baja

A lot of artists appreciate any sort of visual reference you can give them.

So say you might not be the best artist out there, but if you can rough out a concept with key details you want to see on your character, its a huge help that supplements any reference images you provide (i.e. clothing, body type, etc). I have a penchant for including body scars or markings not immediately visible over clothing, so I'm the sort of person who makes a crude base as to where i want to see these markings, n such.

When it comes to character sheets, I personally look over an artist's previous works if they offer that sort of thing. Its not a bad reference point to say you'd want a refsheet in a format they have offered in the past; i.e. Standard front-back, maybe an alternative outfit, it all depends on what you're ultimately looking for.

It's rather uncommon for an artist to ask the client for their age, and often I see that in the TOS there is a reference to this along the lines of:
"By agreeing to these terms, you acknowledge you are above 18 yrs of age." Or something like that.

You're expected to read the TOS before an artist agrees to take on your commission, so you're expected to do your due diligence as a client, even if the artist isn't going around IDing people at the start of the process.

So in a way its going off of an honor system, and the presumption that you are an adult who has access to the payment method accepted.
Paypal requires all users to be 18 yrs old to maintain an account, as do most of the popular money transfer services if I'm not mistaken.

Here's a topic from a bit ago that covered this from the Artists' perspective on the matter, it might bring you some insight on how its handled from the other end.

It looks like a lot of their social media has gone dormant, but their Patreon seems to be presently active as they've posted within the past two weeks.

Have you tried shooting them an e-mail? It looks like there's one listed on their contact form.

I'm going to touch on this bit right here, since Cel covered the majority of your concerns succinctly.
 

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Additionally, I’m afraid that the artist might make a callout post in retaliation for my beware, which might be an irrational fear, but still. It’s just not okay for someone to take money in exchange for the promise of art only for them to not only fail to deliver the art, but stop communicating with the commissioner altogether.

If you, as a customer, have done nothing wrong in your circumstances, then this fear is massively irrational, and you gotta suck it up and push through.
We have rather extensive guidelines for posting an alert on this site to avoid the rigamoroll of misinformation, miscommunication and mob mentality that one would see on greater social media (i.e. twitter, toyhouse, etc) if going the route of the "callout post".

To retaliate against someone who is only interested in bringing to light some unsavory business practices when the customer has done nothing to warrant that attitude will only serve to reflect negatively on the individual who retaliates in that matter.

I'll level with you, my first official beware here (before migrating to the present website) was regarding an IMMENSELY popular artist who had a huge following! This person even publicly trashed me, all because I wanted some edits to my final product-- a service they extended to me of their own accord.

My situation was a "resolved" as it was going to get, and it was a learning experience for me as a commissioner, and it highlighted some less than stellar things about the artist. Was it absolutely terrifying to speak up? Yes. Do I regret ever speaking up? Hell no!

Even if my situation was one in a million, or a weird one-off, shady business practices deserve to be seen by the general public. There can be no accountability if you do not take a step forward to add yourself to the ranks.

Do this as you see fit with additional communication, an ultimatum or a public message, but you leave yourself at a complete and total standstill if you're worried more about strangers' commentary over getting what you're owed.

When the description is vague, essentially its a roll of the dice on your situation here.

What you've described implies that other materials, that do not pertain to the original listing, were in the mix to be used, which logically leads me to believe you got something more towards the "could get more" end of the spectrum vs the original scraps.

You're in the right of it to be direct about what you want to see, along with visual aids to be precise about what you'd like to be would be enough to cover you.

If you can place the products side by side with what you requested vs what you got and its wholly off? Then its on the creator for not following through with your form.
Say like, you wanted to see a purple dragon and got a yellow gecko, that's eyebrow-worthy to further discuss within the realms of a beware post.

Just give a good heaping helping of visual representation when making another request of this sort.

I've supported artists via similar tiers in the past, and for the most part, they make a courtesy post before the next cycle to inform them of your subject for your sketch for the very reasons outlined by the artist you've noted above.

I'm of the same mindset of Bornes that if you don't use it, you lose it and tbh? It is not a dealbreaker/beware-worthy that an artist did not deliver on a promised reward because it was on *me* to provide them a character reference for the art reward.

Some months I'd plumb forget that I was part of that tier and I would just request sporadically, I was just keen on supporting the artist's works and not my own personal satisfaction, if that makes sense?

If you're concerned about getting your rewards on time, it should be on you, the patron, to abide by the guidelines set by the artist you've backed. If its too much to keep track of, then opt out for a tier that does not offer a personalized reward, or just let it go.

Ultimately, this is up to the mods on whether or not its beware-worthy, but this is something I'd take as a lesson learned and move on.

You can't let yourself get caught up in the anxiety and the what ifs, without putting your foot forward, you can't make a step towards any sort of resolution.

It's as easy as 'Hey I'm ___, I commissioned you ___. I would like a refund as I am no longer interested in the artwork.'
If they pussyfoot around the issue, post a beware and chalk things up as a loss.

Is this artist established in their craft? Did they have any TOS or agreement that you could gather at the time you commissioned them?

Just on the barebones information you provided, the best way to go about this situation is to send it back and ask for a refund?
Or eat the loss.

In both cases, I'd think it's at least worth a caution, if not a beware regarding their work.

Generally Paypal will tell you when the protection runs out!
But since its a 6 month window, I believe it would be til October that you'd be able to dispute it.

But that's just my math on it haha. But yeah, if not sure, your original transaction should give you the definitive date on that 180 day window.

4 hours ago, Alkraas said:

Long Overdue update, but they finished to commission (albeit a downgrade to a sketch) on the day that my protection would've run out.

did you choose to downgrade it, or was it a choice on the part of the artist?

from april to now, your protection would run out in october, not september.

and if you're not happy with it? def post a beware/caution about the individual.

i would take theodor's advice with a grain of salt.

you can't predict a minor's typing patterns nor their intent with their inquiries over text alone. someone you might believe is a minor may just be an adult with particular mannerisms, or someone who may not be accustomed to the commission process, so it might be a little scrambled.

often times, when i look for artists to commission, i try to do a bit of homework on their art pages or social media for TOS and output, but at times i will take in to account age.
since paypal has changed their TOS in recent years, minors can no longer open/use paypal accounts. it doesn't stop them from trying to use them, but in my experience in dealing with minors, as artists, have made a huge deal out of hiding their age to try and get around this.

so if it's not immediately available, and they're not too keen on a yes/no question, i would pass on working with them for peace of mind.

It's such a loaded question because from a commissioner's point of view, it's really subjective what you'd personally price for the art.

What you consider as a fair rate may not be viewed as such for the artist, especially if you're unfamiliar with how they work and how much time is spent on each respective piece.
If someone were to respond to me with that, I'd just walk away since I don't want to potentially insult them.

If they don't have any frame of reference, even if you go deep in the past with their gallery or journals (if applicable), who knows if they'd actually be professional with a commission should you give them a number and proceed :/a

Ohh! That's my bad, I considered this an advice post, since I wasn't fully sure if it would be appropriate to do so.
I can go ahead and draft something up for staff to review, thank you!

I recently had a less than stellar experience with an artist.

I was willing to give them a shot after getting feedback from personal friends and seeing a commission that really sparked an interest in me, so I went for it.
This was initiated in-person at a convention, and things seemed fine from the get-go.

But they really didn't communicate with me after we had things confirmed, and I had paid.

Recently, after a few months of non-discussion from their end, I requested a refund because I truthfully didn't even remember my ideas for the commission, as the artist never followed up with their general process.
This information isn't present in their TOS page, really just their general turnaround, of which they were two months behind not only myself, but several others.

Only now are they willing to engage me about my commission, and I suddenly got bumped up several spots in the queue, my commission seemed to be closer towards the bottom, and they were backed up from a previous convention. This really doesn't feel right to me, and I pressed for a refund instead.

They were actively engaging me at the time I was pushing for this, but once I was set on a refund they just stopped responding and basically left me hanging for hours; I thought y'know, maybe the refund would be real easy to take care of, y'know?
When they finally confirm my details and process the refund, they just continue to speak in a very flippant manner to me about how I should have kept my slot, but it was no big because 'they already sold it'.

Just their general attitude about this really rubbed me the wrong way, especially since they basically ignored my issues with their communication and the process. It just felt very back-handed, the way they spoke to me about wanting a refund at all.

Essentially, this transaction is void, as I'm now waiting for the refund to process, but I really can't shake how rude this artist was to me for not wanting to go through with working with them.

But would this still be valid as a beware? Or do we have a place for uh, well, not great experiences?