Eden

https://artists-beware.livejournal.com/870876.html thesyko / lesyko (FA) - vonwerehog (DA) http://www.furaffinity.net/user/thesyko/ http://www.furaffinity.net/user/lesyko/ http://vonwerehog.deviantart.com/ WHERE: FA/DA WHAT: Egg adoptables http://www.furaffinity.net/view/15463996/ http://www.furaffinity.net/view/15472989/ http://www.furaffinity.net/view/15515024/ http://lesyko.deviantart.com/…/2-Dollar-Egg-Adoption-506776… WHEN: 8 months ago PROOF: http://sta.sh/21rmjg9525if?edit=1 EXPLAIN: -Do not buy adoptables o commission her, you may be scammed- This user was selling adoptables (on Fur Affinity) a long time ago, I purchased 3 and waited for their art, but never got it. They were reported on the previous site, but I found her on DA and I asked them for a refund, but they just ignored me, I were insisting to contact with them. They were very rude, and said "I was in the hospital, I cannot give you a refund because I don't have a job, etc..." A few moths later, I asked they again, and their response was "You'll have your refund ond july 2nd" A month has passed and still nothing, so I noted them again, because I REALLY NEED the money right now... They ignored and blocked me... This user stills drawing and taking commissions... By the way, there are more upset customers by her

https://artists-beware.livejournal.com/869831.html WHO: SnowDarkWolf at Furaffinity. Not sure if he has other accounts on other sites. WHERE: His userpage on Furaffinity: http://www.furaffinity.net/user/snowdarkwolf the pic he commissioned me: (WARNING: NSFW?) http://www.furaffinity.net/view/17019931/ WHAT: a digital art commission that has been completed, but then be charged back by this commissioner. (see proof 2) WHEN: commission succefully ended on July 5th, 2015, chargeback case happened on August 27th, 2015 PROOF: (1) proof of completion of commission: http://i1030.photobucket.com/albums/y368/darkgoose666/85c6d9d1-917d-4608-9b5c-2f3d2858dcf2_zpsgzetwl3w.png (2) proof of chargeback case happened: http://s1030.photobucket.com/user/darkgoose666/media/asdee0150901190907_zpskja37jau.png.html EXPLAIN: about 3 months ago, I was commissioned by SnowDarkWolf and drew a pic for him: (WARNING: NSFW?) http://www.furaffinity.net/view/17019931/ The commission was successfully completed and I'd already sent him the full size image. However, at last month, a charge-back from PayPal is issued, saying that the customer wants his money back. I tried to contact SnowDarkWolf by all the methods I could, but there's totally no response. He's email is dead-like and his account on FA is banned. It's quite obvious that he's trying to con me on that commission, he probably thinks that he doesn't need to pay on commissions on a banned account. It really upsets me. I work hard and waste a lot of time for someone, but end up not earning anything, yet losting even more money than doing nothing, just because someone is being selfish. 😧

https://artists-beware.livejournal.com/870015.html EDIT: solved, I received a full refund. WHO: RaikaDeLaNoche / RawrCreations / AlmaAurora on FA, WHAT: A fursuit mask I didn't receive. WHEN: Contacted her and paid on march. Still waiting on a full refund. PROOF + EXPLAIN: [Note: The RawrCreations fursuit studio is handled by two people; Raika and someone else, but because this was entirely handled by Raika, I've decided not to include the other person.] RawrCreations opened for new projects in march, so I messaged them asking for a quote. [Proof] We agreed to the transaction, I sent $250 and I was supposed to send the rest of the payment next month. Their website (listed on the RawrCreations profile page) is now down, but when it was online, it showed some fursuit examples and a ToS that specified that, if paying in increments, they would send an invoice next month, and it was expected for the buyer to pay when it was due (April, in my case). [Proof] It's after I sent the first payment that communication completely stopped. April passed and I didn't get any updates or the invoice. I tried to be patient so I waited until May to contact them again, but my message was ignored. I messaged them again through on June asking for a reply, again, no answer. [Proof] On July 23 I was now tired of waiting and sent Raika a message on FA, asking for a refund. The message was read, but I got no reply, and her favourites kept being updated, showing that she was indeed ignoring me. (I also sent a message to the other fursuit studio maker, the messages are still unread.) She finally replied to me on July 30, the reason cited for the lack of updates was personal reasons/not wanting to talk, but assured me I'd get photo updates in about a week. I was excited about getting the item again and understood that life sometime gets in the way, so I told her it was completely okay and to take her time, only thing I asked for was updates. [Proof for both messages] Yet August was passing again without not even once being contacted by Raika, so I left a shout on her profile asking for a refund, completely fed up with waiting. [Proof] I was silently 'refunded' a week later. The thing is, because Raika sent this as Payment instead of Gift or Refund, I only received $236 from the $250 I originally paid her. I understand not all countries can send as Gift (mine can't), and it was past the wait period to send as Refund, but I would have expected her to cover the fees so I would have received a full refund. [Proof] I left a shout on her profile asking for the full amount on September 1st, which is still being ignored, even though her account shows activity. There are also other people on her shouts asking for refunds and updates, so I know I'm not the only one. [Proof] So, in short, I paid for a fursuit head, was ignored for six months (and still am), then not refunded in fully, even though I didn't receive anything.

https://artists-beware.livejournal.com/867465.html WHO: Kimba90 WHERE: https://inkbunny.net/kimba90 WHAT: Two character digital NSFW commission of anthro 'My Little Pony' characters. WHEN: Initially contacted on Aug 16th. Trouble showed up Aug 29th. PROOF: link to all the screenshots, which I will be putting into context below the cut EXPLAIN: Kimba90 contacted me on August 16th to ask about a commission. I pointed him at my simple price list. He asked about me drawing "loli" characters, but I let him know I wasn't into drawing underaged characters in sexual situations. He asked about drawing MLP, I said that was okay. I am not too good at 'feral' animals but could do them anthro-ized or like ginjinka. We got the details sorted. I let him know that I would do a rough sketch to get the poses down before asking for payment. I don't add any character details in the sketch until I've been paid. screenshot I showed him the first sketch (NSFW). He asked for some changes. screenshot I obliged and sent a revised sketch (NSFW). He asked for one more tweak, plus a second insert panel shot. I did so (NSFW). screenshot I sent the final revision on the 26th. Three days passed so I sent him a reminder on the 29th that I still needed his PP address so I could send him that invoice. He PMs back with his address... but also informs me that he doesn't have any money in his PP account. I figure he was trying to scam me into free artwork, but I asked if I should just put the drawing on hold until he does have the money... and when I should expect it. screenshot It's been two days and he hasn't PMed back. I think he is just going to ignore me and I figured I might as well post this beware. Even if he does get back to me, I don't appreciate that he would try to get a commission and not have the funds to back it up, so I won't be continuing on this commission. I saved a copy of the first version of the sketch, so I will probably sell it as a YCH on FA to recoup. (commission request specifics blurred and screenshots larger as requested)

https://artists-beware.livejournal.com/866132.html WHO: Ann Allen on Facebook, unsure of any aliases outside of Facebook WHERE: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100009386021687 WHAT: 2 Small (about 1 inch) feral chibis (both rats), laminated & shipped. WHEN: On June 11th, I was tagged into a posting in a Furry-Centered Art Group on Facebook by some personal friends who are moderators there. The reason is irrelevant (and I also cannot remember it), but I decided to commission the OP (Ann Allen) as they were showing off about 10 or so completed chibi pieces they had done for a group of people they were staying with at a con. PROOF & EXPLANATION: All correspondence is/was through Facebook PM, and follows as such, censored parts are her e-mail and my work address-- First Contact (June 11th): http://i.imgur.com/CSvIpsp.png I give her my commission details in PM after arranging for a commission in the original post in the Facebook Group, we chat a bit about our jobs (mostly omitted from screens as it's not pertinent) and I leave her alone to it. I ask later if she has an FA, she ignores me. The conversation picks back up nearly a month later JULY 6th where she asks me AGAIN what styles I want: http://i.imgur.com/vuOnC9v.png I reiterate that I'd like just the regular, simple chibis: http://i.imgur.com/w4GFurp.png The next day (July 7th) she asks me if I'm picking up at AC, when I never mentioned anything about going to AC prior to this nor on Facebook: http://i.imgur.com/rROL5Wn.png I inform her that I haven't been to AC since 2012 since I generally don't have the kind of funds it takes, and I again give her my address to have them shipped: http://i.imgur.com/t0PI0IN.png As you can see, the conversation ends there. I ask her again on the 21st of July and again a week later on the 28th of July for updates. I get silence. At this point it's been over a month I've been waiting for two tiny, very simple chibis that I've been asked for details on more than once despite her being active on her Facebook and posting other commissions/personal art. She had been very talkative at initial contact and then for some days after until I started asking for updates, then I started getting silence. Finally, on the 28th of July I asked for another update and postured a Beware. She sends me a photo of an empty iPhone Box: http://i.imgur.com/43VVXvk.png She claims then that her phone was broken despite never having made mention of this anywhere: http://i.imgur.com/L815Pkf.png I am sympathetic, she AGAIN asks me what I ordered. I tell her, re-send our refs. On August 13th (now it's been a little over two months) I ask her for an update: http://i.imgur.com/RJq5qnF.png Then again today (August 19th) I message her, and despite seeing her posting on her personal Facebook and being active on messenger, she continues to ignore me. I believe I am now out of the range of chargeback, and for $7 I'm not exactly going to kick and scream, but I REALLY did want my art, I genuinely like her work but I'm not the kind of person that likes to be strung along. I browsed her Facebook Wall a bit earlier and saw other people posting, asking for updates and replies to messages so it seems she's doing this to almost all her clientele while posting commissions she got for herself, etc.

https://artists-beware.livejournal.com/865907.html I'm going to go ahead and post this beware because Echoen has given every indication that he refuses to resolve the issue. Post contains suggestive nudity, but nothing too explicit. WHO: Echoen http://www.furaffinity.net/user/echoen https://echoen.sofurry.com/ https://inkbunny.net/Echoen https://www.weasyl.com/~echoen https://www.patreon.com/Echoen WHERE: My specific issue is with his Patreon. WHAT: Digital commission which he used for commercial purposes without my knowing, much less my approval, despite the fact he agreed to my TOS when he commissioned me. My TOS has always stated that I reserve all rights to my work, conform the law for freelance creatives as opposed to, for example, work for hire. It should be mentioned that this was a €5,- commission and it cannot be reasonably assumed that the cost also covers any rights in addition to the custom artwork, much less commercial rights, nor was there any indication that the work would be used commercially when he commissioned it. WHEN: August 2014 until Juli 2015, which is when I confronted him. EXPLAIN: September 2012 I had a sale on "Itty Bitty Commissions" which is what I call a small, digital, flat-colour, 1 character commission (example). They were so-called "wing-it" commissions, where I would receive payment and a character description and draw it and the customer would receive the finished drawing. Echoen contacted me and told me he needed a badge for a convention. It was rather last minute, but turn around was fast (a few hours to a day usually) and I moved him to the head of the queue to make sure he had it in time, just to be nice. I also gave him several options (1, 2, 3, 4), all at no extra cost. Again, I was just trying to be nice and a good artist and give good customer service. And Echoen seemed really happy with the work, which he uploaded a week later.) I thought that was going to be that; customer was happy, I was happy, end of story. Right? Juli 2015 I find out he's using it as a header for his Patreon, which is receiving almost $300 a month. Now I have a Patreon, and I know I thought carefully about which image to put up as a header to hopefully draw folks in and support me financially. This is definitely commercial use, as it's effectively advertisement, and Pixsy (a site that helps you local potential abuse of your work, they work with legal partners) agrees with me, filing it under commercial matches. I contacted Echoen, telling him I'd license him the image if he wanted to continue the image for his Patreon. He responded by taking it down and.. Nothing. No "oops, sorry!" or anything. That said, he'd still used the image commercially for 11 months, even though he had agreed not to. I told him I still needed to be compensated for that use, and sent him an invoice for a $110, which is entirely fair considering how much he's getting every month. After this is pretty much devolves into him stomping his feet, making up nonsense reasons as to why he shouldn't have to pay and suggesting he received "legal counsel" which agreed with this point of view. The screenshots. Him. Me. Him. Me. I asked him to have his lawyer (typically, legal advisors are lawyers.) contact me instead and then he went silent. Artists beware, Echoen has no respect for you or your rights at all. He'd comment on my work the entire time he had my art up on his Patreon (with my name effectively cropped out of the art!) and we chatted on FA; he had every opportunity to ask me about the work or mention the fact he was using it on his Patreon and never did. He's pleasant to your face, but when confronted with the consequences of his own voluntarily actions he becomes patronizing and will attempt to intimidate you into relenting. To this day he still hasn't even apologized a single time for abusing my work. He takes no responsibility for his own actions at all but instead goes to extreme lengths to avoid it. I ignored some warnings about him and this exact kind of behavior in 2012 after I finished the Itty Bitty Commission, and now I wish I'd heeded them, refunded his 5 bucks and had the work removed. Please don't make the same mistake I made, avoid him. Useful link: List of common but invalid excuses to copyright infringement as written by an attorney.

https://artists-beware.livejournal.com/865680.html WHO: Boxjelly1 (goes by real name also but for sake of having this posted, omitting) WHERE: http://boxjelly1.deviantart.com/ WHAT: Two full color, 2 character pieces with background. WHEN: March/April 2015 PROOF: Artist did not do correct characters, agreed to refund me, and ceased communications/has not yet refunded me. EXPLAIN: This is my first really bad experience commissioning someone, and first AB post, and most of the details will be here. I have worked with this artist in the past and their works are absolutely amazing. In the prior works I've gotten from them, they met or exceeded what I was looking to get. However, for whatever reason this time, the artist drew not what I wanted, decided to complete the piece after they had specifically asked if I wanted to see a sketch before they colored, and admits they didn't draw what I wanted, but due to their time and effort spent, were still entitled to something. This post is more about principal than a refund because I've nearly exhausted every avenue to get my money back, and I will not silently stand by while someone does this. In March 2015, artist had they were open for commissions on their page. I sent them a PM through DA's notes a while prior, and they messaged me saying they were open. I respond back stating I wanted my character Patches and Steele (from Balto) in some rather cute, mushy gushy poses. I've worked with the artist prior over the years and she has drawn the characters before. Artist states she has 2 commissions ahead of me and will let me know once she's ready to take on mine. In April, artist lets me know she's ready to start. Details are given, artist agrees, and artist asks if I want to see work in progress before she colors. I state I want to see work before she colors, and specify image formats preferred (as this artist has done prior for me), and she agrees. Between last message sent and this one (about a month and a half), artist has many delays for whatever reason. I had sent messages asking what her status was since I had already paid her, and finally on May 29 2015 she's ready to start. ------This is where things go downhill------- I still haven't received any updates so message the artist on June 3rd, and artist replies on June 4th with links to sketches and that she'll start coloring them right away even though this is not what was agreed on. Upon seeing sketches, I see that she has drawn my character Patches with Scar, and I tell her this. (I do like Scar and this artist has drawn them in the past, but I was not looking for that with these commissions). She states I didn't specify Steele, and asks to keep with what's she's done so she doesn't have to redraw. I state that I don't want that and want them how I described. Artist replies back that she completed coloring 1 of the pieces, is sorry that she did the incorrect character and admit to doing so, and offers a partial refund stating that even though it was her fault, she still is entitled to funds for her work done. (This completely blew my mind) It is worth noting that the piece she completed is so obviously hastily completed that I laughed at how horrible it was. Artist used a picture off the Internet for the background, and the coloring is rushed and absolutely horrid. Compared to her other works she's completed of the same type, it's clear that she spent no time at all trying to complete this. With the above in mind, I message the artist back, stating my absolute disappointment with their work, and ask them what would have happened had I not stopped them from completing both pieces, again, only supposed to have been done once sketches were approved? Seller states they will give me a refund, and this is the last time I ever hear from them. I ask 2 times where my refund is, artist reads DA notes, ignores/never responds. I send an ultimatum to artist; it is read and ignored (see above to see that note was read on DA). Dispute is opened with Paypal and ultimately denied due to being "digital goods" which aren't covered prior to 7/1/2015. It's worth noting when their new TOS went into effect on 7/1/2015, they would have been covered. They note I can attempt to get funds outside of Paypal, such as filing a police report. In the Paypal dispute comments, the seller is adamant they are still entitled to funds, and mention commission TOS that do not exist on their page (at least to where I can find them). TOS were also never mentioned in our communications. So with that being said, I've walked away from this feeling like I've been stolen from, and lied to. The artist has done nothing to communicate back to me or refund me, yet ultimately insists that because she did work (even though by her own account was wrong), she deserves to keep my money. And the sad thing of the matter is she's an amazing artist and this was probably some sort of fluke, but being a repeat customer of hers, I feel like I'm somehow been made the bad guy in her mind. Am I crazy? Did I do something wrong here? 😕

https://artists-beware.livejournal.com/865113.html 8th October Update: I was chatting with some others about Rach today and decided to check her Trello and noticed my Card was moved to a section called Cancelled/Refunding as shown in this screenshot: http://imgur.com/ZHB4psq so having been almost 2 months since I last messaged her I decided I would ask her why and relayed this message: http://imgur.com/vPP8VLV hopefully she will get back. WHO: RachVerity WHERE: http://www.furaffinity.net/user/rachverity/ https://www.weasyl.com/~rachelleverity | https://inkbunny.net/rachykins http://rach-verity-sketchbook.tumblr.com/ | https://www.patreon.com/rachVerity?ty=h Commission List: https://trello.com/b/kDddOtiK/commissions-list WHAT: 3 x Flat Colour Commissions as detailed in this picture http://imgur.com/IruU17G WHEN: Paid on 22nd December 2014 PROOF: http://imgur.com/BANmRVV she even posts the details on her Trello she makes later on http://imgur.com/jIGqXOg which is clogged full of so many commissions. EXPLAIN: Being new to commissioning I wasn't sure if 2 months was a long time for some simple art so I sent a message on February 13th asking whats up: http://imgur.com/sjepU63, she replied with http://imgur.com/r0WdkpY. Okay, she's the artist, who am I to judge I don't draw so I don't know how long it could take. On April 28th I finally get notified via a shout on my page http://imgur.com/R27RiPh about one piece being done. I'm excited and happy to have some progress done however it was neither done as I requested or to my characters reference. (NSFW Content) Posted Image: http://imgur.com/NReJ8UA, my girls Ref: http://www.furaffinity.net/view/11793824/ I'm grateful for getting back to me and I send her a message that same day: http://imgur.com/zm0pgUW to which she replies http://imgur.com/w0WfLnh so its nice to see she is taking responsibility for the mistakes and is happy to fix it. June 4th, I noted her: http://imgur.com/4rlMcLX, her reply: http://imgur.com/ezuYlR2 July 18th, I noted again: http://imgur.com/gOEG5hC, her reply: http://imgur.com/1oW7VXi Honestly I don't know what she meant by the last note but now I'm just sick of it. I'm sick of waiting, I'm sick of the excuses and I hate the fact that I have been forced to come here and make a post just to try and get something resolved. If you're not going to do my art Rach then refund my $60, I refuse to accept and use that art drawn as it was neither done to how I asked or to my characters reference. I'm sorry to have to bring this to A_B but I was left with no choice at this point as I feel like you have taken my money and ran. Thank you.

https://artists-beware.livejournal.com/864661.html WHO: Wyldfire/Wyldfire7/Fr0stbit3 WHERE: http://furaffinity.net/user/wyldfire http://furaffinity.net/user/fr0stbit3 http://weasyl.com/~wyldfire7 WHAT: Traditional 2 character NSFW sketch commission http://i.imgur.com/JCcdnQ0.png (details blurred out for NSFW reasons) There was more notes before this, but they just include me at first wanting a comic, but then not being able to pay, so we decided on a sketch image. WHEN: As you can tell from the timestamps on the notes, the commission was discussed, agreed on, and paid on August 1st, 2014 A rough time line of the situation from initial conversation, to 1st payment (or agreement of trade) to signs of trouble. http://i.imgur.com/tISUOYg.png I've blocked out the end of the email as the first part proves that Wyldfire is Fr0stbit3 PROOF: Discussion of commission: http://i.imgur.com/JCcdnQ0.png Payment: http://i.imgur.com/tISUOYg.png Note that the sketch is too hard, artist wanting to change it, and me asking for a refund instead: http://i.imgur.com/Y1gShFI.png More screenshots regarding the situation can be found in the explain area below. Explain: On August 1st, 2014, I contacted (on Weasyl) Wyldfire7. At first, I wanted a comic commission, but it was changed to a 2 character NSFW sketch commission involving a dragon of mine and one of his. It was paid for that very night. As I waited, I feel deathly ill and was unable to access the internet (nor was I physically able to) as I spent the next 8 months in the hospital. When I was finally able to get online again, I was expecting to see the sketch commission, as it'd been close to a year. Instead, I find a note that had been sent on the 24th of August, 2015, saying that the sketch was too hard, and if I wanted the commission still, I'd have to request a different pose. I was a little disappointed, but at this point in time I'd fallen away from the fandom and my characters, and was more interested in a refund. A refund was agreed on, and I'd sent my paypal information, the amount, and started to wait. About a month later, I poked him about my refund and received this. http://i.imgur.com/uUA9bh8.png I understood where he was coming from, so I resumed my waiting. Though I didn't log on for a while after I sent my last note, as I had a lot going on in my life and just assumed that he'd get to it soon, so I tried to give him space and not badger him about the refund. So when I logged back on about a month later to poke about my refund, and I received a note that contained a personal means of getting me my refund. I shall not repeat what was said here, but I will say that I was rather grossed out by it. A little while passed, and I decided to check my paypal to see if I'd gotten my refund. I, of course, didn't, but on my payment summary, I noticed something strange. The paypal email address that I'd originally sent it to (which was related to his Wyldfire/Wyld name) had been changed to Fr0stbit3works http://i.imgur.com/tISUOYg.png I was confused, as his name was still the same, it was just different. Soon after that, I visited the journal of one of my favorite dragon artist's on Furaffiinty, as I noticed that were opening for commissions and I wanted to see if I could afford one. Well, in the comments, I saw this http://i.imgur.com/2ACVkkX.png They have the same name as what the paypal address had been changed to. So I visited the userpage and saw that they're skype address was the exact same as the paypal address http://i.imgur.com/rfoF11b.png Please note that the Tier 1 commissin slot started at $60 and went up, so it's clear that he has enough to refund me. So I go back onto Weasyl, sent (and received) this http://i.imgur.com/eREiIAo.png I'll admit I was a little frantic as red flags were going up quickly, but I tried to control my emotions regardless. I was frustrated when I read the reply, about how I needed to be 'patient', so I just didn't reply as I'm sure I'd let my emotions get the best of me. About another month passed, and I visited his userpage again, and saw that he'd going to the movies to view Ant-Man, and would only have $15 left until he got paid again http://i.imgur.com/evnKMEA.png Him saying that he had 'nothing he needed to buy' is really frustrating to hear, given that I've been waiting for a while now for my refund. So I finally decided to shoot him a note (7/18/15) asking for a time estimate for my refund. What I got back... http://i.imgur.com/g0ryPTl.png He's claiming that I have him confused for someone else, even when I have all this evidence that he is indeed who I can prove he is. http://i.imgur.com/QUqHeB8.png I confronted him with a screencap of the paypal summary, and this is what he said. I was angered by this, so I didn't reply, as I know, again, my emotions would've gotten the better of me. (as a note, I've moved from Weasyl to FA, given that the note system is easier for me to keep track of) Mere minutes later, I get this note on my Weasyl http://i.imgur.com/NglAIdX.png After everything I've seen, I have the feeling that I'm just getting the run around at his point. As of 8/4/15, I have yet to receive a refund. I don't know what to do at this point. I paid with my paypal balance, so I can't contact a bank at all, and I'm well past the 45/180 days to file a chargeback. And I'm sure that posting this will cause me not to get my refund at all, but the least I can do is try to warn others about him before they get taken advantage of too. Please be very VERY wary of commissioning this artist.

On Feb 25, 2022 I responded to a now deleted commission ad put out by Kancler_vell, and paid $70 USD for a colored headshot. Their email has been left uncensored as it's publicly listed. On Feb 27th they asked for my email to keep in touch when Russia invaded Ukraine. That was the last I heard from this artist. I have sent follow up messages and received no reply. Message sent on Instagram: Email attempts: I've learned from a Russian artist that Kancler_Vell is ok, but is only active on the Russian social media site, VK, on what might be a private profile. So, I sent one last attempt at reaching out. Edit March 15, 2023: after sending an email to this artist with links to this post, she has gotten in contact with me to figure out our next steps. Edit 2: Kancler has sent me a refund!