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How long are you willing to wait for a commission to be done?

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DDdiamonddog99

Active Member
Hi,
I've been waiting at least 4 years to have a commission done by an artist that I like, Zafyr or Talynn, I'm not sure if it's worth waiting anymore to be honest. I want to talk to the artist about the commission but not it feels like Zafyr is getting to annoyed where the artist is ignoring me or something else. At this point I don't know what to do and asking for help/advice.
 
Kuroserama

Kuroserama

Just a fox.
Hello there.
Did you already pay for this commission?
Is it a digital piece, or something that is usual to have commissioned?

If you haven't paid yet, and were just waiting your turn in line, personally I'd cut my losses and move on. 4 years is a very long wait for a piece of digital art (I'm assuming). Even if it's one of your favorite artists, maybe it's a sign to try commissioning a few other artists. Maybe you'll find one you love even more. You can always come back later and see if they're less busy.

But if you're really set on this artist, I'd message them something like "Hello, I don't want to bother you but I've been waiting 4 years for this. I'm so excited because you're one of my favorite artists. If you could please get back to me, that'd be great! Thanks!"
 
TyraWadman

TyraWadman

The Brutally Honest Man-Child
I personally would not pay someone and wait 4 years. If there is so much going on in their life that they couldn't finish an image within a few months (and that's assuming it's high quality enough to justify that timeframe) then I would have demanded a refund a long, long time ago. That just seems shady.

Unfortunately, after THAT long, you won't be able to get any refunds through paypal and whatnot. Best to just learn from this and move on.
 
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DDdiamonddog99

Active Member
The_biscuits_532 said:
Oh wow after four years it's gotta be mona lisa level

I haven't commissioned anything huge tbf but usually I poke them after a week or so for updates. Unless they have a page with deets on their current commission queue
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The artist does have like a page with commission queue but artist has not been updating it. The artist has been active through picarto.
 
D

DDdiamonddog99

Active Member
Kuroserama said:
Hello there.
Did you already pay for this commission?
Is it a digital piece, or something that is usual to have commissioned?

If you haven't paid yet, and were just waiting your turn in line, personally I'd cut my losses and move on. 4 years is a very long wait for a piece of digital art (I'm assuming). Even if it's one of your favorite artists, maybe it's a sign to try commissioning a few other artists. Maybe you'll find one you love even more. You can always come back later and see if they're less busy.

But if you're really set on this artist, I'd message them something like "Hello, I don't want to bother you but I've been waiting 4 years for this. I'm so excited because you're one of my favorite artists. If you could please get back to me, that'd be great! Thanks!"
Click to expand...
I already paid the artist and I already have worked with other artist but it wasn't the same or they wouldn't do it. The weirdest thing is that other people waited at least four months.
 
Kuroserama

Kuroserama

Just a fox.
DDdiamonddog99 said:
I already paid the artist and I already have worked with other artist but it wasn't the same or they wouldn't do it. The weirdest thing is that other people waited at least four months.
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Oh man, if it were me, I'd be demanding my finished piece or a refund. That's beyond unacceptable, especially if they haven't given you any reason as to why the long delay. I would first approach the artist and ask for a refund because of how long it has been. Tell them this is their 30 day notice and you expect your finished piece or a full refund by then. And if they do not do either, you'll be taking it up with PayPal (or however you paid).

I believe PayPal does the "give them a 30 day notice" thing but you should look into their policies to see how you should proceed.
 
Tendo64

Tendo64

Cat With A Guitar
Yeah four years is pretty excessive. I try to be patient and can wait a while as long as I'm kept updated, but six months is definitely my limit considering I don't tend to commission very detailed artwork or busy artists.
 
Astus

Astus

Well Known Foxxo
I've been waiting for about 1.5-2 years so far for four commissions to be done. I typically start to lose my patience around 8 months, but in my case all of the artists I commissioned (for those pieces) ran into RL problems and couldn't finish the art as of the moment. So just waiting now... Just wish they'd spend some time to update me to let me know what's going on (same with one person who's patreon I was a part of that still hasn't delivered rewards nor contacted me about anything related)
 
Jackpot Raccuki

Jackpot Raccuki

Mind your manors
I've had a commission that I paid for like 6 months ago. Still nothing and after like a month or two, I did ask the artist what's up and it sounded like they had some things going on, but said I'd get an update next week.
I have not even gotten shown a single sketch frame; and I'm pretty sure it's either was just a scam which doesn't seem likely as they seemed legit, but well nothing.

I've had another artist not respond for 4 months, but had decent amount of sketches but they're at uni if I recall so I'm assuming that's why. And 3 months for another, but these two I have at least gotten a sketch of, just nothing in terms of updates and I didn't want to pester.


I should really consider avoiding people with queues and ones likely known to not even update you; not a fan of being suddenly sent an completed commission, but it's wrong.
 
TyraWadman

TyraWadman

The Brutally Honest Man-Child
Jackpot Raccuki said:
I should really consider avoiding people with queues
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^This is one of the biggest ways to protect yo munneh.

The more slots they have, the more work they have to pump out. Most artists I've known/come across are too stubborn to admit they're having a burnout and refund the money. 9 times out of 10, they've already spent it.
 
Jackpot Raccuki

Jackpot Raccuki

Mind your manors
TyraWadman said:
^This is one of the biggest ways to protect yo munneh.

The more slots they have, the more work they have to pump out. Most artists I've known/come across are too stubborn to admit they're having a burnout and refund the money. 9 times out of 10, they've already spent it.
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Which unfortunately sucks; like I get that they’re having a burn out and it’s valid, but it still sucks; especially if it was a great idea.

Plus I’m impatient, but mostly because I’d rather have constant updates then nothing.
 
MaelstromEyre

MaelstromEyre

Slippery When Wet
Depends on the level of detail involved. Sometimes, if I have previous experiences with that artist, I will be more patient. Some will have a Trello page where clients can see the WIP, other artists will email WIP or give updates.

So far there has only been one time when I have had to cancel an order and request refund, and that was for a YCH. The artist did not respond to messages from me or the other person on the YCH (multiple character slots). They would post new art on their FA account, so they clearly were active, but they totally ignored us. and this was after four months.

I had paid with Paypal and was able to get a refund through them. The artist never did respond.
 
Sven Solitude

Sven Solitude

Well-Known Member
Did you receive your commissioned work in the end, @DDdiamonddog99?

An experience like this could ruin the trust a customer has towards artists as a whole, it's a shame when something like this happens.
I made good experiences with artists who offered me (on their own) daily updates. Or at least once a week. Or to pay them depending on the process. Everyone has their own approach, which can be really nice!
 
O

O.D.D.

Guest
I'm pretty understanding about various delays as long as communication is maintained and I tend not to be pushy. I also go out of my way to seek referral/endorsement from other people I trust.
 
FlooferWoofer

FlooferWoofer

Blep.
I agree it largely depends on the amount of communication I receive. Like, I know real life happens and emergencies can occur, and I'm not asking for someone to tell me their private stuff, but just a "Hey, something came up, I need to move the queue back a bit and deal with this." If I am communicated with, I can wait half a year or longer. If they just disappear and go silent for months, I start to wonder if I've been had... again. Now when I commission things I ask that the artist can start ASAP or give me a solid deadline because if someone just takes my money, I need some recourse and paypal has a cutoff date for payment disputes.

A certain someone who will not be named STILL owes me $300 worth of art, but there's a good chance they might have passed away because all their medias have been silent since January.

In one case, there was no communication or update for 6 months and the artist was simply not doing the work in lieu of their patreon stuff. That's why I can't STAND patreon. In that case, I managed to wrangle that money back out of her without needing to get a higher power involved.
 
TyraWadman

TyraWadman

The Brutally Honest Man-Child
DDdiamonddog99 said:
To be honest, I don't know what to do. It has been over a year with a least no results or anything. Does anyone want to help me out?
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Learn from the experience. Nothing can be done. It's well beyond the refund policy.

Unless of course you mean you haven't paid them yet, then I'm not sure what the problem is. If they're busy/don't want to, then it can't be helped!
 
LameFox

LameFox

Well-Known Member
Yeah I wouldn't think there's anything we can do, that sounds well and truly gone at this point.
 
FlooferWoofer

FlooferWoofer

Blep.
DDdiamonddog99 said:
To be honest, I don't know what to do. It has been over a year with a least no results or anything. Does anyone want to help me out?
Click to expand...
The ability to dispute PayPal payments lapse after 6 months unless they changed the policy again. Sadly, there’s little you can do to retrieve your money. The only other recourse is to post an Artist Beware with screenshots of the payment issued, and maybe the conversation between yourself and the artist. https://artistsbeware.info/

May not seem like much, but this warns others about the theft and also hurts their bottom line. No one wants to work with an artist who is even ACCUSED of doing that, and others deserve to know. Sure they could start fresh under a different moniker, but rebuilding an art business or overcoming a loss of trust in their ethic is an uphill battle.

Whatever you do, don’t call them out here because it’s against TOS and will land you in deep sewage.

I hope this helps...
 
Minerva_Minx

Minerva_Minx

Explosion loving skooma cat
I have a carpenter friend of mine who gave me this pearl of wisdom:
No job is one that's already been paid at the start.

I prefer commissioning only those artists I reasonably can be assured they have been around and can complete a reasonable job in a reasonable time. Invoices are more ironclad than payment up front.
 
Troj

Troj

Your Friendly Neighborhood Dino Therapist
I've waited about six months for a piece to be completed. I usually wait a month or so before reaching out to bug an artist who's been quiet.

All I ask is that the artist keep me in the loop so I can trust that they haven't died or run off with my money.
 
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