Warning

[faeseiren.livejournal.com]

Commissioner:Handehog
Reason: I suppose I'm partly to blame in that he seemed very nice and easy to work with. I shouldn't have kept drawing for him after I finished the WIP and there was no payment. I finished shading in the image and he asked for more detail. I went ahead and added extra detail and did the edits requested. I'm not going to lie and say I didn't get irritated with him. Here's the full disclosure after I sent him the reworked image:
   

Update (the rest of the conversation where he says he's going to pay but...):

http://img88.imageshack.us/img88/5207/unled1kv.png

Comments

[kerstin-orion.livejournal.com]

Approved, but could you please give us a little more information, such as screen-caps of the initial commission chats/notes and notes relating to when you presented the WIP?

[kayla-la.livejournal.com]

This is one of the reasons I both take payment upfront and don't price myself so cheap. You get rude, overly entitled customers like these who feel they deserve far more work than they paid for, or didn't pay for, in this case. It kind of sounds like he just wanted free art, to me.

You might want to consider adding a link to the finished image and a screencap of where he originally agreed to pay after a WIP.

[carms-lady.livejournal.com]

Ouch. One of my customers wasn't too happy with the end result, but I got to keep the down payment. Always get a down payment first, then sketch, show, if customer approves, you get the final payment, and he gets his picture. Too many phonies out there, as well as people who have no idea what goes into a piece of work. I tend to turn down requests that want me to paint something that's not in my comfort zone :/

[carnivaldog.livejournal.com]

One thing that never fails to peeve me is people who commission artists, expecting them to mimic some other person's style, and then get disappointed when it doesn't come out the way they wanted.

Commission people based on the style you want, and match them up. You can't reach into a bag of M&Ms and expect to get Skittles. :P

In any case, as mentioned already, more information would be good, just to help build up a foundation for you to stand on. Post proof of the agreement that payment must be made after a WIP, if you have it, and maybe even include the details of what he originally commissioned vs. the product you gave him. It will help in making the case for yourself. Otherwise, folks can be hesitant to believe they're getting the whole story.

[kayla-la.livejournal.com]

Admittedly, how the guy talked to the artist and refused to pay him anything is enough of a beware for me to avoid the guy, though more info is always nice!

[mrst4nkr.livejournal.com]

This behavior has me disgusted and furious. ( I also had a look at this fellow's page, and he doesn't seem to like life or anything in it. ) He's on my block list on both accounts as of now. What nasty behavior!

How rude to say something like " Oh, I thought your gallery was just full of your sub-par art and you were saving the good stuff for commissioners." He owes you money for your time.

You are a great artist to commission. Maybe consider having people pay half or full if the price is over a certain amount? If they pay all of it up front, you just have to make sure not to spend the money until the art is done- just in case they want a refund or something doesn't work out.

I am so sorry this happened to you.

[mrst4nkr.livejournal.com]

Also- WATERMARK THE SNOT OUT OF UNPAID ARTWORK.

Seriously. If the commissioner hasn't paid a dime for something, and you still want to be trusting, it better have the most obnoxious watermark in the universe in it.

[kayla-la.livejournal.com]

Looks like this isn't exactly the first time he's pulled this: http://www.furaffinity.net/journal/2384636/

[allykat.livejournal.com]

Wow. WOW.

I hope everyone in the world sees this. What a stinker. I'd really, really like the artistic community to be hip enough to this guy's shenanigans to snap him out of this "I pay for it if I like it" BS.

[jinoki.livejournal.com]

Oh wow. This guy's both rude and entitled. I'm sorry you had to deal with him. That's unfortunate.

[hamburger.livejournal.com]

There are not enough 'Wows' in the world -- comparing someone's work to shitting? And paying someone for work being 'charity'? What?

I certainly hope this beware gets around.

[hellebore.livejournal.com]

That is one very bitter, angry man. Yeeowsh, thanks for this. You'll probably get stiffed on that money, but I don't think dealing with him is worth the $17, as it's apparent he's stuck on his ways.

[ladysnakebite.livejournal.com]

Ummmmm wow. :|

[ladysnakebite.livejournal.com]

Err to make that less of an empty comment-- I can't BELIEVE how rude that commissioner was. This is exactly why I take payment upfront always.

I *am* curious to see the pictures involved, but even so, the commissioner's attitude is just... appalling.

[carnivaldog.livejournal.com]

Oh definitely, the dude is a douche. :P No arguments there.

[kerstin-orion.livejournal.com]

Please be careful with the name-calling.

[carnivaldog.livejournal.com]

Sorry. :1

[kairi-koitra.livejournal.com]

You know since there is another artist in which he did this to you might want to send those notes to dragoneer and have him look at it. It isn't the first time this jack tard ripped someone off. Maybe a note from an admin or something on the site might make him realize that FA isn't a charity group.

God that guy is just an asshole.. Thanks for the warning I'll be putting him on block on both of my accounts. I hope at least something happends so you get at least something out of this besides a bad taste in your mouth.

[kerstin-orion.livejournal.com]

Oops, it looks like your edits did something odd...I can't see any images now.

[kerstin-orion.livejournal.com]

I understand this guys actions are upsetting, but please refrain from name-calling.

[bridgeportcat.livejournal.com]

Yikes, looks like the dude has got himself quite a history. It always stinks when someone's serially taking advantage of artists, especially when it seems like it's been going on for a while.

[xianjaguar.livejournal.com]

Ugh, this guy sounds like a real horror. Likening your artwork to 'taking a dump'? That's pretty darn low of him.

Thank you for the beware. He is on my blacklist now.

[pleasedas-punch.livejournal.com]

"One thing that never fails to peeve me is people who commission artists, expecting them to mimic some other person's style, and then get disappointed when it doesn't come out the way they wanted."

This happened to me over and over and OVER back when I was taking commissions, and I had to turn them down every time. Except for one, and you probably know how well that turned out for me.

Why do people even do this? I was getting people asking me to mimic comic book artists (lord help me) and crap like that, but if it's a furry artist, why don't you just save up your money and commission them? I assure you, you will be happier with the real deal rather than making another artist disgruntled and getting a knock-off when that isn't their natural drawing style. As for comic book artists, most of them go to comic-cons and take quick sketchbook commissions.

I don't understand this.

[dingybatty.livejournal.com]

I ATTEMPTED to work with this guy before. He was extremely rude to me, even though we never got to the payment part. First I was goaded into drawing something I felt a little uneasy about drawing. We were going to do a single character commission, then somewhere along the way he thought I was going to do an entire comic for him? When I said no and apologized for the misunderstanding he replied with "Whatever, I'm tired of dealing with fucking furries."

[dingybatty.livejournal.com]

I've had my own experience with him. See below :/