I HAVE HAD PLENTY OF EXCELLENT CUSTOMERS WHO HAD TO WAIT MONTHS FOR COMMISSIONS THAT I BUSTED MY ASS ON AND THEY WERE HAPPY WITH THE WORK BECAUSE RATHER THAN KILL MYSELF TRYING TO GET IT DONE ON TIME AND COMPROMISE ON QUALITY
commissioned art used to take YEARS but you fucks have been so coddled by mass-production and on-demand that you get pissy if an artist doesn't have a sketch for you in less than a week no matter what they're going through
you aren't being scammed by someone who has a longer wait time than other artists and if you aren't ready to accept their longer wait time, don't commission them
and LITERALLY NO ONE in this thread is saying that fucking scammers shouldn't be called out or that you shouldn't be angry if someone stole your fucking money or that artists don't have an obligation to communicate
:|a I wonder if fandom in general could benefit from a primer on "this is how you tell the difference between a scammer and someone with a disability that makes their work slow"
and it's like okay sharona, i'll offer myself as an example. Let's say I stop offering commissions because I don't have that same turnaround 100% of the time. I don't have a car, so I can't get a job, in addition to the fact that i have some kind of chronic fatigue issue.
this is exactly why a lot of disabled artists, including myself, end up in stronger financial distress rather than offer commissions bc even if we DONT take too long we can still be construed as scammers JUST for being disabled/poor
and communication IS important! and so many of us have said that! but the thread is full of folks acting like we said you should just be ok with disabled artists up and disappearing!!!
i truly just do not understand people who get mad abt this kind of thing like. i waited over a year for a fic commission that was supposed to take a month. it's..... fine? it's fine. it did not affect me. i wasn't being scammed. sometimes Things Are Hard
I am asking this only because I have commissioned people so few times in my life (and each time was great) but - what would be the hallmarks of a scammer?
lack of communication altogether is the biggest first clue (not always reliable because some people have confrontation issues, but people SHOULD either have some kind of public timeline or should respond to your messages at some point)
there are also some instances in which like. you might receive a delayed response, but if you are sending several messages over a period of time and not receiving any response that may be the time to at least investigate other people's experiences with the artist
also in general I advise folks not to commission minors OR to only commission them for an amount of money they would not be afraid to lose, and that is because IF they try to grift you it is incredibly hard to get through that situation without accidentally doxxing a child OR getting targeted by their parents
if you are going to give money to a minor on the internet, especially one you suspect may need the money because of the safety of their situation, i would advise only doing it to an amount you would be comfortable donating, because it is incredibly risky to commission a minor
man as long as people are up front about possibly being slow/taking a long time, I'm fine with it. if I need something quickly, I will just... not commission those people. why is this so hard for people to grasp
yeah that is exactly it. It's not that hard to go "Hey, this is a birthday present, I need it by September 21st." or "hey, this is art for a murdergame, I need it by April 1st since that's opening day."
I'm very fortunate because my regular commissioners ALL repeatedly urge me to take care of myself and not rush, many of them are used to long wait-times and feel the end result is worth the wait
yeah, like, if i'm recommending a commission artist to someone, i'll also say something like, "hey, they have longer turnaround times, but do quality work and are very communicative" so if someone needs a speedier artist, they can look elsewhere
like, someone expecting a full body, fully rendered digital illustration in the same amount of time as a shitpost sketch, like get the fuck outta here!
doesn't matter that it's digital, that shit takes a lot of time to plan out, and especially if you, as a commissioner, take a long ass time to respond to artist inquiries at each step, then ofc it's gonna take longer
which is actually why it IS tough to answer
bread singalong
's question, because.... a lot of scammers will do their best to mimic that same language as an excuse
so like one of the only other hallmarks is actual testimony from other users, if a lot of people have complained about having their money stolen and then the artist went unresponsive, or if there's a Buyer Beware out on them
because i don't expect any kind of work to be finished before two weeks, unless the artist is known for being insanely fast with their turnaround times
the problem was, I was doing those commissions that fast at the same time as doing all my schoolwork, which was self-producing and publishing comic books
though i usually get in late on the queue, anyway, so i already know i have a bit of a wait, even with a fast turnaround time when they actually get to my commission, and that's perfectly fine
i think, also, it might be a good idea if you are trying out a new artist and haven't gotten any word of mouth reviews, to just get something small from them at first?
it's all good! I mean, like I said, I rarely commission people - it's either friends that I already know are cool or it's people who have a lot to vouch for them
ALSO LIKE, if you DO get scammed i think that's plenty fair reason to be publicly like. even without starting a witchhunt, if someone legitimately took your money and never got back to you about anything, you should definitely be vocal about it!! those guys hurt legitimate artists too
once when I did $5 post-it note commissions and didn't get back to them in like. four days bc i did it right before i had a series of tests in school and was like 'ok i'll get to the second half after my tests'
and someone commissioned me for one, and then just later was like EXCUSE ME IF YOU AREN'T GOING TO DO THIS I NEED MY MONEY BACK??? I AM IN A TIGHT SPOT AND I NEED MY MONEY BACK and i was like I... offered the commissions because I needed the money and i will get to you after these tests are done, it has only been days and it was $5
and i was just like yo... the fuck... if you were gonna be stressing this hard over $5 and four days when I promised you i would get it done as soon as these tests were over....
so like buyers: if you're in a position where losing less than $40 in a week would put you in a bind, please don't commission people, because those artists are usually putting out for those pithy commissions because they're either desperate or trying to be kind and affordable
and it sucks. like it really sucks, because EVERYONE should have access to art and we as a global society don't do enough to give the public and the poor access to art that enriches their lives
this is why i see a lot of artists also do the whole "only send invoices" so that THEY don't get scammed by shitty commissioners that try to do the paypal dispute
people are always saying "if you can't handle the commitment of commissions at a fast pace, you shouldn't offer commissions" and never "if you don't have the disposable income, you shouldn't commission people for pieces from scratch"
and i think part of that kinda falls into the whole "if you've never worked customer service, then you don't know what it's like dealing with shitty customers"
like, there was a time when i used to draw a lot, too, but i realized it would take way more effort and training than i was willing to devote to the craft, and i preferred writing anyway, so i gave up on it
well i mean i actually do draw really fast when i get down to it bUT I HAVE AN ATTENTION SPAN PROBLEM and a fatigue issue so like the time people wait is usually the time it takes for me to recover between drawing pieces
like, a lot of y'all went to school for that shit, just like i went to school for honing my writing craft: no mater what kind of art you devote yourself too, it takes a lot of time and practice to get to that level of skill
nd like... i do think there's a lot of factors that go into it, including consumerism and how used to instant gratification we as a society have gotten
people speaking out against scammers/accusing disabled people of being scammers... without ever having actually dealt with a scammer themselves, because they've heard stories about other people being scammed
I don't have a car, so I can't get a job, in addition to the fact that i have some kind of chronic fatigue issue.
bc even if we DONT take too long we can still be construed as scammers JUST for being disabled/poor
"how dare you say we piss on the poor"
but Rikki has EXPERIENCE