I've had this happen before... Yeah, I'd be pretty upset about it. :/

i know I would be..and have . Artist freedom to me meant the artist picking the pose , not changing your oc to there liking

Honestly?

Yeah, I'd be pretty upset. If I commission someone, I want my character to be in their style, but I still want it to be obvious that it's my character. :/

I'm turning V. into a pink fluffy ass bunny next time :V
Just because of this comment.

WHY GOD!
WHHYYYYY?!?

*Runs away screaming*

lol

Ah I've known this situation too... First I was a little upset and disappointed. Then annoyed and a little sad. But I sent a message to the artist to have a kind and calm explanation and the artist understood and made some changes on the drawing for me. And everything ends pretty good. ^^
Maybe you can talk to him/her ? And see where it should lead you ? é_è

Did you pay for it ?

Woops, didn't see the "Hypothetical Scenario"... >o<"
Forget about the "you" (I thought it was something that happened to you sorry... ^^' ) !
But I won't change my words, I think that a commissioner has the right to tell it when something is really not what he expected from the artist.
It's just important to never forget that both sides have to be comprehensive and ready to hear/read what the other is trying to say to him. After all, a good commission is a commission where both artist and commissioner are happy in the end. ^^
Yeah I know... everyone isn't...

i would be upset, but there are factors you have to take in when you give an artits "artistic freedom"

for instance

did your browse through their gallery? have they drawn your subject before? did you link a picture from their gallery and say "something like this please"? can they infact draw the animal your requesting to your specifications (i.e. do they draw the ears right on other felines, is their style more realistic then cartoon)? did you specify the gender on your references (alot of people give me genderless references and i have to go back a week later and ask them to specify)?

the term artistic freedom means your giving the artist the right to do whatever they want and how they see it visually in their head. if the artist isint comfortable drawing tiger ears then yes the tiger will come out looking like a cat (rounded ears vs pointed)

so you do have to make sure even if its artistic freedom, you specify certain details with the artist. details that are a MUST (the ref is genderless, but it is a female with b sized breasts shes also got curvy hips. shes a tiger so her ears are rounded not pointed and her tail is more square at the end and not a tip like a house cat. also if you could use this type of style (insert gallery link) because i really like it, but the pose and picture itself im giving you artistic freedom.)

However

you will run across just rude artists who dont care what you have to say
those people arent worth the time no matter how good their art is
i know a few and i dont have dealings with them anymore

I understand ur point COMPLETELY! .. Yet what if everyone else's artistic freedom looks like their sona ? Ur the only one that got the "black sheep oddball " commission ...
I didn't think artistic freedom meant completely different animal.. Unless that particular batch of commission was gonna be for that ya know ?

well if the case is that the artist was lazy on your commission specifically or mis judged something on your reference you can always contact the artist. my personal experience 8/10 times the artist will correct the mistakes pointed out to them. sometimes artists need mistakes pointed out to them because they dont see it themselves. lets say it was the tiger your mentioning maybe to them it looked like a cat and not enough information was supplied. turning into a tiger is a easy fix with some small details (ears, tail, cheeks). the artist being the one giving the service will more then not rectify their mistake to keep a happy customer.

if the case is the artist is just full of them self and they dont want to fix your commission then you will have to bite your tongue with them and put them on artist beware.

unless it is a sketch commissions, ALWAYS ask for a sketch approval before they ink. i have never had had and artist turn me down for it. if its "artistic freedom" you arent going to ask the pose to be changed, but details on the character. have them send you sketches until your satisfied that it looks like your sona.

i had a person make my cat girl look like a dog and we went though sketch after sketch until she got it right. she was happy because it was more practice for her and i was also satisfied.

But how can one misjudge when it clearly says what it is on the reference sheet?
I didn't need a pre sketch view or anything .. The artist cud have smothered the character in rainbow paints and put it on a pogo stick with a clown Afro wig on its head ! Hahahahah. .. Only if ppl can still identify it and say " oh that's such n such character " haha u know what I mean?

i do lol
but sometimes (using the same example) artist sees "tiger" but registers it as "feline" and it comes out as a cat.
like i said you can always ask them to change it for you. if they are a good artist with good customer service skills they will fix it for you <3

if they messed it up so badly that you didnt even recognize it then, i would ask for a refund/redraw

Did you give enough details at what you want ? if so and he just messed that up on Purpose/lack of understanding then complain , its your right ... but be Polite, nobody likes bitchy costumers.

Didn't give enough details ? then meh~ you messed it up and cant bug him that he redraws everything.

And yes it doesn't matter if its your Favorite artist or your Best friends , you pay money for a specific product , if you are not the Littlest satisfied then you have a right on reclamation~

my 2 Bits~

Oh my yes I would be upset/angry..
I mean artist freedome does not mean they can change your own personal characater into something it is not.

I would be very upset

It's happened to me. It upsets me. :/ But I try to move on and ignore it. Next time I try to be more descriptive

artistic freedom would mean freedom for idea of the pose and such..not to change the whole looks of ur oc O_O

EGG ZACK LEE!!! the artist cud have smothered the character in rainbow paints and put it on a pogo stick with a clown Afro wig on its head ! Hahahahah. .. Only if ppl can still identify it and say " oh that's such n such character " haha u know what I mean?

I totally do O_O

I've actually been struggling with an artist who I feel should not ever be allowed to draw my character again. And I paid them $120 to draw my character 3 times. They claim through their teeth that they started the other to paintings, but I know they have not.

I tried tact, and saying that I am so pleased with their first painting that I wish to cancel the net two. But it fell upon deaf ears and they kept the $80 I want for cancelling the next two paintings, despite not having proof that the started those paintings at the time of my cancellation. I'm about to make it into a paypal dispute.

Oh my gosh!!!

Yes u deserve a refund!

That seems to be the popular opinion. I mean, they only just started sketching the order after my first one, yet they suddenly claimed that they are in the alter stages of everyone else's paintings the moment I wanted to cancel. They aren't even respecting their own TOS, and their first painting of my character actually upsets me. A lot. I feel like his reputation is on the line and this artist should just stop.

GoSh that's awful . That's why I try to be as professional as possible and if something needs to change or be delayed I communicate with ppl. All artist have to do is have good communication with their customers .. Sigh .. And if the artist can't fix it then refund shud be done if no common ground can be walked upon .. Yeesh..

Sorry if I'm butting in here, but that's awful. You should report him/her to Artists Beware on Livejournal and spread the word about what this artist does to customers. Nobody deserves to be treated like that, especially when you're paying them!

Apparently, nothing can be done about them because they're really sneaky at writing a ToS.

You should still be warning people and try to post a beware. There's a difference between making a few changes to your TOS and switching words around so you can steal people's money.
Please, if you don't do anything else about it, at least report them to AB. It'll save a lot of other nice people from getting scammed!
(Sorry to be pushy! I just hate to see a person get ripped off by an artist. :/)

Have had it happen before and yeah I still feel upset and haven't commission the artist sense.

However it does depend if one has thrown a couple unaccurate images of their character to the artist with no other details then they have no right to be upset. In my case I sent the artist a detailed ref sheet of my character and noted select features to make extra sure only to have them get said features completely wrong and when mentioned they completely blew it off.

So I guess long story short artistic freedom should grant the artist freedom of pose, theme and other such details however should never equal the right to half ass it and draw a flat out wrong character ignoring ref sheets to spite clearly marked out details with their own panels.

havnt had that happen before though it could be because i usually insist on seeing a sketch before the artist continues

I've had this happen before. It's sad...it really is. I was so excited to commission this popufur FINALLY and the piece I got was subpar to their usual work. They told me that their commissioned pieces don't matter as much as their personal art pieces, so of course the work wouldn't be up to their standard. I haven't tried to commission them since. If you can't take the time to look at a character and at least TRY to make it look like that character...you've got no business taking commissions.

Mini-rant aside, the piece that was done for you (pretty sure I know which piece you're upset about, I watch that artist too) was nice...but I can see how it would be upsetting. At the very least the artist should have give you the saber-teeth and the little wingfeathers on the arms, like your ref sheet shows.!

Wow that was just completely ignorant of them to actually tell you that your commission wasn't as important as their personal art. I'm willing to bet they even linked their own personal art as examples when taking commissions which would give a completely wrong idea of what to expect.

If it was just recent I'd highly recommend screen capping that stuff and posting up an Artist Beware entry on them.

Problem is, they're a REALLY popular artist. I don't like to get fantards attacking me. So...I kept quiet. It's been a few months. I just let it go. Originally I was going to get a big commission from them...but after getting the equivalent of a sketch for a fully-finished peice price...it just soured the whole transaction.

Yep I feel the same way! Popular artist.. Don't need the drama... Sigh

As much as it sucks...I still wish youd do an artist beware. I feel its more important with those that are 'popular' because then itll just keep happening. And sometimes it just takes 1 person to open the flood gates (Thats why a few fursuit makers that were 'popular' closed down last year). Anyway Im sorry you got ripped off, Ive noticed that makers putting more care into their own stuff is being more and more popular to match their egos. Happened to me too =\

Yeah it understandably would sour the thought of ever working with them again and if you wouldn't mind could you let me know who that was in a note so I can avoid them too?

Sadly far too many popular people get away with such for that reason when a few people speaking up could give others the nerve to do so as well. Anyway I won't push you as I know the feeling and have held back too but if you still have the ability to take screen shots and hold onto them while thinking about it. You can always make the post later I know sometimes issues come up from years ago so it's not too late (provided you have access to the proof still) if you ever change your mind.

Sad just sad.. So disrespectful !

I LOVE every single commission I get ! That's why in my TOS It states I won't work on a commission if I'm n a bad mood or having a lazy day .. I wanna be upbeat and refreshed when doing my art...

That is soo mean !

I know I'd be upset. I mean, if the characters speices is stated in their ref, then I don't think the artist has an excuse to change the speices to their liking. If they don't think they can draw the speices of your character, they should tell you before drawing somthing you didn't ask for~

I would definately speak up, thats not fair. thats not what artistic freedom means. Its still supposed to be your character.

I hate when people bring this up. I mean if you can't do something you shouldn't take it on.
Yes people have style differences, yes it's artistic freedom but that doesn't mean the actual concept/design of the character needs to change.
Thats why it's good to give work in progress images, be verbal with your clients and make sure they're happy with what they're getting for their money.

but if they don't say anything either, it's their fault for not bringing it up at the beginning of the first wip (only if there are some given***)
I'm sure there might be some people out there that don't want to hurt someones feelings because they don't like what they're getting and just clam up and accept it.

Then you have other clients that blatantly disrespect you by saying "it wasn't for the art, it was because someone told me to"
I mean that's not something you say to an artist. It's really rude and can really fuck up their ability to work.

As a commissioner you have a right to confront the artist but you also need to show them respect in doing so.
If they end up being a dick in the situation like most, and just run with your money/give you a shit commission that doesn't match the other qualities in their gallery/what you paid for you know, like something that takes five minutes. Let users know. A_B or something like that.
Make a black list so you know which ones not to commission. (check to see if they're on  TrustedArtists ) before hand, these are recommended artists to commission and have been verified through more then a few customers as sound commission takers.
If not, approach them carefully, there are a lot of high named artists that run with your money

Even the guest, that was with the quest of honor at FWA burned me for a 90$ commission.
It's easy to get stuff taken, or given shit because people are too lazy. You just have to be careful and speak up.

To be honest if someone was commissioning me and they gave me specific ideas or anything, and i didn't meet what they were looking for i'd expect them to make me do a sketch revision before i proceeded and wasted both of our times.

I've actually recently had a commission where i couldn't draw the character because he was too masculine, and i had to let the commissioner know after a few tries so i mean, if one artist can do it, it shouldn't be hard for other people to. Artists know their skill level, unless they trace anime images or anything like that and just fake it. Most Artists know before hand what they can and can't do.

The artistic freedom thing, is more lee-way? to be able to draw something flowy and free of constraint.
It's very boring and lazy to have to copy an image pose, clothing, everything down to the last little detail thats why we ask for it. It's very constricting and suffocating, not to mention a shit load of pressure without it sometimes. It's you're job as clients not to put to much strain on the artists if it's not artistic freedom as well, because they might turn around and choose not to take your piece.

*gets off topic in a ramble*

haha i realize that first sentence can be misunderstood.
It bothers me to hear about things like that happening. I hear at least one story per commissioner and it's really sad and bothersome so many artists can get away with doing this kind of thing.
Especially the ones that continue doing it, when they know they're in the wrong.

I would be upset. artistic freedom is not suppose to change your whole OC, its more for poses and anthro or feral kinda things. O_o

I would be upset my boyfriend gets upset >_> his ginger tabby housecat keeps getting labled as a tiger