On the 3rd of July, MarbleShark_AD reached out to me, complimenting my OCs and offering me to commission them to help with their homeless situation. I was initially interested but I didn’t buy a commission until August 14th, where we did business then. We settled for $50 USD for (1) one shaded commission, which then we discussed about payment.
They only accepted CashApp, which I had to make an account to even send the payment. I had an issue at first until I managed to get the QR code to work, and the payment was successful. Soon after, they offered another commission for $20 USD, and I accepted. After telling me happy birthday the day after, August 15th, I barely heard from them, until almost a whole month later, September 10th. In the early hours of the night, they messaged me stating they needed money to get an Uber after getting out of jail and into an unsafe area 12 miles away from their home, promising me they’d pay me back.
They specifically asked for $35 USD, again through CashApp, and ultimately I obliged, feeling concerned for their current safety. I messaged them a few days after to get an update, but I didn’t get much of an answer, and they left me in the dark without a response until October 13th, where, again, they asked for more money. They wanted another $25 to get an Uber from the countryside to the hospital, again saying they would pay me back, but due to the tight budget I had this month, I couldn’t help them again. In addition, I also commented about the previous time they asked for money and how they’ve yet to pay me back like they said.
Plus mentioning that I’ve yet to get any updates or word about the status of the commissions I paid for, stating that seeing an update would be greatly appreciated. In response, they simply said, “sorry for asking for help damn.” I waited a few more days and asked about the commissions, and soon sent a huge statement representing how I felt about the lack in communication and the negligence of any update to the commissions I paid for. I told them to not ignore my message, only to see that it was never seen, and yet when looking at their profile, they’re making general posts and offering much smaller priced headshot commissions.
- provided is the screen cap for paying MarbleShark_AD, or on their CashApp, Tenae, a total of $105 USD; $70 USD total for the two commissions, plus the additional $35 for their Uber ride back home.
- Additionally, I provide the chat log from Twitter/X involving me, and MarbleShark_AD.
Originally commissioned in June of 2023. After payment, full on ghosting despite being active on Twitter.
Paid 25€ for a commission of my sona, just a simple plain headshot, nothing else interesting. Bewaree told that "it'll be done around Thursday" aka 29.6.2023.
Bewaree has been active on twitter, mainly posting NSFW images, that's why I marked the post as NSFW.
I've tried reaching out to the Bewaree on Tele, Twitter, Paypal and Discord but to no avail.
I also reached out to to his friend who knows the bewaree IRL, image attached below (19.9.2023).
Still no answer from the artist, that's why I'm making this post on AB.
We agreed on a hand drawn, physical paper based drawing that would be shipped to me in the USA. I was shown several examples of his art. I liked what I saw, but he could not really price me appropriately. He said he would do it for 25 euro, but shipping would be to the USA, so I offered a very generous 70 Euros for the drawing plus shipping. He invoiced me, and still said in the invoice that he felt that was "too much". I am generous with artists, and don't mind paying well for an art style I like and enjoy. I was prepared to pay even more if the shipping was going to be higher than anticipated, although I didn't state that.
We went back and forth on paper sizes, and style, and all the normal things you'd expect. Then, he invoices and I paid. He then said he would get started. Here is the timeline of conversation:
May 2 2023: First contact, asked if they had examples of bunnies or anything like that. I got several examples of work in general done. No bunnies, but examples of his style both digital and physical paper. We go back and forth on things for the next few days.
May 9 2023: I get invoiced for 70 Euro, which included shipping. He says he will start drawing.
May 21 2023: No updates. I ask, and he gives first excuse: "I work on it like a little on the time. Yeah on weekends I have plenty of time. But I give at least an hour a day for it so it is not rushed." I was understanding. He specifically said he would try to finish it June 10th because "afterwards I wont have time".
May 30 2023: He contacts me saying hes not forgotten about me, and will finish anothers commission, then will work on mine.
June 1 2023: He then says hes going to start my commission, after a few questions prior. This somewhat confused me, but I didnt say anything. He said he had already been doing it, but whatever I suppose? In addition to this, he shared a conversation with someone else that commissioned him that refused to pay him because someone got into their account. Why he would share this with me is unknown.
June 4 2023: He messages me asking if I would advertise the artwork if I liked it. I said sure. I just wanted the art at this point.
June 5 2023: He asked me some more questions specific to the type of paper used. We sort that out.
July 14 2023: I ask him for a project update. I'm ignored.
July 15 2023: I ask again. I get an excuse that he's working too much, hes too busy, hes not forgotten, etc etc. He offers to refund me on Aug 10th. At this point, I didn't care for a refund, I just wanted the art, so I said I would wait. I'm pretty patient and I understand life happens.
Sept 8 2023: I ask for update. I'm ignored. He viewed my message that day.
Sep 18 2023: I askm again. I also express dismay that his name says hes open for commissions, but he's just ignoring me. I'm ignored again, but again he viewed my message that day.
Sep 28 2023: I asked for a refund. He viewed this message same day, and as usual ignored me.
Oct 1 2023: I officially put in for a paypal dispute against him, and am posting here. I told him I was doing so. He deleted the conversation, and I was blocked from telegram a few minutes after I told him that. I unfortunately did not capture the point of me telling him this in a screenshot and since he deleted it, I can no longer reach him.
Proof of payment (redacted real names and real info):
Relevant info/correspondence. Note that I have a video of the entire conversation from beginning to end I can share with a moderator, but cannot post here due to private/real life information.
Agreement of payment/price:
Other correspondence to support (Tried to get the dates in as best I could)
TL;DR Summary:
In July 2022 I commissioned OmaOti/Kaylachi/Oma-Chi for $75. As of September 25th 2023, I still have not heard from her, despite reaching out to her, nor have I received any evidence of my commission being worked on. Screenshots are after the full summary.
Full Situation:
In July 2022 I requested to take an open commission slot for her to draw my OC Andrea, via Twitter DMs. She accepted, and I sent her $75 via Paypal, which is what she was using at the time for payment. Sometime in August she deleted her Twitter. I remember her posting saying it was temporary and for her health, so I was not worried.
In late November, after the initial 1-4 month period had passed, I sent her an email (via Paypal’s ‘contact the merchant’ option), checking in on my commission. I received no response.
By December, I was a bit more concerned, and filed a dispute with Paypal in order to send her a message there. I asked for an update by Christmas and said if I didn’t hear from her by then, or if she’d changed her mind, I’d be fine with a refund, and then I waited. The deadline for the Paypal dispute was nearing, and, because it was the holidays and her Twitter post had said she was ill, and I was naively trusting that I wouldn’t be scammed, I canceled the dispute. (That is entirely on me and a mistake I will not be making again.)
I searched for her on Twitter and Deviantart constantly, waiting for her to be active again. Eventually that slowed down a bit. In July 2023, I checked her Deviantart (link warning: NSFW content) again, and saw that she’d posted mid-May. I left a comment on that post, wishing her well and asking for an update.
A few days later, I sent her a Discord message, again wishing her well, and asking for an update or a refund if she was unable to complete the commission. A few days after that, I sent another message, realizing that since she deleted her Twitter she no longer had the link to the OC I wanted drawn, so I included that, as well as saying again I’d be fine with a refund instead if she needed, and asked her to at least get back to me.
After a couple weeks of waiting, I sent her another message, as I’d seen other comments on her DA and on Twitter about being ghosted by her. I explained that I understood that stuff happens, but I would really like a response and/or a refund, and that if I continued to not receive a response, I would have to make a post about the situation. I gave her some more time, as I really wanted to avoid this scenario.
A few days after that DM, I made a comment on her DA profile letting her know about the DMs in case she just hadn’t seen them pending on Discord. Another few days after that DA comment, I sent her yet another Discord message saying I’d be fine with a refund at this point. The next day, I told her I would be filing a bank chargeback and posting a beware if I didn’t hear back from her within 36 hours. I also tried one last attempt at contacting her: I sent her $1 on her Ko-Fi with a message to contact me.
Which brings us to now. It’s been about a month since that last DM and Ko-Fi message. I did file the chargeback, which I lost, as the transaction was ‘technically’ authorized (which I half-expected, as I’ve worked in the disputes field.) I’m making this beware to hopefully prevent anyone else from losing their money to her.
Outline:
original point of contact.
commission information given here.
payment confirmation on my end.
confirmation on his end stating they got the money.
first update about 6 months later, just wanting to see if there's any
progress, there was not.
next message was actually him contacting me for once, asking for clarification, didn't hear anything after this, this was the last thing i ever got from them.
me sending them a note, asking for progress with the option of refund if no progress has been made, i got no reply.
just once again asking them for a refund, made sure they were aware
how much it was and gave my paypal address as well, which is blurred.
and me trying to contact their twitter about a week ago now, still no update, no contact, nothing.
my fa outbox. he's read all of my messages
Caution: There will be some watersports art. And then gore and mentions of scat. I've censored some of the more sensitive artwork.
It started out as what seemed like some normal commissions but as time goes by with subsequent commissions, the artist could not seem to deliver on the artwork and even after waiting so long, it's becoming increasingly frustrating. I am growing to have trust issues.
Anyways, here goes nothing. Because it'll be long, I've split it into parts and placed under spoilers.
Part 1: The beginning
It started out as some innocent discussion and the artist showing me what can be done. I asked for some watersports artwork involving my sona which the artist only seems too happy to oblige.
Part 2: The Botched Commission
After the first commission is complete, I started discussing about a new snuff artwork that will feature one of my friends' characters. I discussed with my friend and he gave me the a-ok to have his character be the victim.
Part 3: Radio Silence & Ghosting
The second commission didn't quite go well. I thought I would ask for some scat relief artwork.
And to top it all off? I checked the FA profile and there are still artwork being submitted from time to time, even as recent as a few days ago or even several hours ago as of the time of writing so I suspect the artist had been making excuses and ghosting me.
The payments I made for separate commissions. The date of payment should match up with the date timestamp of Telegram messages where I notified of payment. Keep in mind that Boosty is used to pay.
Commission #1: (Status: Complete, submitted to my gallery)
Amount paid: $141.99 CAD | 6126 RUB
Commission #2: (Status: Botched, artwork never revised to my request. Intended to be a sequence, only got one nearly-finished frame that needs colours and revisions.)
Amount paid: $192.01 CAD | 8200 RUB (Intended: $145.18 / 6200 RUB)
Commission #3: (Status: Never finished)
Amount paid: $92.07 CAD | 5000 RUB (+$46.83 / 2000 RUB credit from overpaying commission #2)
The Unfinished Execution Sequence Artwork (Content Warning: Gore/Decapitation + Green Blood)
Just in case if you were wondering what was in animation.gif
At this point, I begin to suspect this "artist" might be a scammer so if this person comes to you asking to commission, please know about my experience.
Addendum:
As per the request, I've attached the notes.
Additional messages on Telegram:
They commissioned me a piece with 2 characters, NSFW edit plus quite a complex BG. I’ve lost original description at this point, but they were completely fine with my initial sketch as you can see here. Price wasn’t an issue either.
Instead all I got is 3 payments, ~50 usd each.
Then they proceeded to tell me that they had “issues with payment”, which I suspect to be completely made up as no other customer since then had them. Also they were able to pay it partially, so they obviously had no problems. My bad for being naive and working without properly committing to the part where I have to get full prepayment after the sketch, but that’s just how I used to roll with it.
And then I decided to reach out to Boosty staff. They said I had absolutely no issues on my side and…
When I said I’m putting it on a hold till they fix it, they just blocked me. Everywhere. Without ANY explanation. They also don’t answer my Emails
So far I’m simply blocked by them on all platforms. And I’ve seen their character being drawn by other artists so… They just took advantage of me and left.
Small notes:
I slightly cropped out DMs due to them being just filled with Troubleshooting Boosty, I can send full convo, but it’s just bloated with useless for the case information. Also, I got to the colouring stage when they blocked me, I sincerely want to attach the file, but site freaks out. It’s kinda irrelevant anyways.
Also, I accept payments via Boosty and have a no-refund policy not because I want to, but due to me being simply having literally no other choice. I always make sure Customers are getting what they deserve, don’t wait for years and are fully informed about all these factors.
I sent off a request for a YCH April 3rd. On the same day MarbleSoda replied and accepted it. They did caution me there was a queue, but I was fine with this.
The very next day they sent me the invoice.
I paid and they confirmed receipt.
Two months later, at the end of May, I inquired for an update. I received no response.
Another month later, at the end of July, I again inquired for an update. This time I also emailed them using the same email I sent my reference to. I received no response.
Furaffinity shows an unopened letter picture for notes that have not yet been read by the recipient. IE a read receipt. Here there is no unopened letter picture. This indicates the artist is reading my notes, but not responding.
The artist is clearly still accepting YCHs and commissions given their recent post on FA.
It has been 4 months since I've heard anything from the artist and I doubt I'm going to get my commission. Now I want to warn others that they should not commission this artist.
Bought a slot on their YCH here as the user Beat: https://www.furaffinity.net/view/49968071/ [NSFW LINK]
Was told to write them on Discord, which i then did. They already didnt answer for a few days until I gave them a nudge.
And after that she basically stopped responding to anything. (On the point where in discord I say "you told me to ping you again, read the convo screenshots from my FA PMs, i used that to get her to answer)
They never sent me any updates or posted them to her accounts, only a few apologies to her FA journals with no answers about status of comms. She is still posting YCHs with payment over Boosty, so no way to refund if this happens.
I should start this by making it very clear this is intended as a caution, not a true beware. Throughout my interactions with Solantic.z, they have been very polite with me, but after roughly five months I have yet to have recieved my completed commission from them.
On 02/08/2023, I reached out to the artist in question about a commission (two flat colored headshots).
The agreed upon amount to pay was $24 USD, I sent $30 USD, with the extra $6 USD being intended as a 25% tip seeing as I was feeling generous, and hoped it would provide incentive to finish my commission relatively quick.
Attached is a receipt of my PayPal statement from the transaction. I censored anything I believed to be personal.
I contacted the artist several times after this requesting updates on the commission, and was given a run-around and no progress updates.
After about two months, I was given an update with some of the coloring done on my snow leopard. They had base colors down, but had yet to begin with any of the spots or markings.
The artist informed me that they had a medical emergency that prevented them from working on my commission (which was understandable, and I wished them a speedy recovery). I have censored the nature of the medical emergency, seeing as medical history is often seen as a very personal thing, and I don't want to reveal anything personal to the public without the artist's permission.
Shortly after their medical emergency, I noticed that the artist had advertised opening a new commission slot in a public Discord server we both share (Canadian Furs), which led me to believe my commission was close to being finished.
When I asked about it the morning after, the artist let me know my commission was coming along nicely and should be finished within the next couple of days.
I'm not an artist myself, but I have a bunch of friends who are, so I know that finances can be quite a concern, and tried to communicate that I was concerned about my commission but that I understood that their mental health (and physical health) had to come first.
We had a quick chat about some personal things (which I won't disclose here). They said they'd give me a progress update in an hour or so if they were still awake. There were a couple of quick affirmations that I had not been forgotten and that my commission was being actively worked on, but no further progress reports or proof of progress.
It sounded like something may have happened in their personal life again, making them unable to work on my commission.
Today (07/11/2023 @ 1:24 PM Mountain Time), I reached out again saying it had been almost five months since the start of my commission.
At this point I had begun to grow irritated, seeing as it had been almost five months for a commission they had said should take less than a week. After a discussion with a friend in the Canadian Furs Discord server, one of the moderators informed me that she had commissioned this artist as well, and had yet to receive their commission.
A few minutes later the owner of the server put out a ping letting the members know the artist has been failing to deliver on their commissions.
Almost immediately after the server owner put out the ping, Solantic.z messaged me asking if I had reported them. While I had idly complained about my commission taking so long, I was not the one that brought it up to the owner, nor did I ask for any action on their part. While I was annoyed, I didn't want to cause trouble, and was mostly content to sit and wait.
As of 7/17/2023, I informed the artist I was imposing a hard deadline, and would like my commission finished within roughly two weeks or I would like my money returned. However, the artist does have a note in their username and bio saying their WiFi is currently down, so hopefully that will be resolved before the deadline. If it is not, I'll see what I can work out with them, but seeing as it's been almost six months my patience is beginning to wear thin.
In conclusion, while the artist has been polite, after being given the runaround for almost six months with little to no actual progress shown, I feel as though I've more or less wasted $30 USD on two pieces of art that will never be produced. I can't comment on whether or not the artist is genuine in their reasoning for being unable to complete the commission in a timely manner, but either way I find it similar to any other skilled trade. Clear communication about delays adds leeway, but when a couple weeks stretches into roughly six months, I am no longer a happy customer.
I think it would be best for anyone attempting to commission Solantic.z to give them a couple months for their life situation to hopefully settle down a little if you're hoping for a timely return for your money.
