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At the beginning of 2018 I took Codeine up on a deal. She was to do me a couple's sketch page with flat colour for a grand total of $200. As of now, it is still ongoing and I have two basic sketches (not-coloured) which was shown to me at the end of April 2018. (I'll come back to this later.) Proof of Purchases From the initial purchasing of the commission to the first sketch update, I always had difficulty communicating with her, whether it was due to no replies on Discord or her emails. This is a long running trend that is still happening today. She has said multiple times that she has personal issues going on, some to do with mental health and some to do with money. I have tried my best to be cordial and to respect the time she may take as I can understand is can be difficult. But even after a year there really has been no progress on my end all the while she still accepts more and more commissions without ever really seeing them be uploaded. (Of course, these people may have very well gotten their work done, but Codeine told me something herself which makes me doubt that.) Large and Unmoving Backlog She told me once that she had a backlog of near 100 people but only works on those that continue to pester her (like myself). Obviously at the time of hearing it, I thought it was a little peculiar and borderline scam-like but I tried to stay positive and said at least it lets her focus down on 'urgent' ones and such. I'm fully aware I could considered mean or inconsiderate to go back on my word of not outing her, but at this stage I feel like I want to get the word out. With all the hubbub of Jailbird working up a backlog and constantly taking more made me think of it, and if I can stop people from falling into this pit like me, then good. From the horse's mouth the artist has a fairly dodgy work ethic / professionalism since it seems a lot of people's money has sunk into the void. Potential Attempts at using my wallet more I would take this one with a grain of salt, but it also showcases the long periods of time I would often have to wait for any kind of communication. She once drew to my attention an adopt for a character going and she started out by saying how much they liked drawing my character, and if I were to buy this adopt for her, I'd get a steady flow of art with them together. To her credit she said it was quite a selfish ask and didn't seem bothered by me declining. However it was followed by a particularly long period of time without any word from her after having finally just been in regular contact with her. Her initial proposition on Jan 17th. A period of time without contact from the 17th of Jan to the 20th of Feb. (Now, I personally feel this was because she failed to get the character out of me BUT I am happy to be proven wrong and to state that as more my opinion than anything else.) This further shows poor communication on her end, creating a frustrating time on my end. Combinations As time went on, I foolishly continued buying smaller things from her which also were never completed HOWEVER she did offer to combine them into the price of the sketch page. With everything said and done, she dropped a few patreon rewards and sketch slots I purchased completely in order to put more detail into the page. This included a piece of work that she left as flat colours instead of finishing, saying that would go into the page as well. We ended up basically having her owe me the same full sketch page but fully coloured, fully shaded instead of just flats like we originally settled upon. (Which I was happy to accept, of course.) Recent Endeavours and Attempting Refunds Lately I've been asking her for refunds on the page. Since its been so long since I've had an update, and trying to get into contact with her was a trial within itself, I started talking more about simply putting it to rest and getting me my money back. There are many things I'm still due from her but have stated I'm perfectly happy to just focus on the very original $200 and forget about the extras added on and the little sketches I bought on the side. Just the other day she responded and tried to say that the amount of work she's already done is worth $260. Even though she had this to say about the original. This was the picture in question that I asked for price on. This image, flat coloured would be worth $200 in her own words, that we settled upon and I paid. Compare that with what she had managed to do for me in one evening that she is saying is worth $260. We since moved to Twitter to speak, since I generally found better success getting her there, and I could see whether she read my messages or not. She said it was worth $260 because she has apparently done more work on it since (That I have not seen so I haven't been able to even approve it.) though I can't help but imagine she will quickly draw something up or colour a part of it to show me when she next gets back into contact with me. (Which to be honest, if she does then fine. I won't want money back for work that has been done, that's the whole point.) But as it stands, that's all I have to show for my money. Conclusion and where I am now 4 days ago Codeine explained to me she was away from home for personal reasons and assured me she'd be away for 3 days max and would be home to talk with me further about all of this. Obviously, she has not but has read a post I sent to her earlier today. (Still past the 3 day limit she set.) I have essentially been left on read at this point in time. The blue tick means someone has seen your post. Grey is the opposite. These were from today. 8 hours ago and 52 minutes ago respectively. I ultimately didn't want to make this as I hoped we could come to an agreement and I could let it all go. But after constant delays to periods of time she comes up with herself, I promised to myself I would write this up and be done with it if she failed to meet the next deadline. (Yesterday.) Even if my own issue never gets resolved I hope this might at least make a few more people aware that it might be best to steer clear from this one until her backlog seems to be more under control.

I was approached in-game by someone offering art commissions, and given that I didn't have many done of my characters and didn't have much money, I spoke with them a little bit about it. The price was decent and so I agreed to talk about it over discord messages. I got information from them, and provided references as well as what I was looking for, which also included the only commissioned art piece I had of the character in question. The payment was sent, but there was some issues over how it was to be sent to them. I originally used the payment option but was told to resend it as a friend after he refunded the prior payment. In the end, the payment issue was fixed and the agreed upon amount was received. There was a little more discussion on available times as well as an ETA on seeing the linework. Past that point, the next time I contacted them was a little over a week later, on April 5th, to check on the progress given what they had told me about their usual turn-around times. They messaged me a week later on the 13th that they were finished with the prior line work for a previous commission (the draenei in the screenshot) and that they were going to be starting on mine next. Three days later on the 16th I received a message saying that we needed to discuss pricing. I told them that we had already negotiated and agreed on the price, and that I had paid them in full and up front and that I wanted to see the line art to see if there were any changes I would like made. There were a few things that I had an issue with and voiced them, as well as restating that I would not be paying anything further since the agreed upon price for the digital color portrait had already been paid. They attempted to pass blame off on me for not working with them, despite during negotiations a few weeks prior on the 19th when I stated I would be more than happy to provide further assistance should they need more references or clarification from me. They continued to attempt to re-negotiate further payment on a transaction that was already concluded and payment rendered. When I declined, and told them that I would simply take the incomplete product, they agreed. After that, they messaged me that they would probably go ahead and finish the coloring of the art piece anyway or possibly use it as practice for shading and that I should keep an eye out for it. When I attempted to confront them on this, Discord's bot informed me my message could not be sent because I had been blocked/unfriended by them. I attempted to go to their Instagram page where they had posted the work and reply to their work. The post was rapidly deleted and my Instagram account blocked from viewing their page. As the payment was changed from a business transaction to a gift, I know I cannot be refunded. I wouldn't have minded being out the money for this commission, but when I was told that they were essentially going to finish the drawing anyway -after- I had told them I was done, I wanted to make others aware of this artist.

Explain; Prepaid for a YCH commission posted via her gallery. (YCH attached). She originally mentioned that she had a queue and it would be a wait, I had no problem with that. I paid for it right away as she needed the money for an electric bill she stated in the post. I sent in the info to her via note and she confirmed it as well ok. Stated it would be at LEAST a month before it was complete. Again, I was fine with that. I commented back on the same post for an update about a month and a half later, because I realized her trello never updated to show my commission on her to-do list. She replied promptly and gave me an update. December I noted again, right before Christmas, asking if there was any updates, as I had heard nothing from her but continued to see postings of art, YCH's for sale and journals. She stated she was almost done with a wip and apologized for the delay. That was the last I heard from her directly. I noted again in February, she read the note but never responded. Again I noted for an update at the end of March. This note has still sat unread. So currently I am still down $50 or the YCH paid for. Obviously it is too late for me to go through Paypal and dispute the charge for a refund, but I am hoping this helps others avoid what I am not dealing with, maybe it will end with me getting either the YCh I paid for or a refund.

TLDR: I Paid for a commission I never received Back in mid 2017 I came across a post on Furry Amino from CanineVomit offering animated icon commissions. Interested, I contact them and we work out the details, with the payment being made on July 16, 2017. Fast forward maybe a few months and the end up announcing that they were leaving Furry Amino and tell their commissioners to email them (I don't have any screenshots from Amino as when they deleted their account their portion of the chat dialog was deleted as well). I do so and never get a response. After some time passes, I ended up finding them on Instagram and re-establishing contact there. After a bit of panic due to lost contact everything seems fine. More time passes and I hear nothing further from them again, and the same thing happens. They respond, everything's fine, but THIS time this is the last I hear back from them. I attempt a few more times to message them on Instagram after a while of not hearing anything but they never respond. Eventually they also end leaving Instagram like they did Furry Amino but without leaving any contact info for commissioners (They did leave their account up with the name "doggydeadd" for a bit but completely deleted it shortly after). I find them on DeviantArt and, like with Instagram, I attempt to contact them again. After a few attempts, they deactivate their account without even responding.

I commissioned this artist in February 2018. This one is pretty cut and dry. We exchanged notes on the animated commission I wanted and then there was a pause in communication since I was busy with work and the artist was ill. After May, I didn't hear anything back from the artist. I exceeded the PayPal chargeback time frame so I was not able to get my money back. I also did not receive any E-Mails back from Ricardo from the address he uses for PayPal. However, there were plenty of instances where he was posting on his Twitter account throughout 2018 so essentially, he took my money and ignored me. Buyers beware!

In June of 2018 I requested a commission from a fairly popular artist on Furaffinity called Psy101. The artist asked for a full up-front payment from the get-go which I am usually quite wary of so I decided to first ask for an estimated time schedule for when it would be completed, which he said would be around 3+ months so I chanced it. The artist would post both commissioned and trade/gift artwork to their gallery respectively. Images provided show gift and trade artworks which were posted after my commission request and payment was sent. As a former commissioner myself and one who knows other artists that do commissions, the thought of putting free art before paid artwork seems very unprofessional and distasteful. But I chose to give him the benefit of the doubt, on the grounds that perhaps these were artworks he'd made before my commission request and the fact he had posted journals about experiencing real life problems which would explain delays to the commission. On approach to 7 months I decided that I'd just rather take my request elsewhere and politely requested a refund which was met with no response, this request was made on Janurary 4th 2019. I knew inactivity couldn't be an excuse for not responding to my refund request since the artist was still continuing to post content to his gallery. The crux was when yet another 'gift' drawing was posted to his gallery with my refund request still being ignored, which got me to message him a second time in a much more informal and direct response, demanding a refund since I am owed it. This second request was made on Feburary 19th, 2019 and, yet again was ignored and has still not been responded to. I've put reason in my refund requests, referencing his journals and sympathizing with his situation but ultimately the ignoring of my messages has lead me to conclude he is not professional in how he conducts his business and I would highly advise against supporting him.

Requested a commission of 2 female OCs spending time together. D.Orange presented me with 3 sketches to choose from and then pay the amount when ready. Paid $225.00: Months go by with little interaction. D.Orange claims to have working issues irl, gave him the benefit of the doubt and gave him space. Months roll by and the responses gradually diminish to zero from him: Being part of a discord group, even had a mod step in to get it rectified, but even he didn't get a response from D.Orange. A bit old, but Orange is still active. Wanted to bring awareness.

@kurothepone to @kurovrchat to @kurolatex to @kurooof to @kurosuccubuss to @kurosuccubusVR Accepted a commission from this dude. He commented on my art one day, decided to look at his FA profile since I'd never seen it before. whatever. , I noticed that he was having thoughts of selling his character. had commisioner in the past was having falling out w/he community while commission was in queue, I ended up refunding them b/c didn't want to deal with the drama, honestly thought it be best if that was how it ended. This is commisino he wants for me thats his character that he wants me to draw. the same one hes selling. didnt want to deal w/the possibility that by the time i reach his comm in queue (~200 from my pi day sale) i'd have to be dealing with a new owner who maynt like the commission or whatever this is the response i got after chnging his twittler handle multiple times he threatens to dox me for posting my negative experience w/him on twitter after which, he did dox me on my public post and then threatened me more in dms which i have legal grounds to have him arrested for. however, he deleted my twitter messages. idk if this is twitter or if it's b/c i blocked him but all messages i sent him and he sent me are gone. i do have the emails that twitter has sent to me of each dm he sent, though, so if he continues, i will contact law enforcement in germany regarding his blatant violation of the law. please dont support bad behaviour like this.

This is an old Beware, but I was unaware of this website's existence at the time of this commission. To date, the commission has still not been completed as detailed, and the user continues to have me blocked, so I consider it still relevant. The commission took place on FlightRising, and thus all screenshots are from Private Messages and Crossroads (transaction history, basically) from that site. On a side note: all icons and names from PMs show up as Panicat because that's how the website shows them. However, I have marked clearly which ones are my replies and which are theirs. This is the original post I had made looking for art. Take note that it has not been edited since almost a week BEFORE any of our correspondence took place, so you're seeing the exact same message that they did when contacting me. The text links -- Tattoo Reference: Pose Reference: And a link to the original thread which still exists and has not been edited since, to verify that I'm not altering any of that information. On Dec 09, I received a PM from Panicat offering to fill the commission. The References link: Not perfect, necessarily, but most of it seems solid enough. So I replied: Their reply: For an idea of the cost, 1.5k gems is somewhere between $15 and $20. That was about 3x the going rate for that kind of commission on the site itself at that time, but since I was asking for a PSD to be edited by me later, and because I trusted in their ability to provide a quality commission given their sample images, I was willing to pay it. My reply. I should probably have waited to send payment, but honestly, I've commissioned dozens of pieces of art (not including adoptables) and had never been burned before (or in the three years since. Proof of payment. The diamond at the bottom is gems, the premium currency on the site. As you'll see, though, they did NOT keep me updated, though that's a minor complaint compared to anything else. This is what I received almost a full week later. Take note that this is NOT the pose I had asked for, nor do I believe this is "solid human anatomy," as the character looks like he's going to topple backwards. Also, should he put any weight on that left hand, with his fingers bent like that, he would BREAK HIS FINGERS. Regardless of knowing anything about the character or not, this not only does not match the reference pose, but I'd argue, isn't solid anatomy at all, nor is it representative of the samples they provided. So I contacted them, mentioning the various problems with the art they'd provided: I tried to provide positivity (what a cool breakdancing pose!) to soften the blow of the art being so wrong that it would probably need to be scrapped and done again. I also provided more specifics on WHY I liked the pose reference I had provided, hoping it would prevent a second mistake. I do not feel that I am in the wrong to request that they ACTUALLY draw what I paid them for. Their reply. They messed up, and they want ME to pay THEM to fix it. Just... WHAT? And 1kg? That would put it at 2.5kg for what is basically PARTIAL LINEART that is PROBABLY on top of a very, very rough sketch. That's absurd levels of payment, in my eyes, even given that I was asking for the license to animate the resulting image with a basic glow effect. For reference, that puts it very clearly above the $25 level. For again, what is essentially partial lineart. On principle, I refused to pay someone to fix their own mistake. I asked several artists (both friends and strangers) whether they felt I had been clear enough in the original thread, and they all replied that yes, the misunderstanding was on Panicat's end, not my own. So I replied: As mentioned there -- if they had questions, I would have happily answered them. If they'd "kept me updated," as they claimed they would do, I would have pointed out the error the moment I saw it. But they did none of those things, and instead blatantly ignored my requests. Their reply: They're insisting that I still pay, because "well how could I know better?" So my reply: I feel my solutions are pretty fair. They didn't deliver the commission as ordered. I would have PREFERRED a redraw, but it's entirely possible a YCH auction would've earned them money back for the (incorrect and inaccurate) work provided. Their reply: They delivered the WRONG work, and decided to blame me for not accepting blatantly inaccurate work that didn't reflect the original commission. My reply: I never received an answer to that PM, and soon after posted the entire exchange to the website-specific version of ArtistsBeware. I have since learned that they've blocked me. This is what I see when I try to view their profile: And this is what anyone not blocked by them, or me via incognito window (logged out) can view: So no resolution will ever be found, it seems. They scammed me out of my gems, refused to correct their mistakes, and blocked me when I tried to find a resolution.

On August 1st I saw an adverstiment posted in the Megaplex 2018 artist chat for Tiki Badges. I contacted Nya and asked to be added and paid $25 for one. They said that mine might not get done until later after the convention which I was fine with. After this is was harder and harder to get a hold of them. The last time I heard from them was October of 2018. After they dropped out of contact I searched for their twitter and found it hadn’t been touched since late 2018. I now am at a loss on how to find them but seeing as Telegram reports them as active within the last week, I’m assuming they’re ghosting me.

(My original advice post is located here.) NOTE: Her real name and email haven't been omitted, as they are readily available on her websites. Unfortunately, because the artist and I were on friendly terms, much of the communication for this commission was done verbally at Phoenix Comic Con (PHXCC). However, I'm providing screenshots of the correspondence we had online. I originally discussed a pencil drawn commission with Goldenwolf at PHXCC back in 2017. She told me that She'd have it done by May 2018 (the next PHXCC), but would get it to me sooner if requested. I told her I'd be selling some things after the con, and if I had enough after obligations, I'd confirm the commission and send payment. (Email Discussion) As agreed, I sent payment for the piece with extra for shipping via Paypal on July 7th 2017. I didn't receive confirmation she had gotten the payment, so I nudged her on August 4th. She replied on the 7th with confirmation, making mention that she thought she had already replied to me. When I saw her commission queue posted to FurAffinity (FA) on Feb 5th 2018, I asked why my name appeared to be missing from it (the screenshot was taken recently, after my name had been added). After I pointed this out, she assured me that mine would be finished "this month", which I took to mean February. During February, she also attended Texas Furry Fiesta, where she advertised accepting more commissions on FA and Twitter. On April 16th 2018, I sent an email over with my updated reference (no big design changes, just more examples of his different forms were added on it). On the 17th, she said I was on the "short list" and she'd be getting to mine after a couple of other things. May passed, and on June 10th 2018, I asked for a progress update. On June 26th she emailed over a rough sketch for my approval. She mentioned in the same email that she was suffering from severe depression. I responded requesting a few edits, but because she was my friend and I wanted to be supportive, I tried not make her feel pressured. After I didn't hear back from her on social media, I sent her another email on October 26th 2018. I offered her the option of just refunding me if she was unable to produce my commission in a timely manner, and her response to this is just better just read from her email directly. I waited to post on Artists Beware for advice until after December, because she mentioned in the email that she was hoping to have the piece done by then. Following advice from A_B, I sent an email on February 15th 2018 asking for a refund using the outline provided to me in my advice thread. As of the writing on this, I haven't heard anything back from her. While collecting screenshots for this post, I found her current Terms of Service. (She has never directed me to it, so I'm unsure how it may have changed over time.) I do know, that if I seen this TOS before commissioning her, I wouldn't have, friend or not. (It features an "A**hole Clause", which in and of itself would be a huge nope.) Notable Sections: 1 2 3 I also found that she has a Patreon, which despite her huge backlog, offers sketches to certain tiers. I'm unsure, however, if she's actually provided them. 1 2 I'm not sure what else to add, really. It doesn't currently look like I'll be receiving my commission or a refund. 😕

WHO: Kylestudios WHERE: Discord WHAT: 35$ Commission, 2 characters with background. Flat colors WHEN: June 11th the talk and pay. Lost contact until October 11th, then lost contact again, then re-contacted on January 11th and March 20th 2019 EXPLAIN: In June 11th The user was in need of money due to some problems mentioned in the screenshots below. Though we rarely chatted i wanted to help him out with the condition to have a commission with the quality avaliable for the price he asked. 2 Characters, Flat Colors and a Background. Details shown in the screenshots. I've sent him the money on the very same day and told him to "Take Your Time", that i wouldn't push him etc, but to please do a reference sketch for what i asked to see if it comes out more or less the way i asked for. Lost contact until i talked to him on October 11th asking if there was any issues but he said he haven't started yet (I am aware that he might be slow due to IRL situations or whatever mood he might be... But 4 months...?) I even told him that if there was any reason for him not being able to do it that he should tell me about it, and if he had even a small WIP , like i told him on June, that he could send it to me.. On January 11th 2019 i asked him for status.. Told me "Next week".. On Wednesday 20th of March i asked again for the commission status and all i got was the same kind of answer, "Soon"..If he's not going to do much about it i'm going to send him an ultimatum, wich's a Time Limit... And if that doesn't happens then i'll ask for a refund, but for now i wanted to show my status of the problem here.. ....And there was nothing else after that. Half year waiting and still nothing... However, in some other places where he posts his drawings (Not sure if i can link those), you can see him post art for himself many many times, but for himself!...NOT the commissions he owers to a total of 21 persons since a journal post on an art site for over 6 months! I mean, when you got a commission, you don't want to make the client wait THAT LONG.. People understands he might have IRL things to do (like a job, life, etc).. But you don't make a client wait nearly 1 year to get a drawing done, something he can make up quick and correctly (WIPs etc)..And even more making him look like "Hey look at my new drawing(s)!, but you'll have to wait for your pic even more because of this!" ...You don't do that to a client.. Whenever "I" get asked for a commission i put everything from my "To Do" list and focus on the commission at that moment (Unless i have to go to the doc etc) All the details below (Sorry if there's a bit of a chat but you guys want proof?, so have it.. PROOF: Refund Need https://prnt.sc/lw9upx Commission asking for the 35$ https://prnt.sc/lw9usm Paypal link https://prntscr.com/lw9xt4 (Censored) Commission Details: 1. https://prnt.sc/lw9uty 2. https://prnt.sc/lw9uus 3. https://prnt.sc/lw9uvj 4. https://prnt.sc/lw9uwg 5. https://prnt.sc/lw9uxe 6. https://prnt.sc/lw9uy4 Telling him to not rush things but please show a Sketch WIP in certain ways https://prnt.sc/lw9uz1 Asking if there's problems with the commission https://prnt.sc/lw9uzw Paypal Invoice thingy Commission status asking on January 11th 2019 https://prnt.sc/n25fdw Commission status asking, again, on March 20th https://prnt.sc/n25frp

sailorpawz is a deviantart creator that frequently hosts contests where users can draw her characters for money, da points, or custom pieces. In Feburary 2018, I decided to enter one of these contests, after seeing her advertise it on Furry Amino. It was a contest to see who could design her a brand new character, after she gave a few examples of breeds, colors and aesthetics she'd like incorporated. After a month after the due-date and origionally listed 'judging day', I contacted her via Furry Amino to discuss the situation, as she had deactivated her deviantart account for a few days at this point. She explained she was going to reactivate and announce the winners, which she did soon after. She then mentioned that she couldn't pay up, then redacted and instead said she would need to wait to pay the winners, which I said I would be willing to wait after she mentioned she wanted to choose my design as the top pick. It was a few back-and-forths between us before she was gone for good. I would check in on her from time to time, asking her about how things were going, talking about life, etc. so we could remain on good terms. However, one day she had suddenly deleted her furry amino account, and I have not heard from her since July of 2018. It has been over a year since the announcement of the design contest. Do not participate in her contests unless you want to get nothing in return if you win. Our Furry Amino chats have been posted below, I am redacting any personal information for the sake of the both of us. There were two separate chats--the first one in December, she suddenly left, but still had her account live. The second one, she left when she ultimately terminated her account for some reason. She has not attempted to reach out to me on any platforms, nor respond to my several invoices on paypal.

In February 2015, I commissioned RyunWoofie for a $25.00 USD colored sketch. She accepted my payment on February 26, 2015 and several months passed. I try to be gentle with my reminders, not poke and prod every week or month...just a reminder every few months / some chit chat about what could be causing the delay. During these months, I change my mind on which character to feature. She delivers a work-in progress in November 2015. I request some fixes to fit my character Syldria's proportions more accurately and she says OK sure. Some more time passes, artist mentions they'd like to use my WIP sketch as a YCH instead while allowing me to consider another idea. Idea is pitched, many more months pass and I remind her again in 2016. Okay sure, life grabs you by the horns sometimes...I let it slide. Several months pass again. I sent my occasional friendly inquiry/reminder and more excuses are given, with assurance that my picture will be done "soon". Concrete estimations of time, mind you, for a picture that's already a year late. Work isn't delivered, meanwhile she's been streaming commissions on demand to other clients within her picarto channel. She posts a journal update somewhere between 2015 and now with a whole bunch of clients waiting for their work, and upgrades the quality for those who have been waiting the longest. If you're promised a Shaded picture from a colored sketch, over 1000 days pass without an updated, upgraded picture, while hundreds of stream commissions have been done, how would that make you feel? Here is the Trello queue: https://trello.com/b/qZzbxjGv/commissions-in-progress-refunds I get it, Art is income. Income comes from new commissions, but what about my owed artwork? Note after note, she tells me she'll finish by X date, and there has been no WIPs or anything sent since the initial WIP turned YCH. You can't just sweep your past clients under the rug and under a mountain of new artwork done ON DEMAND in a livestream. I've remained neutral with my interactions with Ryun, and she has with me...I'm not a dick, but this sort of client treatment reeks of being taken advantage of due to my chill demeanor. It may be only a $25 commission, but you can't treat other people like this. Attached is the payment record on PayPal and our conversations spanning from 2015-2018, the last of which being July of last year. There has been countless posts of art from her since then and the majority of them from stream clients on demand, being done in short order. Also attached is the WIP sent to me November 2015, dated in my email with today's date and the original watermarked rough sketch stage of the only work she's sent me since February 2015. It is now March 2019. A disappointed client, Jarmenj

I was victim from an internet fraud scheme. Philipe Mathäus, resident of Brazil asked me to work 3 commissioned artworks for him. I charged $250.00 for each illustration making it $750.00 in total. One on December 17, 2018 The second on January 2, 2019And the third on January 8,2019 The transaction was made through Paypal, AUTHORIZED and paid on FULL by mister Cardozo on the dates before mentioned. The artwork was delivered digitally a few days later. So this was a full and complete sale. On February 1 2019, Mister Cardozo files a false claim to his bank or card issuer, claiming that these transactions were done without his knowledge. By default, his bank withdraws the money from my bank account! After some research I found that is customary from Mister Cradozo to file malicious complaints to his bank to other artists as well. The problem is that Paypal doesn't have coverage for paid services since there's not a tangible object involved, so hey can't solve the matter. I don't feel secure since this person already found a way to cyber-steal money from my bank. His malicious procedure provoked the blocking of my Paypal account, the cancelation of my credit card for fraudulkent robbery and an outstanding overdrive of $535.00, leaving me and my family without access to our funds for a week. Damages sum $1,285.00. This person is commiting credit card frauds all over the world and needs to be stopped.I can provide evidence of transactions and other people's testimonials.

On the 9th of April, 2018. I ordered a commission from an Artist who was in need of money. The piece ordered was a $115 character reference sheet. The first payment was in the form of a donation taken and in return I was getting a paid commission from him, the second payment was when the commission was changed to a character reference sheet. In the first couple of weeks, he had finished the linework of the character’s body and first outfit. During that time he took on a number of other commissions from other people and worked on their linework too, but there was no progression of colour at all. He’d work on his own artwork every now and then, even colouring his own stuff but my commission still remained in linework stage. Months pass and I got the same “Yes, yes, I’m just going to finish some more linework from these other commissions and then colour them all together.” Well, it came to December where I was told I had to be bumped back in line because he had to deal with another commissioner’s art. So he began putting that commission in front of everyone else's. At the end of December, I had told him that I wished for a refund. Fast forward three months to this day and I just received my refund after badgering for him for so long about it. This man lacks the communication skills necessary to run a business as an artist, uses the “Send to friends/family” as a PayPal option and continuously makes excuses for refunds.

I had contacted the artist on September 18th by commenting on their journal regarding their open mlp commissions. I apologize for the 'hidden by owner' status on some of the comments in the following journal screenshot. The owner had hidden the commission details between the time that they had refunded me and the time of the final message. On September 18th 2018 I sent them the payment On December 12th 2018 I receive a note explaining that they are having trouble and wish to cancel the commission. It was at this time that I received a partial refund for what I had paid them. Jump to January 23rd 2019 I still hadn't received the owed amount of 1,720 points and so I contacted them to request that the pending refund be sent They replied on February 17th 2019 claiming that it would take them longer to issue me a refund and that they wanted to re-start my commission and asked me to send them back what they initially refunded me. In addition they also asked me to re-send them the commission information. I promptly declined this offer and reiterated that I would like the refund as this was now 2 months after the initial cancellation date and the note remained unread by them (as indicated by the yellow sticky note on the right side of the page in the second screenshot below). On March 4th 2019 I sent a follow-up note to the one above as they still hadn't read it. I indicated, again, that I would like the remaining 1,720 points to be refunded. I also explained that if they did not have my points still on their account that they were responsible for finding another way of paying me, one of which was to purchase the owed amount of points from the DeviantArt store directly and then send them to me. On March 5th 2019 I received their response which was an excuse as well as their indication that they were going to leave DeviantArt and that they were sorry they couldn't issue the remaining refund, leaving me out 1,720 points (converted into dollars this is $17USD as 100 points is the equivalent to $1USD). I promptly responded, albeit a little hastily and angrily and informed them of my displeasure in losing my points without having gotten what I had paid for, as well as informing them that I was going to report / make this public. When I first started working with them they seemed like a sweet user and I appreciated getting the notice of cancellation and the partial refund. It was that which led me to trust that they would eventually refund my remaining points and instead of pressing further I waited patiently. The responses after that as well as the request to send the partial refund back so they could continue working on a commission that had been cancelled was where I began to have doubts about being refunded. I do admit my final response to them could have been worded a lot better but I was angry, frustrated, and so anxious that I went on auto pilot and wrote everything I was thinking then sent it without having a chance to proofread it. This was my final response to them and I do not intend to engage in further contact unless it is to transfer the remaining funds of 1,720. For that reason I have chosen to leave the user unblocked but I have high doubts I'll ever see the rest of my refund.

On July 13 I had paid Cody for a base fill of my Sona as a raptor... They said they'd get started right away. I sent proof of payment an kept in contact... Poking in so often to see what was going on... Well they kept feeding me lies, oh its done I'll post it later tonight, I'm working on it now... An it's been a month since they last even looked at my messages. I've attached picture proof.

Quote request sent on December 1st, 2015. Artist/Fursuit Maker, Stormy, Replied March 22nd, 2016 with final price broken down for each part. First payment sent via PayPal and received by Stormy on March 23rd, 2016. Payments completed via PayPal. Final payment completed on September 15th, 2016 . Work was delayed on June 11th, 2016 due to an animal with an illness. Her entire queue received a message with estimated completion dates on April 26th, 2016, which was supposed to be the upcoming Anthrocon. Work was again delayed on October 6th, 2016 due to a wedding. Contact was requested on January 18th, 2017 and a response was sent from Stormy to me on January 19th, 2017. Update on her personal life was sent to her clients [including myself] on January 20th, 2017. In this email she put what she has done on each project in order of what is done and where everyone is in her queue. Mine, Soleil, had not been casted. On April 13th, 2017 we all received an email saying she is selling premades for completion in July 2017. She also noted Soleil will be completed by the end of April 2017. Email was sent to her clients to join an Angels Nest Fursuits telegram chat on April 23rd, 2017, with the link provided. Shortly after it sent, it no longer worked. I emailed her on July 19th, 2017 to see a WIP or any progress to see if materials had even been purchased. I received a reply the same day, stating she is still working on her first two clients, and working on purchasing/replenishing materials. On July 20th, 2017, I sent Stormy a formal request for a full refund as she had broken her own ToS which I was respectful and professional. The same day, she sent me a reply. She stopped replying to my emails, so I contacted her on Instagram on August 21st, 2017, since I noticed she was active. She claimed she was “warned” about me and was very unprofessional in a lengthy conversation via chat on Instagram. Explanation in depth: In an effort to gain some understanding, I attempted to fix the issue by contacting her regularly to keep with updates, yet she refused to work with me at all. Once I noticed a pattern of similar life updates, but not any fursuit or art related updates, and the removal of her Trello and the Telegram chat, I grew increasingly concerned. I also noticed how she had posted she would be making premades to sell at Anthrocon and MFF. I also grew increasingly concerned since she told us all about her declining mental health and physical health, but after a time of over one year, nothing had changed. I tried to reach out to her as a friend and client but was later met with hostility as I emailed her regularly. I also noticed she obtained two new dogs after her puppy had passed away. I sent her my deepest condolences and gave her time to heal. She also posted on her Instagram how she will now dedicate her time to making a dog training channel on YouTube. After I saw this post, I was very upset. She has clients who have paid her a lot of money to work on custom fursuits/partials. In a series of messages via Instagram, she said some very hateful words and I never once went into all caps, never once did I throw an insult nor a curse word. I even praised her for taking care of herself. Yet all I was met with was hatred and insults and swearing. Since that day, not much has been done and I have not heard a peep. As far as we know, no one has received anything from Stormy/Angels Nest Fursuits. I am both shocked and gravely concerned for all parties involved.

Christmas was coming around and due to financial troubles, Chesta wanted to take emergency commissions to earn a bit of cash to spend on her three children. Proof of commission: https://sta.sh/024qbp1cjo2s Proof of purchase: https://sta.sh/011ldghfgpgk https://sta.sh/01wplj8ap2b3 She did have a lot on her plate, so I didn't worry about it. However, she has a Trello and didn’t update it often, so if anything, I was a bit nervous that she forgot about me. But a simple reminder should do. I noted her in April 2018 (forgot the original day, sorry) and asked if I could get my name on the Trello and was giving her a gentle poke in that direction. Sadly, no reply. I tried again, copy paste the original note on June 2018. Still no reply. Getting a little nervous, I wrote out another note on July 12th 2018, asking about my commission and expressing my understanding of the hardships she’s facing. However, I did mention, since it has been 6 months since the original commission was paid for, I was debating to get a refund. I was practically begging for her to reply to my notes. She did...telling me that I wasn’t forgotten and she doesn’t update her Trello enough to be reliable. Proof of unopened notes: https://sta.sh/0rx20svjd58 Proof of reply: https://sta.sh/0cqypc2a1f6 It wasn’t until November 2018 where I was knuckling down on this. I want my art and she’s not delivering. Not even WIPs or personal updates to me. Her situation is getting worse and she’s constantly taking on more and more work. I gave her another note, trying to get her to be honest with me. I wanted to help her. I was trying to be good and understanding because of my own experiences. I was giving her the benefit of the doubt. Proof of conversation: https://sta.sh/0urchox90qe (1) https://sta.sh/0x1byin29n2 (2) 5 days after this conversation (11/13), she wrote a PSA about explaining her actions (please note the comments are disabled). Sadly, she only refunded a handful of people (questionable) because she “is already working on the other commissions”. I was not refunded, because she claimed that she was working on my commission...but still no WIPs to defend herself. [Cut by mods. The journal is really personal. It should be noted that very personal information is being shared to clients who have been waiting for commissions.] The end of November, she gave out her email to everyone because she disabled her notes since they got too overwhelming. Proof of journal: https://sta.sh/0d2xvgeg56f I emailed her, laying down the line because I was losing my patience. More or less, I said, “Art or refund.” She pleaded with me to wait a week because she would finish my commission within that time frame. Allowing her one last chance, I agreed. It was November 30th 2018. The completed time would be December 7th 2018. Proof of email: https://sta.sh/013d1a9hxz8s (1) https://sta.sh/01954getkwvv (2) https://sta.sh/01yutosn7v2e (3) It’s been one month since that email. It’s now the New Year and I emailed her one last time, demanding the art or I will inform Paypal of fraud. She is telling me that she has it...but must wait until she gets home. Not since she got her internet back up (which was apparently on the 7th of January), she’s been radio silent on my commission. Yesterday, she posted only one commission; a more recent commission that she took on a month or so ago. I’ve had enough of this waiting game and pulled out the big guns. I filed a dispute with my bank on January, 9th 2019. Hopefully, I’ll get good news. Proof of email: https://sta.sh/02fzg9vaz8ds (1) https://sta.sh/0100d5wwgzxl (2) Proof of bank dispute message: https://sta.sh/01foihsglonb ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ It’s been a month since I’ve heard back from the bank, still left in the dark. So far, nothing. Chesta finally got some motivation to do some commission work and is actually posting again. She then did note me, asking for “certain” details on my OCs Proof of notes (NSFW!!): https://sta.sh/0cr9d1o5n36 However, despite this, I’m still posting this Artist Beware. If I FINALLY obtain the commission, I will update this Beware and say, “It is finished” and call it resolved. Edit update by Celestina: Chesta's response. https://sta.sh/0e408suwx31 Edit 2 update by Celestina: My bank got back to me two days ago, unable to help without "contacting the merchant". After today's journal, I know she will not take kindly to any pressuring for either commissions or money. She did make a new journal today...but more or less, it's another copy/paste job of pity, saying far more personal stuff and how she's sorry that she's slow and disappeared and "should be coming back soon." https://sta.sh/01icefwqiixy

I've tagged this as NSFW because of the mature theme (strip-tease), but if it is SFW enough please let me know and I will change it ♥ Below is the product in question. I recently decided to make my first ever P2U base (above) and I was contacted by Nekolover24 who requested to purchase a copy from me on the 6th February. The next day, on the 7th, I responded and promptly sent them an invoice for £20. They replied very quickly to let me know that they had paid the invoice, and once I had confirmed the payment had been recieved I went straight ahead and sent them a message that included links to the files for the base (I will censor the end of the link). Below is the complete invoice + details of the transaction. Later that same day they responded confirming that they had saved both of the files. There is more to the conversation, but it's about brushes and them planning on using it soon etc. and so not relevant I think. If I should still add it then I am happy to. However, on the 4th of March I discovered that I had an outstanding case that this same person had filed against me on the 28th of February. It was my mistake that I had not checked my emails or Paypal itself between the claim opening and when I noticed, but thankfully I realised within the deadline to respond (I had until the 10th) and was able to phone PayPal in time to find out what was going on and try to sort it. Nekoloveart24 didn't contact me or notify me in any way that they had issued a chargeback, and so this was a complete surprise to me. The only clue they provided was a vague journal prompting artists that they have commissioned to message them if they have been affected by "this" because they didn't want to explain the reason publicly. This of course was an instant red flag to me, as I would hope that if some genuine hiccup had caused a chargeback then they would try to at least notify about it and try to make things right. I am very suspicious and sceptical due to their lack of action and the continuation of their claim despite their vague acknowledgement of it. I can confirm that I'm not the only one affected by this person, but of course I know that I cannot provide evidence on their behalf so all I can do is suggest that they also come forward and write their own beware to help warn others of this person. I have already contacted PayPal and they are sending off my evidence to this person's bank/financial institution (unfortunately they chargebacked via their bank directly and so there's only so much PayPal can do to help me here, and so now I am waiting to see what is decided). The reasoning was apparently an "unauthorised transaction", which as you can see in my screenshots (and their journal acknowledging "this"), they appear to have every knowledge that they were purchasing something from me. I have been told to wait 10 days (as of 4th March) before contacting PayPal again for the status of the case, so hopefully then I will be able to update this with more info on if I will be able to have my money returned to me. Once I had made sure that I'd done all I could in countering their claim I reached out to them on FA via note, but as of right now they haven't replied or seemingly even looked at the message itself. Now we're all up to current date (7th March), so I will update this as things continue to unfold. I hope that this will end in my favour and that this person does not get away with both what they bought from me AND the money 😞 I think that's everything? As my first beware I hope I did everything ok, but of course if not please feel free to let me know so I can make changes! Thank you so much for taking the time to read, and I hope this can help others ♥

This is my first post on this site so i'm not sure if I did this right. A while back I discovered that my stickers have been traced. I went to the artist to confirm that they did indeed trace here is the conversation I don't see it right to sell traced art to someone It isn't fair to the artist who spent time making the art or the original commissioner who bought the art. I can't do anything about it here so I'll just post this here so someone will see this and think twice about this person.

Anjel (anjel_kitty) wrote in artists_beware, @ 2018-11-27 05:13 Teahound/Shroom Yeen When and Where: Furlandia 2018 What: badge for 20 dollars At Furlandia this past year, I commissioned @ShroomYeen for a 20 dollar traditional badge when I met up with them working in the artist alley. I remembered them from the days of 'yore here on LJ, and wanted to support an artist that I knew from before who lived close to where I lived now. ShroomYeen was very affable at first, and I even invited them to some of the events in the local area since we lived in the same town. But after the con, the messages became fewer and further between, until finally they started flat out ignoring me and refusing to respond to me. I have contacted Furlandia to let them know that an artist in the AA still has not come through with their paid commission so they won't be able to steal from anyone else at Furlandia 2019. At this point I am just going to cut my losses and let people know, especially here in the West, not to commission the artist known as ShroomYeen, formerly known as Teahound, and also goes by Travis. I thought that after this many years, this artist would have changed their ways, but apparently I was wrong. I do not have a receipt for the badge (something I will not make a mistake like that about again) but I do have chat logs between myself and the artist, with the artist agreeing to mail me my badge and then subsequently ignoring me from that point on.

**THIS BEWARE CONTAINS NSFW CONTENT** Commissioning Lenex I have commissioned Lenex in the past and was very happy with his work. His work is high quality and he’s very reasonably priced. I bought my slot in May of 2017, Lenex was very fast responding to my emails and after I paid Lenex told me the slot was mine. Proof of Lenex confirming my slot: https://i.gyazo.com/8146060f8528ebf0b5d6b23f0c4b3777.png Proof me paying Lenex: https://i.gyazo.com/b8870641506f235efbda00f96d828201.png No Contact and few FA updates. After this...Uploads on Lenex’s FA began to slow to a crawl. I would see maybe one finished commission a month posted. This was often backlog from 2016. The only updates I ever saw from Lenex were him often opening his queue again. Explaining he needed rent, understandable. But after taking another bulk of comic commissions, Lenex would seemingly vanish for another month. He did this every month. Open the queue, vanish, open the queue vanish. And so on. This behaviour started to concern me, but I tried to stay positive. One of Lenex’s last major updates was him asking if anybody would be willing to ‘float’ their commission. This meant they would be willing to wait an undisclosed amount of time for their product. I opted for this, as I felt sorry for Lenex’s heavy workload beginning to get on top of him. I'm afraid I've no proof of this beyond an email I sent to Lenex confirming I am willing to wait. At one point, Lenex even asked some people to opt for refunds rather than getting their work. He admits both will be timely processes though. Lenex taking on more commissions via journals every month: https://i.gyazo.com/9959aaf4e22c36efa121511417e829ea.png Lenex asking people to be refunded instead.: https://i.gyazo.com/7f8fa0b5aab76a24c961aaab0634c0c0.png My email to Lenexwants: https://i.gyazo.com/72dd9e553fb0b9f6412b5d0bfc8ba864.png Lenex cancels all Commissions In June of 2018 Lenex posted an update informing everybody he would be transforming all commissions into artistic freedom, or receive a refund. This was due to Lenex no longer wishing to draw graphic artwork featuring non consensual acts. This upset many people who expressed their frustration at this sudden change. Nobody had been given any notice nor would their old commissions from 2016/17 be honoured despite being commissioned before this sudden change of ToS. At this point I was tempted to get a refund. Even though my commission would not be affected by this new change of ToS as it did not contain noncon/gore. I decided against this as judging by the few updates Lenex posted to FA were money worries, I felt a refund would be more tedious than waiting for my product. I filled in lenex’s new commission form and sent my email. I was put back into his queue. After this update, Lenex ceased to post all together. Lenex's new commission form (warning: contains NSFW imagery and mentions of fetish): http://www.furaffinity.net/view/27543789/ Lenex apologises and retracts his new rule. 3 Months ago, after 5 months of further silence on his FA. Lenex posted a journal apologising for his lack of organisation and handling of commissions. Lenex at this point had responded to a note I had sent him asking for a previous commission to be removed for personal reasons. This was the first time Lenex had spoken to me since first buying the slot in 2017. Lenex disabled comments on this journal admitting in the journal he didn't wish to get any kind of backlash. A link to the journal: http://www.furaffinity.net/journal/8933648/ (in case of deletion, a screencap) https://i.gyazo.com/e143de4d13d211b43d5eec992b3aaf4d.png I cannot provide proof of the note as the account I noted Lenex on is disabled and I've since lost my credentials to it I'm afraid. If Ican break into it I will post it if mods deem it relevant. No contact still On 20/1/2019 I sent Lenex an email asking for an ATA on my two year standing commission. As of 12/2/2019 I have still had no response from him. My email to Lenex: https://i.gyazo.com/c50b3b3eaa404ff98ff8467b62af06ea.png Final comments I feel saddened it has come to this as I have been a fan of Lenex’s work since 2014. I do not like writing complaints. I feel I've been more than patient with Lenex but now I feel myself and many of Lenex’s customers have simply been used as loans to pay for rent and put onto uncertain waiting lists with no communication and now Lenex has taken on far too much to handle. While I do feel for Lenex who clearly has had some hardships the last year or so, the complete lack of communication between both myself and all his other custom has pushed me to write this as a warning for anybody interested in this kind of artwork.

I bought a reference sheet from an artist, and King21 traced it to fill orders and sell them as original pieces. My reference sheetThe reference sheet they sold the first personThe reference sheet they sold the second personProof that they actually uploaded it, meaning that someone had bought the art from them. (paid $$$). On Patreon, too (1) On Patreon, too (2) On Patreon, too (3) Patreon post 1 Patreon post 2 Proof that it's almost a carbon copy: Superimpose (front)Superimpose (back) Superimpose (second sheet) I put them on top of each other and decreased the opacity. Surely you'd agree that they traced my bought work, right? Sure, they changed some proportions like the ears, hand/paw, eyes, etc but that's very easy to do as an artist once you have the base. Hell, I could do it, and I have zero experience in art.While they aren't scamming me directly, I feel like they're scamming other people who are expecting original works, so that should be enough?