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To all commissioners. Let me be up-front with you...
8 years ago
Please take a moment to read this. Especially if you're an artist drawing for me
So I have many friends here on FA that I've developed friendly relationships with over the years, and I've come to discover that many of them have some devastating misconceptions about Furaffinity.
A person I know, whom I can only assume had outstanding, pre-paid commissions with this artist, wrote a journal asking people if they knew what happened to an artist, who has subsequently, voluntarily deactivated their account with no rhyme or reason prior to this incident. My acquaintance seems to be under the impression that 'maybe something happened', and seemingly cannot even begin to consider the far more likely, but far more sinister, reason behind this unannounced, random departure.
What I think, is that perhaps they took on more work than they could/wanted to handle, spent the money before they finished most of it, became unable to refund the money, and thus decided to simply uproot and bolt from their responsibilities.
The biggest misconception behind FA is that if they're an artist, they must be a responsible, thoughtful adult who has the best intentions towards their commissioners, without fail. This is not the case. FA is centered almost entirely on an honor system, the idea that if you pay, you get what you pay for, because the artist WANTS to hold up their end of the bargain.
Not all artists feel this way, and are not monitored for quality- or morality control. There's no one on FA's staff sitting and regulating whether or not unscrupulous artists are permitted to conduct their business here or not. For this reason, many many artists come, take on more work than they think they can handle, either intentionally(To scam people) or unintentionally(Due to lack of experience. Most artists on FA are self-taught and/or upstarting freelancers with no official, professional work experience), and then leave, completely neglecting the responsibilities they've kicked up during their stay.
So please, to all of you out there who regularly commission artwork. Please be careful, as it only takes one untrustworthy scumbag who fancies themselves an artist, to cost you double digit, even triple digit sums, with nothing to show for it. Never think that an artist found on FA is pretty much universally good and trustworthy. Please don't alienate the possibility that they are not to be trusted, and that they should be nowhere NEAR your money, let alone receive it.
Always remember: Just because the artist has a lot of pageviews/watchers, and just because they seem like a nice and well-established presence in the community, does not mean they're entirely incapable of truly fucking you over. Always remember that.
Of course, this doesn't concern most artists that I know of. I'm thankfully blessed(in an entirely non-religious sense) to be acquainted with only trustworthy, upstanding, selfless artists who are not only here for the money, but also because they legitimately enjoy the community, and the simple act of creating art that people will cherish, possibly for the rest of their lives.
To those of you artists out there, who are completely and entirely trustworthy, which I know the vast, overwhelming majority of you are, this is NOT directed at you, let me make that clear. In my opinion, you're a massive part of what makes Furaffinity such a fantastic website, and I'm happy to spend as much as I do for the truly quality work and professionalism that you demonstrate on a daily basis.
A person I know, whom I can only assume had outstanding, pre-paid commissions with this artist, wrote a journal asking people if they knew what happened to an artist, who has subsequently, voluntarily deactivated their account with no rhyme or reason prior to this incident. My acquaintance seems to be under the impression that 'maybe something happened', and seemingly cannot even begin to consider the far more likely, but far more sinister, reason behind this unannounced, random departure.
What I think, is that perhaps they took on more work than they could/wanted to handle, spent the money before they finished most of it, became unable to refund the money, and thus decided to simply uproot and bolt from their responsibilities.
The biggest misconception behind FA is that if they're an artist, they must be a responsible, thoughtful adult who has the best intentions towards their commissioners, without fail. This is not the case. FA is centered almost entirely on an honor system, the idea that if you pay, you get what you pay for, because the artist WANTS to hold up their end of the bargain.
Not all artists feel this way, and are not monitored for quality- or morality control. There's no one on FA's staff sitting and regulating whether or not unscrupulous artists are permitted to conduct their business here or not. For this reason, many many artists come, take on more work than they think they can handle, either intentionally(To scam people) or unintentionally(Due to lack of experience. Most artists on FA are self-taught and/or upstarting freelancers with no official, professional work experience), and then leave, completely neglecting the responsibilities they've kicked up during their stay.
So please, to all of you out there who regularly commission artwork. Please be careful, as it only takes one untrustworthy scumbag who fancies themselves an artist, to cost you double digit, even triple digit sums, with nothing to show for it. Never think that an artist found on FA is pretty much universally good and trustworthy. Please don't alienate the possibility that they are not to be trusted, and that they should be nowhere NEAR your money, let alone receive it.
Always remember: Just because the artist has a lot of pageviews/watchers, and just because they seem like a nice and well-established presence in the community, does not mean they're entirely incapable of truly fucking you over. Always remember that.
Of course, this doesn't concern most artists that I know of. I'm thankfully blessed(in an entirely non-religious sense) to be acquainted with only trustworthy, upstanding, selfless artists who are not only here for the money, but also because they legitimately enjoy the community, and the simple act of creating art that people will cherish, possibly for the rest of their lives.
To those of you artists out there, who are completely and entirely trustworthy, which I know the vast, overwhelming majority of you are, this is NOT directed at you, let me make that clear. In my opinion, you're a massive part of what makes Furaffinity such a fantastic website, and I'm happy to spend as much as I do for the truly quality work and professionalism that you demonstrate on a daily basis.
True Words, words that should reach a greater mass of people.