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Issues with Commissions.
3 years ago
Okay... so, first of: This isn't one of my usual dark and depressed tantrums that I, unfortunately, tend to throw wherever I can. This will be just me going on a bit of a rant about some personal, and recent, pet peeves regarding, you guessed it: Commissions. Also, just to be clear, I'm not gonna go dropping names, this is JUST ME going on a rant and getting this off my chest before I end up punching something. XC
So, if you don't wanna read through this, no worries, and if you stay to read, be sure to strap in and keep your tea, coffee, or whatever drink you like in hand.
With that being said, let's get into it!
1: Willingly Ignoring (potential) customers:-
This one is a VERY recent one that keeps growing and growing by the day.
So... I've tried contacting... 2 artists that I TRULY love and admire the work of, asking about commissions. And just to be clear: YES, I made sure that both actually do commissions every now and then. So here I was, hopping over into their DMs to ask about their commission prices and such, CLEARLY expressing my willingness to commission them.
What do I get in response? Silence. Absolute, ghosting silence.
How do I know it's ghosting/willingly ignoring me? Because I can clearly see both of them being pretty ACTIVE on Twitter, sharing new art every few days and reacting to comments and tweets about them, their characters, etc. Now, Twitter's DMs ALWAYS notify you if there was a message, so after seeing that, I'm not really buying the whole bullshit of 'Maybe they didn't see it' spiel.
2: Taking your Time:-
Okay, so this one I totally get. I used to do commissions too, some years ago, and I know first-hand how life just LOVE to throw those curve balls at ya just to mess up your very comfortable and organized pace.
But I'm not gonna sit here and wait for TWO-FUCKING-YEARS+ for a commission that I know, deep down, I'm never gonna get after a certain point of waiting.
Not to toot my own horn here, but I am/can be a pretty patient guy. I mean, I once commissioned an artist and gave them a LOT of space, to the point that we BOTH forgot about the commission! XD
Neither of us remembered the commission until I went back to the same artist for a new one. But, I ended up getting the old ones first, which turned out amazing btw, before sitting in the proper queue and waiting for the new ones to get done, which also turned out amazing.
So, yeah, not gonna sit my ass down and watch you pump out piece after piece, commission after commission, while mine is nowhere to be found and I know, for a fact, that my turn was supposed to come way before about 98% of those people who do get their art.
And this is the perfect segway to my next topic.
3: Favoritism and Queues:-
I get it, in your heart, you always want to prioritize your dear friends, loved ones, and even those very loyal followers that have been around for a while, I get it. But actively ignoring everyone else or always prioritizing that certain group of people? Especially if you have a proper queue in place? Nah uh, highly unethical.
And no one dare come to me talking about 'ethics'. I'm a business major, so I know bad business ethics when I see them and this is a VERY clear example of it.
As I'm sure a lot of those who read my, um... previous journals (again, sorry for putting y'all through that ugly mess), know my take/stand on this whole favoritism bullshit and I have talked, on great lengths, about my experiences with certain artists who clearly did such a thing. So I'm not gonna repeat all of that again here.
So... if you have a proper queue system in place it's your OBLIGATION as an artist and a businessman (yes what y'all are doing here is a business) to obey that queue. Pumping and pushing people up and/or down the queue willy-nilly and whenever you wish? Yeah, you can say whatever you fucking want, but that's the most unethical thing I've seen. Don't go giving me that bullshit speech of 'Oh, sorry, I missed your place in the queue' or 'Sorry, I have so many people I can't keep track of everyone', first of all: that's a needless flex, right there, and second: A queue is used to keep all the commissions, requests, trades, whatever else in a proper orderly and well-organized manner, so I'm not buying the whole 'Can't keep track' excuse.
So yeah, I'm pretty sure the artists who I had those experiences with, IF they read this by some strange chance, realize that they lost me as a customer, period.
Then again, not like they care, I am but a tiny drop in a huge ocean of other, willing customers, no?
Also, don't give me the bullshit promise of 'Not gonna happen again' when it already happened many times before.
As they say: Once is Chance, Twice is Coincidence, Thrice is a Pattern. A very disgusting and highly unethical pattern.
4: Paywalls:-
I get it: You're free to handle and dish out commissions how you wish, it's your business, and so is going over to places like Patreon and Subscribstar is also within your very own business conduct.
But... pulling all your commissioning business back and making it exclusive to those places? Yeah, I have some issues with that.
This way, you are only giving the rich folk access to your skills and services, which to me stinks of elitism a tiiiiiny little bit. I get it though, sometimes you need the money for something urgent, like upgrading/fixing your home, medical bills, bills in general, etc, etc. But... isn't making your services, regardless of price, accessible to the rich, handful few only counter-productive in the long run? You are literally slamming the door in the face of everyone else who loves your art and had the very high hopes of commissioning you, someday, while giving those with a lot of money to spare, all of your time and effort.
I mean, sure, there are those who will gladly toss their very life savings at your feet with the snap of a finger, at times regardless of their financial state.
But to have myself strapped to a milking machine and get pumped for a monthly payment just for the sniff of a chance to commission you? Yeah, not buying that. badum-tiss
And... I believe this is the end of my 'little' tirade here. Again, sorry for going off, just needed to get all of this off my chest real fast.
Those who do commissions can do whatever the fuck they want, I don't give a shit, but I hope they know that there is gonna be some backlash/consequences to such conduct(s) sooner or later.
Aside from all this bullshit, hope y'all have a great day and thank you for taking the time to read through my little ranting spree here~!
So, if you don't wanna read through this, no worries, and if you stay to read, be sure to strap in and keep your tea, coffee, or whatever drink you like in hand.
With that being said, let's get into it!
1: Willingly Ignoring (potential) customers:-
This one is a VERY recent one that keeps growing and growing by the day.
So... I've tried contacting... 2 artists that I TRULY love and admire the work of, asking about commissions. And just to be clear: YES, I made sure that both actually do commissions every now and then. So here I was, hopping over into their DMs to ask about their commission prices and such, CLEARLY expressing my willingness to commission them.
What do I get in response? Silence. Absolute, ghosting silence.
How do I know it's ghosting/willingly ignoring me? Because I can clearly see both of them being pretty ACTIVE on Twitter, sharing new art every few days and reacting to comments and tweets about them, their characters, etc. Now, Twitter's DMs ALWAYS notify you if there was a message, so after seeing that, I'm not really buying the whole bullshit of 'Maybe they didn't see it' spiel.
2: Taking your Time:-
Okay, so this one I totally get. I used to do commissions too, some years ago, and I know first-hand how life just LOVE to throw those curve balls at ya just to mess up your very comfortable and organized pace.
But I'm not gonna sit here and wait for TWO-FUCKING-YEARS+ for a commission that I know, deep down, I'm never gonna get after a certain point of waiting.
Not to toot my own horn here, but I am/can be a pretty patient guy. I mean, I once commissioned an artist and gave them a LOT of space, to the point that we BOTH forgot about the commission! XD
Neither of us remembered the commission until I went back to the same artist for a new one. But, I ended up getting the old ones first, which turned out amazing btw, before sitting in the proper queue and waiting for the new ones to get done, which also turned out amazing.
So, yeah, not gonna sit my ass down and watch you pump out piece after piece, commission after commission, while mine is nowhere to be found and I know, for a fact, that my turn was supposed to come way before about 98% of those people who do get their art.
And this is the perfect segway to my next topic.
3: Favoritism and Queues:-
I get it, in your heart, you always want to prioritize your dear friends, loved ones, and even those very loyal followers that have been around for a while, I get it. But actively ignoring everyone else or always prioritizing that certain group of people? Especially if you have a proper queue in place? Nah uh, highly unethical.
And no one dare come to me talking about 'ethics'. I'm a business major, so I know bad business ethics when I see them and this is a VERY clear example of it.
As I'm sure a lot of those who read my, um... previous journals (again, sorry for putting y'all through that ugly mess), know my take/stand on this whole favoritism bullshit and I have talked, on great lengths, about my experiences with certain artists who clearly did such a thing. So I'm not gonna repeat all of that again here.
So... if you have a proper queue system in place it's your OBLIGATION as an artist and a businessman (yes what y'all are doing here is a business) to obey that queue. Pumping and pushing people up and/or down the queue willy-nilly and whenever you wish? Yeah, you can say whatever you fucking want, but that's the most unethical thing I've seen. Don't go giving me that bullshit speech of 'Oh, sorry, I missed your place in the queue' or 'Sorry, I have so many people I can't keep track of everyone', first of all: that's a needless flex, right there, and second: A queue is used to keep all the commissions, requests, trades, whatever else in a proper orderly and well-organized manner, so I'm not buying the whole 'Can't keep track' excuse.
So yeah, I'm pretty sure the artists who I had those experiences with, IF they read this by some strange chance, realize that they lost me as a customer, period.
Then again, not like they care, I am but a tiny drop in a huge ocean of other, willing customers, no?
Also, don't give me the bullshit promise of 'Not gonna happen again' when it already happened many times before.
As they say: Once is Chance, Twice is Coincidence, Thrice is a Pattern. A very disgusting and highly unethical pattern.
4: Paywalls:-
I get it: You're free to handle and dish out commissions how you wish, it's your business, and so is going over to places like Patreon and Subscribstar is also within your very own business conduct.
But... pulling all your commissioning business back and making it exclusive to those places? Yeah, I have some issues with that.
This way, you are only giving the rich folk access to your skills and services, which to me stinks of elitism a tiiiiiny little bit. I get it though, sometimes you need the money for something urgent, like upgrading/fixing your home, medical bills, bills in general, etc, etc. But... isn't making your services, regardless of price, accessible to the rich, handful few only counter-productive in the long run? You are literally slamming the door in the face of everyone else who loves your art and had the very high hopes of commissioning you, someday, while giving those with a lot of money to spare, all of your time and effort.
I mean, sure, there are those who will gladly toss their very life savings at your feet with the snap of a finger, at times regardless of their financial state.
But to have myself strapped to a milking machine and get pumped for a monthly payment just for the sniff of a chance to commission you? Yeah, not buying that. badum-tiss
And... I believe this is the end of my 'little' tirade here. Again, sorry for going off, just needed to get all of this off my chest real fast.
Those who do commissions can do whatever the fuck they want, I don't give a shit, but I hope they know that there is gonna be some backlash/consequences to such conduct(s) sooner or later.
Aside from all this bullshit, hope y'all have a great day and thank you for taking the time to read through my little ranting spree here~!
This rant as a whole speaks to me a on personal level and is also a bit informative as someone's who both does and seeks out commissions.
Really not a pleasant experience.
But 1 and 2? Oof. I can wait. But as you said, after 2 years patience is thin.
Though I think 1 is kinda the worst offender. Though, acting unprofessional WHEN there is communication is also not nice.
1 and 2 piss me off the most cause they are pretty recent, though. Especially 1.
But what can yah do?
And if you start spreading word about how they conduct themselves you'll be the bad guy for 'damaging their image' or 'costing them customers'.
Better to unwatch and hope to find someone else that provides quality art yah can enjoy.
On a nicer note. Your ava is neat!
And thanks~ <3