Stringing me on for a year.

[cactusjack1999.livejournal.com]

Well I had always admired an artist by the name of "Miller Sullivan" (I doubt that is his name. It's the only one i know him by). Heck part of my character was based on his artwork (namely the toony type way he draws)

I was able to procure a comission from him via Second Life (He needed money to pay for a gun he wanted. I had said money. Trade was agree'd upon. I loan him the money for it, he does a picture in lieu of paying me back in L$)

It's been a FULL YEAR since I paid him about L$1,800 for that gun and have yet to see a single sketch, or a doodle, or anything of the sort. I had been after him once a month on FA before it died and either I got no response (the last 3 to 4 months) or the "life" excuse. He apparently is active on Second life... But since I want to collect on a debt he's got me on mute or is never arround when I am (and I've tried to be arround whenever possible)

I'd try to get a hold of him for some kind of status for months via FA's notes and PM's. All he'd ususally say was that he wasn't feeling well, or that there were things going on in life. Even sometimes when I asked he'd tell me he was working on it and would have "something soon."

I've even offered to have the comission cancelled if he wasn't able to do it due to all his "problems" in real life. All he would have to do would be to pay me back the ammount that I loaned him and that would be it no questions asked.

However it's finally come to this.

Here's one of the few remaining archives of the guy's work I can find: http://www.furryartpile.com/user/millerjsullivan/ (Updated a little less than 4 days before this posting no less!)

http://millerjsullivan.deviantart.com/ <- Hasn't posted anything to this in over 2 years. But looking at his recent fav's he still visits the site (last Fav was submitted to DA and fav'd on the 14th of July of this year)

He goes by the name of "Miller Rust" on Second Life.

I don't care if he sees this or if someone can get me in touch with him somehow so we can work this out... I just want this off my chest.

EDIT: I managed to get a hold of him... He says it's gonna be done this week. He says he finally has some motivation.

Frankly... I am a little hopeful, and a lot burned.

DOUBLE EDIT Well apparently someone posted this to his FAP site. SO he might see it.

Again I'd like to reitterate that I'm willing to give him time. I just want some updates beyond "Soon". That's all I ask.

Comments

[rainbow-roo.livejournal.com]

I don't know the guy personally, but unless I am mistaken he is pretty active and busy with his personal business/organization on SL. It's called AMC for short but that's all I can really remember.

Any dollar loss is a shame, but $L1,800 comes out to about 6 dollars and some change - so I would consider yourself lucky that that's all you're out on this exchange.

I try not to commission through SL if I can help it, despite spending a large amount of my time on there. Linden transfers sometimes just don't seem as official as receiving a payment through paypal and some people might be more inclined to blow someone off on there. Also with paypal there is a record of transactions that can be disputed, though I am not sure what the time limitation is.

[cactusjack1999.livejournal.com]

Yes. He is. It's called "Anthro Military Coalition"

For 6 bucks and for the ammount of detail there was gonna be involved we both agreed it was gonna be a fair trade.

It was for a blue pencil sketch which is his style. Which is all I wanted. I didn't want anything totally finished (cause I dont' think he does anything like that)

[defenestrate-me.livejournal.com]

Miller's done finished works before but no, it's not something he does often that I know of.

[cactusjack1999.livejournal.com]

He's no longer an "active" member as I understand it.

I managed to get a hold of one of the mods there and she put me in touch wiht him on SL.

Which lead to the "EDIT" of the original posting that I fianlyl got a hold of him and he said it would be done in a week or so.

Which I'm definatively making this his "last chance"

[romani123.livejournal.com]

I have found some of the most honest artists are on furry artists.
Some of these might not be well known,but they are usaully very cheap and very pleasant to deal with! Some have the art done in days!
A year is too long with no rough sketches or a progress report.
But at least like rainbow roo said thats not a lot of money.
But still I am sorry to hear of this situation.

[tizzrah.livejournal.com]

Really? I actually stopped dealing with furries several years ago due to the unprofessionalism as a whole from the fandom. I used to commission a LOT of artwork (just google 'tizzrah' and you will find the majority of it) but there was also a LOT of art that I never received, yet paid for. Since I don't really dabble in the fandom anymore I've written almost all of it off as a loss, and I don't think I'll commission another furry artist again.

(This isn't a bash towards the fandom, this is just my personal experience with a lot of artists. I don't think that drawing furries has anything to do with the unprofessionalism so much as the idea that it's not "professional" art if it's anthro and therefore not as high of a priority. I don't get the mentality.)

[lilenth.livejournal.com]

There are professionals and unprofessionals in any business, it just depends on who you work with. Furries tend to be a little more vocal about rip off artists is all and it tends to feel much more personal because it is small time person to person for this market.

I've known artists in big business who I wouldn't pay to shine my shoes because their art is professional level but they sure as hell aren't professional in terms of behaviour so I wouldn't trust them to deliver. You even get thieves in the big name circles.

The furry fandom isn't cursed with anything worse than any other art market. You find the exact same shenanigans going on in fantasy art circles, concept art circles, I could go on, you get the picture.

[cactusjack1999.livejournal.com]

I woudl tend to agree...

If not for the "Art Gods"

The artists who know they can stand a single worthless peon complaining about a paid comission while they do work for friends and personal aquaintances cause they know they have a legion of fans who will stick up for them and will pay to make sure they are taken care of.

I've seen it happen with my own eyes.

[lilenth.livejournal.com]

Again, you find them in every art market, not just the furry one.

[defenestrate-me.livejournal.com]

As far as I know, Miller's a nice guy who yes, does have quite a bit to deal with in real life.

Just to give the non-SL users a little perspective here: L$1,800 is currently estimated at US$7.12 and would never have been above US$10.

[cactusjack1999.livejournal.com]

well I have no problem with him having problems in real life.

I just wish he would've said to me if he couldn't do it "I can't do this right now. Maybe later. I can refund your money"

That would've been better than not telling me anything or saying "It'll be done soon"

[defenestrate-me.livejournal.com]

Well, I've never commissioned him nor spoken with anyone who has about it, I can only vouch for his character. Did you have some way of contacting him outside of SL?

[cactusjack1999.livejournal.com]

FurAffinity. That was it

we shared some notes and such. He even let me know his AIM name...but I lost it cause I have so many and can't remember what it is.

But yeah....IMHO If an artist can't do the work, I think a refund is atleast a good way to keep things on the up and up instead of just saying they'll eventually get to it.