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https://artists-beware.livejournal.com/799954.html WHO: When I commissioner her, she was under the username Paint on FA. She's also been Skink on Weasyl and most recently is Cockatrice on Flight Rising. WHERE: I originally commissioner her over a stream while she was still doing business out of FA. http://flightrising.com/main.php?p=view&tab=userpage&id=18876 is their userpage now, on the right under 'Recent Forum Activity' you can find their most recent commission journals. WHAT: I commissioned her January 19th 2013 for $110 worth of pay what you want commissions, to be divided into two images. A few months later, I commissioned her again for $30 colored sketch. (exact date not known because I paid for it over some sort of funding website and can't seem to find it on my paypal although I remember paying and I am down on her commission spreadsheet for this commission. You can find the spreadsheet here http://oi57.tinypic.com/15z5a46.jpg my commissions are near the top and bottom. https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0Ak6G1XPK44mudFNHWW83ODhYTmNsVkpNLWN5aE5RTmc#gid=0 this is the actual link to the google docs of the commission spreadsheet.) WHEN: I paid her January 19th, 2013. You can ready about what has happened from then up to this update post here http://artists-beware.livejournal.com/766364.html PROOF: http://oi62.tinypic.com/ixfkus.jpg screenshot of my payment for the original $110. EXPLAIN: http://artists-beware.livejournal.com/766364.html The EXPLAIN: section here will cover what has happened up to this point, but there isn't much to report on.. which is why I think this update is necessary. Despite being active once more on Tumblr and actively taking commissions on Flight Rising, I still have not recieved any contact from Skink/Cockatrice. And no wonder, you see later she purposefully turned off what appear to be all incoming messages from people she does not herself follow on Tumblr. http://lollipopatrice.tumblr.com/ here is her tumblr, so you can see how active she still is. http://flightrising.com/main.php?p=mb&board=skin&id=1030735 here's a link to a forum post where you can see she is offering commissions for Flight Rising things (don't quite understand the game fully) for $5, $10-20, and $15-25. http://lollipopatrice.tumblr.com/post/97124492225 here is a tumblr post where she claims her 'money troubles are alleviated' and says in the same post she can no longer see any asks sent to her, nor see notifications from someone if she isn't following them. It's fantastic that she no longer has any money troubles, however I don't see what the reason is then to continue to ignore customers who want a refund for something they paid for in 2013. The point of this update post is to warn/alert people to this artists's continued activity on Flight Rising, despite still owing money to past commissioners from over a year ago.

Foreword The Beware is labelled NSFW since some attached external links contain NSFW material, but no NSFW pictures will be directly embedded in the post itself. This Beware will be very long, so I decided to organize it into paragraphs to make it easier to understand what happened and how I uncovered the culprit since it's a crucial part of the required proof. Summary One of my Patrons has been re-uploading exclusive content from my Patreon page to the pirate site https://kemono.party/. He didn't have my consent, ne never asked for it nor did he ever tell me. When confronted he declared his act was deliberate. I am writing down this Beware to show, with all evidence I have, what happened to protect other artists like me from this user. Background I've been working with Castore93 for almost three years between Patreon rewards and commissions; I can say we've always been in good terms. He began supporting me through Patreon in November 2019 and as far as I know we never had any issue. (Proof screenshot below.) Kemono.party On January 13th, 2022 I came to know through a friend of mine the existance of kemono.party, an infamous pirate site collecting exclusive material from Patreon and other pay-to-view platforms like SubscribeStar. I sadly discovered my Patreon material was uploaded there too. I was determined to uncover who re-uploaded the material, but to do so I first needed to understand how kemono.party works and how they were able to get it in the first place. Kemono.party works by using a scraper, a piece of software which automatically parses webpages to collect data from them. In order to access protected content, the scraper needs some kind of access key. In the case of kemono.party, the scraper uses the session key from a Patreon account. This means that the user either volountarely gives the scraper access to their account's session key or the account is compromised. The upload happens automatically. Thus, the person responsible must have a Patreon account with access to my exclusive posts; either my account has been hacked or one of my Patrons has, volountarily or not, shared their session key. Finding the culprit My account couldn't have been hacked since I was able to see posts which weren't uploaded to kemono.party. I was fortunate enough to have exaclty three Patrons, all belonging to different tiers. The only way to identify the culprit would be posting a series of artworks limiting access to some specific tiers and seeing which of them would get reposted on kemono.party. I have three different tiers called "A precious gift", "Treasure" and "Jewel's waterfall". When posting a content on Patreon you can choose between some visibility options: You can make your post public so everyone can see it. You can make your post visible to "All patrons" regardless of their tier. You can make a post visible to one or more specific tiers. Selecting a lower tier only does not make the post visible to higher tiers. My three Patrons are Patron 1, Castore93 (Castore Devon on Patreon) and Patron 2. Patron 1 didn't join any tier, so they can only see "Public" and "All patrons" posts. Castore93 (Castore Devon) would be able to see "Public", "All patrons" and "Treasure" tier's posts. Patron 2 can see "Public", "All Patrons" and "Jewel's Waterfall" posts. After uploading each bait post I waited until I saw some of them appear on kemono.party. I made four bait posts: All Patron: it was a check to see if my content was stil being stolen. Selecting "A precious gift", "Treasure" and "Jewel's waterfall" tiers altogether. "Treasure" tier. "Jewel's waterfall" tier. Since nobody was part of the "A precious gift" tier it was no use testing it separately. Test no.1: all Patrons. It has been re-posted. My content was indeed still being stolen. Kemono.party post: https://kemono.party/patreon/user/14947257/post/60897241 Test no.2: All tiers altogether. It has been re-posted. This excludes Patron 1 since they weren't part of any tier, thus unable to see the post. Kemono.party post: https://kemono.party/patreon/user/14947257/post/61104826 Doublecheck. Kemono.party post: https://kemono.party/patreon/user/14947257/post/61286834 3. Selected tiers only: "Treasure" tier. It has been reposted. Kemono.party post: https://kemono.party/patreon/user/14947257/post/61287322 Doublecheck. Kemono.party post: https://kemono.party/patreon/user/14947257/post/61287443 4. Selected tiers only: "Jewel's waterfall". It hasn't been reposted. Check & doublecheck. This excludes Patron 2. Notice how the posts from the "Jewel's waterfall" tier were shared in between "Treasure" posts in order to exclude any time factor. The confrontation It was clear from all the data collected the culprit was the Patron from the "Treasure" tier, Catore93 aka Castore Devon. It was still possible his account had been hacked and he wasn't aware of the situation. So I opted for a neutral approach and he himself confirmed this wasn't the case... On January 20th, 2022 I confronted him. Translation from Italian: Me: Do you know this site? https://kemono.party/ Castore93: I go there sometimes. Me: You do realize this material comes from your account, right? Castore93: But theoretically I think the site uploads content only when you add it, not by itself. I did add some stuff in the past. Me: Do you knwo this is copyright infringment and illegal, right? Castore93: I am curious to understand how it shows it has taken the material without me uploading it. About uploading stuff from Patreon (when I did it some time ago) about that I would have a certain personal point of view, you're not wrong obviously. (SIC) Me: The site connects to your account's session cookie, uploading does not depend from you. In any case you can keep whatever point of view you want as long as my pay-to-view material remains visible only to those who paid for it. Castore93: Ok so one time is all it takes. Later that day I posted a public Patreon journal explaining the situation and how I will be sharing my contents from now on to avoid similar theft. This post too appeared on kemono.party (as you can see from the previous screenshots), meaning Castore93's session cookie was still active on kemono.party. Taking down the material I wish to add this part to show what kind of assholes arise from such events. After contacting Patreon to ask for advice, they suggested me to send a DMCA takedown request to the site which is the typical course of action. However, the criminals running the site ever so smugly responded with... excuses... even if the site has a "DMCA" page with instructios on how to send a DMCA takedown notice. I don't feel like letting them win. I am now in the process of researching my options to deal with the situation. I will try to give updates in the comments about this if I find anything which might be useful to everyone. Conclusion I lost a considerable amout of time dealing with the whole situation, which is amounted to a lot of frustration not to mention the damage of having copyrighted material posted around without authorization. Please be aware of this user.

https://artists-beware.livejournal.com/800561.html WHO: SiliasCrown, madcarnival WHERE: http://www.furaffinity.net/user/siliascrown/ WHAT: I believe I ordered a full colour full body 1 character commission. I believe it was NSFW WHEN: Around about 20th feb 2013 - still ongoing. PROOF: Where I got my slot: https://dl.dropbox.com/s/v65hmdd0vyyvn86/Silascrown where I got slot.png?dl=0 Proof of Payment: https://dl.dropbox.com/s/x8hja5k1m0nv5v1/PAYPAL PROOF.png?dl=0 Conversations by note: Earliest recording of conversation I have left - https://dl.dropbox.com/s/v65hmdd0vyyvn86/Silascrown where I got slot.png?dl=0 second- https://dl.dropbox.com/s/ka3k8lwdft629ju/Silascrown 2.png?dl=0 third- https://dl.dropbox.com/s/wgkcw9ppybd7wio/silascrown4.png?dl=0 fourth- https://dl.dropbox.com/s/zxs6s45dpk2abwb/Silascrown5.png?dl=0 fifth- https://dl.dropbox.com/s/hl00w8s1jkt8a23/silascrown6.png?dl=0 sixth- https://dl.dropbox.com/s/qtz9t81r1zs4baz/silascrown7.png?dl=0 seventh- https://dl.dropbox.com/s/pw5cedrk1tca74g/silascrown8.png?dl=0 eighth- https://dl.dropbox.com/s/kd39reaw80csqf2/Silascrown9.png?dl=0 ninth-https://dl.dropbox.com/s/ppozifcdwwh16xk/SiliasCrown10.png?dl=0 Excuse Journals: https://dl.dropbox.com/s/b5xgyidlb58hv8i/silas excuse journal 1.png?dl=0 and https://dl.dropbox.com/s/wry3ipeuyess5z1/silas yet again another excuse.png?dl=0 Asking for more art: https://dl.dropbox.com/s/coszmog1v2h3r7r/silas taking more slots when haven't done others.png?dl=0 Taking time to draw stuff for themselves when they owe people: https://dl.dropbox.com/s/6e8o6e5wddkptd5/Silas doing own art when owes people work.png?dl=0 EXPLAIN: I fell in love with SiliasCrown's work when I first saw it, I thought they seemed to be a trust worthy artist because they seemed to pump out art like nobody's business. So they opened for emergency commissions, which was killing two birds with one stone, I was about to commission someone I've idolised and it was to help them when they were in need. So I commissioned them, the ordering went without a hitch and I began on the waiting process. The original time of wait was estimated to be about roughly a month. A month and more went by and I saw nothing, eventually, thinking I've given enough time I asked for an update, what's going on, how long I'm going to have to wait. I got a note back eventually saying an excuse and that they'd do it in so many days. I was like okay, that's understandable, I'll give them the benefit of the doubt. The time went by, I gave it a lot longer before I messaged, again giving time then I finally got another response, with guess what another excuse. It happened like this over and over again until I eventually asked for a refund. Have not heard anything since. Have left messages but nothing. This started 20th of feb 2013 and its now 12/10/2014 its been long over a year. I do not have any art, no sketch, no preview, no refund all I got is shoddy excuses and no communication since the last link. I believe this person should NOT be commissioned they are unreliable will give you every excuse under the sun and just never get back to you. I will never commission them again. Update: Found out he's been on tumblr and posting art he's been doing throughout the whole time I've been waiting for my commission. Look at this. Tumblr is NSFW http://madcarnival.tumblr.com/tagged/madcarnival/

https://artists-beware.livejournal.com/908567.html WHO: Bioblaze WHERE: http://www.furaffinity.net/user/bioblaze/ WHAT: The user had won the primary sought after spot in a large multi character auction that has STILL not been paid for. (All screencaps will go in the explain section for timeline consistency) WHEN: Feb 5th, 2014 to March 29th 2016 PROOF: All screencaps will be in the explain section for timeline consistency. EXPLAIN: Back in early 2014, I decided to expand my capabilities and do a mind numbingly heavy project auction consisting of 10 characters in a butcher shop scene to please my vore community. http://www.furaffinity.net/view/12671477/ (mature rated due to FA's rediculous maturity laws though there is no actual mature content in the picture) A great deal of haggling occurred over the coveted position of the butcher himself, with the price VERY swiftly rising from 15$ to a whopping 75$ over very little time. There was a minor scuffle between Bioblaze and another bidder, as he accused them of just trying to drive up the price with no intention to pay. I smoothed the fight over, explaining that the other bidder was a long time commissioner of mine and that they always paid up. Argument now over, the two had some friendly competition for the spot which Bioblaze eventually took. He insisted on paying for it partway through my actually drawing it, which I normally frown upon because I dont want to leave someone screwed over if my laptop dies or something, but I gave up my contact information anyways and even offered him a preview of how it was coming along. Afterall, he had the most unique character in the set and I wanted to make sure I got it right. It took him a while to reply to anything but I assumed he was busy with work so I let it slide. Right after I gave him my contact information for payment, he went missing. Totally. Nobody could get hold of him, none of his notes were being answered, he just dropped off the face of the planet. He resurfaced a year later claiming to have been hit by a bus, saying he was in the hospital this whole time but now he was loose and wanted to pay up any debts. Little fishy but ok, shit happens, right? (the journals he had talked about the accident in have all been deleted and i did not get screenshots at the time because I wasnt overly suspicious yet.) I answered the journal, thinking I could finally get the 75$, which at this point was starting to become a needed thing as I was slowly falling into financial issues with my credit card. Lo and behold, he goes missing again. Resurfaces several months and a good many notes later with this gem: By now I am suspicious AND annoyed, but still. Relapses happen and I am nothing if not forgiving. So I give him another chance to..... apparently go missing. Another almost full year passes before he shows activity on his account again. All his journals had been deleted and replaced with a call out for people willing to work on some sort of programming project with him and paid commissions he bought started popping up in his submissions. So I mail him one more time thinking ok THIS TIME he should be good, right? Play it cool, keep it casual and lighthearted, and maybe he won't know that I have been stewing in frustration and debt for two years? Ok! looking good! he seems willing to play along and he CLEARLY has recovered and is looking to throw money around. Should be a piece of cake for him to get me off his back. Apparently its easier to brush me off as being impatient and petty over a measly 75$ that's been owed to me for 2 years. At this point I am too pissed to answer him back. It has been two months now and I haven't heard anything from him. No payments, no "hey i got paid but something came up so i will be another month", no anything. I don't want to contact him again since I have a feeling he will throw off some excuse and brush me aside AGAIN, or worse he will go missing for some reason or another again. I am so done with this guy. That commission would have pulled me out of debt enough to be able to pay off the rest myself with my part time job but instead I had to get my parents assistance years later when I realized he wasn't coming back. Apparently I am the only person on FA who he is refusing to pay. I have contacted other commissioners and they all say he paid up immediately. I don't know what I did to offend him so much but anyone else who is doing art for him may want to get paid up front before he walks in front of a bus again.

https://artists-beware.livejournal.com/829508.html It's really disheartening to have to come forward with this report, but after having patience and trying to negotiate with the artist, I have begun to feel like I had no choice on this matter, especially after many people have instructed me to come forward. I apologize for this post being very long; I wanted to make sure I included all the details I possibly could. Who/Where: Fursuit Maker: Frostcat-Studio / Ritz_Bitz / Ritz_Tweeting When I originally considered looking into getting my first fursuit, I had only heard of this maker through the recommendation of a mutual friend. From looking at their gallery, they seemed to have very nice work and I was given the impression that they could provide me with similar work. What: One Partial Fursuit ($1200) I had originally contacted Ritz for a fursuit in June of 2014 and on June 27th we agreed to a price of $1200 to make my partial, which included a large tail and also a set of wings. Here you can see Ritz had offered to add a magnetic feature to the wings so they could be worn under a shirt with a harness and I was charged and extra $170 for this addition. ->The email can be viewed here <- (Our conversation is very casual as we had been united through a mutual friend) On September 20th 2014, I confirmed my slot and placed my 50% down payment. -> Link for Proof <- (Ritz real name has been blanked) Then, on November 25th 2014 I paid my remaining $600. (The screen shot shows a total of an additional $1200 as I also paid off the remaining $600 on the mutual friend's balance to help them out. That amount is not related to my entry) -> Link for final Payment Proof <- Explain: At first, Ritz kept very good communication when working on my fursuit and seemed interested in making it "just right". She replied to my inquires often and kept reliable contact with me, even sending me work in progress images from time to time. While I would get pictures, I never really was sure what I was looking at in terms of what she had been doing; I was never given any explanation and was issued vague descriptions, which is possibly my fault for not speaking up on but I had never commissioned a suit before and felt I should place my trust in the maker to do their job. The first red flag that came to me was when she would inquire about my second payment and instead of contacting me directly, she would ask the mutual friend to remind me on her behalf. This really struck me as odd given the mutual friend was not working for Ritz and my contact information was established prior. I ended up ignoring my gut on this issue given the mutual friend was close to both of us and since this was a friendly transaction, I considered it to just be another casual aspect of the entire affair. Ritz proposed the completion date (By Further Confusion 2015) and said that having it complete by this time would be no issue, so I planned to attend this convention so I could have a good time fursuiting for the first time. Overall, the anticipation building for this costume was immense as I would be flying in from Florida to attend the convention in California just to have a chance to wear it for the first time. On January 4th (approximately 10 days before the convention), I was shown images of my completed fursuit via Twitter and Skype. The images were not close ups or anything, so from first appearances I was excited. While it wasn't the quality I had expected, I was still excited to have a costume regardless. I should take responsibility for my qualms with the quality as when browsing her gallery I had not noticed the suits that stood out to me were all built on headbases made by other fursuit makers when mine would be built from scratch; That being said my expectations for what I would receive were not completely accurate and it was my fault for not researching further. Regardless, I told her I was happy with it visually and was eager to wear a fursuit for the first time. Overtime, I ended up coming into a disagreement with the mutual friend who had connected Ritz and I for the commission and we began to grow apart. I didn't think it would effect my commission with Ritz in anyway, but later on I would find it was quite the opposite. (This is only important to note as it will become relevant later on.) Originally, the suit was going to be shipped to the mutual friend and delivered to me at the convention however due to (what I can only assume to be) rising tension, the mutual friend opted not to deliver the costume to me. Given I was flying in from across the country, I asked a friend from Southern California to have it shipped to them instead since they would be driving to the convention. The friends who ended up having the fursuit shipped to them did not open the box in any way until they found me at the convention and I opened it myself. January 15th When I made it to the convention, I met up with my friends from Southern California (I was also rooming with them) and they had my fursuit box in the hotel room waiting for me. At first glace, I was already very upset. The box was very poorly packaged and looked very ragged. I would have thought it could have been mangled by the postal service but it seemed the degrading box was actually taped up in areas where it was falling apart and that tape was laid beneath the original packing where the shipping information was. It was very clear that Ritz reused a battered and trashed box to ship my $1200 product and my concern began to grow before I had even seen the costume. Upon opening the box, the first thing that was staring at me was a foot paw that was falling apart. The box had just been opened and the suit was already damaged in quite visible ways. Thankfully, I had a room full of witnesses that helped me gather pictures of the unboxing. Here is a visual collection of the damages that we discovered. -> The footpaws were separating from the shoes (That I had to purchase myself and ship to her) before they were ever worn. -> The bottom Jaw and horns were crooked and the head was barely foamed so it would lose it's shape when not worn. -> The seam in the fur on the direct center of the muzzle was popped despite never having been worn yet. -> The balaclava was not attached with only a few tiny dabs of hot glue and separated from the foam and also has various holes in it. -> In fact, the Balaclava had MANY holes in it. -> The fur on the hand paws was poorly shaved and some of the claws were upside down. -> The shave job was uneven and jagged. -> And in some places, the fur was shaved all the way down to the backing. Now, as you can imagine, I was not very pleased to open the box and discover the suit was in such a mess after never being worn. Some of the mistakes I saw were very common from beginner suit makers however I was given the impression that Ritz was NOT a new maker and had enough experience to warrant the $1200 price tag (which could buy a partial from many makers who would not have made these mistakes). On top of all these issues, I discovered that the set of wings I had ordered for this costume did not feature any magnetic attachments at all. Instead, the wings were sewn directly into a harness made from elastic straps, making it impossible to wear them without having the harness worn on top of my clothes. This was also very upsetting given Ritz had offered to make this feature for me and charged me an additional $170 for it, yet never once mentioned to me during the construction process that they would no longer be doing the magnet idea. I immediately decided to contact Ritz as she was at the convention and perhaps she could do enough quick fixes so I could at least wear my fursuit; I did fly in from across the country just to wear it around afterall. I didn't mind waiting on fixing the other issues, but I at least wanted some help fixing the shoes. I decided to contact our mutual friend to get in touch with Ritz because I had no other way to reach her at the time. We met up and I explained what the problems were and she agreed to get the feet fixed. We went to Ritz's hotel room and she did a quick hot glue job on the paws with me standing there. It was not very thorough but it seemed like it was enough to keep them together for the time being. I also had the chance to ask about the missing magnets and she explained that there were no magnets strong enough to hold the wings in place (which isn't true since you can order some that can hold up to 75lbs!) so she opted to sew them to the harness without informing me to meet the tight deadline. After Ritz "fixed" the feet, I went back to my hotel room and decided to wear my suit as it was to try and enjoy the convention. The next morning, I went to participate in the fursuit parade and that was when the fur on my foot paws began to separate again; this time on both feet. Additionally, the buckram connected to the plastic to make the eyes began to separate and peel from the plastic. This was also when I noticed that the plastic has been hastily cut and there were strands of of debris going into the space where my actual eyes were. After the parade, I found Ritz again to show her what was happening with my brand new suit and she seemed very disinterested in my issues. When I brought attention to the issue with the eye popping out, both Ritz and the mutual friend (whom was with her the entire con) began to give me sass and snark about not being "too rough" with the costume then walked off without making any attempt to help me with the situation. I was pretty appalled at this reaction given I paid so much money for a costume to wear and was basically being told not to wear it if I didn't want it to fall apart. I had been just wearing the suit like any normal person would, I wasn't jabbing the eyes in with my finger or anything for goodness sake. It was at this point the mutual friend decided to get involved and began sending me text messages that said I was being rude and "mean" to Ritz for contacting her about these issues and the issues in question were not her fault. Why was the suit maker's friend getting involved and handling this situation? This had nothing to do with them so why were they acting as a messenger for Ritz? At this point, I was given the very strong impression that Ritz no longer wanted to provide me with any help for the costume, so in order to make it wearable I asked for the help of my friends (I was rooming with) to help me do minor repairs. I was forced to go out and buy a glue gun and ask a friend to cut time from her convention experience to keep the suit intact. During the time we spent fixing it, we also began to see even more issues with the craftsmanship. -> The zipper on the back of the head was glued to the fur instead of sewn and began to separate. -> The horns were discovered to have no foam to anchor them, explaining why they were crooked. I think the majority of my convention time was spent with a friend trying to repair this costume. We were absolutely sure not to modify anything, just attempt to repair the poor craftsmanship. After a certain point, my friend explained to me that we should stop repairing it all together because the state it was in just couldn't be saved at a convention. I attempted to contact Ritz once more via twitter DMs to try and show her the state of the suit before the end of the convention but she unfortunately decided to start ignoring me. I was polite and kind because I wasn't mad as much desperate to fix these issues. It was such a frustrating experience because I just wanted some resolution for this costume that I spent a large sum of money on and the person who sold it to me made me feel like they had zero concern for the situation now that the money was already in their hands. To make things worse, a few hours later Ritz began tweeting about me to try and detract from my issues, implying that I was picking on them because I had a disagreement with the mutual friend. This was just the end to my willingness to work with this fursuit maker anymore and I ended up sitting in tears while friends comforted me. One of my friends began discussing things with Ritz on twitter because it very strongly felt that she would not be dealing with me beyond this point and Ritz began stating that the problems with the costume were not actually there nor her fault and began to explain that the situation had very much been influenced by my falling out with the mutual friend. My friend then decided to take the conversation with her in private and they discussed the situation because Ritz still would not talk directly to me. During the private conversation with my friend, Ritz admitted to rushing my fursuit and stated that she could not afford to refund the costume but would work out a plan after the convention to make things right. She also stated that it was "shitty" or me to not want repairs at this point and called it unreasonable. I may be unreasonable for not wanting repairs, but I don't trust this individual with my money anyone given these problems would not exist if the care needed was put in to begin with not to mention the constant avoidance with my problems. I did not feel this person wanted to fix things correctly. After Ritz had conversation with my friend, it was decided that after the convention she would absolutely talk to me about the problems with the costume and find a resolution. (I can provide screen shots of this entire conversation if necessary, however I opted to leave them out initially as so my friend would not be dragged into the issue. I firmly believe this should have stayed between Ritz and myself and the constant involvement from third parties has really caused more drama than needed.) January 20th (2015) Two days after the convention, Ritz contacts me on Skype and begins trying to work out a situation from the suit. She begins by offering me two options; One is to send the suit back for repairs or I can send the suit to be stripped and turned into a different character that she can sell. She tells me that I can not be refunded 30% of the fursuit cost as the cost of the materials can not be returned. Despite finding that option to be very unfair (given I would be returning the suit to her so she could recoup her losses and the reason for refund was not a cancellation but rather the product was broken and the fault was hers), I agreed and stated that after all that had happened and the personal involvement of her friend causing tension I did not want it refurbished; I just wanted a refund. She also explains to me that she -can not refund me at all- until I return the suit and she resells it, thus leaving my money weighing on the uncertainty of weather or not the suit sells and if it does, would it sell for the $800 she says I am owed? She insists she will not refund money until I send the suit back, however that was understandable and we agreed. She also mentions at the same time that she will send $200 refund in "good faith" (that I have never since seen). I am kind and understanding with her and even apologetic for the situation that unfolded despite being at no fault myself. I wanted to make things right and I felt bad that she had spent the last few days tweeting about never wanting to make suits again. I felt guilty for the distress I put her through so I even said I would think about letting her repair the suit after she pushed that option on me constantly (despite saying I did not want it). She additionally admits to her friend's presence having effected her business with me and even the way she treated me as a customer, which sent even more red flags to me, but she genuinely seemed like she wanted to make things right so I did my best to return it. Her main concern throughout the entire conversation was her name and reputation, which seemed very off-putting given I felt her main concern should have been to fix the situation with my costume. -> Conversation can be found here <- January 30th (2015) About ten days after our conversation, I gave Ritz my final decision. I took note to how stressed she was over the decision and gave her time to come down from the ordeal. I politely explained to her that I did not feel comfortable sending her the suit and waiting for her to resell it before I would receive any money. I stated that I would gladly return the suit after I was refunded and left it at that. -> Link to Conversation <- The Next day, Ritz replies to me stating that she can not refund me for the amount I am owed until I return the suit in parts for her to resell and asks for a week to figure something out. She explains that she will use her tax refund to pay me the money I am owed and I reassure her that I can wait for a refund as long as it needs to be. My main concern is still that I do not want to return the goods until I am compensated for them. This is when her contact slows to a grinding halt. She openly begins to dodge my communication and puts me on the back burner and does not contact me in any way unless I put an effort into contacting her. February 12th I end up contacting her as it has been nearly two weeks since her last contact with me. Again, I am civil and I calmly ask what the game plan is for the situation. On February 14th I get a reply in which she states that her tax refund was small and she would not be able to refund me from that money. She also goes back on her word in stating that she would refund me and takes an aggressive tone, calling our agreed upon solution to be "unfair" and says that my failure to trust her is preventing me from getting my money back. Now, I'm going to throw some personal opinion in here but...how am I being unfair? She agreed to refund me and suddenly is changing her tune and even going as far as to insinuate that this situation is my fault for "not trusting her". The problem is, I already trusted her with $1200 to deliver a product to me in functioning order. She not only failed to do that, but she also insulted me, ignored me and went as far as to try and claim her faulty craftsmanship (which she admitted to) was -my- fault. Yes, I do not trust her with giving me my money back and I will not relinquish the costume until I am given a refund. I am not asking for both the suit and a refund, I am asking to be compensated -before- I give up the costume. The artist's financial issues are not my concern, what is my concern is the money that she had taken from me and will not return. -> This reply can be viewed here <- She has dodged contact with me and has put me in a situation where I am not sure if I am going to have this situation resolved. On February 17th, I contacted her asking for her to talk to me when I was online as I didn't enjoy playing message tag when the subject was so important. I tried once more on the 18th to reach out and beg for conversation on the topic and reaffirmed my stance about her taking back the product to resell. I even went as far as to offer my phone number to try and resolve the issue but she had left me in the dark, all while spending time on twitter and talking to other people on skype. I am fully aware I am being ignored and it's gotten to the point where I am getting ready to file a charge back on paypal if this doesn't get resolved soon. -> Proof of contact attempts <- (screen shots were taken on 2/18/2015) 2/21 - Ritz contacted me in response to my final message in which I explained that I felt that I didn't believe it was fair to charge me for materials when I would be returning the suit for her to recoup that loss and because the issue with the costume was not due to cancellation or error on my end. I admit that I did change my mind in terms of the refund I was willing to accept though the advice of many friends and other artists swayed my mind. I did agree that taking a partial refund for having zero product on an issue that was no fault of my own felt very wrong, but I may be out of line for having brought that up and changing my stance I take responsibility for that. She responded aggressively, again cursing at me and using profanity. I was given a "final option" in which I was told I will wait until she gets her tax refund after I return the broken merchandise she had given me before I will receive any financial compensation. I don't feel that this is ever a way an artist or suit maker should ever talk to or treat a client, but maybe I am bitter and misinterpreted her reply as more rude than it actually was. I politely asked her to calm down because her abrasive reply felt very flustered and asked her to give me a phone call so we can figure things out. She explains that she can't handle phone calls due to anxiety so despite it being a difficult work around for me (my work generally keeps me very busy) I understand her position and tell her I can easily wait for her to finish helping a friend move out. She asks me if I would "actually want to resolve this civilly" which struck me as rude given I don't feel I have been anything but? - > Conversation <- As of now, it is 2/27/15 and we have not resolved the issue at all. I feel like I am constantly being fed excuses, ignored and just treated very poorly in general and as a customer that paid $1200 for a costume that is barely wearable, I feel like this shouldn't be the case? I just feel like I'm stuck in a run around and I can't help but think I'm not doing the wrong thing? This is the first time I've ever commissioned a fursuit so perhaps my inexperience is what keeps this situation from being resolved? I'd be happy to take fault if I knew what I was doing wrong! I'm hoping that in posting this entry, I can warn people about this maker's shady business practices, lack of professionalism and lack of concern for their customers. I'm also hoping this may be the final nudge needed to get Ritz to acknowledge me and resolve the situation before I file for a charge back on Paypal. $1200 is quite a sum of money to be over drafted and I would absolutely prefer not to financially break this artist. I just want resolution, I want her to give me a game plan and show concern for the situation and give me a refund for the broken product she gave me. EDIT: 3/4/2015 On the day this entry had been posted, Ritz returned from attending an Anime convention and contacted me. She has posted the caps herself below, however just to be sure, here is the gist of what was said: -> Conversation <- While yes, she did offer to refund me $800, she also went on to bring up unexpected bills she mentioned on twitter and debts which made me feel extremely guilty in accepting any money from her when her personal life needed the money so much more. As I have said countless times, I am not out to be a bully in any way; I just want a refund for the broken costume I was given. Later in the day while I was at work, Ritz confronts me on skype with this: I wasn't even aware the entry had been posted at that point as I was on patrol at work (I am a police officer) and she begins getting aggressive on me, stating that she thought this was resolved and saying she was insulted. For one thing, this post was made days prior when I had not yet received any contact, secondly I would never consider this issue to be revolved until the money is in my hands and the fursuit was in hers. At this point, she offers me a NDA Contract because she no longer "trusts" me for having made this entry. Ritz is well aware that I have now requested a full $1200 for my refund because as others have mentioned here, I should not take a material cost loss when the issues with the transaction were not my own. The contract is incredibly damaging for me in which is states that I am unable to speak of the event in public or to third parties and states that Ritz may deduct from my refund if she is unable to sell the broken suit she crafted. I have screen capped the contract issued to me (I had to censor our names) and would like AB's input. -> The NDA/Contract I was offered <- (Ritz is the first party where as I am the second) I do not feel comfortable having to sign a contract to have the money I am owed returned to me; I feel like this is a form of blackmail in order to try and silence me if I want the money I am owed back, furthermore the amount offered is not what I am requesting. I want a full refund and that is what I am standing firm on, especially if Ritz is going to refurbish and sell the broken merchandise I was sold. I do not feel fit signing a binding legal agreement that states I am unable to make "any other online postings about the other party" I am additionally saddened by Ritz response here in the community claiming I have falsified any documentation in this entry and went as far as to accuse me of Libel and Slander within the proposed contract. I have not fabricated any of the content within this journal nor would I have had to should I received a functioning product to begin with. I also asked a few friends to review the contract that was presented to me, to which Ritz stated I should never do unless I approach a lawyer. I am in disbelief I was scolded for asking for input before signing a binding legal contract and that made me feel like Ritz knowingly attempted to shaft me. Additionally, while discussing the public image Ritz has gained from this entryI was suddenly confronted with Ritz's fiance (who could not bother to spell my name correctly). I expressed to him that I have no interest in talking to him about the transaction and want Ritz to be present. She returns and demands I resolve this tonight -> Conversation <- At this phase, I am done playing games with Ritz. I am tired of being treated like a bully or a bad guy when I have done all I can to be agreeable and helpful with this situation. My job requires a very taxing amount of my time and I can't be bothered to jump through hoops anymore. I have issues Ritz a final statement and that is where I am leaving it. I will not be accepting any amount under the original $1200 I have paid and if a resolution is not reached within the week, I will be filing a charge back OR if that fails I will be taking legal action. Ritz has proven to me that her reputation takes precedence above her clients and that is why I can not be bothered to be involved in her personal financial matters or give leniency anymore. -> My final statement to her about the matter <- At this point, this issue is not resolved despite Ritz claiming it to be so on social media. Edit 2: Ritz has now hidden her twitter from public view due to her initiating issues with people discussing this entry and claiming she was harassed. I do not support anyone causing her trouble on social media and I have not encouraged any of that behavior. Edit 3: Approximately one hour after I had amended this entry with the NDA they proposed to me, Ritz contacted me again and negotiated a refund. Her reply was as unprofessional as the rest and was of course not without an attempted guilt trip. She assumed my commentary about conventions and ski trips were about money when in reality it was about her lack of contact with me (in the cases where I was told she was too busy to negotiate with me). After accusing me of harassment and reminding me about her tax refund, I was asked to give her my paypal and complied. Despite constantly being told that she could not afford to refund me in full, I was suddenly sent the full amount of $1200. This left me a bit unsettled, however I wasn't going to ask any more when I got what I had requested. I have informed her that I would alter the entry and mark the situation as resolved. I will also be shipping the fursuit back to her this week and will edit the entry one last time to prove I have made good on my end of the bargain. I want to thank the Artist's Beware community for it's insight and help on dealing with this situation. This community is a valuable resource and I am glad to have been able to use it. As far as this entry goes, while it is now resolved I would still consider it a more than valid beware. I think the entry speaks for itself and down to the very end this maker could not handle a professional attitude. I also want to note that this suit will be refurbished and relisted for sale, so buyer beware in the future. I am very disappointed that things between this maker and I had to come to this. I was very polite and willing to work with them to accommodate their own situations if they would help me with mine and that refusal just made it impossible. Ultimately, it was not the desire to right a wrong that got me my refund, it was the desire to salvage their reputation that finally made a nearly two month long ordeal come to a close. If the maker had just shown the same concern for me as a client as they did for their reputation, this post wouldn't have had to be made. EDIT: 3/6/2015: The fursuit has been shipped to Ritz. I can provide a tracking number to the entry if needed and also visual documentation was taken to provide proof the suit was shipped in the most protective way possible, including the individual parts being bagged to prevent weather damage to eliminate any claims proper care was not taken.

https://artists-beware.livejournal.com/821746.html Who: Teahound Where: https://www.weasyl.com/~teahound http://www.furaffinity.net/user/teahound (inactive) What: $30 story commission When: June 2013 Proof and Explain: On June 11th 2013 Teahound opened for story commissions. I took a slot for $30, and we took the conversation to notes. We got the story idea hashed out and I sent payment shortly after. Checked in during August 2013 In November 2013 I checked in again and decided to take a refund. Subsequent requests for my refund have come up with nothing. Recently Teahound made a journal on his Weasyl stating he wanted to get in contact about owed work. I've emailed him, but that has gone unanswered to this date. A glance at his Weasyl journals shows that he's still taking commissions to some degree, yet I am owed a refund since 2013. Edit: Shortly after posting his Teahound has been in contact with me. Edit 2: Teahound and I worked out that I would be happy to accept the equivalent of Flight Rising currency. So far he has paid me 1,000 g which is equivalent to $10 USD. Edit 3: Another 1,000g paid on 02-06-15 Edit 4: Another 1,000g paid on 02-07-15. This is now resolved.

Apr. 16th, 2011 at 12:59 AM eonisalpha WHO: Lionel “Solion” of Lion of the Sun WHERE: http://www.lionofthesun.com/index.php WHAT: A fursuit head of my dragon character Eonis, done ‘realistically.’ Emails showing exactly what I ordered here: http://s1232.photobucket.com/albums/ff373/Eonisalpha/ http://i1232.photobucket.com/albums/ff373/Eonisalpha/bigorderemailchaincensoredpart1.jpg http://i1232.photobucket.com/albums/ff373/Eonisalpha/bigorderemailchaincensoredpart2.jpg WHEN: January 6th, 2009: Contacted Solion about getting a fursuit head. January 7th – January 14th, 2009: Sent info, discussed options for the head. January 14th, 2009: Sent payment. May 24th, 2010: Contacted him asking for status of head. June 4th, 2010: Attempted to continue previous conversation, in a different medium June 24th, 2010: Talked to him at Anthrocon September 27th, 2010: Contacted him again, asking for WIP shots December 7th, 2010: Contacted him, asking for a refund, was promised one. February 18th, 2011: Disappeared when I attempted to talk to him. PROOF: Screenshot from paypal payment: http://i1232.photobucket.com/albums/ff373/Eonisalpha/paypalinfocensored.jpg EXPLAIN: On January 6th 2009, a friend of mine got me in contact with Solion while he was on their teamspeak server. After discussion that I wanted a fursuit head, he told me to send him an email with exactly what I wanted, so he could have it on file. He told me in the voice chat that he realistically wouldn’t have time to work on it until October of that year, and told me to send him half of the payment to start work on the head, and half when it was completed. The emails linked previously then occurred, payment was sent. I then did not hear for a while. October came and went with no contact from him. On May 24th 2010, I emailed him, he responded on the 25th, mostly wanting to know what was going on, and why it was so late, seen here http://i1232.photobucket.com/albums/ff373/Eonisalpha/secondemailchainconfirmingpayment.jpg . He did not respond to that last email, and I believed he was having email problems, so I attempted to contact him on second life, on June 4th, he responded on the sixth, seen here. http://i1232.photobucket.com/albums/ff373/Eonisalpha/thirdchainsecondlife.jpg I then saw him at AC 2010, where I confronted him in person about it. He told me his email was acting up, and said that he sent me a few other emails, which I never received. He then promised me he would find a way to email me work in progress pictures of my head, to prove he was still working on it. On September 27th 2010 I emailed him again, asking for the work in progress pictures, got one response with no pictures, then he went silent again, email here http://i1232.photobucket.com/albums/ff373/Eonisalpha/postACquestionchain.jpg Finally, in December, I had enough. I emailed him on the 7th asking for a refund, he responded on the 9th promising he would send me a check for the money I owed him. IF he ever mailed one, I never received it. Email here http://i1232.photobucket.com/albums/ff373/Eonisalpha/Finalemailchain.jpg On February 18th, 2011, I was on second life, I saw that Solion logged on. I attempted to talk to him, and he disappeared quickly, log here http://i1232.photobucket.com/albums/ff373/Eonisalpha/finalmessagelog.jpg At this point, I just want the money back. It’s gotten completely ridiculous, it’s been…over two years now, with nothing to show for it. ************** Update 4/18/2011 ****************** Well, took some suggestions from you guys, because you're all awesome...started gathering docs for small claims court, sent him an email saying I posted here, and I got this! https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/B8LEuY1D9_Tg5RkwDYeSMidk50KKAWkhe8CCeTw3TaU?feat=directlink (Hosted by my mate because I fail at photobucket) While I doubt it's going to lead to anything more than the last promise, I'm hoping >.> Thanks for all the support and advice, guys!

The client I would like to report is known as Piscurio/Pisquared. They are a former client and patron who saw fit to terminate their commission halfway through, as well as all communications while I was away for college, etc. The reason I am posting this beware is because now, after over a year, they have returned and are trying to use threats and blackmail to receive a refund when it is explicitly stated in my Terms of Service that I do not give refunds once the work has begun. Unless no work had been done yet/the commission is still waiting in 'queue', or I am unable to continue due to being hospitalized for longer than a period of 1 week, the refunds will not be given. Two separate clients have received refunds from me in the past following this policy. Once who was still in queue and needed to back out, as well as one in 2019 where I could not work as I had been fully hospitalized. Prior to this issue, the user received artwork from me in the form of patreon rewards. They claimed their tier’s ability to have a custom sketch done of their character, which was completed 09/17/20. They were very happy with the result and voiced no issues and we had a fairly strong relationship at the time. Prior to commissioning me fully, the user attempted to ‘haggle’ with my prices. I did not see this as a red flag initially and ignored it at the time in favor of giving them the benefit of the doubt and explaining to them why my prices were the way they were, etc. They then disappeared for some months, only to come back and go through with commissioning me at a lower price. The Issue The commission inquiry was made on the 09/04/20 with payment given on the 10/30/20. No set deadline was discussed with the client and they were aware that I am a college student with health issues and therefore take time working, shown by their references and thus awareness of this later on. Regardless of however long the commission would take to complete, it was clear I would honor it. Please review Image 0. As time went on, they began to grow impatient despite knowing that they were listed under ‘queued’ and would be until the commissions I was currently working on at the time were finished. Complaints were made and I moved them to ‘In Progress’ on November 8th, 2020 to put them at ease. An unwatermarked WIP image with the linework nearly completed was then sent to the client around November 27th, wherein small errors in the design were pointed out. These errors were made due to the client’s reference being largely unclear, but it was promised that the mistakes would be fixed and were fixed at a later date. The WIP was posted again on my discord server, where they were a member. The unwatermarked sketch, however, was deleted from direct messages when I realized the client was posting it online into their own gallery without permission. The issue was later resolved over a stream on Picarto, where I whispered them privately. The user was an active viewer of my streams at the time and would often visit to watch for several hours on end, the content of which included their own commission on many occasions. On December 11th, I marked on Trello that the sketching phase had been completed, as I had fully moved on to lineart by then. I was struggling a lot medically around this time, hence the delay in Trello being updated compared to discord. Despite having expedited their commission (moving it ahead of two others), starting and completing roughly half the work, the client asked for a full refund on January 31st of 2021. In response, I explained to them their options, reminded them of my terms, and once again informed them that refunds were not guaranteed at this stage. The commission was already past the sketch phase at this point, despite the client’s words, as can be seen in the earlier image of their character. While it was not complete at the time, it was well underway and at roughly 98%. I attempted to put their concerns at ease by informing them of other customers who had and were waiting just as long for their commissions, all of which were roughly the same level of complexity and cost as this client’s. It was also explained that I would, regardless of how long it took, complete the commission. Given that this was at the height of the pandemic, and evacuation orders were being given to neighboring colleges in response, I was often unable to respond to long periods of time. However, clients remained informed of this and whenever an update was available on my condition, their commissions, and the like. In the case of this client, I offered to DM them directly when my next stream would start so that they would be informed and could watch their commissions being worked on. The client refused and stated that they had alerts on. The third WIP image was sent to them shortly after. Some weeks later, they left my server, blocked me via discord, and discontinued communication with me. I attempted to reach them and sent a friend request via discord to try and reestablish communication, but they never accepted it. Confused, I continued to work on the commission to near completion. With the sketching phase marked as complete, I did not mark off the next stage (lining) until much later. The reason for this being I was still trying to reestablish contact with my client and had questions that prevented me from finishing this step fully. Despite this, I continued on with the background while I waited. *The dates in this image as of Dec 11th will be further explained below. However, my time working was not without issues. I was forced to not work due to my laptop dying in March. Following this, my college issued an evacuation order in response to a breakout of COVID-19 on campus. Regardless, I continued to inform my clients and sever members of these problems via discord announcements and so on. Unfortunately, the border of my country closed for several months mere hours before I could return home and I was forced to return to the US. They did not open until May 27th, which was around the same time I was allowed to arrive home being on the first flight back. From there, I updated my website, my Trello, and continued working. On June 1st, I resolved that I had waited long enough for my client to reappear and went ahead with marking off both Lining and Color as I had now completed those two steps. This was done tentatively with steps taken to allow corrections should they return. On August 28th, 2021, Pisqcurio sent me a message and demanded I terminate their commission for lack of communication – despite them having blocked me – and alluded that I should give them a refund while fully aware that I would not be due to the commission having been almost completed at the time of termination. Due to rising medical issues and having just returned to college, I was not active on FA and for that I take full responsibility. On January 11th, 2022, the client reapproached me with threats of defamation and claimed I manipulated and gaslighted them when I did not. Their message was accompanied by another over discord that also included more threats, insults, and the promise to continue to harass me. Again, they asked for a refund despite knowing my terms of service and all the work that had been done. They also claimed to have sent an email to me regarding the issue, but I, to this day, have never received an email from them. As can be seen by the above image, I am still, to this day, blocked by them and unable to communicate via discord. We share a server, as can be seen by the image following it, which shows that it is a block and not just us not being in the same community. Upon checking FA, I saw that I was no longer blocked and responded with a message to explain my side of the story while also trying to reason with them. The response I received showed their refusal to cooperate or come to an understanding. I responded with a reminder of what happened, once again, and finally blocked them. I am not proud of this message, but I am including it as well. Edit 01.19.22 Another important thing to note is that the client claims to have emailed me on January 11th, 2022. I checked both my emails and found this; Absolutely nothing. Hence, either they sent their email to the wrong person or fabricated it. I do not have any emails dated on the 11th of January, 2022 from this client and have never received one since from 09/04/2020 to 01/19/2022. What I do have are a total of four twitter notifications and a Buzzly activation email. I checked my gmail as a courtesy, but only the one on outlook is provided or associated with the public and used as my work email.

Shetani Cheetah (Shetani Cheetah) wrote in artists_beware, @ 2018-12-07 00:19 Hitchedboy/Jaoqy/Oatiemeal/Seafowl WHO: hitchedboy / jaoqy / oatiemeal / seafowl WHERE: https://www.instagram.com/oatiemeal, https://www.deviantart.com/seafowl, https://www.deviantart.com/jaoqy, http://flightrising.com/main.php?p=lair&tab=userpage&id=146038 WHAT: 2 character digital painting with background WHEN: July 15, 2018 - current EXPLAIN: Note that there will be some jumping around between different websites/screenshots due to the artist attempting to evade contact. They also changed their usernames various times throughout the course of this interaction, so screenshots may not match up exactly with what I've written. ( Read more... ) July 15 - I commissioned the user hitchedboy on the petsite Flight Rising for a 2-character digital painting, which was paid for using site currency in the form of items. [1] Payment was sent using Flight Rising's 2-way trade system. Weeks passed without word, and their FR profile indicated that they hadn't logged in to FR at all since a few days after I last heard from them. With this avenue of communication closed, I started seeking an alternate way to contact them, and found their Instagram account (which was also under the username hitchedboy at the time. The link on their profile led to a DeviantArt name of jaoqy.) August 27th - I messaged hitchedboy on Instagram to inquire about a turnaround time for my commission. They said they had lost their FR login info but were still willing to do the art for me. They informed me that their preferred method of contact was Discord. [2] August 28th - Our correspondence moved to Discord. I provided them with the commission info again since they stated they lost access to their FR account. I was told that I could check in with them "as much as I wanted" and that my art would be finished in "most likely only a week." [3] September 5th - A week later, I asked to see a sketch. hitchedboy said they weren't at their computer and would send it to me in 2-3 hours. I gave them an extra 4 hours before poking them again. They told me to message them again to remind them in 5 hours; I did so and received no response at all. (Time discrepancy in their message is due to hitchedboy being in the GMT+10 timezone and myself in GMT-5.) Though I was irritated at being brushed off, I decided to give them some time. [4] September 22nd - Life got in the way and I wasn't able to touch base with hitchedboy before this date. I told them the reason for my delay; they responded with a situation curiously similar to mine, and informed me they had completed the base colors on the art. I had not seen so much as a sketch from hitchedboy at this point, despite being promised one several times over. I felt uneasy and asked them to show me the art at its current stage for approval before progressing - again, my message was ignored. [5] September 29th - I logged into Discord, saw that hitchedboy was online, and shot them a message. They immediately switched their status to "offline." (I don't have a screenshot of this, sadly.) In response to this action, I asked them to just let me know if they no longer wanted to do the commission, as I needed it by a certain date and this would give me enough time to find a replacement artist. They assured me that they still fully intended to finish the art, citing extreme forgetfulness as an excuse for blowing me off in the past. They once again set a bizarrely unrealistic time frame - this time just 10 minutes - in which I should expect to see the art. At this point, I was severely doubting that any work had been completed at all, and sent a bit of a lengthy message expressing my frustration about being given the runaround time and again. An hour later, hitchedboy sent me a progress photo. This honestly surprised me, given that I'd been convinced that they hadn't even started, and the completion level seemed to me to be more than could be done in an hour. I informed them of corrections that needed to be made, making sure to be thorough since I didn't know if I would even get a chance to see another WIP before the picture was finished. [6] October 3rd-5th - I ensured that hitchedboy was aware of, and agreed to, the deadline for the piece. [7] October 21st - For the first time, hitchedboy sent me a progress update without being prompted. They said they hoped to have it done by the next day (of course, this didn't happen.) [8] October 24th - hitchedboy apologized for the delay, citing issues with the background. [8] October 30th-31st - The day before the due date, hitchedboy contacted me to say that the art was done, but they were unable to upload it. They claimed to be out of the house again and they would have someone else try to upload the picture while they were gone. Not only had I not gotten to see and approve the final product, I wasn't even told what website I should expect to find it on. In addition, I was extremely confused as to why they didn't just try a different site if they were having trouble with one in particular. I heard neither hide nor hair from them on the actual due date. [9] November 2nd-10th - I would otherwise have just written this off if not for the fact that they had actually completed a good deal of progress on the commission as per the one WIP I received, so continued to message hitchedboy in an attempt to just wrap up the whole ordeal. They claimed to have been in the hospital. No progress was made towards resolving the situation. [10] November 15th - I made another contact attempt on Discord, directly @'ing hitchedboy when I saw them appear as active. [11] While gathering up info to make this beware, I noticed that their Instagram username had been changed to oatiemeal. The account showed activity as of 10 hours earlier (no screenshot of this), and the link in their profile now led to a newly made DeviantArt page under the name seafowl. [12] The recent submissions in this gallery were pieces that had been completed and uploaded on November 3rd and subsequently, when they claimed to not have internet access. Giving the benefit of the doubt, I sent them a polite Instagram message. They responded only to request that I contact them on Discord, which I had been doing for the past 2 weeks. I admittedly lost my cool at this point, which I should not have done. Despite the fact that I knew they no longer used the website where the commission originated, I gave them a deadline to produce either the supposedly completed art or a refund. [13] To this date I have seen neither. (I also messaged them on Discord again as per their request, in case that would produce results somehow - it did not.) [14] I'm very upset because I was really looking forward to getting art from this artist. Quite frankly, I'm not too broken up about losing the payment for the commission, as I would much rather have the art. I can only count myself lucky that I paid in non-monetary currency, and hopefully they aren't doing this to customers on DeviantArt or Instagram as well. PROOF: All screenshots in this folder and linked at the appropriate points within the explanation.