artists_beware | (no subject)

WHO: absinthe stellary

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

WHAT: 4 full colour, fullbody pictures (1 is completed) and 1 flat colour bust. traded for 2 shirts totalling 42 dollars.

WHEN: Originally commissioned June 2011, problems started 3 months later.

PROOF: http://s276.photobucket.com/albums/kk7/fowolf321/?action=view&current=page1.png

http://s276.photobucket.com/albums/kk7/fowolf321/?action=view&current=page2.png

http://s276.photobucket.com/albums/kk7/fowolf321/?action=view&current=page3.png

EXPLAIN: Commissioned her, at the time her paypal account was closed. So we traded art for shirts. She is great to deal with right up untill she gets paid. Then the real fun begins. She has already stated many times that she does not care about artist beware as it paints an unfair picture of her. Well, I suggest to anyone reading this, dont fall for it. Find another artist!

Edit: I have since been put on her block list on FA, so looks like my refund or art will be quickly coming........
Edit: hmm, not sure what this giant space down here is about, I can not delete it......

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Well here is her current refund list

http://www.furaffinity.net/journal/3419402/

So...yea. Good luck with that.

I can't understand (I am not an artist so maybe it's an artist thing) why Stellary doesn't just...do the art. I see uploads every couple days. Just...do the art? Then there aren't refunds to refund.

it baffles me too. but she blocked me and never did put me on her list. (how many others did she do that too?) So I am not holding my breath ever seeing the art or money.

Bet she rage quits and wipes everything

Whoa, I missed the fact that she blocked you. Wow, that's... no words for that. =\ Someone else listed a new account by her, have you tried contacting her there or showing her your post that you made here? It may prompt her into... something.

Though the last time I saw a commissioner put pressure on her (far less than you have), she popped out this horrible rushed commission with some snarky title "how to rush your dragon" and a rude little quip in the artist's comments.

Just speaking for myself not Stellary. I don't agree with her methods and I've had my own run-ins with her so I'm really not defending her at all.

If you're not an artist yourself, or do something similar, it's very difficult to understand how feelings can affect how you draw. A professional artist, more so ones in the work industry as you're held to a higher standard, is able to push themselves despite it. However, sometimes you really just can't.

Just as an example, if you go into a depressed state for days/months, it may be impossible for you to draw. You try, but it just looks bad and there doesn't seem to be any way to make it look right and you certainly don't want to give commissioners a bad piece. Sometimes though, it happens that you only can't work but can draw for yourself. It's just a completely different feeling. Similar to how doing homework for school is tough, but doing similar like work just for fun is much easier to do, as well as when you draw for yourself, you're not trying to be perfect and feel more relaxed.

But in those situations, it's important to keep in contact. Whenever I'm having small delays, I always make sure to email commissioners every few weeks with an update and letting them know that they can ask for a refund if it would make them feel better, as not everyone asks if you don't offer the option. It also helps, of course, to not have such a huge list as Stellary does. If you stay with a small list, it won't be as much trouble to refund in an emergency.

Well, it can become a cycle, really. I was there briefly, but bit the bullet and went without until I could catch up completely. It becomes a thing where you take on to make ends meet, but it becomes a little more than you've anticipated. Before you know it, you have to take on more to continue making ends meet, but you still have X before the last batch that hasn't been finished. You take on the next batch anyway in the hopes that you can dig yourself out fast enough, and then before you know it, you've got a huge pile of people and that's when it gets hard to just... do it. Mostly because it's a daunting task, and you think it will never be done.

Unfortunately, Stellary has to realize that she does have to go without or find a way to do a working schedule in order to catch up.

I think that is a great explanation. Someone who doesn't do commissions, like me, finds it difficult to understand some of the things that can effect one's ability to draw. Maybe instead of taking a million commissions she could have just did live streams when feeling inspired and finished the art right then and there.

Frankly I have no idea how Stellary has gotten away with this so many times.

Her catching up and doing livestreams then and there is probably the best thing she can do for herself.

She gets away with it for the same reasons other artists who do this get away with it. Either people think they won't be the one, or they just plain don't know about it. I feel bad for the Op that they didn't know that Stellary has been doing this for a long time.

Agreeing on the just don't know aspect. Not only that, but most artists who are behind, and not professional about it, aren't upfront about it, no warnings or anything. So the commissioner has no idea what they're getting into.

The OP made a comment about Stellary saying that A_B "Paints an unfair picture". Many people who only know of A_B as a supposedly mean snark community just trying to hurt someone's reputation may be aware of the allegations but just not take them seriously or read through the comments and judge for themselves.

when I commissioned her, I had no idea what her reputation was at the time. I did some digging on her a few months later, I was less then pleased with what I found......

lesson learned, research!