I hear you dude; I've paid upfront for one $100 piece - been waiting nearly 2 years for it. Another piece for $90 that I'm waiting for, I've waited ~ 6 months for, with no updates from the artist. It's frustrating and I guess it's just part and parcel of trying to get art on the internet.

Yep. This stuff gets me too, especially on big commissions, throw $100 plus at someone and hope you get your art. You're even the bad guy for suggesting half up front and half after a sketch/some colors.
It's the reason why I'm having a close friend make my suit, I'd go postal if someone ran away with a few grand.

People like this give the good ones a bad name is terrible cause they do take their time and they get mad when you point it out that they owe you art that’s already been paid for .

>.<

I have art pending for what... like a year, perhaps? Maybe a bit more, and that I already paid upfront, so I understand the frustration. I think it's okay to rant, and we should be able to claim that money back. I once was called an asshole for asking for my money back by a certain coyote artist, and I think it wasn't fair, when I settled the reasons. For that matter, I think we are all in the same situation.

I feel yah. I have a couple artists i trust. thats why i go to the same ones over and over. usuly i go to the ones who cost a bit more but more trusted by others. i see how they interact with others first. i always avoid the ones with tons of drama. research is great. i understand paying upfront first. but i rather do my reaserch first before going to a new artist.

if you need sugestions for good trust worthy artists.  chewycuticle is a bit pricy but she will comunicate with you and get it done. Also  MoodyFerret is realy trust worthy. i've commisioned her 4 times so far. She does have a waiting list. so just message her to get on the list. 4 or 5 months later she will see if your still intersted. she sends you progress every step of the way (sketch, ink, colors) and usuly gets it done in a week or two depending. she won't ask for money till you are next on the list. so don't worry about that. their are many other great artists i've worked with. but toughs two i'm a repeat costumer with.

So don't loose hope. I know it's frustrating. But like freinds. you'll find trust worthy artists.

Been waiting two and a half years for a refund from  rottenrobbie .

as long as i can see examples of the art in their gallery i'm ok with paying up front.

At this point, I have a list of artists I will pay up front for. I will not work with anybody outside that list unless payment is negotiated to be more fair.

That said, I've kept track of how much I've lost. It's over $1000 now.

That’s why I love to commission BGN! He insists on you paying after the commission is completed instead of upfront

I love this, and you know what I just realized? The community could actually start using Surity Bonds.

Now keep in mind...this is a really abstract and convoluted solution. I am not sure if this would help anything and it may be detrimental to new artists. This how contractors work though, so just thowing it in as part of the discussion.

It is a guarantee that the artist will provide the service as agreed upon. If the artist dips out with the money, then the bond pays for another artist to finish the work. Also if an artist goes against the agreement the bond company would go to them for the money they spent on hiring the replacement artist.

Accountability for the artist, security for the buyer, and the artist can use the fact they are bonded as an advertising point. However, it may discourage new artists as the cost to hold a bond may be ogher than what they are able/willing to pay.

That would be pretty interesting to see in action, I think.

It would be interestig indeed,. It may be a good option for commissions over a certain price-point(let's say $500+), but to expect it from every artist would be bad for the community as a whole.

I give people a year before I get super pissy about no art updates. Unless you commissioned someone with a fairly small queue, there should be no problem waiting a few weeks to a month for an update on your commission. I usually ask for money after the sketch has been completed, if they dont like the sketch or cant pay anymore after that then I just take the sketch and make a ych or add my own character to it. But if we are being honest here, there are more scam commissioners than there are scam artists. I feel like partial payment before the sketch is complete than full payment to get started on the rest.

Also if you run into someone that doesn't give any updates with your commission (ignoring your notes etc) paypal does have the money protection thing and tbh they side with buyers more than the artists.

Bless artists that don't require upfront payment. They are few and far between, it seems.

Luckily I haven't dealt with anyone actually running off with my money yet, but I have had some pretty long waits with extended bouts of zero communication before. It definitely can get frustrating.

I don't even mind waiting so much, as long as I can see work being produced and the artist is communicative... but when someone stops uploading for months I can't get a peep out of them, oof.

I've definitely been gravitating more towards artists that I know will finish a piece in a reasonable amount of time lately. It's been a lot more gratifying.

I try very hard now and days to do 50/50 as to protect myself and them as well. I always am up for a refund if I cannot follow through, as well. ;; I just got so upset with myself and others when this kinda thing would happen that I made a vow never to do it again as best I could--

I'm all about this and I'm glad that somebody said it. I'm sick to absolute death of people demanding upfront payment, dicking you around for months and then either vanishing or just refunding it and moving on. I'm all for a deposit, that can only be refunded by the artist (i.e. non-refundable due to change of mind), or to only accept payment when (in a queue) you are next in line to be completed, but I've learned my lesson. No more "EMERGENCY COMMISSIONS I'LL GET AROUND TO THEM WHEN I CAN" nonsense. No way no how.

I think that in my time I've seen....one person? Require payment upon sketch approval. Shit's fucked, bro.

There is an artist that is super fast. He completed charactor sheet for me in a couple hours(kep in mind he was compleatly open at the tie and it was a simple pose.) Gerard Manesworth here on FA. He is quick, quite good, and his price could honeatly be much higher.

And...I reckon I'd be okay with that. If there's proof positive that they can get things done.
Or even if a deadline could be set, the same as in professional situations. This can be organised with commissioner and artist, but I know that professional businesses will usually ask for this. I...don't feel like it'd be that much of a tall order.

I'm fascinated by up-and-coming artists though. Thanks for the heads up!

Inb4 some way to have trusted commissioner status on fa

Oh yeah and don't forget the artist that you've paid 4 months ago for a ych but doesn't work on it BUT opens up for other commissions and works on them first...


Yeah im living this right now with an artist who I paid before MFF and im still waiting on it... Though said person opened 2 rounds of badges to work on... Im quite mad about that :/

I see where you're coming from. It really sucks, and I wish artists wouldn't make such a fuss about when you ask them about the art progression. I'd be worried about where my money goes too, cuz I've commissioned artists in the past and never got anything in return :/

I get ya champ, but the artist also needs some port of imcome to work for you. I mean people would go to work if they weren't being paid. I know some designs that ask for a percentage as a safety thing, up front and on completeiong they ask for the rest. but they have, plenty of time been cheated out of the left over percentage they damn wel deserved for the time tohey spent on their work. While waiting a long time is very frutrsting life happens for us all, i'm ciurrently waiting on are with all different time ranges from one artist who has shown me proof of why they are taking so long, i have understanding and while i'm still a little anxious about my art , I know I will get it and I will love the quality of art i will receive.

I have art that i've been waiting on for a bit longer then 2 years ago.

XXX Metis

Can you put in complaint with Paypal? There should be "report problem" in your purchase history.

This is why I only commission artists with a proper ToS and who provide WIP. If they already have a reputation to uphold, they are less likely to bail or not finish the work.

I guessbthis is why things like Trusted Artists, and Trusted Commissioners exist. But the system is a bit one sided yeah...I agree. Trust is bidirectional. They're expecting you to trust them, but they have no trust in you?

I understand wholeheartedly. It's the same thing for me. Cash doesn't leave my right hand until I have either a contract or the item in question in the other. The reason why the contract is important is that you can add clauses to it--you can even fix a date to it with the stipulation that if the work isn't completed by a certain date, you can get your money back. That way, if you pay a lot of money for a commission, you have legal standing in which to sue to get your money back if the artist decides to be a jerk.

Well. I mean. You can also only commission people who you know aren't going to run off with your money. That's another possibility.

When I do have folks who don't want to pay it all up front, I get them to pay in stages. By opening an invoice with 'Allow partial payment' and tell them to pay the initial sketch first, not pay more till there's additional progress, etc.

Sadly, as an artist I can't say it's ever wise to do ALL the work before you're paid. You have no collateral. It's not like a car place where you take your vehicle and the mechanic has the vehicle in case you don't pay them. It's not like a store where you go in and collect goods... And then exchange cash. You as the commisssioner are taking a risk hiring someone who you don't know isn't going to run off with your money. That's the danger of the business. It's part of the game. You can EXPECT artists to protect their interests in the same way you want to protect your own.

Having the commission artist send and invoice for goods and services is also a way to avoid that, I believe. If you can't get in contact with the artist, I think paypal will do something about that so long as it's been transacted on the invoice system. 90 days is a reasonable amount of time to do a task, at least to the sketch stage. If you can't do it in 90 days as an artist, you are doing something wrong. And despite the fact I *have* sometimes lingered a bit, I have never not been in contact with my clients. They can always get in touch with me and I will always answer them. I will always say, "If I am taking too long, I will be happy to refund you in full." because I don't want unhappy clients. But we have worked together in the past enough that I KNOW you're aware of that.

I wish there was a better solution, unfortunately that's how the business goes. But the 'running off with people's money' thing and that FEELING you have right there is what I strive to hope not to give my clients, personally.

I've always been a fan of the "half down, half on completion model" for art. That way, it's not completely one-sided, and both parties have an incentive to follow-through with their obligations.

I commissioned someone and they waited till I paid upfront before telling me there would be a delay due to some changes they were going through. Seriously they told me they received my money but there'd a delay in my commission in the same email, you say that stuff before people pay. In the end I waited about 3 months and they refunded the money because they were having trouble getting through the commissions.

I understand that things can happen and commissions can't be completed but if you know you're going to have problems fulfilling a commission before you even take it on tell the customer that before hand and let them make a decision if they want to risk it or not.

I have no problem with partial payments or progress sketches before getting the full res image, thankfully everyone else I've commissioned has had a good rep and told me up front about any things smooth sailing for 99% of the peeps I get artwork from.

Personally if anyone commissioned me (not going to happen, not a good enough artist yet) I would be perfectly okay with paying on completion or if anything, I would probably ask for 50/50. So I know they're not a scammer and than they have faith in me completing the work and giving it to them. And then of course send them a smaller/watermarked version of the completed work until the money if fully given to me and then giving them the better quality version.