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Jun. 10th, 2011 at 12:09 AM latiro ETA: Larka returned and has internet connection, apologized that the commission is taking too long, and promised me to pay me back and finish the commission free of charge, according to her comment to this entry. Thusly, everything's resolved WHO: Larka/Heartlesswyvern WHERE: http://www.furaffinity.net/user/larka http://heartlesswyvern.deviantart.com/ WHAT: a full colored, BioShock-themed digital commission with two characters and a complex bg WHEN: February 2010 and current PROOF: Unfortunately, I don’t have screencaps of the Paypal receipt or the FA PMs (the PMs were deleted due to some FA hack incident), but as far as I remember, the pic cost $20. I do, however, have some screencaps of a few PMs sent to her on DA and can certainly explain what happened February 28, 2010: I paid her $20 for the pic March 6, 2010: I've watched her starting on the pic on Livestream, and all was fine (though she did take a break from it). I asked her to work more of it tomorrow and she agree March 12, 2010: Here’s the pic’s current state (as retrieved from one of her journals on DA) http://i39.tinypic.com/k6kvk.jpg Since then, I’ve been contacting her on MSN, asking if she’s working on the commission and her response is “Yeah, I’m working on it.” Unfortunately, I still hadn’t got the finished version of the drawing since the updated one March 13, 2011: a year later, I’ve sent her a PM on DA regarding my commission since several months have passed Unfortunately, it’s read and ignored. Weird March 22, 2011: Since 9 days past and the note is left unanswered, I’ve sent her another PM, but only this time, I politely asked her to either finish the pic altogether or refund if she didn’t had it finished (ignore the fact that I wrote $32 instead of $20 in the PM) The response: My reply: So here am I am, keeping my fingers crossed for it to be finished for good... but I haven't heard from her since then. She hasn't been on FA or DA since April 30 I know she has a busy time moving to a new house and has no internet, but I really don't wanna be left screwed over EXPLAIN: I’ve known her and adored her art for a long time, but I’m not too happy about her taking too long on the commission I paid $20 for and not finishing it (though she did finished two other commissions I paid for, which is good). Usually, I don’t mind having mildly tardy/late commissions and I always remind artists the pics I paid for (heck, I waited, like, nearly two years very patiently for one artist to finish a commission and got an extra pic to make up for the long wait), but having to pay $20 for a commission and waiting for a year without the final product? I’m... quite bewildered So Larka is quite tardy on the commission updates, implied that she’ll get around working on it (as I politely told her on IMs), and sometimes ignores PMs (regarding commission updates) after reading them (methinks she’s a little tough to contact via PMs). My deepest apologies for not having enough screencaps On different note to Larka: I deeply apologize for making this AB complaint about you, but I still haven’t received the final version of the commission that you promised you’d get around to. Whether I actually got the final product or not, whether you refund $20 or not, I probably won’t be commissioning you again. Sorry ? please note that that this was NOT an attack on Larka and her artistic reputation. I honestly didn't mean to do so, and yet she's angry at me for this and mentions that I've disrespected her. What she said about me was a lesson to me to not start drama like this anymore

Jun. 1st, 2011 at 9:03 PM riskanja WHO: collab account: tasteanddecency (deviantart) paradox (furaffinity), skankicide (deviantart) stage (furaffinity and deviantart, deactivated) WHERE: http://tasteanddecency.deviantart.com/ http://www.furaffinity.net/user/paradox/ http://www.furaffinity.net/user/stage WHAT: A remappable Furcadia portrait of my character Thyme. $10/16gd (Furcadia's currency) commission. Screenshots of order from February, 2010 and on. These conversations run from the bottom up, sorry, just because of how deviantart handles replies in threads. If you need more proof via screenshots of tasteanddecency's actual PMs, I will provide them, rather than just the embedded replies. http://i676.photobucket.com/albums/vv125/riskanja/screenshots2.jpg http://i676.photobucket.com/albums/vv125/riskanja/screenshots1.jpg WHEN: Commissioned February 12th, 2010; paid on February 18th, 2010. Contacted in September regarding a refund; was told portrait could be completed, and they didn't have the money to refund me. Given an outline of the image December 25th, 2010. Contacted again in April about finishing, was told it was next on the list. Contacted in May, no reply. Contacted alternate account in May, no reply. PROOF: It was after they started hiding comments on their journal entries (check their dA's only journal entry for my hidden comments, cry) so I have no record of the refund I asked for and was denied. However, the screenshots above are of my order, and here's a shot where they confirm my payment: http://i676.photobucket.com/albums/vv125/riskanja/Screenshot2011-04-15at112800AM.png EXPLAIN: I commissioned this portrait last February. There seemed to be some trouble completing things after that, and at some point in the summer Stage went away for a while, but I was at least still getting updates. After the summer, communication fell off. I asked for a refund on a journal they posted in September (no record; they keep updating the same journal entry, and hiding old, irrelevant comments), but they said they did not have the money at the time and would complete the portrait. I received an update in December with the lines: I approved them, and had no word after that until I contacted them on the tasteanddecency account in April. Here I'm listed as next in the queue (the responses are from back in April, too - I started keeping screenshots then, just in case): http://i676.photobucket.com/albums/vv125/riskanja/Screenshot2011-04-15at112400AM.png Again, no more contact, which brings us to this point. Contacted May 19 for an update: http://i676.photobucket.com/albums/vv125/riskanja/Screenshot2011-06-01at73910PM.png A week ago, I tried to contact Paradox on Furaffinity (since tasteanddecency seemed to be dead, and my dealings had always been through Para, not Stage): http://i676.photobucket.com/albums/vv125/riskanja/Screenshot2011-06-01at70832PM.png At this point, I've been told "we'll get to it!" for over a year. I do hope they get to it, and I have nothing personally against either artist (Para was always very nice and prompt with me otherwise!) but I'd at least like the beware to be known. Edit 11/30/11: Para has gotten in touch with me and this has since been resolved!

May. 30th, 2011 at 11:37 PM tech_rex WHO: Exodite Dragon, Astralabortion WHERE: http://www.furaffinity.net/user/astralabortion (transaction went through email) WHAT: Line art of one character on bristol board WHEN: December 16 2009 was the initial agreement and payment (which can be found in the Proof section). I gave him the choice betwen two characters I'd like to see his take on, and he chose a character named Lazarus. He said the commission would be done at the end of December, and though it was not completed by then, I was not irked. In January I receieved a phonecall from a friend who was visiting Exo, asking a question about my character's breasts (they're prostetics) as a sketch was being worked on with my friend helping, my response was they could be anything, including weapons. I could hear Exo inthe background saying he loved the character design, so still I had no worries. Friend updated me later through AIM saying that I'll really like the finished product. I have yet to see the sketch. From mid to end 2010 I had several RL issues pop up so that commission in paticular was one of the last things on my mind, as well as working on several commissions of my own having difficulties finishing them, I felt it would be hyprocrisy poking Exo. In February 2011 I felt things been straightened out enough, so I emailed Exodite on the 27th with an inquiry seeing if he still remembered my commission. He has since taken commissions in the form of ACEO cards and had a list of people whose commissions he was working on, but I was not included in the list and progess being made on these commissions, but not mine. At this point all I wanted to know was that he had not forgotten about my commission. At the time he appeared to have had steady internet connection (enough to have a livestream on the 4th of March), but I still did not recieve a response. He has mentioned he is slow to respond to emails, so I waited before finally noting him on FA on March 24th wanting to see either the sketch and be placed on his list or recieve a refund. At this point I was a little irked. I realized he had not been active since the 15th of March, checking his LJ (on his FA profile) showed that the last time he was active on LJ was also the 15th of March. So I felt I like jumped the gun, and decided I'll wait, since he has lost connection before but has had people contact his commissioners and the lack of internet may have just been temporary. I was working on a A_B article looking for a way to contact him when Exodite reappeared on FA. As of May 25th my note was read, but was not responded to. I emailed and noted Exodite a second time on May 27th. In both the email and note were effectively the same, except I pasted the paypal receipt (minus my name and address) in the note. I have recieved no response, but he appears to be active on FA. Proof: The Paypal Reciept: 1st email stating when he was aiming to get the commission done: 1st Email I sent him in February: Note sent on the 24th of March, I messed up the dates of the commission. The note was read, but no response. He did post a journal about a live stream and was responding to comments, and faving art so I noted/emailed him a second time. Note/Email2, sent on the 27th of May, the ony different being I included the paypal receipt in the note. I made a grammatical error, he did not respond to the first note, I left out "not". : EXPLAIN: I commissioned Exodite through suggestion of a friend who had done previous business with him, and he needed some help out and was selling lineart. At the time I was looking for a Christmas present for myself in the form of a traditional piece, and I was interested in coloring said lineart . I learned some huge lessons as a result of this. I gave Exodite the same treatment I have given previous artists I have commissioned. I should have spoken up and noted him when he started taking ACEO card commissions and ask to be put on his list then rather than waiting months down the road, reguardless of what I felt emotionally then. I tried contacting him through email since that is where the initial transaction took place, then tried notes, then notes and email. I felt two days was decent enough time for him to respond, especially given he had read one note and knew I was concerned about my commission status. I tried to be straightforward and let him know I wasn't happy. I held off repeatedly writing up an A_B article in some hope this could be settled privately. EDIT: Issue has been sorted out and refund has been recieved :B

May. 26th, 2011 at 10:53 AM shaneharper WHO: This post is about Dust-Bite on DeviantART. WHERE:http://dust-bite.deviantart.com/ WHAT: It was a $16 digital commission picture. WHEN: I first asked for a commission on December 13th. She agreed and I sent the payment over that day. Since then, I'd sent maybe two more messages, one in January and one in March asking about progress and if a refund was needed. I also sent updated reference sheets incase she hadn't started work yet. The last time I contacted her was April 20th. She hasn't responded past the first day when she accepted my c PROOF: Here is a screen cap from the first time we spoke about the commission. She agreed and I sent the money over. I don't have a paypal screen cap cause I didn't know I would need one and Paypal only keeps information for 3 months. This is a screen cap of the last time I messaged her, which was in April. I don't have the other two messages, but she hadn't responded to me in any message since the beginning. Not even about refunding. I've been REALLY patient, but I went to check out her commission "list" and I'm not even on it. **EDIT** I downloaded my paypal history (something I hadn't tried before) and found the payment and ID number. EXPLAIN: In the beginning, December, I had asked her for some digital art that priced up to $16. Neither of us considered it too challenging since it was one of her lesser commissions offered. She was quick to get back to me, and we agreed on the price and I sent the money over that night. I was super excited to have commissioned Dust-Bite because I'd always liked her art! I don't think she's a bad person but it's not acceptable to leave someone who has paid you, hanging. She hasn't been absent from DeviantArt either, because she's been posting a lot of art since December. And on DeviantArt, as some of you may know, you can see if another artist has read a note you sent them. She read my previous notes, but has yet to read the one I sent in April. I don't know if she's having money problems and can't afford a refund, but she can definitely finish my commissions since they weren't challenging and she's been more than able to post loads of art. **UPDATE** on June 8th, I was contacted and given my commission. I'm marking this down as lack of communication on my part versus a busy deviant.

May. 26th, 2011 at 1:08 AM yujoben Who: Tigsie (http://www.furaffinity.net/user/tigsie) Where: Furry Weekend Atlanta 2011 - Artist Alley What: I commissioned a traditional-colored badge and a Pokemon-themed water-color ACEO card. Paid IN FULL with cash, and given a hand-written receipt (ACEO card was done on separate receipt, and beside the matter at hand). When: Furry Weekend Atlanta 2011 (March 19th, 2011) - May 25th, 2011 After commissioning this artist back in March, I waited a bit and was actually prepared to wait for a good solid few months since I thought her art seemed decent enough, and well worth the wait. The problems with her actually started when she posted a list of commissions that she was either working on, or had finished, and she needed the home address' of the people that commissioned them so she could send them out. She put my Pokemon ACEO card on that list. Meaning, that even though she had the address previously, she seemed to have forgotten the ACEO belonged to me, along with the badge of my character. I did what she asked in her public journal, and sent her a private note telling her my home address and reminding her it went along with the badge I ordered. ...No reply... A few weeks went by, she posted a couple more journals, and the ACEO remained on the list (now remember, the problem is actually with the badge, but these details are just to prove her bad communication). I sent her another message, and just left it at that, hoping that she'd get it eventually. Also, she normally posts what she has done for each commission so far, and mine was marked as "inked" for the longest time. Once again, I had no problem with her taking her time on it, since I wanted it to be good. My friends had gone to Elliot's (May 20th - 22nd), which I knew Tigsie would be there because she had mentioned it in her latest journal, but didn't think to ask them to check up on anything for myself. I got a call during the 22nd after the con was over from one of my friends that he had seen Tigsie, and my badge was done, and she was using it as a display piece. Now, I'm sort of sceptical here... What artist doesn't let her customer know she's finished the product and doesn't tell them she's using it as a display/example piece? Either way, I brushed it off. A couple days later (May 25th) she posts her new batch of badges onto her FA account, and mine was included as the third one from the left on the top row. Immediately, I noticed it looked off. She had completely forgotten several important (simple) details that I ALWAYS include on my character (green-tipped mohawk and thick distinctive beard), and I've never had to correct other artists on because they couldn't be blamed on "different styles" (also, it looked nothing like a bear, and more like a weasel or canine). Seeing as she STILL hasn't replied to any of the previous messages I sent her, I posted a comment publicly on the actual submission that she ruined the design, to which she FINALLY replied to me, telling me to note her privately on how she did it wrong. I noted her, as I was asked, and told what she had gotten wrong (but now that I think about it, I also failed to mention other details she missed- including how she drew headphones on him even though at the con I asked her to not include the headphones in one of the three ref pics I sent her). I get a reply back, straight up telling me she will refund the money, without even giving me another option to go by. I honestly just wanted it corrected (even though I know it's a bit difficult, being a traditional piece and not digital), and when I mentioned it she told me she'd be leaving the country soon and wouldn't be able to get to it. Not wanting to go through the same merry-go-round of insecurity, I told her to just issue me a refund as she promised (and even mentioned for her to take the fees since I paid in full with cash at the convention, and not originally through paypal). Her answer to the last message was that she would "trace" the original image to do it over before she left on vacation (meaning she'd rush through it and hope I'd be happy with it), and I simply told her to forget it and just to handle my refund as she offered previously. Totally ignoring my request to not stick me with the paypal fees, she had done it anyway, leaving me missing $1.37. I know it doesn't seem like much, but it's only fair that she take the fees herself since it was HER mistake and I'm not getting anything out of it (she had warned me that if I got the refund I would not receive the badge). When I noted her back, telling her to replace the money missing and pay the additional fee so I'd have the exact $30 paid for the badge, she plain refused me and told me she was making me pay shipping for the ACEO card I commissioned. She NEVER mentioned any additional shipping fees, and even told me when I asked her at the convention that they were covered in the base price. She ended it by telling me that the conversation would go no further, she would ship out my ACEO in the morning, and that she was still keeping my badge to use for examples (though I asked her in a previous note to NOT do that or to at least remove the name since I do not want myself associated with her any further). I have never encountered such unprofessional behavior from an artist, and I hope any who reads this will take caution. SCREENSHOTS: pics.livejournal.com/yujoben/pic/0000h21h NOTES AND COMMENTS pics.livejournal.com/yujoben/pic/0000fb4f RECEIPT References Given: www.furaffinity.net/view/4872393/ www.furaffinity.net/view/5089389/ Finished Badge: pics.livejournal.com/yujoben/pic/0000gchy EDIT: I understand that my messages seemed bitchy. They certainly were not meant that way until she made me pay the fees on paypal for her mistake. I can understand her deducting money for the work done if I cancelled for my own reasons, but it was HER fault, she didn't follow the references and ignored all tips I gave her when I commissioned her originally. Also, because a lot of people seem to be missing this tidbit of info, I paid IN CASH, full $30, so if she was offering me a full refund, there is no reason to stick me with fees. Please remember the problem here that I'm trying to point out is not centered on her inability to follow references, but her horrible customer service because of bad communication and forcing me to lose money (no matter how big or small the amount) when I am not getting anything from it (for those that say I have the scan of the badge- it is tiny, and I don't want it to begin with). It was her idea first to refund me, not mine, and when I told her I wanted it fixed she offered me two other options which did not appeal. Options are meant to be CHOSEN, so don't hate me because I picked one in the end. The first option was for me to wait another few months while she went on vacation, and I really was afraid of dealing with this whole situation again. It is very nerve-wracking to just be completely snubbed by a person you have paid money to for a service. The other option was a tracing (whether it looked professional or not), and she planned on doing a rush job in a couple of days before leaving on yet another vacation, and I don't want something rushed and uncared for. So, I took the refund in the end. Any of you who are tight on money as it is and splurged on ONE thing for yourself at a convention would expect it done right. I was forward with her, and treated her the way I want my commissioners to treat me. I hate it when someone says anything along the lines of "Um...well...it's really neat... There's just a couple details off...but it's fine. I like it!" If done enough, I become upset with them and just tell them to inform me straight-up what I need to fix, because I WILL do my best to correct it. To sum this up, I didn't think of her as a lesser person, an underling, or an art slave. I think being blunt with people is a high form of respect. Anything less, I feel I am doing the person wrong. EDIT (2/09/2012): Tigsie has surprisingly refunded the amount, and I am pretty surprised that she remembered after all of this. With all of this past us, I do wish to apologize to everyone and especially her. I was a grade-a dick, but I had my reasons. Also, at the time I was pretty new to LJ and was replying to a lot of folks that weren't even talking to me.

May. 25th, 2011 at 3:34 PM thepurplemoomoo WHO: furaffinity.net/user/squeedgemonster/ who is also on other sites that are linked on her page WHERE: furaffinity.net/user/squeedgemonster/ who i have also contacted through the email linked on their FA page - SqueedgeMonsterArt[at]gmail.com whose email used to be monsterguts[at]hotmail.com WHAT: Originally it was for a traditional badge for 23$ that I was REALLY looking forward to, i had commissioned it in may in hopes of having it by my birthday June 28. A year and a half later I sent an email asking what was up, and the order was changed to a pinup since i had waited so long. It was also supposed to be traditional, and mailed out to be upon completion like the badge was supposed to be. Here are screen caps of emails between me and her when i first commissioned on may 20th 2009 May 20th 2009, commission approved and payed for Then in November of 2009, i sent this email, to which i got no reply on august 23 2010 i sent this email on august 29 2010 she finally answered back to me. the following screencaps are messages sent back and forth between me and her. the bottom is what she says, and the top bit is what i answer back. they have the dates on them on august 31st she send me the sketch for approval, it looked nice. September 11, 2010 she sends me a photo she took of the colored piece. her scanner wasn't working, so it wasn't a quality picture that i saw. September 12 2010 i answered her email about my address and such 17 days later, September 29, 2010, still hadn't gotten it in the mail, wondering if she had sent it? i got no answer back November 24, 2010 sent another email, no answer back April 1, 2011, getting upset, sent another email, still no answer back April 16, 2011. sent a note on FA, even though she said she doesn't communicate through notes on FA (messed up IMO) FA indicates that note hasn't even be read. WHEN: I provided time line information with the images, but i payed and got the commission OKed on May 20th 2009, got a finished product (though not the one i originally asked for) on September 11, 2010, and still have yet to have it sent to me in the mail as promised. PROOF: my proof is above, in the screen caps EXPLAIN: I had always liked her art, so i had gotten a little bit of money to spend in my paypal and really wanted to buy myself a birthday gift. My birthday was on June 28th. I had commissioned the badge on May 20th, hoping it was enough time to be able to see it by my birthday. I wasn't too upset when my birthday passed and hadn't gotten it yet. Maybe a month wasn't enough time to do a badge? Christmas started to approach and I was like...well hey, X-mas gift to myself instead. Nothing. Then another birthday passed, so I got upset and tried contacted them more and telling them how upset I was with emails. She said she was sorry and upgraded my commission to a pinup instead of a badge, and told me they would still ship it out to me. September 2010 I got a low res photo of the finished image and was told to send my mailing address, which I did. From that point on I sent emails telling them I hadn't gotten it yet and asking if they had sent it. I never got an responses back and still haven't gotten it. I don't even have a good scanned version..They still upload things often, so I know they didn't like...die or anything. I am really upset about all of this, and now I am moving again, so if they send it out now without contacting me or answering my emails, it'll go to a wrong address and I will never get it.

May. 24th, 2011 at 2:43 AM silverfalln I am incredibly sad to have to make this post, I really liked this artist, not just for her art, but because I thought she was pretty cool as a person. However... there's only so much I can take. I hope that this will still be allowed to be posted, even though the monetary part has been settled before I even get to post it, as it seems the artist doesn't even want to change how she does business, which in itself was making me seriously contemplate posting here. WHO: FarelleMoon on FA WHERE: http://www.furaffinity.net/user/farellemoon (and 2-3 "other" accounts that I can't recall the names of) WHAT: From/For me: a badge, part of a couple's art piece; from my fiance: the other part of the couple's piece, and she suggested doing a ref sheet for him, since this was for a new character and he did not have one for the character yet. I am (with mod approval) posting for both of us. He purchased the commissions for me as gifts. WHEN: My badge order was originally placed August 22, 2010. The couples piece, and the ref sheet was placed October 3rd, 2010. There was even a completed commission placed after this, and information of that is included. PROOF: You can click on any of these images to go to the Flickr gallery they are hosted on, and look at them in the "original" screenshot size. Lots of screenshots behind the cut. Church's screens are on the dark version of FA, mine are using the light one. *further details are hashed out here, further contact over the next few months* Shortly after this, she blocked him, because they were going back and forth in an argument. He was not refunded at this point. Now, for mine. These are for the completed commission. The commission was finished, and a censored screenshot can be seen here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/snowhawk/5753181533/ (tastefully nude, nipples are blocked out by me for the purposes of this post, sorry I didn't show the date). These are the most recent communications between her and I... Keeping in mind, I had sent NO notes to ask about my commission in the time from that last note for the completed commission, and was beginning to get concerned from the tone of her journals, as well as Church's growing agitation over her lack of communication. I read journals when I notice them/have time. Sometimes can't view FA for most of the day, since I can be pretty busy with my RL job and my family. So, those took place on May 9th... Two weeks later, I've heard nothing. I've grown more and more annoyed over the past two weeks, between the lack of communication, and what I've been hearing of people who are also having issues and afraid to speak up... I'm honestly angry at this point. But I'm trying to stay composed. Obnoxious furry-ism aside... This just pissed me off more, so I begin not only gathering my information for this post, but writing it and replying to her as well. That was the final communication as of my last check of FA, and I did send that note as it is written, I just took the screenshot before doing so. EXPLAIN: To start, I fully admit the screenshots above are not ALL off the communication exchanged, as some was just working out details of the art, and not of deadlines/payments/etc. I first commissioned Farelle in February of 2009, for an ink of my character Fidget. It was completed and posted without incident, and very quickly. Well, she offered a few "orphaned" badges some 9 months ago, and I decided I wanted one of them. I worked out the details, and my fiance, Church, sent the payment. A short time later, he decided to purchase a couples "heart" image she was having a special on, and while working out the details there, she offered to make him a character sheet. She said she would have the heart commission done in 2 hours, and the ref sheet would make it 2 weeks. Somewhere in all this, another digital commission was ordered as a gift to me, a simple piece of my character, tastefully nude. It was, again, completed with no incident. Well, deadlines were missed, obviously. And missed. And she dropped off of FA for a while. And she broke up with her fiance. And she turns into an emotional wreck. And she's having issues with pain. And we are trying to be patient. I live in pretty severe pain daily, too, so we can somewhat empathize. Church's ref sheet commission is supposedly sketched. My badge was changed from the orphaned badge to one of my actual character (at her doing), and has been inked (which I have seen, light bondage warning) and allegedly colored. We contact her, asking for updates, or refunds if it's too much work. My badge needs to be printed and have the ribbon added. But by me contacting her (the few times I have over this), she now refuses to show it to me (so I can, you know, make sure it's colored properly), and won't complete it, and will just refund me "when (she) can." (Edit while working on screencaps: She says she won't complete it becasue she doesn't want it to be destroyed when it gets here. Which I never threatened to have happen, and I never saw Church say that.) She refuses to give refunds, because she's jobless and the commission money has been spent. She expects commissioners to read her journals, and refuses to contact them directly unless she is contacted by them, and then she seems to get very annoyed by the whole deal. She says "I will have everything done by this date, and if I don't you get a refund whether you like it or not!" and the deadlines come and go and refunds don't arrive. In the past 9 months, she has stopped coloring commissions, and hired colorists, again saying this only in journals and expecting anyone that doesn't read them to just be happy with it. She recently admitted she's an "art slave" to another person, and that person will ALWAYS take queue over everyone else in the queue (we never would have bothered had we known this, but it's not, or was not, openly posted anywhere). She constantly drags her personal issues into her "professional" artist life and always has some excuse as to why she can't even show a file. She managed to get enough in donations to purchase a tablet, and not just the little Wacom Bamboo by the price she gave Church, it sounds to be a larger one than my 4x6 Intuos... I've been too angry to read her journals to see what size it was, if it was posted. And, if anyone else remembers, Farelle once tried to improve the relationship between commissioners and artists at cons, by posting helpful things to FA. I would love to link these, but I have lost my bookmarks to them. But this, while it was comforting to see that she valued being a professional, is apparently just smoke and mirrors to hide what's really going to happen. Also, while I was getting my screenshots, and Church was transferring his to my computer, she blocked him from contacting her. And as I have been typing this, and editing screenshots down/removing personal information, she's replied to me, as you will see at the end of the above screenshots. tl;dr: We trusted an artist, in the time it takes to have a child we've been repeatedly let down, now getting sob stories instead of work/refunds. Edit while working: Church just got an email notification from PayPal of a refund. She didn't send it, though, it was sent on her behalf. My last note has yet to be replied to, so I am still posting this as warning. If you want to risk it, go ahead. Neither of us will again, and we're both getting very discouraged over things like this happening. So, resolved as far as money goes, but the beware remains because she can't keep deadlines which -she- sets, likes to flake out and pretend she's doing no wrong, and refuses to actually contact her commissioners. Also, she has apparently posted/is posting about this situation here. I will let it be known, if that post is in the queue and she's not posting under an alt account or refusing to name names (which would still be under an alt or having someone post for her), then this is the situation from my/our side and her post, as of the time I am submitting this, is not viewable. Journal Edit, 2:51 pm, May24, 2011: More screenshots, including the last ones between Church and Farelle, as hamburger requested. The one between her and I are extremely confusing, again, as I am not sure where she is getting the idea I have said some of the things I am being accused of. I have told her to keep the badge, as the screenshots show, as I am tired of this exchange and getting nothing but more excuses. (Notice, I point out at the end she seems to have overpaid us in the refund, but Church can't contact her because she has him blocked.) I am at this point through with her. Any future notes will not be responded to, though I may actually add them if she continues to insist that she is being abused/attacked. I do not deny, in anyway, that I am harsh and abrasive in these notes. Mini edit: I admit I MISSED the line in the last note from her where she says to keep the extra money. For that I apologize and I take responsibility for the screw up. Now, between her and Church, these are the last two notes they exchanged. Church is, as I type, gathering notes where she admits to FORGETTING about the commission, as well as further deadlines she imposed and missed. I will add those when he gives them to me and I have them properly edited. Journal Edit 2, 3:32pm, May24, 2011: These are the screenshots where she admits to forgetting about the commissions, sets a new deadline (Christmas 2010) for herself, and a contact schedual is suggested by Church. Not asking for much, just not to be ignored. Church has also pointed out to me that, in the journal where she announced she was going to go to be hiring colorists, he DID actually express his displeasure. However, I can't remember the time frame of that journal as I think I just skimmed it and never got around to coming back to it (This is why, again, journal only communication is BAD.), so we do not have screenshots of it. Assuming the journal is still there and the comment is not hidden, it does exist.

May. 23rd, 2011 at 4:22 PM jakejynx It's ridiculous that I have to make this post over something so simple, but this person has stopped responding to my emails, and has ignored the Paypal claim that I filed. On May 5, I posted a journal asking if anyone had some sparkle furs on hand that they would be willing to sell. Evilalcarne responded saying she could sell me some lime green fur. I paid $10 for the half yard of fur and $10 for shipping on May 7. She responded the same day, saying the fur would be shipped out on Monday. On Tuesday, May 10, I sent an email asking for the tracking number. She told me that she had stopped by the post office that day, but that her mother had the tracking number, since she was the one who went to the post office. On May 13, I sent an email asking for the tracking number again so that I could be home to receive the package. I received no response. On Monday, May 16, I sent another email telling her I was getting worried. Shipping from FL to GA takes two days at most. Even parcel post is a quick ship. I once again asked for the tracking number. She responded with "it's around here somewhere." And that was the last message I received from her. I sent a final stern email on Friday, May 20 telling her that I expected either the tracking number or a refund by the end of the day on Saturday, or I would be filing a Paypal claim. I received no response. A Paypal claim was filed late Saturday night, and it was not responded to. Today I escalated it to a claim, and I'm fairly confident that I will receive a refund, given that she is apparently unable to show proof that the fur was shipped. Please avoid transactions with this person. Communication is spotty, and she apparently can't be bothered to give you the tracking code on packages. Update: The fur actually arrived today via UPS. However, according to the tracking number on the package, it wasn't mailed off until May 20. That's 10 days after she claimed it had been mailed. Though I sincerely doubt it was $10 to ship, considering it weighs only 11 ounces, the UPS shipping calculator is apparently down right now, so I'm unable to get a price estimate. As if that weren't bad enough, when I opened the box, I quickly realized that it was not the half yard that I had bought. She sent me an 18x18 piece of fur (a half yard would have been an 18x65" piece). That's something like 1/8 of a yard, not 1/2. I know it was not a misunderstanding, since she included a note in the box saying "here is the 1/2 yard of fur." I can't help but think that she purposely sent me ~1/8 yard, and just assumed I wouldn't know what 1/2 a yard looks like. ? Fur 1 Fur 2 And this may be nitpicky, but on her site she has a picture posted of her dog lying in the exact same fur that she sent to me. Though I'm not allergic to dogs, the fur was going to be used on tails that could be sold to people who are allergic. I don't use furs that have been used as animal beds. Also forgot to add her contact/site information: Furaffinity (Gallery deleted) Deviantart Website Livejournal

May. 12th, 2011 7:41 PM hamburger I am posting this as a user, not a mod. WHO: Pirate-Cashoo WHERE: FA | DA WHAT: Digital art; to be specific a full color bust of my tentacle monster Lola. WHEN: Paid $20 for the bust February 10th. In spite of me KNOWING BETTER, paid for it as a gift at the artist's request. No need to remind me why this was dumb. She has since taken in more commissions and seems to have finished ones that were taken after mine. Which she stated in her rules was possible, so that's not an issue. PROOF: Screencap of the initial purchase and my paypal reciept. Screencap of the note I sent her over a week ago that was read but not replied to. Screencap of the shout I left 3 days ago which has also not been responded to, in spite of her uploading, favoriting, and leaving comments to others. EXPLAIN: Pretty self-explanatory. Saw a new artist, really liked their work and got a commission. It's not the fact it's not done that bothers me at all. It's the fact that both attempts to politely request information were totally ignored. I would've even been fine with a vague reply saying 'Oh it'll take awhile longer, sorry!'. Some acknowledgement. Her rules even state: 4. Please be patient! Sometimes I take longer on some commissions than others, so please don't fret if you see a more recent commission posted before yours. I don't usually do things in the exact order I take them. If I'm taking an unusually long time (3 months+), let me know and kick me in the ass! I never give up on a commission, unless some dire emergency in my life comes up that prevents me from being able to do it for some reason. But that's extremely unlikely to happen. ? Her work is very lovely, but this lack of communication is frustrating. ETA: Artist just now shouted with an apology and said the piece will be uploaded tonight. Will mark as resolved when this happens. Feels good to get a response. ETA 2: Finished piece was sent to me today, and looks great! Marking this as resolved.

Apr. 24th, 2011 at 9:35 PM fayin WHO: SpazzyKoneko. Also known as TequilaPink WHERE: www.furaffinity.com/user/spazzykoneko http://www.furaffinity.net/user/tequilapink/ WHAT: Digital Art. “Blind draw” commission of two characters in a story I'm writing. I still have the original commission information, though it's not very relevant at this point. WHEN: I initially contacted Spazzy on April 11th, 2010. She contacted me with a response on April 20th. All of the following conversations are dated, please check those for more details. I paid for my commission on April 27th, 2010. I have not heard from her since. PROOF: Everything is dated. I did block out my email address and other personal information (artist name, etc.). Because the artist's email address is on her FA profile I did not blank that out. Initial commission inquiry and FA note exchange: http://img29.imageshack.us/img29/2270/fanotes.jpg First email not included (it's just commission information). Spazzy response: http://img852.imageshack.us/img852/1236/spazzy10a.jpg My response, letting her know payment has been sent: http://img215.imageshack.us/img215/8310/spazzy15a.jpg After this I didn't get a response. No contact from author. A month and a half later I sent the following email: http://img850.imageshack.us/img850/1589/spazzy12.jpg Sent her a note on FA: http://img545.imageshack.us/img545/310/spazzy16b.jpg Sent this email a month ago: http://img685.imageshack.us/img685/8644/spazzy11.jpg Proof of payment: http://img853.imageshack.us/img853/7920/spazzypayment.jpg Spazzy has updated her FA page in the ensuing months to advertise that she's open for commissions. You can check her page (http://www.furaffinity.net/user/spazzykoneko/ ) for proof of that; it's all in her journals. She has not said anything about old commissions in the past few months. EXPLAIN: Spazzy accepted a commission from me. I paid her on April 27th, 2010. Since I paid I have not heard back from her, though she has continued to post that she is open for commissions. I sent her numerous emails and one FA note inquiring as to the status of my commission; she has refused to respond. Her FA page has complaints from other people that haven't received art, and her journals are also full of dissatisfied commissioners clamoring for refunds or questions as to what happened. EDIT 5/2/11: Spazzy has just posted a journal on FA about finishing her outstanding commissions or giving refunds. I have just sent my email to her with the commission information, and once the issue is resolved I'll be sure to let everyone know. EDIT 5/4/11: I have received my piece of art from SpazzyKoneko. I am more than pleased with it - it's fantastic. Glad to have gotten it.

ORIGINAL POSTING DATE: April 27th, 2011 WHAT: two plush dolls WHEN: since 2009 PROOF: I paid her for the plush dolls via checks. I’ve waited patiently for her to work on them almost two years later, I almost forgot that I’m still owed the dolls from her, so I checked on her to-do list and found out my dolls are completed (or are they?) http://i56.tinypic.com/35na5hz.png I pm’d her on DA (but she didn’t checked them) http://i54.tinypic.com/a0f3tx.png http://i53.tinypic.com/e83k04.png I reminded her about it on Twitter http://i55.tinypic.com/5nmzrd.png I’ve read on the disclaimer on her journal that says don’t send her any DA notes; only send her emails (which makes sense). So I went ahead and emailed her, asking her about my dolls http://i52.tinypic.com/e8og81.png (my email) But I got no response so far EXPLAIN: I absolutely adore how she does plush dolls and I respect her craftsmanship, etc. but it’s been almost two years and I hadn’t received photos of my dolls yet whatsoever. I don’t wanna get screwed over by her ‘cause she’s a great doll maker (though I do understand that she’s busy with life issues and RL). She seems to update stuff on her Twitter, but I felt like she's ignoring me for some reason I'm not writing this as a beware or to let her down. All I need is some words of advice of what to do this will be updated as soon as she gets back to me eventually ETA: according to this journal http://curious-nono.livejournal.com/41931.html my dolls are finished! I'm so happy to see them done and they look fantastic. That said, everything's as good as resolved!

ORIGINAL POSTING DATE: March 8th, 2011 WHAT: A furry hoodie of my character, Foxfairy. We set the price at $80 and I paid a deposit to hold my spot, then another payment to secure funding for all the materials. The first payment was put down in September, the second in November, and I agreed to pay the final $30 + shipping on completion. WHEN: From September to November, everything was fine and he was a pleasure to work with, answered everything quickly and was great in helping me pick the fleece color. And I even got a WIP of the foam base for the head! Since then I have heard almost nothing.I sent one note in late December, and got a reply that he was working on it. I asked for updates last month, which is when I started to get concerned. I sent a note on Feb 11, and got a reply on the same day, that he was almost finished and would send me pictures soon. i20.photobucket.com/albums/b230/Springmoon/Feb11PromisedPictures.png I sent another note five days later, reminding him that I wanted pictures; it's been sitting unread for a while now. (there message in the note is really short, just saying I would appreciate some WIPs) i20.photobucket.com/albums/b230/Springmoon/UnreadNote.png I tried to get ahold of him via email and got a response the next day, i20.photobucket.com/albums/b230/Springmoon/Gmailconvo.png but no pictures, and nothing for the last 11 days. PROOF: Paypal stubs: i20.photobucket.com/albums/b230/Springmoon/paypalhistory.png EXPLAIN: I've been really patient with this artist. He seems really nice, and I put down my deposits. I though everything was going well but I'm starting to get extremely frustrated. I have been promised pictures for almost a month, and I haven't got any tangible proof that anything has been completed besides the foam head base, and that was done in October. What makes me really, really upset now is that I've found out through some internet stalking that he been really active on twitter and tumblr this whole time, almost every day: serifbalehawk.tumblr.com/ AND twitter.com/#!/MS_Manuscript This makes me feel like I'm being almost completely ignored. If he was having issues on FA, I gave them my email to contact me. If he was having problems with his internet connection and couldn't get anything to me, that would be fine too (as long as I knew). But he obviously has internet. If he is using his phone to access the internet, that's no excuse for no photo updates. Any phone that can access twitter and tumblr can access email fine, and take pictures too. My crap phone from 2008 can send an email with a picture. I know life is complicated, but answering an email and taking a photo (even a crappy WIP one!) isn't hard. It takes literally five minutes, tops. I thought this person was of excellent character and he may well be, but at the very least this should stand that he's not particularly good at updates. RESPONSE FROM ARTIST: msmanuscript Mar. 9th, 2011 12:20 am (local) Hey Fox Fairy. I do want to apologize, I know I've been incredibly bad with communication. And it is entirely my fault. My days have been filled with trying to get ready for my first real-world job. The evenings have been trying to chill out and calm my nerves so I'm ready to KEEP this job. It's made me horribly forgetful. I also tend not to check my emails, which is a very bad habit I need to break. Since it's dark, I'll be taking pictures tomorrow when there's light. I'm afraid my "room" has rather poor light, in the way that all images come out almost black. I have offered my IM, and if you want it the offer for it still stands. I'm going to ask a few people to remind me until I do it to take pictures. If you wish my IM, you can speak to me there to remind me to send you images. You shouldn't HAVE to remind me. I'll admit that no problem. This IS all on my shoulders. Here's what I'll do. Once the jacket is done (Hood sewn onto the jacket itself, at the moment they are two separate pieces for pictures,) I'll ship it out, free. Don't worry about the third payment. I was considering reducing it because of how long you've waited, but with how my behavior has been lately, I'll just knock it out entirely. I have been a poor seller/builder. I will continue to work on NOT leaving my customers in the dark. I am sorry for the delay. If you wish my IM, please let me know and I'll PM it to you, as I'd rather not have it posted here.

ORIGINAL POSTING DATE: March 28th, 2011 Ok, I'm posting this as a warning so no one else has to go through the hell I did with this artist. She goes by Jailbird on FA. Back in December, I commissioned a 2 character adult piece from her, since she's my girl's favorite artist. I didn't expect it by Christmas, but I had assumed it would make a nice Valentine's Day gift. It took me a while to get ahold of her to confirm the commission, which looking back, should have been a red flag. She asked for the payment in full up front, so I sent off a large sum of money to her for this piece. I then noted her, asking approximately how long it would take, just because I was excited and curious. After about a week and a half, I get a reply from her, stating that it would be done sometime in February. I thank her for replying, and go about my business. Valentine's day comes and goes, and I hear nothing. I let it go, since she said it would be done in that month, but when it gets to be February 26th, I start to wonder. She's been taking and completing iron artist pieces all month, and I haven't heard a word, so I just note her, considering she had said she would send me an approval sketch. She didn't respond, and it took me posting publicly on her page to even get her to read the note. She finally responded, apologizing for the wait and told me she would start my piece that night, and I would have a sketch by the next day. I thank her, still being extremely polite and kind at this point, and go back to my business to wait for this piece. The next day comes and goes, and I get nothing. I note her AGAIN, asking for an update. I tell her I don't mind if it has to take longer than expected, but to please just let me know. If something comes up, I understand, but I would just like to be informed. She tells me my sketch is complete and she just needs to scan it. A week later, and I haven't seen anything. I note her again, asking to see the sketch. She responds fairly quickly and I receive the sketch of my piece. She claims she had a lot of fixing to do with it online, but I approve it, because the sketch looks good. She notes me a few days later, asking what sort of background I want. I tell her whatever looks good for the picture, because I was giving her artistic freedom to begin with. So another week or so goes by, and I hear nothing. She posts a journal, opening for more commissions, so I comment on it asking about my piece. This was the beginning of last week. She tells me my picture will be done Thursday. As expected, Thursday comes and goes, and I hear nothing. So I note her again, just wondering what happened. She sends me my piece on Sunday, telling me she couldn't do a background on it, and would refund me the extra for a background. So hopefully that happens. But it wasn't the lack of background that bothered me. It was the obvious rush job on the coloring of the piece. Not only is there strange shading and lighting, that makes the whole picture look a bit warped, and the light seems out of place, but she completely forgot all facial markings on both characters. I'm not one to nitpick markings, but when you forget my characters patch on her eye, or my girlfriend's distinctive orange star on her face and her raccoon mask, along with her ear tips? That's something I'll nitpick. So this is where it stands currently. Here's some screenshots of the notes and comments I sent and received: Notes inquiring about my piece after it had been due: i53.tinypic.com/10i8n5w.png i56.tinypic.com/13z8k1k.png Notes about my sketch: i53.tinypic.com/bj9uee.png i51.tinypic.com/sfyyx3.png Her telling me my piece would be done last Thursday: i56.tinypic.com/ixtjir.png EDIT: Here's the "finished" piece (NSFW): i54.tinypic.com/o0xev9.png Her FA: www.furaffinity.net/user/jailbird/ EDIT: Ok, so I've spoken to her again, and she has fixed the shading and stuff and made the piece look a lot nicer and a lot less rushed. I'm really happy with it now.