Thank you very much for the suggestions <3 I'm terrified of talking on the phone, but I think I can clean and stock (even tho my anxiety is still like "What if I can't find the cleaning supplies? What if I run out?" and all that :/

I'll probably have to do that, but even when customers know it will take a while, they still want it now. I had my ETA as 4-8 months and one customer at 3.5 months was like "where's my suit?" :/

(Psst - 4 to 8 months when you're starting out is REALLY fast turnaround. I give people a year or more as an estimate when I do take slots, and generally only take one at a time..)

Also, when I was 16-21 I was TERRIFIED of talking on the phone. I ended up working at an optometrist's office and calling people in for appointments who DID NOT want to be called. It sucked ass, and I had to mentally prepare for it every time I had to do it -- I HATED it. But you know what? It sucked ass, and I got better at it. I learned that even if someone was an asshole on the phone because they didn't want an appointment, it wasn't *my* fault. I could only be as nice as I could, and do the job as best I could, and it became very clear after a few weeks of this seeming hell that you know what -- it's not so bad! Learn what sucks about it, find ways around it, and become a better person. Your self esteem is probably garbage, being human, young, and in a rough place right now, but it WILL get better; just force yourself to do things and realise at the end of the day that you got your shit done; that you ARE worth something. Tell yourself that you're awesome, and act accordingly. Get the job, do the work.. it starts to feel really good after a while knowing you're getting shit done, making progress however small, instead of spending that time worrying about NOT getting it done. :)

It's not a self-esteem thing, it's a mental disorder thing. My fear of talking on the phone isn't just gonna go away, nor is my social anxiety.

Absolutely. It won't go away, sure. It can get better, though. I, too, suffer from social anxiety, sometimes debilitatingly. Sometimes I'm ill at the mere thought of going outside. If you practice, if you get over those fears in small ways whenever you can, it gets better. If you sit in the house all day worrying about how socially anxious you are, I guarantee it'll get worse and you'll suffer more from it. You can dwell in any condition, or you can work on getting better, small bits at a time. Even if you can't cure something entirely, you can improve your situation and your condition, absolutely. :)

I have the same fear of talking on the phone, even if it's my mom, or someone else that I know well. I can talk to them fine in person, but over the phone it's terrible. Despite what a lot of people will say, it doesn't always get easier for everybody.

As far as dealing with customers that want their suits now, the only thing I can suggest is to remind them of the time frame that you quoted them, let them know that you have other commissions that you're working on, that you will give them a refund if they'd like, but will likely have to wait for around the same time (possibly more) for the money as much of it's been spent on supplies for making their suit and other expenses. I'm really good at crafting written text, if you'd like me to help you out, send me a note. I don't like seeing friends suffer like this. I want to help, Rio :3

D:
I really hope things get better for you <3

<3 thank you

Fursuiting for money is difficult if you don't have the background already ready to go. It should be a passion and a hobby for fun far before it becomes a career. I've been doing it on and off for 15 years and I still don't do it full time; it's a big job. Not that you *can't*, it's just not easy to make a living doing it unless you're VERY organised and very committed. You're still young, right? Taking on three suits is really taxing.

But! You have these three suits going, right? Maybe speak honestly to your commissioners, and if it's reasonable, let them know you'll work hard on one part, and get it done, and have images ready to send in a certain amount of time. Be reasonable. Say you'll have paws done with images to send in.. three weeks, tops, if you can do it.

Then, DO IT. Work on one tiny piece at a time, and work damn hard, until you have something to show for it. It can get difficult looking at such big projects as a whole unit; just break it down and most of all, get it done. (And done well.) Say "I'm going to make paws today.' Set a goal, a REASONABLE goal, and do it. Don't waste time on FA browsing, don't watch TV, don't play video games, don't go out.. get it done. You'll start to feel better as you get these things done a little at a time. But, if you tell yourself that you just *cannot* make any progress, then these people do deserve their money back. If you can deliver, and force yourself to be a great person who's making progress, then do it. If you feel you can't, then you might have to see if you can get a loan to pay them back if possible, or a regular job to pay them back over time. That sucks, and people are going to be kind of upset, but it's the best you can do if you're running out of options. It'll be tough to swallow but it'll be a step in the right direction. If you don't feel you can finish these suits in a reasonable time, then to offer a refund, even if not in an ideal way (all at once), is a better step than

Then, get a regular job to pay them back, if it comes to that. Yea, regular jobs can suck. (hint - they don't have to! Find a good one, figure out why it bugs you, if it does, and strive to make it better.) Life's not easy, and making suits isn't a cakewalk either, but it can be done if you push yourself to be better by doing what needs to be done. For me, I found late-night jobs just killed me, personally. Take away enough sleep and I become a stressed-out wreck. Day jobs all the way, even if it's serving coffee or flipping burgers.

Best option, if you want to do it as a career? Refund the people who want a refund; get a regular job (I know, it sucks!), and work on a WICKED costume for anybody who didn't ask for a refund in your spare time, *if* you enjoy it. If it's not a project of passion, you're going to burn out hard. Especially taking on three suits at once when you're not really in a position to be able to finish. It sucks, but if people are at the point where they're demanding a refund, it's best to just be open and honest (always do that) and ask for a bit more time, and if that's not an option, work on refunding them. No use putting sad stories forward to them -- they paid and expected delivery, and that's a reasonable expectation. You're not a bad person for not being able to fulfill the request, you just need more experience in delivering when offering a product. Learning experience -- you're fine.

Suicide is definitely not the answer.

I took on a suit in my teens before I was ready. Eventually, I took so long making it 'perfect' that I eventually refunded the guy and told him I'd finish it for free. It took fucking YEARS to get it to the stage I wanted it to. Yea, it's dumb, but you can't put work out before you're ready, and you can't expect to get paid for it, much less reasonable rates, for work that's too slow or not quite polished enough. One suit at a time is plenty, especially if you're not really putting out suits on a regular basis and a lot of it is trial and error. Trust me, I've been doing this a long time; I definitely know what it can be like to bite off more than you can chew.

Hope that helps; it's not at all meant to put you down, only to say that I understand and if you need legitimate help in getting out of this, I can give you a hand in figuring out where to go from here.

Anyways, note me anytime.


Oh, and: "To solve your immediate problem, take on more commissions. Just be sure to let those commissioners know that there will be a long wait"

Definitely DO NOT do this.. Commision work is stressful in itself. Taking on MORE commissions when you have upset people who have paid big money (I'm assuming at least $100 as a deposit) for fursuit work that's already overdue is a surefire way to get more people upset with you, and burn yourself even further. Drop projects, clear your queue, do NOT make it bigger. Absolutely never do that. Money at this point needs to come from a regular, stable job, not commission work. Trust me, seriously. Don't take more commissions.

I believe you can make it as an artist, but you do need to take this time to clear your queue and your head, and get a regular job, if only for a while. Don't worry -- if art is your passion, you can tough out a regular job until your shit is back together, and then work on being a commission artist or fursuit maker when you're totally ready for it.

I have many more than those 3 commissions that I am working on tho. I have a fullsuit that I am finishing, a head that needs furring, feetpaws and handpaws I'm finishing, and a full suit and a half suit that need to be finished by April 1, plus others without deadlines. I check email/FA/Facebook once when I wake up and once before I go to sleep. I do not play video games, I don't watch TV unless it's WHILE I'm working, and I only leave my house once a week for a local furmeet I help run. Basically every minute not spent on online college work, is spent on fursuits. And it's still not enough. I have overloaded myself and now I feel like I can't do anything about it because I am working as hard as I possibly and sanely can on suits, still getting behind, and still needing money, and not being able to give refunds or clear my queue fast enough.

Yea, I hear you. At that point, seriously, I'd say try and talk to the people that you haven't started on yet -- see if you can arrange a slow refund. People appreciate honesty. The money situation can be repaired by getting a job, even if it's slow. Then, your queue is more clear, you can focus on the projects you ARE keeping, you can prevent your queue from getting any longer by not taking new work, and you can get your college work done. It sounds like maybe taking a break from college might even be an option, if money's really tight -- Finish your semester as best you can (that's a pretty big priority, I'd imagine), take a break to work and save up, and then go back when you have enough to get you through by working summers, without taking commissions on top of all that. If it's possible for you to take a break, that is -- not sure what kind of school situation you have.

Anyways, it's up to you; just need to figure out what your priorities are.

School is my main (and only steady) source of income right now though. I take a break from it and I'm hurting in more ways than one.

Well, I'm not going to argue against your reasoning. At this point unfortunately (which I didn't want to think, at first,) it sounds like excuses are feeling more important than tackling solutions. Right now, this very moment, that you're spending typing to all of us, you could be stitching a pair of handpaws to cut down your queue. :)

You seem to be quite solid at what you do, if a confidence boost is what you need. I can't spend more time trying to suggest how to fix your problem, because I've got my own huge queue to cut through to pay my bills. :) Right now, I have an entire head due in 2 weeks, and I'm going right now to perfect the moving jaw and fur the entire set of ears before bed. It's not easy to push yourself that hard, but you either slay it, or you don't. More time stitching and updating the right people will surely help.

O_O Meep!

uh my advice make a TOS (Terms of Service) or when its done type situation but yeah - should have a job and do Suit stuff at night.
Most fursuit builders I know have a side job as well. The only ones which seem to work well have at least 3 people helping them out.
Before they go pro and start cranking out the suits - plus most have molds setup like heads or feet and paws.
So this helps them get the suits done quicker. So maybe you need a partner to help you out with the suit situation?

I have a TOS and it says things like the deposit is non-refundable, ETA is 4-8 months but that's not a guarantee, but people still want it now and if not, want all their money back. And fighting them about it is taking it's mental toll on me.
I would love help, but no one I know locally do I trust to help me make fursuits that are quality enough. Plus, I would have to pay them. And I just can't right now.

we can sign up to go to food banks. there's one in particular i know of that happens every saturday (we can go next week in the morning) so we don't have to worry so much about food. also we can apply for food stamps (i know where the EBT office is so i can go there and pick up a packet for us to fill out)

I know I can't get food stamps because I haven't had an "actual" job for long enough.

i'll apply and we'll see what happens :>

Suicide is never the answer! Things get hard in life but they get better!
And if they are canceling on you they are not entitled to there non-refundable deposit! And if they try you can put them on Artist_Beware! For people who cancel you keep the deposit that't how deposits work, so don't let them bully you into giving it too!
And anyone who is wondering were there suit is when they have not even reached the 4-8 months mark you need to remind them that suits take 4-8 months and that they agreed to that before they commissioned you. 4 at the earliest and 8 at the latest

I'm not sure of your current limit on how many commissions you take on at once but maybe you should shorten it a little.
You should also think of monthly payments that way even if someone cancels you still have money coming in to pay for rent and ect...

Also maybe since it takes such a mental toll trying to get them to understand the TOS they already agreed to you should get a manager instead they could answer all questions and deal with the people who want to be harassive.

I will keep the artist beware thing in mind.

I've been closed on commissions for a long time trying to get ones in my queue done. I leave payment plans up to the customer, if they want to pay in full, I don't tell them no.

Sure, but I would have to pay this manager and I'm already hurting money wise.

Usually the manager would be a friend that you don't pay and that can contact you easy