Beware: Trixx/ lovelockdownart

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Is it just me having a bit of a hard time understanding them? I don't mean this as judgement on grammar/writing/English, but I can see how hard this would be to fix if it's difficult to understand what the person is saying/asking for. (Some things were easy to understand, like the nose, but some of it I wasn't sure what they were asking for)

It's also sad to read, to me it sounded like you were more then happy to change things and fix it, but they're upset that they decided to accept it as is while they weren't happy, then changed their mind but was upset? I'm also confused by the overall conversations, because one minute they sound like everything is fine, maybe a couple things to change, but then 180s to them being very upset, the art not being good at all. And kinda went back and forth between that?

I dunno, overall I'm a little confused by it. Hopefully both of you can find people to work that work well for you! 

Oh! Also, they say they only received a sketch and then a basically finished piece. There's no caps for that, is it possible to see what progress you showed them?

Personally I think it's ok to jump progress like that if you're willing to change things (which, to me, you seemed willing to do) but I know some clients get pretty nervous to ask for changes in that case. If it was jumped like that, maybe seeing if you can offer more progress images would help this for the future?

On 2/15/2020 at 10:35 AM, sbneko said:

Oh! Also, they say they only received a sketch and then a basically finished piece. There's no caps for that, is it possible to see what progress you showed them?

Personally I think it's ok to jump progress like that if you're willing to change things (which, to me, you seemed willing to do) but I know some clients get pretty nervous to ask for changes in that case. If it was jumped like that, maybe seeing if you can offer more progress images would help this for the future?

(Ooh, I hope this is the right feature to use for replying to someone..!)
I did provide two additional WIPs which are shown in the screencaps as thumbnails,

This was the first version following the sketch--which I sent as a "general idea of the lighting, value, and mood I am running with", I specified that both the character and background in this WIP were incomplete/unfinalized (conversation that is shown in the screencap containing the thumbnail of this WIP):

https://www.dropbox.com/s/cic8bx73ut8jbk0/trixxwip1.png?dl=0

This second WIP was to show her the completed character. At which point, she requested that I tone down the lighting coming from the crystal and when I asked if dimming it down to pink the the background shapes vaguely visible behind it would be acceptable and she gave me to go ahead for it:

https://www.dropbox.com/s/ep3e3rj6abfv74u/trixx_wip2.png?dl=0

I then restructured the background to better suit the request and sent her the completed version with her requested changes based on what we discussed.

I am nervous to comment with my own opinion on her behavior, I don't think anyone is ever intentionally mean for the sake of it, but I agree that she was very difficult to understand at times and that she did, perhaps, unload some unrelated/outside frustration and anger onto me unjustly. 
At the time, I didn't want to confront her about her behavior directly, I don't think she would have responded well to my advice or criticisms on conduct, and I personally am not confident in my ability to address those things effectively. The most I could do with confidence was decide that we would not be working together in the future. Hopefully, these screencaps and discussion will help equip anyone who may work with her in the future with a better understanding of what to expect--so that  they might be able to navigate the situation a little better than I had and enjoy a fulfilling transaction that leaves everyone feeling happy : >

Man what a horrible situation all around. They're so disrespectful of your art and I would have charged them extra for all the changes. The fact you went in and redid the background to fit the image is so above and beyond. 

The flipflopping also sounds like they were showing it to a friend for an opinion, but unfortunately friends tend to not give honest opinions on situations like this and were likely reinforcing their opinion that it was 'rushed'. It's such a shame because it's a REALLY beautiful piece and their behavior towards you was uncalled for.

UPDATE:
Trixx has filed a dispute/chargeback for the TOTAL sum of the commission including the $200 USD I had already reimbursed her.
The invoice was sent via the musician's paypal and therefore the dispute is solely hitting his account.

I am at a loss for words. We've never dealt with a charge back dispute before. If anyone has any advice, we'd love to hear it.
I've advised the musician to send the completed work as well as proof of all verbal agreements, etc. I'm not sure what else can be done.

Thank you so much, I've forwarded the suggestion to him. He is sleeping now and had already sent a counter dispute, so I really hope he can hop onto the phone swiftly and get this whole thing sorted proper.

I don't even know what to say, the fact that they demanded a refund, they've even posted the pic on fa. I just don't feel right that you refunded them considering the amount of time and effort you poured into your art, not to mention the music track, and they post it on fa? and issue a charge back?  If i was involved i would definitely report them, but i'm merely a bystander

And the comments from her on that said picture is not helping her at all. considering she thinks it's ok to do a charge back after all this especially with the excuses from her it's just pathetic really.

I'm really sorry that you and your partner got treated like this all that hard work for this customer ends up completely wasted like this. 

Seeing how the artist behaved in your screenshots and their replies on their FA upload, I would personally just fully refund them (if at all possible) and resell the slot, even using the already made background. And get FA take down the commissioner posted picture, of course.

While I guess they might've over-hyped themselves during the wait time (which they're partially responsible for themselves!), their behavior is being absolutely horrendous. I understand wanting what you paid for, especially when you pay a lot, but for the life of me can't really understand what the commissioner actually wanted the end piece to look like, and I don't think the commissioner does either. You asked for speciifcs and got nothing. Their responses and comments read extremely passive-aggressive, and after reading the submission comment on FA I'm not inclined to give them the benefit of the doubt. Add in charge-back they initiated after being told they would be refunded anyway, and this person becomes someone I absolutely would never do business with.

I hope you can get a reasonable resolution to this all.

Hi there, I am the musician in question here. I go by Caero/Eluti. I'd like to add my side of the conflict. 

I'd like to first start off by posting the entirety the DM's between me and Trixx over Discord. (I'll help put this into context later on)

Please note that the date when I said I would follow through with a refund was February 10th, 2020.

On December 21, 2020, I presented Trixx with my first draft. Trixx immediately stated her opinion of it and I proceeded to ask for musical references so I could better craft a theme to her liking. Following the references, we've discussed that there may have been a misunderstanding as to the genre of music I compose. I compose orchestrally, which is also apparent in the references I linked in the auction. The references she gave me were more keen to J-Pop and J-EDM, which are outside of my musical ability. As shown in the images below, I was able to help Trixx understand what she was being promised and we managed to work it out. 

you can listen to the draft here https://www.dropbox.com/s/eb6l7mc78cih6hz/Trixx%20Draft%201.mp3?dl=0

From here, I grew weary of my own ability to come up with a theme that would fit trixx's interests for her character. This and several other irl factors contributed to me going silent for another shorter period of time up until Bee's talked to me. 

From there, I decided to completely scrap the original theme I had in mind for a new one with an entirely new style. I then messaged Trixx here

and then in the group chat

You can listen to my second draft here: https://www.dropbox.com/s/u62364iuycwrck6/Trixx%20Draft%202.mp3?dl=0

Seeing Trixx a lot happier with this draft brought my motivation up and I was ready to complete my end of the bargain, though unfortunately on that same day is when Trixx and Bee's had their conflict. I woke up in the middle of this and remained silent in the group chat as I didn't want to engage and possibly further any active conflict during this time.

Following this, Bee's had decided to cease anymore work and generously refund her $200. I remained silent over the next few days so I could think on the situation and see how I felt about continuing forward. I then decided that it would be in my best interest to cease anymore work on my end as well. in any normal situation, in consideration with the amount of work I had already done (including redrafting an entirely different theme), I would have refunded only a partial amount back, but with how long I waited on my end and my own admittance to that fact, I didn't felt the right thing to do would be to refund the whole amount without argument.  

Once again, notice the date that Trixx acknowledged my decision.

From here, Trixx and I ceased contact. She sent me an invoice as I requested.

I hoped that this would be the end of this situation and that I'd pay her back over time, but it seems that alongside sending me this invoice, she simultaneously filed a claim against me with her personal bank. I wasn't made aware of this claim until March 4, 2020 when the claim was posted and a notification was sent to me. I then went to my Paypal and saw this.

The date this claim was filed was on the exact same day Trixx acknowledged my decision. It was the same day she sent me that invoice. I then went on to send my response

This is currently where I am at with this situation. I've called Paypal and they told me that this claim was made directly through Trixx's bank account. This is a matter of Paypal and me Vs. Trixx's bank and her. Nothing can move forward until her bank has taken a look at the response I gave. 

I'm hoping all of this can be resolved soon. Thank you.

(popping in to apologize for my misunderstanding on the nature of chargebacks. I've never issued one before so I did not know that there was no option to request a partial. I'm holding my breath a little more readily with this knowledge, hoping for a solution that is as reasonable as the situation can provide.)

Update on my end:

Another Claim was filed on 03/15/2020 for an additional $200 on my side of the commission. This has put my Paypal at a negative balance of -$495.58 (which is $15 over the amount I told them I would refund them). As of this point, Paypal has not gotten back to me regarding wither claim. Trixx's original invoice for my refund of $480 still remains open.