Edit: Everything has been resolved! I told them of my concerns and they appologized and said they didn't really the troubles they could be doing and will try harder to be more communicative in the future. The commission has now been paid for as well.
I have a bit of a dilemma and I'm not too sure what to do. The artist's name will not be said, at least not yet.
About a month ago, both me and my friend had a some cash in our paypals. I found an artist we both liked and decided to put in info for a commission. I had first contacted them in Gaia asking if they did commissions and found that they were doing a time of 100 picture challenge for 10$.
I didn't get a reply to me putting the info in the journal, so when he posted another journal, I commented on it and asked if he had seen the comment and where and when to send payment. No reply. After a while, I decided he wasn't going to do them and I told my friend. He spent the money on something on etsy instead. I woke up this morning and checked my submissions and low and behold, the picture for my friend was done. I hadn't been notified at all though, unless he notified my friend, even though I'm the one who gave him the info in the first place.
The picture looks great and I'm willing to pay the artist for his time, but I feel really put off, especially now that I'm going to have to pay for my friend. When I checked the artist's page today, I saw I was on a list, but I never knew and I don't think it's my responsibility to find lists to make sure I'm getting the commission, especially when I had asked about it and didn't get a reply.
I admit I should have tried to contact him a bit more then that though.
Edit: I was able to go check my friend's FA page. He hasn't gotten any notification from the artist either, meaning he wouldn't have known it was finished.
I have a bit of a dilemma and I'm not too sure what to do. The artist's name will not be said, at least not yet.
About a month ago, both me and my friend had a some cash in our paypals. I found an artist we both liked and decided to put in info for a commission. I had first contacted them in Gaia asking if they did commissions and found that they were doing a time of 100 picture challenge for 10$.
I didn't get a reply to me putting the info in the journal, so when he posted another journal, I commented on it and asked if he had seen the comment and where and when to send payment. No reply. After a while, I decided he wasn't going to do them and I told my friend. He spent the money on something on etsy instead. I woke up this morning and checked my submissions and low and behold, the picture for my friend was done. I hadn't been notified at all though, unless he notified my friend, even though I'm the one who gave him the info in the first place.
The picture looks great and I'm willing to pay the artist for his time, but I feel really put off, especially now that I'm going to have to pay for my friend. When I checked the artist's page today, I saw I was on a list, but I never knew and I don't think it's my responsibility to find lists to make sure I'm getting the commission, especially when I had asked about it and didn't get a reply.
I admit I should have tried to contact him a bit more then that though.
Edit: I was able to go check my friend's FA page. He hasn't gotten any notification from the artist either, meaning he wouldn't have known it was finished.
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I haven't yet paid, since I'd like advice first, and I haven't been contacted, but ya.
I would personally be very upset if an artist never gave me confirmation, does the artwork in secret, and then tells me "Oop looks like you have to pay now." It feels like they just trapped you into buying something whether you wanted it or not to begin with. :/ If you don't tell me you're going to do my art or not, I'm not going to hold onto the money forever- I'll find another artist. As far as I'm concerned, he just gave your friend a gift rather than a commission.
You even asked if they saw the comment, a simple "Yes" would have taken only seconds to send.
That being said, if you're going to pay him, I'd still bring up the issue with the artist themselves. You might not get any explanations or reply but apparently he DOES read the stuff... It's better that a reasonable person tells him before he pulls the same stunt on someone else and they rage and the whole thing blows up.
My friend is at school right now, so when he gets home I'll ask him to check his FA to see if he got any reply from the artist.
Hmm, ya that's true. I'm a bit...I guess nervous? About discussing problems with artists, but sometimes it needs to be done.
Personally I'd pay him IF it is actually the commission for your friend (since he did do the work) but also bring up how his lack of communication could have resulted in friction and issues since he did not confirm the commission was going ahead. He needs to learn that not talking to your client is a very bad idea.
What should I do if they have done some work on it so far? Pay for the work done as what is usually done?
Hah. Yeah, no. It's not your responsibility to nag an artist to try to get a commission or some sort of verification that it's been accepted. You're under no obligation to pay him, and he should consider himself VERY lucky should you wind up doing so. Though if it's a picture for your friend, I think you should just put it on your friend to pay for it if they wind up wanting it.
It's not your place, of course, so don't take it to heart if he responds negatively to it, but you may want to try to explain to him what sort of situation he's getting himself into by not informing someone that their commission has been accepted, and ignoring comments that ask about them. He's setting himself up to make 'free' art for people by doing that, because many people wouldn't be willing to pay after an issue like that. I know if I probably wouldn't pay him for it--not that I don't value artists and their time, but if I've got x$ set aside for a commission and wind up spending it elsewhere because I'm getting ignored, I'm not going to pay extra money for something I got elsewhere (if that made sense).
I told him my concerns and he was perfectly nice about it and said he didn't realize that not notifiying would cause trouble. I did pay for the piece too and I consider this resolved :3
Thank you for the advice though ^^