to save his life, but that is the case here. I don't want a refund, and I don't want the commission completed. I am too tired from this constant arthunt and I just want closure.

On Feb 11th 2014, I sent him messages to both of his accounts warning him that I was going to be posting this message to here. He never responded nor opened them. I've never had this problem with any other artist. I've even got other commissions going on that have been just as long, but at least those artists inform me of what is going on with it, and reply to emails and messages. Here are some screencaps of that note I sent him.

http://i.imgur.com/hszra0D.png
http://i.imgur.com/lQcwptn.png




Current Mood:disappointed and sad

Comments

[thaily.livejournal.com]

Not his first post, sadly. You might be better off with a refund :/

[zackfig.livejournal.com]

If he's willing to give one, the note hints he did a sketch and thus a refund might not be needed, at least according to him.

[thaily.livejournal.com]

If he commissioned a sketch, yes. Otherwise he should still get the difference back.

[zackfig.livejournal.com]

Of course, just pointing out that according to him, he thinks he's breaking even.

[miharuokami.livejournal.com]

I say take the refund if he's offering it (which it seemed like he was). Its sad it has to come to this, cause he is a pretty cool dude but you're nit going to get closure. If he won't even respond to you, you should know better than to hope for closure. Get your money back and be done with it.

Its your money but letting him just have it out of sympathy isn't going to help him get better as an artist. He didn't do the work, he shouldn't be allowed to keep your money. (Well he didn't do most of it rather)

[thejeweledhorn.livejournal.com]

I think that you have valid reasons to be frustrated, but it also seems like you've really vacillated between "it's okay, I'll wait for my art," and "too late Artist Beware." I'm also confused why you are upset that he refused to take additional payment from you for art that he doesn't want to complete.

[tartii.livejournal.com]

This, I'm a little confused with how they've worded things. They don't want a refund or the artwork, but closure? What does closure entail?

[pingpong101.livejournal.com]

In this case closure for me is no longer having to worry about this matter in any form.

[pingpong101.livejournal.com]

I'm pretty sure he did want to complete the art I commissioned from him, but having hundreds of things to draw might factor in as to why they were never done.

But I am usually very patient and understanding. I usually wait months before I even contact an artist with a followup message. The fact that I waited a year for something I knew he could get done in 3 hours hurts me.

[thejeweledhorn.livejournal.com]

I think unfortunately, it's hard to know that he could get it done in 3 hours. I usually think that when people are poor communicators and end up doing stupid stuff that might rip people off or rub them the wrong way, they're probably dealing with issues that means doing art isn't just a simple thing. I've had commissions in the past that I dreaded for my own reasons (depression, anxiety, personal feelings about the characters I was drawing), and that took far more hours than it should have if I was doing fine.

While your hurt feelings are valid feelings, and I think everyone who has been in any kind of disappointing commissioned art setting whether artist or buyer has felt the same way as you, it's probably best to just give the facts of this person's professional business attitude and try not to take it too personally. :(

Good luck!!

[pingpong101.livejournal.com]

According to the message he sent me, which can be read above, he very much wanted to do this, so it's all confusing to me why it isn't already done.

And I do not take this personally at all. I'm a very small part of a much bigger picture, especially in this case. Or maybe I am taking it personally and I am blind to it. I don't really know. But he answered me twice now, let's see if he keeps it up. I'll be sure to keep this beware updated until the bitter end.

[ghostsquid.livejournal.com]

I'm kind of confused on the refusing payment thing as well. The way I read it is something I do to my customers. If they want additional artwork done, I ask them to first wait until I finish the first commission, and then they can pay me for the next commissions. I usually do this to make sure I have the time to tackle them, because I have other clients as well, and I can only do so much. :c

It could be that he has time for the first one, but he doesn't know how long it will take for the others. This is usually the case for artists, since it takes time to make. If real life gets in the way it takes even longer. I've had cases where I had to ask the customer to wait a little bit longer, or if they'd like a refund if they can't wait any longer.

I do agree that he doesn't have good communication skills. Sadly, not every artist has it, even though it's a big necessity if one wants to start commissions. I think the key to being a good professional artist is to stay in contact, reply to any messages the client might send (be nice about it, even if the message might be rude) but don't let yourself be pushed around by your customer either. Know when to draw the line.

As others have said, get your refund. Since he did the sketch, I say let him have maybe $10, and take the rest of the money.

[pingpong101.livejournal.com]

Well, my question to him asking for a set of pictures after the first sketch was mostly that, a question. He was very much able to say no, and I was fine with that. But that's not how it went.

In either case I did fully intend to make sure he was paid for the sketch he did (which was great!) You can even see so in the notes I linked above.

[ghostsquid.livejournal.com]

Yes, then I agree with you. He could have simply said no. I think we can attribute this as poor communication or simply wanting too much on one plate. I noticed the post above that you said he had a lot of drawings to finish. I think his problem is that he takes more than he can eat. I usually limit myself to 4-5 drawings every two months. And I write them down on paper and tape them on the wall next to my playstation so I see it everyday.

Ah! The note finally works. I tried opening it before, but sometimes Chrome doesn't like to do that. I hope you get your refund though. It really irks me that some artists are just so unprofessional. Communication between clients is key to a successful commission. It can easily ruin an artist's reputation.

[pingpong101.livejournal.com]

I edited the main post a bit with some updates

[thelisky.livejournal.com]

I'm just noticing a lack of screenshots of payments themselves... is there any chance we can see that. Just because he says "i can slide you in" doesn't mean he properly estimated his time. Also, from what i recall, gunmouth doesn't ask for payment until he's literally just about to start someone's commission.

[pingpong101.livejournal.com]

I do not have any paypal screenshots of this. It's been over a year, and I was new to commissions at the time, plus I never imagined I would still be trying to get art a year later.

Also, he used to take commission payment before it was done. You can even see so in this screenshot: http://i.imgur.com/xeGYDj2.png

[ladysnakebite.livejournal.com]

You realize you can find the transaction with the search function in Paypal, right? Just because it's over a year old doesn't mean the transaction records have disappeared. They're still there. I regularly use my Paypal records for tax purposes.

Re:

[pingpong101.livejournal.com]

I went back and took a screenshot as asked, despite my finding the whole thing weird. Look for it along with the edits!

[ladysnakebite.livejournal.com]

Thanks!

[pingpong101.livejournal.com]

This beware has been resolved, can a mod or someone please set it as such?

[magicporpoise.livejournal.com]

Didn't this post used to have edits with extra messages from him and that you guys were working things out? Did you delete those edits recently? Because the screencaps and text are all gone, and I remember you adding them as things went on.

[pingpong101.livejournal.com]

oh, sorry. I moved them to the top so that anyone browsing could see them first.

[magicporpoise.livejournal.com]

oh thanks, I missed it, hah

[rylanazion.livejournal.com]

I should probably do one of these with a proper template and all (it's super late so I can get on that tomorrow) but I commissioned Gunmouth at MFF 2012 for a sketch that he still hasn't done and he's been increasingly difficult to contact. All I have is FA notes and I don't even think he's reading them.

Edit 3/20: Forgot about this post but it's been busy, anyway, I have a few FA notes but he hasn't read the last few, left a shout on his page, since the transaction was cash at a con I think I may just be screwed :(

[rylanazion.livejournal.com]

Tried to file a report a week or two ago, I guess it's waiting in the queue. I've messaged him in streams, on FA and Weasyl and frankly starting to feel like a stalker. He's not even reading my messages or acknowledging my existence but he's got plenty of time to post personal art.

mod comment

[celestinaketzia.livejournal.com]

Howdy!

Please check your email as we have since rejected your post with fixes. If you need a copy of the notice I can go ahead and email it to you or PM it.

Re: mod comment

[rylanazion.livejournal.com]

Spam filter got it. Let me archive binge my notes and see what I can pull up. Sadly, cash transactions at a con are tough to prove. :/

Best I could do. http://imgur.com/a/uwcry

Re: mod comment

[celestinaketzia.livejournal.com]

Howdy! Please put it in a resubmission to the community. Also that link is broken. :)

Re: mod comment

[rylanazion.livejournal.com]

Will do. Imgur can be stupid about linking albums.

Re: mod comment

[celestinaketzia.livejournal.com]

If you need your original post again to modify it with the new link let me know. We keep archives of everything.

Re: mod comment

[rylanazion.livejournal.com]

Thanks. I already resubbed it the long way though.