Advice: Confronting an artist

[laughsatthunder.livejournal.com]

Hi all!

I don't commission artists as often as I once did but recently decided to pick up one from someone who I saw on the front page. Paid for it right away, gave them my reference sheet and gave them a brief description of what I wanted (styled after a movie character with a blushed expression).

Two days later they finish it. Never gave me a WIP.
The finished product is in a style completely different from the one I paid for (looks more simplified), is missing the expression/characterization I paid for and, my biggest issue, colored in my character's markings wrong when the colors are written out on the reference with arrows pointing to where they go. They're stripes so it's not anything difficult.

At this point I don't know what to do. I thanked them for it but I feel very cheated. It doesn't look anything like anything else in their gallery and they completely ignored my requests for the commission.
On that point, I don't know how to contact them after thanking them for their work. I feel like if I send them a note with my concerns they'll be upset with me (as I haven't experienced something like this before in the past I'm clueless on how to approach them).

Any input would be great. :(

Comments

[gatekat.livejournal.com]

Before going further, you need to decide what you want:
a refund
a redraw
just fixing the markings
something else?

How you approch this to some extent depends on what you want out of the confrontation.

Also, how long ago was this?
Did you pay via PayPal?
What do you mean by 'they completely ignored my requests for the commission' when it only took two days?

Did you read their TOS? Many artists only provide WIPs if you ask up front, some won't at all and some do as a matter of course.

[laughsatthunder.livejournal.com]

At this point a redraw or refund.

I paid three days ago (3/11), I paid through PayPal, they ignored what I inquired about for the commission to be. Sorry if I worded that wrong. I didn't contact them after I paid and told them what I want, there was (at least to me) no miscommunication in what was asked for.

They never showed me a TOS, I looked on their various social media links and never found one or a queue.

[gatekat.livejournal.com]

Be polite but firm. Try not to threaten.

List exactly what's wrong and state you would like either the art you ordered or a refund. Include anything you do like about it.

In my experience bullet point type lists are easier to read.

There isn't much that can make it easier. You just have to do it.

[kalika-tybera.livejournal.com]

What Gatekat said. Be polite and firm in what you wanted and what needs to be changed to achieve that. Yes, it sucks, but it isn't your fault if the artist didn't follow your directives or reference sheet and you deserve to get what you paid for.
I can't speak for all artists, but I want my clients to be happy, and if one is clearly not happy I'd rather know about it and get the chance to correct it than have them feel any disappointment over it.

[mazz.livejournal.com]

For sure send them a polite message explaining that your comments here and ask them if they'd be willing to do a redraw or refund.

[purpule.livejournal.com]

It's never easy to be assertive - but from the sounds of it, you paid them for an apple and they gave you a grape, and expect you to be fine with it because sure aren't they both fruit anyway.

You paid for it to look a certain way (expression) and have your characters markings correct - that isn't a lot to ask for! There's artistic license, sure, but that kinda only goes so far (as in, if someone pays you to draw a cat character and you draw a dog outta artistic license, you should expect people to be a tad annoyed)

On the WIP front - not everyone sends them without request. I actually don't usually do WIPs unless the person asks for one or unless it's a tattoo design or something, but that's just a simple lesson learned thing!

[laughsatthunder.livejournal.com]

I have exactly 475 pictures of my character drawn by other artists (wow) so I know that not everyone sends WIPS, I'm not new to this process, but it kind of kills me that they were so certain they knew what I wanted and completely missed the mark at the same time. When I commission people I'm not one of those clients who writes a massive paragraph and expects it to be down to the detail, I'm really lenient. And somehow they managed to completely take what I wanted and just throw it out the window, doing what they wanted.

[purpule.livejournal.com]

Oh, I hadn't meant to sound condescending or like you don't know what you're doing/that you were demanding in any way! I do completely agree that the artist decided to do what they wanted rather than follow the brief

[leahtaur.livejournal.com]

Good advice has been given by other commentors - the artist went completely off the mark and needs to be told that.

The only thing I would say you might have done differently would be to make your very first response to them the one containing what needs to be changed. I just think that if a customer told me thanks for the commission and then came back a few days later with changes/a complete redraw, I'd be mighty miffed. The commission would be done in my mind and I'd be loathe to return to it (but of course I would if I messed up as much as this artist has!) Just a point from an artist's view. But really the artist is the one at fault and you deserve what you paid for, absolutely.

[laughsatthunder.livejournal.com]

Except it wasn't a few days later, it was the same day they finished the commission. They haven't read my note yet either.

Again, I've never experienced something like this (aside from my own personal experience making fursuits years ago when I was heavily learning from my mistakes) so I don't know how to react on the flip side of it.

[leahtaur.livejournal.com]

Ah, gotcha. Sorry, I don't know why I thought there was a few days' gap.

Despite my comment I do think that the artist is 100% in the wrong - sounds like they may be inexperienced with commissions if they thought what they gave you is acceptable.

[laughsatthunder.livejournal.com]

Just got a response from them now, apparently they're going to re-do it in a stream because it's easier for them to do commissions in a stream... which was never initially mentioned. Watching streams isn't my thing so let's see how this plays out.

[straviios.livejournal.com]

Well.. that sucks for your experience :(
I usually do the same thing as you, commission people randomly/front page and generally all of them went well.

[kell0x.livejournal.com]

send a polite note goodluck!!