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https://artists-beware.livejournal.com/885613.html WHO: Ninjakato http://ninjakato.deviantart.com/ ScarlingRagdoll666 http://www.furaffinity.net/user/scarlingragdoll666/ WHERE: They're mostly active on dA than FA WHAT: A long overdue trade with them that took place on FA. Communications eventually took place on dA through notes WHEN: A trade was agreed upon April 9th 2011. My half was finished relatively quickly, but their half is still unfinished. More info under cute PROOF: First initial trade contact was made on April 9th, 2011 https://www.dropbox.com/s/pluqssxagsbbnyu/proof%201.jpg?dl=0 (my FA here is Charu) My half of the trade was completed May 4th, 2011 http://www.furaffinity.net/view/5691889 Communications on FA were made. Unfortunately my notes on FA have been cleared out since then. They mostly contained information about what I'd like Ninjakato to draw for their half. Eventually I started to note her on dA as it appeared she was becoming less active on FA. Note pointing out I finished my half https://www.dropbox.com/s/wb27h1reywz2gyl/Proof%202.jpg?dl=0 There was a point she posted a journal asking her watchers if she had missed anything owed. However, I cannot find the journal anymore, but I did note her on dA https://www.dropbox.com/s/40volnp6m2yy3l0/proof 3.jpg?dl=0 https://www.dropbox.com/s/wu3kgjknydfs3cd/proof 4.jpg?dl=0 https://www.dropbox.com/s/ya85gjdo9qaamg3/proof 5.jpg?dl=0 https://www.dropbox.com/s/ckrzqijrjo2k7ky/proof 6.jpg?dl=0 After this communication had stopped until 2014 came around. I had stopped asking as Ninjakato seemed pretty busy in real life and I didn't want to be a bother. https://www.dropbox.com/s/f6cslbr0dkabp4m/proof 7.jpg?dl=0 https://www.dropbox.com/s/a3ax54y49okn5zq/proof 8.jpg?dl=0 https://www.dropbox.com/s/h5ynncfmdjut8iw/proof 9.jpg?dl=0 https://www.dropbox.com/s/9onvgxjz5fqg6h6/proof 10.jpg?dl=0 https://www.dropbox.com/s/at93e8bo9flkknj/proof 11.jpg?dl=0 https://www.dropbox.com/s/k30co67uueaqqo9/proof 12.jpg?dl=0 https://www.dropbox.com/s/roal3atboh43vj4/proof 13.jpg?dl=0 August 20, 2014 she had made a journal calling out to the person she owed a trade to (which was me). My ref links did not work so I had noted with fixed links. http://ninjakato.deviantart.com/journal/One-art-trade-477049101#comments https://www.dropbox.com/s/5nrarciibugpru9/proof 14.jpg?dl=0 https://www.dropbox.com/s/m8i4mljt8dawynv/proof 16.jpg?dl=0 https://www.dropbox.com/s/mauwqzmx0qii5vo/proof 17.jpg?dl=0 https://www.dropbox.com/s/woqc5v73w388obn/proof 18.jpg?dl=0 More time passed and I saw no sign of my half of the trade. I gave her another nudge about it. https://www.dropbox.com/s/b7uyt58myn7lyzi/proof 19.jpg?dl=0 I gave one more nudge just recently. The note had been opened but went unresponded. https://www.dropbox.com/s/1ge7uwcew3o6r5y/proof 20.jpg?dl=0 EXPLAIN: In the start of this NinjaKato was opening up for trades on FA. I was one of the ones picked to trade with her. Excited I began to work on my trade and posted to FA in a timely manner. Eagerly, but patiently, I waited for for mine to be finished. I knew very well NinjaKato was really busy with her real life and commissions, so I was in no rush to have it completed. As time passed and weeks turned to months. Months turned into years. We've had some communication throughout the time span, yet I was still mindful not to rush her. She was still posting art on dA of finished commissions and personal art. 2011 had turned to 2014 and I admit I should of poked her more often between those few years. But I was nervous to do so as she was posting frequent journals about difficulties in her life. As a artist I know very well commissions always take priority over trades, thus I didn't pressure her. Eventually I did poke her and communications had picked up once again. I had hope she'd finish it after I did remind her about it. A time of silence started again. NinjaKato was still posting personal art, newly finished YCHs and sometimes trades from others. I had given her one final poke on Nov 11th, 2015 and the note had been read. No response back. She continued to upload new art of personal sketches, redraws, YCHs, and adoptables. At this point I am not expecting to see my half and have accepted it. Primarily posting this beware to give a heads up that this artist may not always finish pieces they promise to do. EDIT: NinjaKato finished their half. This AB can be marked as resolved

https://artists-beware.livejournal.com/885328.html This is my first time doing an Artist Beware, so please be patient with me here! WHO: Meteorprince, found on FurAffinity (http://www.furaffinity.net/user/meteorprince/), DeviantArt (http://meteorprince.deviantart.com/), and Tumblr (http://meteorprincedraws.tumblr.com/). Please note content on the profiles linked is NSFW. WHERE: FurAffinity WHAT: A YCH (http://www.furaffinity.net/view/17692152/) promised to be done within two weeks, and then a refund for said YCH. WHEN: The YCH was bid on late September and paid October 2nd. I was told I would be getting a refund when they responded to my emails November 18th, and it was supposed to be given to me on December 16th. PROOF: (As per community standards, all real life names and email addresses have been scrubbed from the following screenshots) Conversation on FA: https://www.dropbox.com/s/0msgqqa6lbg76it/Firstconvo.png?dl=0 First refund request: https://www.dropbox.com/s/pyidqug8x5ewj2x/refundrequest1.png?dl=0 Email conversations: https://www.dropbox.com/s/utrmjqkd51u2nap/email1.png?dl=0 https://www.dropbox.com/s/r0r257zo31a0zcl/email2.png?dl=0 https://www.dropbox.com/s/tpgpe88nuav0hg5/email3.png?dl=0 https://www.dropbox.com/s/29r6yjmwdbcba3n/email4.png?dl=0 EXPLAIN: On October 2nd I paid $50 for a YCH (linked above under "What") from Meteorprince. It was advertised as being done within two weeks of payment, no excuses. At first I didn't hear anything about them starting until it was almost due when they told me they were getting on it since it was on a time limit, then they said they were working on it on the day it was due (conversation linked above). I didn't hear from them again until they posted a journal (no personal response or offer of refunds, journal is on the FA profile linked above) citing family issues after it was already due and saying they would be back. I waited some more, and on the 9th of November sent them a message stating I would just like a refund (linked above), with no response. On the 18th of November I finally got tired of waiting and emailed them directly stating again I would like a refund. They responded and apologized, promised me a refund plus an extra $15 if I would wait until they had to the money. On the 28th of the same month they told me they were being interviewed for a job, and then on the 10th of December they stated they were hired and would pay me immediately the following Wednesday. Wednesday came and went and they didn't respond to any of my messages. I sent them a final message saying if I didn't hear from them I would be filing a charge back and filling out an Artist Beware, and here we are. I have had no response from them, and no attempt was ever made to follow through on either the art or the refund. I am of the opinion that they do not intend to give the refund, and would like to warn others to be careful when dealing with them as a result. EDIT: Meteorprince has followed through with the refund, so I am filing this as resolved in a satisfactory manner at this point.

https://artists-beware.livejournal.com/884272.html WHO: RenX (http://renxart.tumblr.com/ (NSFW)) aka Rnzzz (http://rnzzz.tumblr.com/ (NSFW) , http://rnzzz.deviantart.com/ (NSFW)) WHERE: http://www.hentai-foundry.com/user/RenX/profile (NSFW) WHAT: 2 Commissions. Traditional art. WHEN: Initial conversation and payment for both commissions during the beginning of April 2015. PROOF: The artist's mother tongue was Spanish so I contacted them in that for all our e-mail conversations. Here's (1) Me telling them when I can send the payment. And (2) Me the next day telling him I sent it. EXPLAIN: I started commissioning RenX in February last year. For the first couple of commissions he (and it is a he despite the profile) got things done on time and we had no problems. Starting from November 2014 I paid them for one drawing and it took them two months to get it done. In February this year I paid them for another commission again and, like last time, it took them nearly two months to finish the drawing. Still, I didn't think much of it in either case since I've dealt with multiple artists and I know sometimes they run into personal issues where they don't have time. The actual problems began in April this year. I asked RenX if he had time to do two commissions for me and he said yes, so I sent him the details for both and said I'd be paying him in a week. Within a few days he answered with a very rough sketch of one of the commissions and remained quick to answer until I sent the payment of $240 a week later. After the payment his answers completely stopped and he started ignoring my e-mails. I never got the sketch for the second commission either, which according to him he had already done. After over three weeks without an answer (I had sent him three e-mails in the meantime) RenX answers back in mid-May saying that he was busy and he'd have them done soon. Two more weeks pass with no answer and I finally send them one asking if I can get a refund. He answers back a few days later saying it's not possible because they no longer have money in their Paypal account, but that they'll do my commissions in June. [Proof] [Proof] June comes and goes with RenX not contacting me and only answering to the second e-mail I send at the end of the month, says he's too busy and hasn't had time to do anything. I answer them and for the rest of June and July I receive absolutely nothing. I didn't even waste any time sending them another e-mail until August since I knew it would be pointless. [Proof] In August I decide to check this site and see RenX still doing commissions like normal and advertising his services despite the fact that he has done nothing I paid him to. I finally decide to send him another e-mail mentioning this and they answer the same day saying, for the millionth time, that they have been too busy to do anything. I answer and once again they completely vanish until I send another e-mail at the end of August, which he answered at the beginning of September, telling the same old tale and saying that if he didn't do the commissions within a month he'd give me my money back. [Proof] I ask him when he can do the first commission and naturally, they do nothing and start ignoring my e-mails again. Around September I also checked his profile and noticed some people also wondering where their commissions were. I contacted one of them who told me they managed to get a refund through Paypal's Dispute system, unfortunately that wouldn't work for me since I had let too much time pass already. I was also in touch with another person who never got their commission completed either. In October, rather than e-mailing RenX I decide to post in his Hentai Foundry profile and he answers by e-mail the same day saying he had problems with his e-mails and that I should send him the commission details again. I ask for a refund again and he refuses. I send him the details for the drawings again to see if he'll get them done this time. On the same day I also notice he erased the comment I left on his profile alongside the others of two or three different people asking where their commissions were. Surprisingly, I actually get a sketch three days later and for a moment I think I'll get them done already. However, that's short lived and RenX vanishes completely again for the rest of the month. He sure spends a lot of time in his profile advertising discounts (and even in the Hentai Foundry forums (NSFW)) and mentioning he's open for more commissions, though! [Proof] Finally, in mid-November, after a month with no answer, I decide to post in RenX's profile again. My message is quickly erased and he blocks me from commenting [Proof] (NSFW). He e-mails me moments after repeating the same speech where they have been too busy. At this point I tell them again to give me a refund despite knowing nothing will happen and to no one's surprise he hasn't answered ever since. I don't know what's going on with them, but after 8 months there's no excuse for their behaviour. I posted this on the Hentai Foundry forums (NSFW) and I hope more people see it here and don't waste their time and money commissioning this person. He's all about reputation and stopping people from exposing him, the moment the latter happens he's quick to appear, delete any messages, block people and vanish again. Update, January 10th, 2016: I mentioned this some days ago in the comments but I reckon I should post it here instead - I contacted Paypal last week and they told me an investigation wouldn't be possible since it had been too long since the transaction. However, they did say they might begin one if they receive more complaints related to RenX. As of today, RenX still hasn't contacted me ever since the e-mail he sent in mid-November (11th of November, to be precise) that I mention in my entry. They're still taking and posting commissions, however.

https://artists-beware.livejournal.com/886993.html I agreed to do a trade with FA user Lyshastra back in July. We met on Facebook, and she agreed to trade me for a plush that I had premade. We agreed on a trade for the plush of $10 + 4 bookmarks, and agreed to make the trade at Anthrocon as we were both attending (and I had a table, making it easy to swap). She never showed, and after the con asked me if I would ship the plush. I behaved unprofessionally in that I agreed to ship despite the discomfort I had with shipping her the plush despite not seeing any evidence that she had even worked on my half of the trade. Because of my anxiety issues, I did not express this to her and instead delayed shipping for months, hoping that she would eventually post evidence of the half of the trade I was supposed to receive. I definitely acknowledge that I didn't handle this the way I should have and I feel like I've learned more about speaking up about my discomfort in trade situations like this because of it. Regardless, no evidence showed up, she eventually became frustrated with me and my agreeing to ship but never doing so. She contacted me again in October about it. I felt really bad at this point, and finally shipped the plush to her. At this point, I still had not seen any evidence that she had even picked up a pencil to work on my trade. I asked her about their status, and she claimed to have mailed them to me already but that they were sent back to her... Some time passed after my shipping her half of the trade. She didn't respond to me for a long time (me asking her if she received the plush) until I threatened to post her on here... then she responded within seconds lol. Shortly after she posted pictures of two of the four completed bookmarks on her FA account. Weeks passed again. I told her I wanted evidence that she had shipped the bookmarks. Weeks passed again with nothing. I posted publicly on her Facebook page asking about the bookmarks and she said to message her about it privately to remind her. She never responded. This was on November 30th. I would offer screenshots of the Facebook posts made to her account but she has unfriended me. Her FA page: http://www.furaffinity.net/user/lyshastra/ Link to screenshots of our Facebook convo ( some things were cut out that were just conversational, but I can grab those if anyone needs anything else inbetween these for clarification, I just wanted to keep the post succinct): http://imgur.com/a/Gqf5u ^ I'm Sam Williamson. I've blurred out her name, though she has been posted to here using her IRL name as well. I don't expect anything at this point. She obviously doesn't plan to actually compensate me for the shipping I paid to send the plush to her that we had never agreed on me paying OR my bookmarks, but I really really highly discourage anyone from commissioning or trading her. It was a really bad experience.

https://artists-beware.livejournal.com/883611.html note: resolved amicably, I now have no hard feelings toward the artist and the commission was completed. There was a lack of communication but there were legitimate reasons for the delay note: all old links followed by an archive.is capture of them from November 7, 2015 4:00 PM Eastern WHO: online persona: Rho Furaffinity: omegaro twitter: @omegaro WHERE: does most business via Furaffinity: https://www.furaffinity.net/user/omegaro/ commission was agreed on via twitter: @Anthony_Stuart (me) and @omegaro (him) WHAT: in short, the idea was for a SFW digital sketch of my character playing a guitar. I paid on the day (May 29) that it was hashed out, have made multiple attempts to get an update, now on November 25 it’s still not here and I can’t get a response to my requests for a refund. WHEN: May 29: commission negotiated via twitter, payment sent, was told it’d be a couple days. Several requests for updates since then have been responded to, usually with some variation of "it'll be done soon", yet there has been no response of any kind since September despite many attempts. After some (unrelated) offline drama has delayed this post, it’s now December 16, over half a year since the commission was agreed on, as I submit this. PROOF: http://s28.postimg.org/60djkqp1p/Rho_FA_shouts_showing_similar_situations_from_o.png FA shouts showing this may be a pattern for Rho http://s2.postimg.org/l8dj7e9mh/rho_commission_paypal_confirmation.png paypal confirmation http://s9.postimg.org/63p1sumtb/Rho_DM_1.png DM part 1 http://s23.postimg.org/wd7ocawaz/Rho_DM_2.png DM part 2 http://s21.postimg.org/iosn6mzl3/Rho_DM_3.png DM part 3 After this, Rho unfollowed me, DMs on twitter require that the person receiving it must follow the sender 9/27, 10/20 https://twitter.com/omegaro/status/648295128814235648 https://archive.is/30mfr 11/3 https://twitter.com/Anthony_Stuart/status/661805262991433728 https://archive.is/HchNO https://twitter.com/Anthony_Stuart/status/662574638959054848 https://archive.is/pUft0 11/24 https://twitter.com/Anthony_Stuart/status/669336626338930688 EXPLAIN: Put simply, I had a fun idea for a commission, saw someone on twitter recommend Rho, and went to him for the job. I was told it would be “Monday or Tuesday”. I did my best not to nag and to be a good, kind, patient customer, but it’s now been seven months and I’ve made many attempts to make contact. The last time I got a response of any kind was in September, and it’s now December. At this point, it’s been long enough that I have little interest in the commission anymore, and just want a refund of the $35.00, I’m not even asking for the Paypal fee. I’ve waited three full months after friends started telling me to go this route, because I didn’t want to offend, rock the boat, cause drama, or whatever. I’ve already lost interest in not only this commission but others as well, I just want the refund, or if I can’t get that, I want others to be warned of what they might be up against.

https://artists-beware.livejournal.com/883345.html WHO: FA account: RottonRobbie IB Account: RottonRobbie WHERE: http://www.furaffinity.net/user/rottenrobbie WHAT: Digital art commissions for $25. https://www.dropbox.com/sc/vetds1u96dk1n8v/AADGNbK_2xHBDsSoz9zHOJOBa NSFW warning (This is what was last shown to me in September. Since then I have received no updates.) WHEN: Payment received confirmation on May 6 and have since been waiting for it to be finished: https://www.dropbox.com/s/ywobpm8ttvce3n6/Screenshot%202015-12-07%2022.44.46.png?dl=0 PROOF: Discussion with Robbie about Cancellation/Refund: https://www.dropbox.com/s/hd535ktj1zd2ux0/Screenshot 2015-12-07 23.08.12.png?dl=0 https://www.dropbox.com/s/s4cthh2x025zngc/Screenshot 2015-12-07 23.08.22.png?dl=0 https://www.dropbox.com/s/8k962lbbqfekrec/Screenshot 2015-12-07 23.08.30.png?dl=0 https://www.dropbox.com/s/iybov1uhezbltji/Screenshot 2015-12-07 23.08.57.png?dl=0 After this discussion there were no more messages from Robbie. I tried messaging and emailing him but never heard anything back: https://www.dropbox.com/s/pgn1m7zee4i0vis/Screenshot 2015-12-07 23.09.04.png?dl=0 https://www.dropbox.com/s/zd1e80exu4ki9d7/Screenshot 2015-12-07 23.09.27.png?dl=0 EXPLAIN: Robbie responded to me on Skype on the 6th saying he would be fine doing a commission for me and we hashed out the details of the commission that day. Afterwards, there was little to no communication with Robbie until September where he stated he was working on my commission after I had requested a refund. When he showed me the WIP picture, I decided to give him more time to continue to work since it looked like it was almost finished. Since September there has been no word from Robbie despite using emails, posting on his skype, and posting on his FA. Checking his Twitter and other art sites, it seems he's bee fairly active there so it seems my messages are being ignored. I've messaged other users who have commissioned Robbie to see if there has been any word on him, however it seems a lot of other commissioners are being ignored as well. To me, it seems at this point that Robbie no longer looking to finish mine or other commissions. I would highly suggest avoiding doing any transactions with this artist in the future.

https://artists-beware.livejournal.com/881252.html WHO: Lyshastra (Furaffinity), Ann Allen (Facebook) WHERE: http://www.furaffinity.net/user/lyshastra https://www.facebook.com/people/Ann-Allen/100009386021687 WHAT: Art trade--A bust of her character for a badge (or two) of mine. WHEN: April 26 -- She asked to do an art trade and we worked out the details May 29 -- I finished and posted my part of the trade June 25--September 12 -- A lot of back and forth trying to reach her and find out progress of badge(s) October 8 -- I finally see pictures of the actual finished badges November 15 (Now) -- Still waiting on scanned versions to be posted PROOF: https://gyazo.com/5ba0e7c507a07c2929f561f3dfccd63d (first asked if I wanted to do a trade) https://gyazo.com/8282531b428e9c5d63c3f3614fa19e32 (working out the details--read from bottom to top) https://gyazo.com/f3b582256793b7b986dbfe8015bd1f11 (working out details part 2) https://gyazo.com/8831e2970df610a0944823025bf277e4 (working out details part 3) https://gyazo.com/1c61398cda4e631861b1d5a4b961eae1 (my finished posting) EXPLAIN: On April 26th she asked if I wanted to do an art trade, to which I replied yes and messaged her for the details. I finished my half on May 29th and sent her a note with the finished picture. Some time later she opened the note, but never responded to it. A month later when she did respond, it was not to the note but on the submission. https://gyazo.com/f1573a3ca5928b8748df3fd50dd16e78 She said she was sorry, she hadn't seen it until she searched for her character, and then told me to PM her on facebook for my final approval on the trade before uploading it. The link to her facebook page was broken so I had to search for her, and when I thought I had found her I messaged her, asking if this was her. A month later she replied that yes it was her. No mention of the art trade. A week later I asked if there was any progress, to which she told me to PM her on her art facebook page since she's never on this one anymore. https://gyazo.com/399f44f5b81f2844ff9cab5515678ba8 I find that one and sent a message saying it was me again, to no response. I notice that she's been posting other artwork she's been doing. A little over a week later I told her that if the trade was too much to do, to just let me know. Almost a month later she replies saying sorry that she didn't see it, it was in her other folder. I told her it didn't matter if it was done or not, some communication was all I was asking for. https://gyazo.com/71e6df3c7d38db184a2589109d4b6975 After that things finally started moving. I gave her a ref of my character again. Things were looking up. https://gyazo.com/5a973dd55b67204b54c1649619540699 About a month later, I finally got pictures of the badges. https://gyazo.com/fd192c898b62f698ca3a38ad13f3a0c3 https://gyazo.com/dbb373c4a4ed6d491a985f251bd3f545 She said if I was pleased then she would scan and post them. I told her I was very happy with them, and have been waiting ever since... https://gyazo.com/6a7a0d29eb5f660910044a972b3d3c0a Now I understand that technically she did finally do the badges, and I can probably still try to contact her for the scanned versions, but honestly I don't want to go through all the time and effort again it took just to get to here. If I had written this artists beware earlier as I had planned to, things would be looking a lot worse. At this point I think it's just best to let people know what they could be getting into if they decide to commission her to do a trade.

https://artists-beware.livejournal.com/881485.html Who: Inu-Jean Where: http://www.furaffinity.net/user/inu-jean/ What: Digital art, two characters, finished here http://www.furaffinity.net/view/18266800/ (NSFW) When: Payment sent November 14, 2014 and image was completed on November 16, 2015 Proof: Payment sent and received: http://imgur.com/vZclyFF First Concern raised: http://imgur.com/tK7BMWt Second Concern: http://imgur.com/ULUzpNi WIP ask not responded to: http://imgur.com/sYuQBbv Major Concerns raised: http://imgur.com/nL9iJ6S Artist's Update Journal: http://imgur.com/tGtnutU WIP Promised: http://imgur.com/Jg9bLQc Removed from queue: http://imgur.com/VZx6C0o Art Stream discussed: http://imgur.com/sXO0kdj Very major concerns: http://imgur.com/vlKFaEc Responded to with a WIP: http://imgur.com/Ky09ACZ Explain: I would first like to say that I hold no ill will towards the artist, nor is this made in any way to defame or try to beat down on him. His work is phenomenal, but both I and my friend (who has had several great experiences with commissioning this artist in the past) feel it’s important for people who may want to commission this particular artist in the future to know that there may be issues during the process. Neither of us believe any bad intentions were made on the artist’s part, but things certainly spiraled nearly out of control and became an almost perfect storm of stuff gone wrong in the commissioning process. However, art was finally delivered, and done so to both my and my fellow commissioner’s satisfaction. I have to admit, I do feel a bit uncomfortable posting this, but after learning that my fellow commisioner shared a similar situation to another commssioner during the same time frame, I think it's important that I do so. A friend of mine (Alex in the screenshots) and I contacted Inu-Jean for a 2-character commission in November of 2014. Specifics of the commission were worked out over the course of the following few days. We were a ways down from the images he was working on and knew there would be a decent wait involved, which did not bother us. However, the months went by, not a single update was given regarding progress until a (now deleted) update journal was posted to FA in late April announcing that the artist was taking on another batch of commissions. Concerned, my fellow commissioner messaged the artist regarding this, but he did not respond until being messaged once more several weeks later... Radio silence continues until June. A WIP is requested and the artist states he will try to get something done by the coming Monday, but no progress is made and no further updates given. I asked if WIP progress was made on Tuesday, but was not replied to. Radio silence continues until August when I write a fairly lengthy message to the artist, and he does post a proper update journal to FA. After this point, a public queue is posted, and visible work does begin on those above us in the queue, and everything appears to be on track and going well. However, during this time, the artist took on another batch of commissions, opened for a YCH, and began working heavily on Patreon reward art. A WIP is promised, and not delivered. Another almost 2 weeks goes by, we’re removed from the queue, and other work begins on art from the new queue. Concerns are expressed. Patreon art, the YCH, and later accepted commissions are worked on and posted. A brief art stream occurs where progress finally begins, albeit only for a brief amount of time due to unruly, very crude, comments from unruly members of the stream audience that did not stop for some time despite prompting from the artist, myself, and other members of the stream audience. This causes the artist to become frustrated and stop working. This last part is completely understandable given the circumstances, but did serve as a roadblock for further progress. Several more weeks pass with yet more art from Patreon or commission work from later batches is completed and posted, and the artist opens for yet another batch of commissions. Growing frustrated, my friend and I decided it’s best to express our concerns to the artist once more. Difficult working hours on the artist’s part are discussed, and are certainly understandable (2 am to 10 am. Yikes!), but the lengthy amount of time passed and lack of communication during the past year had made the situation less understandable. A WIP is posted in response. Work continues throughout the week, but after the expression of major concerns and a very brief discussion of difficulties, responses are curt, if present at all. Requests for minor changes are not acknowledged verbally, but are put in place in following WIPs. Finally, the finished artwork is delivered.

https://artists-beware.livejournal.com/880870.html WHO: Honesty. [current account], Sailor., SailorBases, yoloswagdoctor [old accounts] WHERE: http://www.furaffinity.net/user/sailorbases/ & http://www.furaffinity.net/user/honesty./ WHAT: Custom bases for my species for rp/adoptables/etc.. 3 separate bases [1 for each species] or 1 base with tons of options for customization. WHEN: May 29, 2014 - First contact made + commission + price agreed upon + paid. Asked for update September 2014. Heard nothing back. Asked for another update on Halloween 2014. Heard back & gave info again. Heard back Nov. 11 - Offered to try to get sketches for preview that night. I agreed. Didn't hear back again. Posted public journal about refunding everyone on Christmas day 2014. June 25, 2015 - Offered art to those who wanted it instead of refund. Took art option. June 29, 2015 - Sent info to new account when I realized the old one wasn't being checked. Oct 27, 2015 - Sent a note asking for updates so I could add that to my owed list. Nov 4, 2015 - Note was read, not responded to. Sent a rather abrupt note asking for a response and got one - asking for all the info again + price paid while indicating I might be refunded instead. Sent info back and stated I would prefer my refund SOON if that was what she preferred to do. PROOF: Initial PM requesting a base - http://i.imgur.com/KA5MDKm.png Accepting commission, price given, me accepting it - http://i.imgur.com/cUfXKz0.png Paypal info given, told her I paid - http://i.imgur.com/mXHL3QA.png Paypal proof of payment - http://i.imgur.com/j8tQOVI.png Checking in September 17, 2014 - http://i.imgur.com/ItQhZ05.png Inquiry on Halloween 2014 - http://i.imgur.com/Btc7IeU.png Response on Halloween 2014 to my inquiry - http://i.imgur.com/jCe5y8T.png Offer to sketch things up that night, Nov 11, 2014 - http://i.imgur.com/JSImwcx.png Last contact from them that year. Refunds instead of art, leaving community, etc journal on Christmas 2014 - http://www.furaffinity.net/journal/6370870/ Offering art instead of refunds June 25, 2015 - http://i.imgur.com/kfd3p1v.png Telling them I wanted the art instead as per their journal - http://i.imgur.com/D381Bi6.png Note sent on June 29, 2015 - http://i.imgur.com/thJbatg.png [cut off custom info at bottom of note] Checked in with them since I saw them posting and doing commissions on Oct 27, 2015 - http://i.imgur.com/szFqbOG.png I was admittedly short here on Nov 4 2015 due to frustration at seeing them post but not responding to my note - http://i.imgur.com/S82hYoR.png My final note on Nov 4, 2015 - http://i.imgur.com/OW6Has1.png [blocked out my custom info as I didn't think it necessary to the beware] EXPLAIN: I commissioned Honesty. back on the 29th of May in 2014. I contacted her asking about a custom base - she had a journal up on her bases account [now abandoned] offering them. Once we'd worked out the details I paid her $36 for them total. She had a lot of RL issues happen and I was happy to wait. I realized she was not really doing much on her bases account and contacted her on her [then] new account - Sailor.. I didn't get a response initially and contacted her again on Halloween 2014 asking what was going on and for updates. Got a response [you can see in the screencaps above] and I thought everything was worked out. Didn't hear back from her til over a week into November, when she offered to sketch up previews for me to approve. I was happy with that and said as much. I didn't hear from her again at all that year. On Christmas she posted a journal [listed in proof above] about refunding everyone. I was unhappy since I'd wanted the bases but understood that she'd had a hard time. We got slow updates for a while, with promises of refunds but nothing really being done, up until June. She made a new journal offering art instead of refunds for those of us who wanted it. I really wanted my art so I contacted her as requested and let her know I'd love to do that instead. I figured she would get on them and it wouldn't be too long a wait. Wrong. She has taken on many new pieces, continued to work [slowly] on old pieces, but rarely gives updates. I was getting somewhat frustrated and decided to contact her to touch base and see what was up on Oct 27 since I saw she'd been posting owed art and new stuff as well. My note was read but never responded to, and I saw her continue to post and interact with people on the account. I got somewhat frustrated and sent her a short note requesting a response to my note. She did respond, but indicated she might need to do a refund instead of the work. I responded back letting her know that was fine, but if she was going to refund I'd really prefer it SOON since I've been waiting for almost a year and a half at this point and that is a ridiculous amount of time to be waiting for anything. At this point I just want to be done - art or money asap so I can mark this as done in my records and stop stressing out over it. EDIT: I have finally gotten a response, though only after I sent a new note. I've seen her post up repeated new YCH flat priced pieces and auctions and complete personal pieces as well as gift art + a few commissions, but I don't know how much of that is old owed things and how many are new things. I know that she has taken on far too much and is still taking on more work, because of various situations in her life. With that said, I don't think that taking on even more pieces when she's already so far behind is wise - at the very least the older pieces need to be done before the new ones. I am probably getting a refund she says [as of 2/13/16 when I sent a new note]. She says it may take a while though and will be in payment plans. I'm more than slightly irked by this because I didn't get to pay her in payment plans to order, but it is what it is. I do not consider this resolved and will not until either my art or the money is fully refunded. EDIT 2: I delayed my response to her for 2 reasons. 1- I needed time to cool off because I was angry. 2- I had some things going on elsewhere. I sent my response to her on 3-3-16 and apologized for the lateness. You can see that here - https://gyazo.com/52a50045a15b08d379c0f54b51c07966 and then noted her again on the 6th when I checked and she'd read it, posted journals and other things, and not responded. You can see that here - https://gyazo.com/e77ff4cfa2fb8b7df3c130ba042e279e . I feel I was fairly neutral, though I am admittedly growing impatient because I just want my money or my art, or at the very least a better estimate than the very vague 'it might be a bit' in the notes. I don't mind if the money isn't right away, but then I saw her taking commissions for spotify premium, which bothered me as I feel a refund should take priority to luxuries of that sort. I have also left a shout on her main page today asking her to please respond to my notes. Both have been read, she's been active places, and I'd really just like this to be resolved. You can see that both have been read here - https://gyazo.com/52a50045a15b08d379c0f54b51c07966 EDIT 3: I left a shout on her page on I want to say the 12th of March. It's been deleted [should have screencapped, my bad] but I did get another response. I proposed swapping the base, as it was a large commission, for a single full body piece since the amount was the same [within the range listed for them, anyway] and after my shout she responded asking me not to leave shouts. I pointed out that's been the only way I get timely responses, but dropped it since I was getting communication now. She agreed to the swap to a single full body piece and is supposed to be updating her queue soon with a public list so everyone can see where they are. While I'm still upset, I'm less angry now that I've gotten some responses and have moved forward on at least swapping for something that should be easier for her to complete and is fair with her rates [admittedly the base was priced quite low for the number of things I'd be getting]. If all goes well and she gets her queue down, I may consider commissioning her again in the future should she be willing as I really do enjoy her art style. Still don't consider this resolved, but will come back to let you know once it is. EDIT 4: I got my finished piece, and it's perfect. I consider this resolved and would recommend people commission her once she's got her queue down a little bit. She's gotten a lot better about communication and I'm pleased with the outcome.

https://artists-beware.livejournal.com/880411.html WHO: candykittycat WHERE: http://toyhou.se/Candykittycat http://www.furaffinity.net/user/candykittycat/ WHAT: Character trade. Two of my characters for one of hers plus some art from her. WHEN: Trade first initiated/finalized July 29th-30th. TH note asking for an update sent October 8th, never opened/responded to. First FA note asking for an update sent October 27th, also never opened/responded to. Left a public shout on her page asking for her to get back to me November 5th. Note requesting the trade cancelled/dropped November 9th. PROOF: Conversation regarding the trade: X(read from the bottom up) First and second FA notes showing they haven't been opened/read: X Details of the notes: X - X Shout on her page: X EXPLAIN: Candy sent me a message on Toyhouse regarding two characters I had up for trade. We agreed to trade my two for one character of hers plus some art of other characters I had. She said she would have it done within a day or two, and after that I never heard anything else about it. I admittedly forgot about it for a while, then noted her on TH to ask about an update in case she too might have forgotten. The note was never opened and I don't believe she's been on TH since. I decided to note her on FA since she was far more active there, but so far none of my messages have been responded to or even read. She was active with favorites, posting and commenting during the time between my two notes, so I'm not sure if somehow they were just 'eaten' or if I'm being blatantly ignored. Update 1-19: Candy has 'returned' and begun completing/posting art again but still has yet to even read my notes regarding the trade. The characters in question have still not been removed from her Toyhouse although they have been sold to a new owner. Update: 1-23: Candy finally answered my note, apologized and removed the characters from her Toyhouse. I consider this resolved for the most part.

https://artists-beware.livejournal.com/881042.html Time: 2015-11-12 22:31 Subject: FA: Keryu / FA: waterdogwharf Text: Who: Keryu on FA Where: http://www.furaffinity.net/user/keryu/ http://www.furaffinity.net/user/waterdogwharf/ What:Commission for fursuit head foam base. When:Initial contact with builder in 6/2014 via email (user has allegedly disabled FA notes) Click links for screen caps: 51% Initial paypal payment 6/21/2014 materials shipped to builder 7/21/2014, receipt confirmed by builder 8/6/2014 balance requested by builder on 8/26/2014, alluding to late fees balance paid in full 8/27/2014 Status requested 11/18/2014 - no response from builder Builder posts card on trello, no updates since 11/27/2014 Status requested 6/3/2015 - no response from builder Status requested 8/26/2015 - no response from builder Status requested 9/17/2015 - no response from builder Status requested 10/24/2015 - no response from builder Builder continues to be unresponsive to emails sent to both email addresses published on FA. Builder opened for new commissions 3 weeks ago and is running banner ads on FA for new commissions. Last email received from builder regarding commission was 10/11/2014. I still want the completed commission but the builder will not respond to any emails. Contacting paypal to dispute transaction and obviously posting here to warn any others who may be considering getting anything from this builder. Screen captures of trello status card and FA journals showing opening for new commissions: http://www.bearpawsystemseng.com/pics/bull_head/trello.jpg http://www.bearpawsystemseng.com/pics/bull_head/keryuopen.jpg http://www.bearpawsystemseng.com/pics/bull_head/wateropen.jpg Update: As of 11/13/2015 the builder contacted me and we are making arrangements for a refund and to have the materials I sent returned to me. As of 11/18/2015 the builder has sent the full amount of the commission back to my paypal account. On 11/23/2015 the materials I sent out were returned and the paypal money has posted to my account. I am disappointed the builder did not complete the work, but after waiting more than a year for less than 8 hours of work I had waited long enough. Thanks to the help of this forum I got the issue resolved. If you plan on commissioning this builder in the future I suggest you write up an airtight scope of work with a mutually agreed upon delivery schedule before you send any money.

https://artists-beware.livejournal.com/880349.html WHO: vexthehuski WHERE: http://www.furaffinity.net/user/vexthehuski/ WHAT: a halloween themed multi-slot nsfw ych ("eclipsed" with the werewolf from here NSFW http://www.furaffinity.net/gallery/colesense/folder/18059/Open-YCHs-and-adopts ) WHEN: october 7th until now PROOF: proof of first contact http://i.imgur.com/x8d6PWa.png conversation proof (bottom to top) with personal details blanked out (nsfw conversation) http://i.imgur.com/9ecS7yI.png proof of him buying more art is all over his gallery and favorites. EXPLAIN: Commissioner asked me to remind him that he wanted a ych on a specific date (no longer have access to those comments) and so i did. I told him that if he did not want one he should let me know, he insisted that he wanted one. He then disappeared and refused to answer my notes so i let him know that sadly i may have to blacklist him for this. he then started responding again making wild claims about his money being stolen, his dog died, him sending the money but me having no record of it, and now he claims that his xbox, paypal, and bank account were hacked. i tried to give him the benefit of the doubt because he commissioned me but as he gave me excuses he continued to buy ychs from other artists. i finally decided enough was enough and i blacklisted and blocked him. i am posting this beware to warn mainly people who do ychs. some people do art before they were paid and i do not want to see them scammed like this. edit: I do want to emphasize the fact that he tried to insist that he actually sent me the money to convince me to do the art without payment. This is extremely suspicious and i am glad i checked it before doing the work. I have experience with people asking for a ych and later being unable to pay and letting me know. i have no issue with this. i have issue with this person making these wild claims and trying to convince me to work by lying about paying me.

https://artists-beware.livejournal.com/879939.html WHO: DaisyDuke on Weasyl, Gypsies on FA WHERE: https://www.weasyl.com/~daisydook http://www.furaffinity.net/user/gypsies/ WHAT: Art trade WHEN: March of 2014. This was back when I still went under the name "IndigoTheFennec." PROOF: http://i.imgur.com/zuN8ALG.png - Beginning of initial conversation. The next several messages were just planning out what was to be done, what I would draw, etc. Dialog began 7 March 2014 https://www.weasyl.com/submission/609528/trade-daisydook - My finished part of the art trade. Finished and posted 18 May. http://i.imgur.com/QxSn7DX.png - I messaged her on 1 July asking her if she'd done her part. Dialog 1-2 July. This is the last she has responded to me. http://i.imgur.com/8GPZisd.png - Message sent on 14 July of this year. Well over a year later, I still had not gotten a response, no art, nothing. I did my best to be understanding, but I got no response whatsoever despite being very polite. http://i.imgur.com/nPiSMNs.png - Shout I left on her page, today on 9 November. I would not be surprised if she deletes it. EXPLAIN: I approached DaisyDook well over a year ago for an art trade. She accepted, and while I did my part and delivered, she didn't. Despite promising that her half would "be up shortly," she never delivered and dropped contact mid-2014. She still remains active on FA, drawing, even doing trades, YCHs, and gifts for others. Look, I get it. Life gets ahead of people, and it's not like this was a commission she skipped out on. However, skipping town with the art I put my effort into and giving nothing in return, while offering no explanation, burns me up inside. I want answers, and I want this to be put to rest.

https://artists-beware.livejournal.com/879724.html WHO: Gunmouth on FurAffinity WHERE/WHEN: Dealer's Den, Midwest Furfest 2012 WHAT: one character sketch, paid a little extra due to forced perspective I've been attempting to contact Gunmouth in his streams (but he keeps extremely late hours so this is difficult) and over notes/shouts on his FA page to try and keep up with the sketch, which looked mostly completed at MFF but he was willing to take it home and work on it. I paid cash so unfortunately there's no paper trail. The last note I received from him was over a year ago: http://i.imgur.com/WKih6ej.png have been sending notes since but they're not being read according to FA. Three years is an insanely long wait but I don't know how else to get his attention. I mentioned it in the last stream I saw him in and he said he may have misplaced it. In any event, I'd rather a refund at this point. Further proof (best I could gather): http://i.imgur.com/KXWwPDd.png http://i.imgur.com/QFd43Do.png Last note, unread, 4 months ago http://i.imgur.com/8n9jGaJ.png

https://artists-beware.livejournal.com/879578.html WHO: Chuuchichu http://chuuchichu.deviantart.com/ https://www.pinterest.com/chuuchichu/ http://chuuland.tumblr.com/ http://chuuland.weebly.com/ http://www.gaiaonline.com/profiles/shadomu/28269981/ http://www.gaiaonline.com/profiles/bunnybutler/30781909/ Where: http://chuuchichu.deviantart.com/ What: May 2014 - Custom character design When: May 2014 Proof: http://imgur.com/a/PbFzw (Contains all the ones listed in this post along with a few extras) Explain: In May 2014, Chuuchichu held an auction where she would design for the winner a custom character from her Nemu species. I won this auction at $220 ($227 overall with fees) on my side account, Celebibonbon (http://chuuchichu.deviantart.com/art/NEMU-Custom-Auction-CLOSED-451902408). My main is Vespisia. Details were exchanged via notes (http://imgur.com/oSNfXGm) (http://imgur.com/e8lgNzr) and payment was made (http://imgur.com/s7QG3ky). We gave each other our Skypes for easier access (http://imgur.com/VvBAogE), and work was begun (http://imgur.com/diHadyl) (http://imgur.com/zpj7ZFN) (http://imgur.com/6QA0QfA). Progress was pretty good; I attended a livestream (I believe it was a Join.Me in the first week of June 2014 or so) and watched get work done on my character and it was nearing completion in just that one session, just needed a few more touches and shading done and some cleaning up to become fully completed. Chuuchichu sent me another note a bit later, inquiring about possibly scheduling a new livestream time to finish up the custom. Unfortunately, I dropped the ball during this part of the exchange, as I took several months to reply, during which time Chuuchichu sent me two notes that were follow-ups inquiring where I was (http://imgur.com/gtze9js) (http://imgur.com/UxXfd76). This part was certainly my fault. I would eventually reply to her in November 2014 (http://imgur.com/35EZWM6), and as can be seen in the screenshot (http://imgur.com/cQ9r61J), the note was read, but never replied to. Months would pass with no response, she had been fairly active before the advent of the custom auction, and afterwards, would be decently active, but I would realize in 2015 she stopped becoming active on DA and her many other sites around spring 2015 it seems. In any case, on Deviantart, I sent her a note in June 2015, asking for an update (http://imgur.com/sQmBgwN). It was not read. I sent her another note on August 2015, that note was also unread (http://imgur.com/BDn6G1N). I recently sent her a note in October (http://imgur.com/4AWfNmr), and that was also unread(http://imgur.com/qSixMt3). I also left a comment on her profile in July 2015 (http://imgur.com/hTogVwO), asking for an update, which was also not replied to. At one point, an old friend of hers contacted me, asking if I might know where Chuuchichu was, because as mentioned previously, she had gone inactive. I replied I did not know, and she expressed sympathies concerning the pending custom, agreeing that it was not a fair deal to me. I also sent Chuuchichu a message on Skype in June 2015 (http://imgur.com/qTdjtfV), which was never replied to. Other attempts included sending an email directly in July 2015 (http://imgur.com/PxRBqwR), and even asking one of her old friends (http://imgur.com/1kvBMOE) and a group she belonged to if they knew where she might have went, but no one had any idea. I began to think perhaps she had a medical emergency or something highly serious and time-consuming at the very least. But last night (11/5/15), I found her Pinterest (https://www.pinterest.com/chuuchichu/), and it turned out she was active. It seems to be her indeed, and she pinned things just a day or two ago. At this point in time, I am looking into filing a chargeback as multiple attempts to contact her on various platforms have all consistently failed, and she is clearly active. To summarize, 1. $227 commission for a custom character paid and started in May 2014. 2. Last discussion and update was June 2014 2.A. Part of this was definitely my fault as between June and November, she sent a few more notes, but I did not reply due to stressors from 'real life.' 3. Note sent from me to her in November 2014, was read and not replied to. 4. More notes sent in 2015 (three total), they are unread as of the moment, along with an email, a skype message, a profile comment on DA, and inquiring friends and groups if they knew where she is. 5. Found her on 11/5/15 clearly being active on Pinterest. 6. Looking into filing a chargeback now since multiple attempts at contact have failed. [Edit 10/11/15: I did not send the payment via gifts, I sent it through services, but yes, I did pay the fee for her. v_v Sorry for the confusion of my wording! Also, I've contacted Paypal and my bank on the 6th of this month or so, and both said it was too late now to file chargebacks. Instead, they advised me to take this to the police and the BBB, so here's hoping. I will be calling Paypal back though to let them know about how she had originally asked to send the payment + fees via the gift option.] Thank you for your time, everyone. EDIT/Adding more: On March 3 of 2016, Chuuchichu logged onto Skype and I was able to reach out and talk to her. She apologized and quickly issued me a full refund and was very respectful and mature in her handling of the situation and knowledge of receiving a beware. I consider the situation resolved now and believe Chuuchichu acted admirably and sincerely in her resolution.

https://artists-beware.livejournal.com/879111.html WHO: captainhanni WHERE: http://www.furaffinity.net/user/captainhanni/ WHAT: It was the “Ramen Beast YCH” they posted on FA here: http://www.furaffinity.net/view/16721082/ The finished artwork was to be fully rendered/painted in their usual style. I won the auction and paid the $80 via Paypal. WHEN: The auction was won on June 3rd and the payment was sent the same day. PROOF: http://i.imgur.com/ouX6wPS.png - Payment http://i.imgur.com/NNs5pET.jpg - Details for YCH http://i.imgur.com/eKt59EJ.png - June to September progress asking emails http://i.imgur.com/9wuH3zs.png - Progress screenshot http://i.imgur.com/mp79bTr.png - Unread FA note http://i.imgur.com/DeOe3ZX.png - October 24th email EXPLAIN: I was the highest bidder and won the auction for $80 dollars. I provided the details by email and sent the payment the same day. On June 8th they emailed me a completed headshot I commissioned before this one and left a note saying that the YCH shouldn’t take too much longer. On July 10th I sent a follow up email asking for an update on it. CaptainHanni responded to on July 29th saying that they’ve had a hard time drawing lately. Completely understandable and not a big deal. Attached to the email was also a progress screenshot. September 26 rolls around and I still haven’t received the completed art. I sent another email asking if they could try to squeeze me to the top of their priority list. They’ve been posting art on Tumblr and I was hoping they could find some time to finish my YCH. Didn’t get a response. I sent a note to them on FA on October 14th basically repeating what I mentioned in the email. That has never been read. Finally, I sent one last email on October 24th asking them if they want to finish or give a partial refund for the art, and you could probably guess that they never responded to that either. I would put a claim through paypal but some work was already done. If they would just respond to my email we could work out a partial refund... or they could just, you know, finish it.

https://artists-beware.livejournal.com/879013.html I feel like this is a rather unusual beware, but here it is, anyways. All information is under the cut! WHO: Paxerle @ deviantART WHERE: http://www.paxerle.deviantart.com WHAT: Contest Prizes ($8 USD, 1 Chibi, 2 Pixel Icons, 1 Custom Design) - Only the chibi was ever completed and sent to me. WHEN: Paxerle noted me on June 23, 2015 and requested that I enter her contest. The journal with the information has long since been deleted, as well as the results journal, but I believe I was announced the winner on August 2, 2015, as that's when my note to her about prizes is dated. This is still ongoing. PROOF: Screenshots will be linked below. As said above, the original journals with the contest information and results have been deleted, so this proof is based off of what has been said in notes and I hope it's sufficient. EXPLAIN: June 23, 2015: Paxerle contacts me about her contest, the theme of which is to design a character for one of her MYO Sushi Dog Slots. Sushi Dogs are a closed species belonging to another user, which is important because it means she had to have the design approved by the species owner and I can no longer revoke it from her without backlash from the species community. She did pay the species owner for the slot, but, as explained below, she never compensated me, the designer, for the design, which was the original agreement. (I apologize for the confusion of this; I know this is an unorthodox situation that might require additional explanation.) August 2, 2015: I decided to enter because I had no workload at the time and I liked her art, which was also offered as prizes. On August 2nd, the results were posted and I was announced the winner, but this journal, like the one with the contest information, has been deleted. I also provided her with my email address for the small monetary prize. August 21, 2015: Paxerle sends me one of the completed art prizes. I'm including this because I believe it shows that she's acknowledging owing me something, and I don't have much evidence of that, unfortunately. September 10, 2015: I sent a note about the monetary prize because I never received it and, as mentioned in the screenshot, other artists often send payments to me to the wrong email address. (My dA username is Bottled-Rottweiler; my email address has no hyphen.) She claims to have sent it and I let her know that I never received anything. As of this posting, this is the last I ever heard from her. She could have easily responded with a screenshot of the transaction if she actually did send me the money, so I believe she never did and doesn't intend to. Here, she also acknowledges that I'm the designer of the character to the closed species owner, who approves it. This is why I cannot revoke the design from her; it would be viewed as poor etiquette in the community and I could consequently be banned. I was hesitant to post this due to the complexity of the situation, but the general idea of this is, I entered Paxerle's contest and designed her a character, under the belief that I would receive art and monetary prizes in exchange. I never received them, so she now owns a design from me that I was, in a sense, not paid for. I hope I'm not overreacting to this, but the idea that she scammed a free design out of me has left a bad taste in my mouth. Additionally, she has paid people for adoptables and completed personal artwork in this time. EDIT (11/11/25: I want to place emphasis on the fact that this is an issue with an individual artist who failed to compensate me for a character design, not an issue with the closed species community. At the advice of the comments below, I did contact the moderators of the community for assistance, but this is a conflict between two individuals. I have no issues with this community and have always felt welcome there. 🙂

https://artists-beware.livejournal.com/878066.html WHO: Scotty Stripes WHERE: This occured over email, address can be provided if necessary (rules say not to?) However FA accounts are: http://www.furaffinity.net/user/scottystripes (old account: http://www.furaffinity.net/user/staar ) WHAT: Fursuit Concept art through www.NeonSlushie.com WHEN: Commission order was placed October 11th, paid for the 13th, and completed the 25th. Initial contact was all fairly pleasant, but as soon as the commission was completed, things went sour fast. Customer filed for a chargeback even after I made the requested changes to the artwork. PROOF: I have included every email that has been exchanged between us. First Contact/Commission Form: http://i.imgur.com/e9uCjeC.png A few back & forth emails, all pleasant: http://i.imgur.com/qjnEzyh.png Commission Completed: http://i.imgur.com/taCvBtB.png Finished Image: http://i.imgur.com/CN0L6jF.png *Things go Sour... http://i.imgur.com/TeKRT5V.png I fix the mistake: http://i.imgur.com/5kFk0L2.png Customer Files Chargeback: http://i.imgur.com/NiWssCa.png EXPLAIN: Everything is pretty self-explanatory through the screenshots, but for those of you who do not feel like reading it all: Customer, Scotty Stripes, commissions me for a basic reference of their Zebra character. I charge them $80 ($50 base price, +$25 design fee, +$5 extra complexity fee) - they pay several days later, and the commission is completed on schedule. Scotty is very unhappy with the outcome (mainly the stripes) and lets me know that. I say it's not a problem and I'm happy to work with them until they are satisfied with the art. Scotty becomes very hostile and voices that they feel they were scammed. I again tell them I can make the changes so they are happy with it. I go ahead and fix all the stripes to their specifications, only to find that they filed for a chargeback. I have tried multiple times to contact them and request they cancel the chargeback but they have not answered me. I feel very wronged here. I am going to be out $80 and many many many hours of work. I realize that I am not perfect in this situation, they did request more realistic striping than what I initially gave them. However, my job is to make designs that can transfer easily into fursuits and realistic zebra stripes are not something that works well for this. I was more than happy to fix my mistakes, but I feel the treatment I was given in this situation is extremely unfair. What can I do now? What can I say to paypal to get protection, before that chargeback clears? Last time I had a customer file a chargeback, I lost because my products are digital only and not physical items. Is there anything I can do? I really need advice. And I really did feel I needed to warn others of Scotty Stripes and their behavior, so other artists and fursuit makers can avoid having this happen to them. UPDATE: The chargeback did not go through! "The case [customer name] opened regarding a payment to you has automatically closed because it was not escalated before November 16, 2015. Any funds associated with this payment that may have been on hold is now available." So the money has been returned to me. Scotty Stripes has still never contacted me, apologized, or canceled the chargeback, so this beware is still plenty relevant. However I am super happy that my money was not taken from me!

https://artists-beware.livejournal.com/877734.html I bought a YCH from this person for $12, which isn't much. I paid them $15 because I thought their "skill" was impressive and that I should tip a bit. They got the piece done in a very good amount of time, but it was brought to my attention that the piece was traced from another artist's art. I was refunded the full amount very quickly, but they deny that they had traced. Other than that, they are a really nice person. It's just a shame to see talent go wasted by copying others. Their Profiles: http://www.furaffinity.net/user/lakeore/ http://lakeadopts.deviantart.com/ http://princedeanmon.tumblr.com/ (NSFW!!) YCH Posting: https://i.gyazo.com/096020fd94b9c73870ac1d51dc24008a.png Finished: https://i.gyazo.com/b67e895559cd8c30b3934a409b078d5b.png Comments: https://i.gyazo.com/80909a81f2aa53a7d27f41ad02b3f0c7.png Original Artist's Piece: http://www.furaffinity.net/view/15173282 Overlay: https://i.gyazo.com/5dabdf1918b7e76919a4bbe2b4ce8bf9.png Proof of Payment/Refund: https://i.gyazo.com/6c6e1af37595afd7bfee860f45b1d1ee.png "But I didn't trace!": https://i.gyazo.com/b1577ac2d9aeee1158377eb0a3be0e26.png Just wanted to give a heads up. I have no idea how credible their adopts/other art are, but I wouldn't trust it.

https://artists-beware.livejournal.com/877086.html Edit 10/30/2015 I received my order as well as an apology from the maker, hoping the same happened with the other costumers too. They were awesome enough to pay for the shipping too. Hope their IRL issues get resolved. (/r/Furry from Reddit suggested I should come here, since this was a bigger issue than I was hoping it would be, here's the Original Post: https://www.reddit.com/r/furry/comments/3o5puh/looking_for_opinions_and_advice_commission_issues ) WHO: Miss Raptor WHERE: http://missraptor.deviantart.com/ WHAT/WHEN: I commissioned her for a mask over a year ago, finishing my last down payment August 28th 2014 ( making it a year and 3 months) PROOF: The agreement: (April 3rd, 2014) The Final Payment: (August 28th 2014) Journals/Excuses from the artist incoming.. 1 (August 27th 2014)- Telling customers, ironically, to communicate with her payments, but she might not be able to communicate back as fast. 2 (Oct 2014) Pushed back until December 3 (Nov 2014) An issue with the furnace 4 (Dec 2014) It's now December, email goes down 5 (Jan 2015) Sorry, got a puppy now 6 (Jan 2015) Sick Sister 7 (Feb 2015) Sick Artist 8 (March 2015) Too many projects 9 (May 2015) Projects Paused.. again 10 (Aug 2015) 4 Months behind EXPLAIN: I'm concerned about the where-abouts of my said "finished mask" from a 6+ weeks ago. I understand things happen, but she has started to out right ignore her clients that are sending her notes on DeviantArt (and I know she is reading them, dA marks notes as "read" once opened.) We've been very patient and understanding with her but this is starting to become unprofessional. It took her a year to finally post a WIP for us due to the complications in the journals above. I'd honestly rather her post another journal though than ignore me and other clients on DeviantArt. This is happening while she still is taking commissions and taking down payments from other people, while she has had clients waiting for their 100% payed for mask for 15+ months( a year and a half almost). I'm very disappointing with the service I received for my $730 bucks, especially since I payed everything on time and let her push my project back continuously so she can advertise/sell merchandise at Anthrocon, work on her own personal projects, or deal with her real life issues. Sorry for the rant, I'm just so burnt out from this mask commission.. I can not recommend this fursuit maker to anyone anymore unless she works out her communication issues with her clients, and can balance her real life problems with her "professional career that makes her a living" as she called it. There's not excuse for this.

https://artists-beware.livejournal.com/876252.html WHO: EciiArisu/Usabuuchu WHERE: usabuuchu.deviantart.com WHAT: fullbody couple, digital art. WHEN: Ordered and paid in March. PROOF: first attempt at contact https://ic.pics.livejournal.com/booksen/76931540/272/272_original.png second attempt at contact, over a month later https://ic.pics.livejournal.com/booksen/76931540/517/517_original.png Finally received a reply, September 7th https://ic.pics.livejournal.com/booksen/76931540/873/873_original.png My reply to hers https://ic.pics.livejournal.com/booksen/76931540/1260/1260_original.png No response to my last reply, sent another message October 7th https://ic.pics.livejournal.com/booksen/76931540/1506/1506_original.png EXPLAIN: In March of this year I purchased a fullbody couple from Usabuuchu (formerly EciiArisu) on deviantart. After paying I waited some months until July when I asked for a update on my commission. I didn’t get a reply so Auguest 30th I sent another note asking the same thing. I finally did recieve a reply for this one on September 7th. The reply had me a little worried as it was worded. To me it made me think ‘i might finish your commission and if I don’t then maybe you get a refund’. I sent a note as soon as I read this asking for clarification but have not heard back since. I have sent another note as of last week, October 7th , and still haven’t heard anything even though the icon on the note says it has been read. They are still active on other sites and on dA (uploading art, commenting, etc). I do not want to cause any trouble or drama but I felt this needed to be put out there. Thank you for your time in reading this. I would also like to apologize for any spelling errors or mistake, this is my first time posting to artist-beware.

https://artists-beware.livejournal.com/875995.html edit: Resolved! Got my part, everything OK! -------- WHO: www.furaffinity.net/user/perikoala (also on tumblr) WHAT: A digital art trade WHEN: It has been ongoing since August 13, 2014. PROOF/EXPLAIN: (Note: The conversations are in spanish, as it is my main language, but I've translated them in the bottom of each screenshot.) I and Perikoala agreed to do a trade in August 13, 2014. [Proof] As suggested in the screenshot, we worked out the rest of the details through skype. In September 6, 2014, I finished my part: http://www.furaffinity.net/view/14469044/ [screenshot], she said thanks, everything ok, so I waited for her part. About six months after the agreement, I noticed that she was offering more trades and requests and later free raffles on tumblr [proof], while I hadn't received updates about my piece, so I noted her on February 2015, to which she replied she was sorry, that she hadn't been able to finish it, and promised me she hadn't forgot. [proof] [my reply] After this I sent a message which wasn't replied to. I figured it had to do with her accounts being inactive, so I tried to reach her on tumblr. After this, she finally answered to me on FA the day August 12, 2015. [her reply] Now, I completely understand that life gets in the way, but it throws me off that she kept/keeps accepting free requests, hosting more raffles (another) and trades although I still don't have updates about mine from 2014. This is a trade she did with a friend of mine, for example, among others and if they were from old agreements I would have understood, but according to my friend who recently traded with her, they agreed to do it on september 7, meaning she had to wait less than a month for hers. [screenshot] Currently, on her profile, she's also offering free requests. I sent her a reminder note in October 7th, which is still unread. [proof] After that, she has been online and even doing art streams, all while ignoring my note. [proof] I don't blame Perikoala for whatever that made her too busy to work on it, I completely understand serious stuff might come up, and I must note that we had also agreed to take our time, no rush at first; but I think over a year is more than enough.

https://artists-beware.livejournal.com/875056.html WHO: Electrocat & Electropaw_Artworks WHERE: https://www.furaffinity.net/user/electrocat & https://www.furaffinity.net/user/electropawartworks WHAT: A couples Icon WHEN: August 5th 2012 PROOF: In my stash I have posted four screenshots. One of initial contact to purchase the icon set. The proof of payment being sent (I sent extra to cover the paypal fees). And two follow up notes which were never opened by electrocat. http://sta.sh/21bm9xe88hih EXPLAIN: Normally I would have let this slide and forgot about it but the entire incident left a bad taste in my mouth. I commissioned Electrocat to do a set of icons for my husband and I. It was an experimental icon template and I would have been fine if she just informed me that it was not possible to do the icons and either refund me or make them on a different template. But I received no contacts from her. I attempted to contact her twice in regards to the progress and the notes went unread/ignored. I finally was able to make it to one of her streams where I politely asked how the icons were coming and she threatened to shut down the stream if anyone asked for an eta on any due projects because it was stressing her. I would have screenshotted the stream but I was thoroughly yelled at by her boyfriend of the time before being booted and banned from the stream. So I was unable to ever get in contact with her. I never filed a claim with paypal because I didn’t see the point for $28 that and she lives off her commissions and I didn’t want to add any more stress by taking away any money she had already had. Unfortunately, commissions get piled on top of commissions and some get forgotten. Most of the time she gets the work done, but when things become problematic, communication breaks down and so does the commission. She is a good artist… It just should be known that there has been incidences where some have fallen through the cracks. I just happened to be one of them.

https://artists-beware.livejournal.com/874852.html WHO: Artist: "Jaggy" /furaffinity/deviantart/ http://www.furaffinity.net/user/jaggy/ http://ieatd0gs.deviantart.com/ WHERE/WHAT: Badge trade, through notes on FA/spoke in person a few times. WHEN: Discussed doing a trade at Califur in 2013. Despite getting my half done for them within a month, I have been fed excuses and given nothing despite waiting for two years, along with being ignored the last time I tried to contact them. PROOF: Screencaps of notes will be hosted in the explanation, though I only have one note remaining from them (but most of their correspondence is still in the quotes on my replies thankfully.) I was lucky that FA's outbox notes were kept so long-term as compared to my often cleared inbox. While this means a lot is missing, I think there's enough to clearly support what's gone on here. EXPLAIN: Califur 2013 Jaggy and I spoke, with them telling me they loved my artwork and really wanting a badge, but were short on funds. Trades came up and I agreed that I'd like to do a trade after seeing their work because they had a style I felt would suit my character well. I asked them to contact me after the con to set up details and give each other references. June 2013 I got the initial note from Jaggy asking if I still wanted to trade, and we exchanged references and the like. Here's what I have from the correspondence setting up the trade. First Second Third And I was obviously noted back with their details as I completed their badge shortly after as I stated. July 2013 I contacted Jaggy about the badge being done. I received a response stating the sketch was drafted and I'd for sure get it by the next furmeet (the only note that slipped through my inbox cleaning, thankfully.) Here is a posting of my half of the trade for them, it is the green character at bottom-center. I delivered the badge to them at the furmeet as stated, when I was told again in person it was sketched and would be ready at the next meet for sure. At the end of July 2013 I had something come up, so I informed Jaggy they'd have an extra month to work on their half since I couldn't make it to the next meet. When I saw Jaggy at the furmeet in September 2013, I was given more excuses as to why it wasn't done, told it was sketched out still, and given another "next time" guarantee. I ended up moving out of state for a while and when we spoke at my last meet I attended before that, Jaggy told me they'd be fine shipping it to me because I was so patient. I remained patient, seeing I was on their profile in their commission/trades list. In November 2013, I contacted Jaggy inquiring if they could have the badge completed by my next convention so I could wear it there. They had replied telling me what was up and I replied back being very understanding of things. I was never once shown any of these sketches, however, and starting to doubt any existed. At Further Confusion 2014 in January, Jaggy and their partner came to my table to see me. Again, with no badge. I was fed a sob story about how difficult their lives had been lately and that they were in debt and they had no time to get art done whatsoever. My friend popped into the conversation proposing that I could use the badge as an example for my table until the end of the con to make things fair, to which Jaggy agreed. When Jaggy came back to pick up the badge, it had gone missing. I told Jaggy I had a hi-res scan if we couldn't find it and I could easily print them out a new one with no problem, but kept looking around. I assumed it fell off or someone took it, but still made an effort to find it with no results. A couple weeks after the con, in February 2014, I finally got time to ask Jaggy if they had managed to locate the badge as I hadn't heard back. I do not have their response, but I was told that they hadn't found it through anyone and not to worry about printing a new badge for them until they finished their half because it would only be fair. I started to assume that I was just ripped off after that despite constantly being listed on their profile as an in-progress trade having been sketched out. I found the badge in my air-travel cases for my supplies after my last out-of-state convention, but remained quiet, still seeing that my trade was listed and "sketched" and hoping that it would be done soon. At the two year mark, in June 2015, I decided to check in. I was now just listed as an owed trade, and had noticed Jaggy had been doing plenty of art, inclusive of personal work, and wondered why they hadn't done their half for me yet despite all this time. I sent them a note informing them I had found the original badge in my supplies, asking if they were going to do their half. I received no response despite the note being read for weeks. This was the final red flag for me. Finally, I noted Jaggy months being ignored, now in October 2015, well over two years since setting up and completing my half of the trade and receiving nothing, never being updated, and eventually ignored when it's past the point of excuses. I've decided I'm just done with this. I don't think they intended on doing their half of the work and were dishonest with me about their progress and intentions. I do not recommend trading with this person, and would even exercise caution in commissioning them based on their work ethic. UPDATE: About a day after I sent my note and wrote this posting, on October 5th, 2015I received a response from Jaggy (to my surprise, considering I had been ignored previously.) This note called me rude and was an obvious attempt to guilt trip me with another sob story, accusing me that I was essentially being mean and causing them trouble because I didn't care and keep up with what they'd been through, and some more excuses as to why the work had not been done. As someone who has been through more than plenty myself, I responded quite offended and upset about the ploy, explaining to them why I was offended, and ended up blocking them (of which I notified them) because I absolutely can not handle the stress that getting aggressive guilt-tripping notes puts me through. While they'd insisted on completing the trade someday, despite claiming not caring about it anymore, I told them I absolutely did not want them drawing my character at this point. It took me a lot of willpower to not be baited back in, but I refused to fall for it again. I would rather not share these screencaps of these two notes as I find them of rather personal nature based on the information shared about our experiences, but if absolutely needed, I will share them at a moderator's request. After I'd sent my reply, I had a second note waiting in my inbox already that they must have sent while I'd been writing mine. I did not reply to this as my response I'd written covered how I felt and stated that I was done with things. I currently have Jaggy blocked as I simply cannot handle being sent notes like that just because I finally put my foot down, and they have finally removed me from their queue. I assume this will go no further.

https://artists-beware.livejournal.com/873487.html WHO: Tortle/ Jay/ Gatorbite WHERE: http://tortle.tumblr.com/ https://www.furaffinity.net/user/gatorbite/ https://www.weasyl.com/~tortle WHAT: Multiple commissions, including an art doll and a customized adoptable WHEN: Art doll was purchased in May of 2013. PROOF: Proof of payment for the art doll and adopt: https://41.media.tumblr.com/5d2465c81301f52d9dee05dc058c5587/tumblr_nvjm8fRnfo1u6i3n1o7_r1_1280.png https://41.media.tumblr.com/e903d972329aa3a623cf7929c0b31176/tumblr_nvjm8fRnfo1u6i3n1o9_r1_1280.png There were other commissions that were not completed, but I don't remember exactly what they were or how much they cost. EXPLAIN: In May 2013, I commissioned Tortle for an art doll. Over the next 2 years I commissioned him for many more things, as well as buying adoptables he put up for sale. While I recieved most of these, the doll and a handful of other commissioned pieces were not completed. In late 2014, Tortle became inactive on Tumblr and FA for several months, all the way up to May of this year. During this time, he would not respond to messages sent by myself or my partner. I have learned since that he did not respond to multiple other commissioners, either. In May of this year, I checked his Tumblr after waiting for a couple months– only to discover that he had been active again for weeks– dispite the fact that he STILL hadn’t replied to the multiple messages my partner and I had sent him. I sent Tortle a message asking for him to get in contact with me reguarding my commissions, which did not get any reply. However, my partner sent Tortle these two asks on Tumblr: https://40.media.tumblr.com/22b485b4e20c76afd639f130133d8013/tumblr_nvjm8fRnfo1u6i3n1o3_1280.png https://41.media.tumblr.com/617c1f179e4b603be035eabdee3b1a5e/tumblr_nvjm8fRnfo1u6i3n1o2_1280.png Tortle's response: https://40.media.tumblr.com/902f1208dc49364191ab6c9618a13937/tumblr_nvjm8fRnfo1u6i3n1o1_1280.png This was the last and only message we’ve recieved from him since. He never got back to us to work anything out. We sent him multiple other messages, as well as messaging his partner in an effort to get into any kind of contact with him, all of which recieved no response. About a month ago, I was browsing the front page of FA when I saw an adoptable posted to a new account: gatorbite, which makes no reference to and does not link to his Tortle accounts. I tried to give him the benefit of the doubt and hoped that he was making money to pay people back, and that he would get to people eventually. After a month or so of him posting adopts and commissions almost constantly, however, it became clear that this was not the case. Frustrated with Tortle’s unresponsiveness, I decided to note him asking what he planned to do about what he owed me and when – only to find out that he had blocked me on his gatorbite account, despite the fact that I had not watched him, favourited his art or interacted at all with him on that account previously. https://36.media.tumblr.com/e7a1f7e01b4d1df90dd7c11dd2d47db0/tumblr_nvjm8fRnfo1u6i3n1o5_r1_1280.png https://40.media.tumblr.com/0ca6959ffcba7392358b4bd9f567e883/tumblr_nvjm8fRnfo1u6i3n1o4_r1_1280.png This gives me the impression that Tortle created his Gatorbite account to avoid the people he previously owed art and money. At this point, there doesn't seem to be anything I can do except post a beware. Tortle is not trustworthy and I strongly advise against commissioning him. Edit: Fixed a date that I thought I had already fixed, sorry