Artist Beware: Acorn/Squirrelworks RESOLVED

[eye0ffcenter.livejournal.com]

WHO: Acorn/Squirrelworks

WHERE: http://www.furaffinity.net/user/acorn/ and http://www.furaffinity.net/user/squirrelworks/

WHAT: A waist up sketch commission of five characters

WHEN: From April 14th 2011 - Feb 6th 2012 From first to most recent interaction.

PROOF: http://i159.photobucket.com/albums/t154/eyeoffcenter/Acorn/Newcanvas.jpg and http://i159.photobucket.com/albums/t154/eyeoffcenter/Acorn/proof.jpg

EXPLAIN: I took the commission through a journal that she posted.

Screencap: http://i159.photobucket.com/albums/t154/eyeoffcenter/Acorn/Newcanvas.jpg

I also ordered another commission (which was a discount thing that she was doing at the time for female characters). She had me on her list of commissions and said that I didn't have to pay until I got an approval sketch. She never got around to it. I never paid, thank goodness, so it's not a big deal, but still relevant. I don't have any screenshots for this one and the journal I ordered it in is gone.

After four months of waiting for the sketch commission, I contacted her again and she replied telling me she forgot about it.

Screencap: http://i159.photobucket.com/albums/t154/eyeoffcenter/Acorn/forgot.jpg

Even though the journal I ordered it through was then and STILL IS up (at the time of me posting this).

Journal: http://www.furaffinity.net/journal/2255182/

After waiting a little under a month more, I contacted her again and she replied saying that she'd been suspended for a week and unable to access notes. 

Screencap: http://i159.photobucket.com/albums/t154/eyeoffcenter/Acorn/suspension.jpg

Let's not forget that my commission was in a journal and not in notes and that a week suspension is not an excuse for a month MORE of waiting.

After this, I apologized to HER, because I really wanted the art from her. She asked me what kind of pose I wanted, so I thought I was getting somewhere.

Screencap: http://i159.photobucket.com/albums/t154/eyeoffcenter/Acorn/details.jpg

Bolded text is a link. After this, she told me she would upgrade it to a full body sketch since I'd waited so long. She was very polite throughout the entire ordeal, so don't misunderstand. What I am reporting is definitely not her attitude.

I waited about a month longer and then messaged her asking for a WIP (after seeing that she'd uploaded a couple of WIPs, which. I figured that after THIS LONG, she would have worked on it a little. Keep in mind, she'd been posting multiple other commissions and personal work daily.

Screencap: http://i159.photobucket.com/albums/t154/eyeoffcenter/Acorn/WIP.jpg

After this, I waited a week. Since she said before that she would work on it, I thought she might have SOMETHING to show for all of my waiting. To which she replied that she had no idea how to pose these characters. I already told her what I wanted five weeks ago.

So I replied giving her all of the information that I'd already given her again.

Screencap: http://i159.photobucket.com/albums/t154/eyeoffcenter/Acorn/Description.jpg

I contacted her again after nine days asking her how long she thought it might be before I'd see any results from her. She replied saying that she'd been really busy (doing more commissions?) and that I'd have to wait until she got all of her Halloween commissions done. Really? Just... Really?

I waited ANOTHER MONTH before contacting her again.

Screencap: http://i159.photobucket.com/albums/t154/eyeoffcenter/Acorn/Askingforarefund.jpg

This seemed to scare her into actually working on it (though I can't be positive of whether she'd worked on it at all before this point). Three days letter, I get a WIP.

Screencap: http://i159.photobucket.com/albums/t154/eyeoffcenter/Acorn/Unfinishedsketch.jpg
Submission: http://www.furaffinity.net/view/6988259

Here, in the comments, she asked me for more detail so that she could finish.
Screencap: http://i159.photobucket.com/albums/t154/eyeoffcenter/Acorn/Commentsonsubmission.jpg

And her finger slipped here, but no one can fault her of that.

I waited two more months to ask for an update to which she replied that she still had all of my information. This is the last I've heard from her.

Screencap: http://i159.photobucket.com/albums/t154/eyeoffcenter/Acorn/LastwordfromAcorn.jpg

I waited a month after that to ask her about it again. The note is still unread after half a month. It's been a year and it's still not done.

Screencap: http://i159.photobucket.com/albums/t154/eyeoffcenter/Acorn/Unreadmessage-1.jpg

This is what I have: http://i159.photobucket.com/albums/t154/eyeoffcenter/Acorn/1323223101acorn_eyeoffcenter.png

The only unfinished one is my character. This would literally take her like ten minutes to finish.

Mood: accomplished

Edit: I received the finished image.
Submission: http://www.furaffinity.net/view/7728551/

She was very professional about it after the initial journal and the turnaround was quick. I am very happy with the finished product.

Comments

[pinstripedtiger.livejournal.com]

I've never had much of an interest in watching Acorn purely because I've seen bits and pieces of her awful attitude scattered across miscellaneous submissions and incidents over FA, so I'm very surprised she was "polite" during this transaction.

I guess that's not particularly relevant, save for the journal.

"It's just retarded when they didn't even ask for a refund in the first place. I would have GLADLY done so. I've done it in the past for other commissioners. "

We've already seen that OP DID ask for a refund, but why didn't Acorn even offer a refund? At any point in time if she didn't want to go through with it, she could have just said "I can't/don't want to do this anymore, can I just refund you?"

It is not wholly the commissioner's responsibility for communication and it is not wholly the artist's responsibility either.

Also, I don't know if this bothers anyone else, but I don't like statements like " I work to support our household so we don't end up homeless or without a car."

I'm not certain why, but little... details like that just sort of get to me. I guess it just seems like playing the passive-aggressive pity card. Something like "Art is my only job" would have sufficed. I think pretty much every artist who regularly takes commissions is also working to not be homeless and to have food, no need to state the obvious. :\

[marus-puppy.livejournal.com]

I completely agree with you! I especially don't like when people throw things like that out there because 95% of the time, my life situation is worse than theirs and I NEVER use that as an excuse for anything, it just feels like a total manipulation to me.

[pinstripedtiger.livejournal.com]

Precisely!

[otherscape.livejournal.com]

"Also, I don't know if this bothers anyone else, but I don't like statements like " I work to support our household so we don't end up homeless or without a car.""

That'd be the guilt tripping. It's a defense mechanism to put blame on anyone else but themselves. Because how dare a customer want their product in a timely fashion.

[deejthistle.livejournal.com]

"I guess it just seems like playing the passive-aggressive pity card."

I agree.

It also has this air of the commissioner's money being worth "less" than the artist's money and time, as if someone didn't work equally as hard or more to have the cash for extras.