Beware: Dragonf94

https://artists-beware.livejournal.com/773561.html

This complaint follows a client who has not paid for a commission. The pictures below are a few examples of the ongoing attempts at getting at least some of the pay.

What happened: About four months ago I was doing a number of commissions for users online, through Furaffinity, Furry4Life and Deviantart. I was asked to do a commission of a full body fursona for £18.00 which at the time equated to $30.00. I had seen this username Dragonf94, sometimes called Draco, online and they knew others I had already done work for, so I agreed. I work by sending the picture in low res to get approval at various stages of completion and then usually ask for half before finishing the picture. In this case I was a little more foolish and offered to do the whole piece, as the price was quite low for my work.

Early on, Dragonf94 claimed others had refused them work and it had hurt their feelings. I didn't ask and did the picture regardless.

I did a few reiterations and the picture was done after about three weeks due to a waiting list. The client was happy. I sent them a very low res and they still seemed happy. I then awaited payment in order to send the full res.

Evidence:

I messaged them through the site, through email and skype as requested. No payment came. I consistently asked them if there was a problem, and at first they didn't seem to reply. After a while, I threatened to name and shame them as I noticed them using the incredibly low res picture as their icon. They then began the excuses, ranging from mental illness, to homelessness, to insomnia, to all kinds of problems. Sometimes it was because the paypal information was wrong, so I sent it again to all of his emails, but I know he has received the information as I use paypal very often. Then, his mother was no longer his guardian, he had been adopted, all manner of problems arose. The client was never rude, but the excuses were all I ever heard and they kept getting more severe, so I offered to leave it for a short while so they could sort out what was happening. It began in March and I heard nothing until around April, and then mid-May, each time prompted by myself, not by him.

Not sure if these very sudden stories were true, I enquired about them. I kept putting back the time again, asking them for some evidence - by this point the client said he needed paperwork from a therapist and then could get a job because he was homeless. Until then, he could pay me nothing. I was unable to prove that they were lying, though it seemed strange that it all happened only after the picture was finished, and that a homeless man was able to email me at all (let alone had neglected to mention any of it beforehand). I asked if they would prefer paying in five dollar instalments over the course of months to help them. I received no reply to this offer, though I mentioned it several times.

After investigating (and waiting for many, many weeks for updates on the situation) I doubted the excuses and began to realise he had no intention of paying me. Whenever I stopped emailing, it all went very quiet. However I was eventually informed he had gotten a job. I asked again.

Again, I got no reply, despite consistently enquiring about what was happening and if and when he would pay. I asked him if he wanted the picture or not, but his answer was always: I will pay eventually.

Four months or so down the line, now in June, I have given up. I did the work as he was happy and I feel I have been taken as a joke. No contact comes unless I instigate it, no answer to the questions about how I can help him pay, just excuses ignoring my suggestions to sort the problem out. Had I not told him to remove the low res I doubt it ever would have happened and he didn't seem to understand why it bothered me. I am tired of waiting. Now I know why no one does work for this person.

Dragonf94 or Draco, who gets commissions through FA, F4l and Second Life, will never pay you in my experience - so don't waste your time like I did. The picture remains on my hard drive until future notice. I have yet to hear any further from him at all.

Edit: I have also become aware that he operates on Deviantart looking for commissions, but due to the large number of hidden comments, I am inclined to believe he has experienced other problems with either commissions or other artists on there. This is also under the name Dragonf94, but he may have multiple accounts.