Artist Beware: Strype

[ This article contains uncensored NSFW imagery (nudity). ]

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I initially got into contact with Strype on the 3rd of November, 2018.

One day later, on Nov 4th, we came to an agreement on a single character thigh-up commission for $220,- USD.

I subsequently provided them with my PayPal address and paid their invoice in full that same day (Nov 4th, 2018).

They confirmed my payment as completed, and informed me that I'd have linework to look at later that week.

On the 16th of November, 2018 (~12 days following the 4th), I received the linework along with a brief apology for the wait.

I approved of the linework some hours later, on the same day.

After this point, a long period of silence and no updates would occur.

This is where I want to bring one's attention to the fact that the artist does not have a ToS.

Below is a collection of screengrabs from their primary sites (FA and Twitter), both having no ToS to speak of whatsoever.

Furaffinity Account Page

Furaffinity "Commissions Available" Post 1/2 + 2/2

Twitter Page

(Additional screengrabs from other sites such as Furry Network (https://furrynetwork.com/strype/) and Weasyl have also been collected, but will not be included here as they are not in use by the artist at the time of writing this article.)

In short; the artist has no rules, no commitments, and no incentive to adhere to any sense of professionalism with commissions that start off at over 200 USD.

I should obviously have considered this a red flag prior, but I did not. That was a mistake.

Reiterating; November the 16th, 2018 was when I received and approved of the linework for my commission.

I waited until December the 17th, roughly one month later, before I sent them a note asking for an update.

No progress had been made - but they had added me to their 'priority list'. I thanked them for the update and continued waiting.

Following Christmas and New Years, on the 12th of January, 2019, I sent them a new note asking for an update if possible.

(The mentioning of 'three weeks' below here on my part is referring to me inquiring about some lighting conditions in the commission, as they had not yet started, three weeks ago.)

Understanding their reasonings, I wished them the best and continued waiting, hoping for an update.

On the 1st of February, 2019, I ended up sending them a new note, asking for an update.

Still no progress - but understanding their situation (they have been open about these issues on their public Twitter, no censoring necessary), I remained patient, hoping for an update soon.

It was during this phase of waiting I came to realize that getting put on a 'priority list' since the middle of December last year actually doesn't mean anything at all.

Strype had been taking on multiple commissions between late December in 2018 and up till early February in 2019 - all while my commission was supposedly a priority.

December 30th, 2018 - Multiple Slots

January 21st, 2019 - One Slot

January 26th, 2019 - Multiple Slots > (This one is especially interesting and will be referred to shortly)

February 10th, 2019 - Multiple Slots

The most alarming about these openings is the fact that these commissions were not prioritized behind my commission.

One of them was actually taken in late January, (Jan. 26th opening), but ended up being completed less than a month later, before my commisson had even been started.

I know this due to getting in contact with the commissioner in question.

[See mod note above]

Following these discouraging news, I wrote up a note asking for a reply in direct response to what I had learned, confronting them with my concerns on the 19th of February, 2019:

This is how my message looked:

This is the reply I received:

Reading this reply, the troublesome lack of any ToS the artist would've had to abide by, became clear to see.
I thanked them for the update and expected results to show up soon.

Three days later, on February the 22nd, 2019, the artist finally delivered my finished commission, thanking me for my patience.

Credit where credit is due, I was satisfied with the finished results, but they had arrived 3-4 months after I had paid my commission in full.

My commission had arrived roughly one week before my PayPal refund (March the 3rd) opportunity would've been rendered forfeit; not a reassuring fact.

Wanting to give them a second chance however, I inquired with them if they would be interested in taking on a second commission, granted that another uncertain 3-4 month waiting period was not to repeat itself, put in a polite of a manner as possible. Their response was simple, and sounded as follows...

There was nothing extraordinary about my experience with them, and 3-4 month waiting period.

If I wanted another commission, I should expect another 3-4 months of the exact same treatment, over again.

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I urge you to stay away from this artist at all costs, at the very least until they possess a ToS to prevent what happened to me, from happening to you.