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    Beware: 0-ruff

    By Rallan, in Artist Bewares, , 0 comments, 93 views
    Who: 0-ruff
    Where: https://www.furaffinity.net/user/0-ruff/
    https://t.me/oruffsstuff
    https://www.buymeacoffee.com/fuchsin
    https://boosty.to/katera
    When: 03/21/2025
    What: YCH
    NSFW Content

    On March 21, 2025, I won a collab YCH slot from 0-ruff at the bid of $95. The payment per the auction description was to be done on Boosty or Hipolink, which I have used with other artists in the past and am familiar with the platforms, so I had no issues placing a bid with these conditions.


    Despite the bid being made in USD and Boosty showing USD amounts, 0-ruff insisted in payment being made in rubles. I informed 0-ruff that I was unable to make the payment in rubles as Boosty would only permit me to do payments in USD and asked if this was acceptable. I have always done business with Russian-based artists on Boosty like this with no issues in the past and saw no reason this time would be any different. 
     


    To my surprise, 0-ruff tried to make an argument that Boosty has its own currency exchange rate (?) and that I should pay $98 instead of the $95 bid I placed. I was unsure about this since this didn't sound right, but I made the payment for $98 regardless and sent my information. 




     
     
     
    0-ruff then claimed that they did not receive the full payment amount and insisted I pay them more. I was confused because I had already paid more than my winning bid for the YCH and had the receipt showing it, so I questioned them, repeating that Boosty shows payments in USD and I had made the full payment they asked for. When I went to go check on Boosty again, I noticed 0-ruff had then upped the payment from $98 to $100 after I had paid. I confronted 0-ruff about this and provided screenshots of my completed payment, their updated price, and the Google currency exchange (which they claimed to be using) which showed I had already paid the full amount they asked for. 


     
     



    0-ruff continued to make some claims about currency exchanges not being stable and that each platform has its own currency exchange rate (?) and that they only used Google's exchange, which also showed I had made more than the payment I needed to. At this point, I no longer felt that 0-ruff was following fair exchange rates and business practices and confronted them about it and asked for a refund, as I did not trust them to not continue to ask for more money or hold the artwork hostage in exchange for more money. They had already proven they were just charging whatever they felt they could get, regardless of the initial bid or auction rules and I no longer wished to do business with them. 


     
    0-ruff pushed back and refused to refund the paid amount or acknowledge the retraction of my bid. I repeated that I no longer felt this was a trustworthy exchange and did not wish to continue to work with them based on these principles and a lack of trust. I ultimately had to threaten to do a report and chargeback to get a response from them. 0-ruff continued to refuse a refund, called me unstable for calling them out on uncharging my original bid, and then blocked me without further discussion. 



     
     
     
    Following this, 0-ruff then hid my bid on the YCH auction and continued to take bids for the slot despite not refunding me the money I had already paid to them. I am now having to work with my bank and Boosty to get the money charged back as a fraudulent charge. 

    This was my first and last time dealing with 0-ruff. From discussions with friends who have also worked with 0-ruff in the past, it seems like this is a habit of theirs. They add hidden fees and charges to their work for U.S. customers and will withhold WIPs and finished work until their "fees" are paid up. I highly encourage everyone to steer clear of this artist, especially is you are based in the USA. They will try to take advantage of exchange rates and hold work hostage unless their ransoms are met.

    Beware: Stellarpunk_art

    By skeletea, in Artist Bewares, , 0 comments, 200 views
    Who: Stellarpunk_art, punker_sp, SPBK_201, stellarpunk.bsky.social
    Where: https://linktr.ee/stellarpunk
    https://x.com/STELLARPUNK_ART
    https://www.instagram.com/stellarpunk_art/
    https://twitter.com/punker_sp
    https://x.com/SPBK_201
    https://www.instagram.com/stellarpunk_art/
    https://bsky.app/profile/stellarpunk.bsky.social
    When: 10/21/2022
    What: Commission



    TLDR OUTLINE
    Who? STELLARPUNK_ART on twitter (Also known as punker_sp / SPBK_201 on twitter)
    What? Undelivered commission, ghosting client (me) for nearly 3 years while remaining active on both main and alt account (and I soon to find out on bluesky as well). Cutting off contact (blocking) on alt account and refusing to give refund or artwork.

    Original Agreement
    On October 21st 2022 @ 9:53 pm est I contacted Stellarpunk_Art on TWITTER for 3 bust sketch commissions with flat color (see "Original Commission Advert_oct2022_sp"). The total was $75, 25 for each bust. (See "Original Contact_twitter 1" and "Original Commission Advert_oct2022_sp")
     
    Proof of Payment
    Payment was made via cashapp (as you can see in above screenshot they advertised cashapp, venmo, or stripe) I only had cashapp at the moment. In the conversation screenshot you can see me letting them know I'd be paying via cashapp. They gave me their cashapp tag and payment was sent October 22nd 2022 at 12:35 AM est. (See "Original Contact_twitter 1" and "Screenshot_20250411_150152_Cash_App proof")
     
    Attempts to Contact & Ghosting
    The full conversation (or rather my attempts to get in touch with them) was done through twitter DMs. Aside from DMs, I also attempted to contact them multiple times on instagram, via twitter comments, and even through email during the time I couldn't get in touch with them after the first check in. I did also see that they were going through many issues over time which led me to leaving them be for much longer between each nudge.
    Proofs: Original contact_twitter 1 - 6, Instagram_contact attempt. You can read the conversation below through the timeline. Full Timeline of Experience
    On October 21 2022 I messaged StellarPunk to commission them 3 digital art pieces: flat color busts. I didn’t know this artist, but their post had been rt’d by another artist who I’ve worked with before. The post was advertising for $25 each. (see "Original Commission Advert_oct2022_sp" and start of convo "Original contact_twitter 1")
    The only payment methods they listed were CashApp/Venmo/Stripe, I was skeptical but went with CashApp since that was the only one I had.
     
    Oct 22nd 2022: I sent payment (see Screenshot_20250411_150152_Cash_App proof)
     
     
     
    Nov 18 2022: I messaged them to let them know that I could be contacted on other platforms or via email (this was at the time when the life of twitter was uncertain). No reply

    Jan 2nd 2023 @ 1:45 am - I send a check in message with no results. I did see a post about them going through some issues irl, so I gave them the space.  At this time I believe they moved to their alt account (I wouldn't know until later this year)
    The account https://x.com/SPBK_201 was created by them, but was named "punker_sp" at the time.

    Feb 19 2023 @ 12:20 pm - Gave a nudge, no reply (they made 2 art posts on their instagram) 
    See attached image "Instagram_contact attempt"
    See attached images "SPInsta1" and "SPInsta2"


    Aug 2nd 2023 @ 1:09am - I learned that they moved to a different twitter account (named punker_sp, now SPBK_201) and blocked me there. The original account wasn’t abandoned and I could still message them there. They continued to actively post on their new account while liking/retweeting on original. I found they had also blocked me for some time on cashapp as well so I could not request a refund even if I wanted to/had time to. I attempted to contact cashapp customer support twice but they could not help me. 
    Months passed with no word, they were still active but made no effort to get back in touch with me. They still use their alt account so you can see all of their posts. I hated being a bother, so I left them alone once again.
    See Attachments "SPBK_Oldest Art post_oct 2023" 1 and 2

    Feb 9th 2024 @ 2:16 am - I message them again with no reply. At the time I was, and still am very busy with my own work so I let them be.
    Feb 11th 2024 - They finally replied, apologizing for not getting back to me, their behavior, and claiming that they were super broke. They said they didn't have the funds but would definitely give me a refund (with no specified time). I replied the same day, telling them that they can sort out w/e was going on and we could discuss my refund. I was naive in thinking they'd follow through with settling this issue because a good part of me still really liked their work. I've gone through many artists ghosting me after payment, some have returned and resolved the issue and others haven't. Part of me was hoping they wouldn’t be the latter.  (see Original contact_twitter 4)
    No reply followed that message and they continued to actively post and RT on twitter, as well as make fanart & OC posts. (I did not bother taking screenshots of these posts and twitter only lets me go back as far as 2024 on their individual page)
    Aug 2024 - They have opened comms again, still no reply to me.

    April 13th, Jul 28, and August 11th 2024 - I attempted to message them again whenever I’d catch their newer posts. No success.
    Jan 4th 2025 - They made a new commission post and also replied later that day. They apologized for not getting back to me and asked if I wanted the commissions or a refund AGAIN. (see "Art Comm post advert_jan 2025" and "Original contact_twitter 5")
    They continued to create more art and general posts.
    Jan 5th 2025 - I replied and I reminded them of the amount owed (see Original contact_twitter 5)

    Feb 12th -  I tried reaching out to let them know I would just request the funds on cashapp since I could no longer request a refund. Both times I tried the request expired.  (see "Requesting Refund_Expired attempts_proof")

    Jan 26th 2025 - Claimed they were making their way down their queue. No update on my order through and no visible Queue to track. (see "Jan 26 2024_queue claim")
    Continued to make other posts including a commission delivery, no messages to me. (see "Art post jan 2025 1 and 2")


    Feb 1st 2025 - Posted a "bust sketch comm" for another client. No sign of my commission updates to me.
    Continued to make other posts & deliver other commissions. (see "Feb 1 and 2 2025 art post")

    Feb 10th 2025 - They reshared their commission post saying they had car troubles and needed money. No message to me still. (see Feb 10 reshare comm)
    Assuming they were trying to get funds to refund me, I left them alone. Eventually I did try to reach out by commenting on their posts every once in a while when they would post on their main. (see "Attempts to contact_Comments")

    March 12 2025 @ 9:12 AM - I sent a nudge, no reply (see "Original contact_twitter 6")
    March 25th 2025 @ 4:14 PM - Messaged them to let them know I'd be willing to just go through with getting the art if they found it hard getting the funds. Once again ignored  (see "Original contact_twitter 6")
    April 10th 2025 @ 6:37AM - Messaged again, no reply but they were active not too long ago before I messaged them. I mentioned trying to split up the refund to make it financially easier on them. No reply was given yet during this entire time they were still actively posting art on their alt account. (see "Original contact_twitter 6")

     


     
     
     

    Caution: Solari0m_

    By plutolemy, in Artist Cautions, , 0 comments, 1,061 views
    Who: Solari0m_
    Where: https://x.com/Solari0m https://vgen.co/Solari0m https://solariom.carrd.co/
    When: 03/02/2023
    What: YCH
    NSFW Content Resolved
    On March 2, 2023, Solari0m posted an 'emergency YCH' for $50. Immediately, I jumped on it. I had admired their art for a while and was genuinely excited to work with them. I got into contact with them in DMs and we began to discuss details on the same day. 




    I sent payment promptly, and she confirmed she received it. 

     
    On May 12th, Solari0m posted a tweet with a piece of NSFW art and the caption "I'm almost done with the ych, please send me a DM if yours is still missing!" so I promptly did on May 15th. And then again on May 19th. This is where the communication issues started. While she did confirm she got my message, she never responded beyond that, and from there, seven months passed. On November 9th, I reached out once more, and they provided to me was a sketch over of the YCH.

     
    At this point, they decided to redo the piece, because they didn't like how it looked. I was fine with this, because this meant that my art was being worked on. I received another work in progress in April, another sketch, which I loved and vocalized to them. I got a WIP two months later from them, which I confirmed I liked. 

     
    From there, I didn't receive word for another eight months. I requested contact methods through Bluesky and Whatsapp that ultimately went nowhere as a way of nudging them for the art. I was unable to get WhatsApp to work (this is my own fault), and no messages went through, but I did reach out to them on BlueSky, which led nowhere. 

    On January 17th of 2025, I requested a definitive due date. They didn't give me one, but said that they would finish it by the end of the day. This didn't happen.
    I told them that I didn't want the piece rushed and that it was okay if it took a few days, and then they provided me with another WIP.
    On the 23rd, they told me that they weren't feeling well, but that they were feeling better - I assumed this meant that they would once more work on my commission. I waited two weeks before wishing them well, expecting that I would get another WIP or... something. 

     
    On Monday February 24th, I requested a definitive due date again. They said they would have it done 'tonight (the 24th) or tomorrow (the 25th) at the latest'. This did not happen. 
    On March 2nd, 2025, I finally reached out with my ultimatum. They provided a small sketch as apology.

    At this point, I just wanted the art to be done and approved whatever they sent. 

    They said that they would send the drive link immediately and then didn't send it. When I asked them for it, they said that their computer had been updating for two hours.

    Today they sent me a link to the drive... which included all of the commissions they had done over the past two and a half months (some on the days that they had promised me they would get it done 'today, or at latest, tomorrow') at full resolution. This struck me as remarkably unprofessional. I was uncomfortable that they sent other clients files as well. 


    All throughout the past six months, they have regularly been completing commissions on their vgen, while consistently forgetting about mine. This was not a good experience.

    Caution: Koltheim/Siphonophoraeee

    By lunaryeen, in Artist Cautions, , 0 comments, 831 views
    Who: siphonophoraeee / isa / nico / koltheim
    Where: https://x.com/siphonophoraeee
    @koltheim on telegram and discord
    https://trello.com/u/koltheim/activity
    [email protected]
    https://www.instagram.com/siphonophoraeee
    https://www.furaffinity.net/user/koltheim/
    https://artfight.net/~koltheim
    https://toyhou.se/Koltheim
    https://nanomia.carrd.co/
    When: 07/05/2024
    What: Commission



    Original agreement: I paid 60$ in cash for a digitally illustrated badge that will be laminated and shipped to me after the con (AC24). 

    Proof of payment: It was paid in cash at the time of commission (first day of the con within 20 minutes of them the artist alley opening.)


    What happened: 
    The art was to be completed within 1-2 weeks, it was completed in 4 weeks (august 2nd, full res provided on trello on august 5th), no complaints there. 

    On the same day of completion, they asked for my address which I provided. 
    Since August 12th, I have had no contact from them on telegram, which was the only social media i was provided at time of purchase. on their trello, they say they ship Friday's, being that mine was completed on a Friday, I figured I'd wait a week. and another week. and another. 


    I never received any update, so I texted on September 2nd.
    (this jumps ahead showing future messages, but basically them asking my address was the last message I received personally from them.)
    Through digging around, I found a twitter which they were active on, but I don't have a twitter account. I asked if my SO could contact them as they have a twitter, and he was successful in contacting them on September 19th on my behalf.

    The reason they claim for not shipping my supposedly printed badge is that they moved and have yet to find a place to laminate my badge. My SO tried to follow up weeks later but further communication was unsuccessful. After more digging I found their email in their trello, and again, had my SO contact them on my behalf (they check their email more than I do). Yet again, unsuccessful.

    October, November, December, January... no response. On any platform. I have yet to have my badge shipped or a partial refund or anything. (I no longer need the full-res as it was posted on their trello.)

    Beware: ____Kai_River_____

    By CrimsonVexations, in Artist Bewares, , 2 comments, 1,880 views
    Who: Kai_River, kaireevers, werneragzal, kai_reever
    Where: https://www.furaffinity.net/user/kairiver
    https://www.patreon.com/kaireevers
    https://boosty.to/kaireevers
    https://hipolink.me/kai_reever
    https://buymeacoffee.com/werneragzal
    https://picarto.tv/KaiReevers
    When: 12/13/2023
    What: YCH



    2023
    December 13th
    Kai had posted a reminder for one of their multi-slot YCHs. I liked this one a lot and decided to comment asking for a slot and Kai sent me a note asking for details and gave me a payment link.

    December 14th
    I had something happen with power going out at my house so I was unable to answer right away. He sent me another note the next day asking me how I was doing and I replied with my situation from my phone.

     
     
    December 15th
    When I was able to get to my PC I replied to his first note with the characters, asking if he'd be able to draw them before I sent payment. The character's species has a specific blocky head-shape and aren't supposed to have foreheads/ protruding brow bones so I told him that. He said he'd have no problem drawing their head-shape and to let him know when I sent payment. I went ahead and sent it and mentioned that I forgot to ask him if the cigarette in the piece could be changed into a vape instead and he replied saying he received payment and had no problems with changing it to a vape.




    I'm going to post the character references I sent him so you can see the head-shape and details on them that become relevant later.
    2024
    July 19th
    I hadn't heard anything from Kai but he posted a journal saying he was done with his medical school exams and now had time to work on his queue. He was going to be working in the order of when the YCH's were listed vs bouncing between who ordered what slot first and was doing the YCH's in batches for each month. Mine was set for September.
     
    December 3rd
    I checked in on his journal and saw another person had been asking in November if the deadlines were still accurate as they were waiting for a YCH from October and November. I commented as well, asking if the queue was still accurate as I would have been waiting a year for the piece on the 16th..

    2025
    January 5th
    Kai uploaded his first post since people had been asking for updates and it was a reminder for a YCH and he continued to ignore everyone else. I ended up commenting on the reminder stating:
    "I don't mean to be rude, but why are you taking on more slots when you haven't finished the ones from over a year ago? Everyone has been patiently waiting and asking you for updates on your "deadline" journal just for you to ignore us for months and come back to take on even more commissions.
    You need to either finish your queue and/ or begin sending out refunds. Otherwise it looks like you're just trying to run with our money. :/"
    I also went and copy pasted it onto the YCH he had the reminder for with the same thing. There was someone who commented wanting a slot and I warned them that Kai had a queue of over a year and they removed their comments.
     

     
    A few hours later, Kai ended up responding to me and the other two commenters on the journal with a copy paste message saying:
    "I'm sorry for the delay. I was not able to use my strength to the full and the three-year burnout has taken its toll. I took a month off in December, which kind of helped, so I will update and make a more accurate list of deadlines soon, but by name. So that each of you can keep track of my work.
    I'm really sorry for the wait."

     
    He hid my comment on the YCH reminder but didn't hide the one on the YCH itself.
     

     
    Eleven hours later got a note from him telling me that he had been burnt out from work and that he actually had finished my YCH with a link to the piece.
     

     
    It mostly looks nice but there are several things off. Kai didn't even try editing the head-shape outside of erasing the nose and adding slit nostrils and missed a few key things that were on the character's references (Horn rings, Nyx's collar and neck fluff), he also didn't change the cigarette.)
    I feel like given the amount of time it took for him to respond to me that he went and rush did the piece because otherwise I don't know why he wouldn't have just sent it to me beforehand. I messaged him back asking for changes but that note has been left on unread and I sent him another on the 26th which has also been ignored.
     



    I'm almost certain that I am not going to get a response anytime soon and he's just running off with several people's money. I really think people should stay clear of him unless he does a major turn around.
     
     

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