Hey Ab. I need advice. I commissioned a two character nsfw piece from an artist and when I got it it had multiple anatomical errors. Like the female character in the piece looks like her back has been broken from the way she is positioned, her you-know-what looks not only huge but is off-centered, they also made the female character's legs too big for her body. There are a few small things wrong with the male as well. Would it be in bad taste to ask for the artist to re-draw it or to ask for a partial refund? Any advice would be amazing.
Update: I messaged the artist and politely told them that I was unhappy with the piece and pointed out each thing that was wrong as suggested by a commenter and explained that I would appreciate either a re-draw or a partial refund. They replied telling me that 'Well I am not use to drawing monster/partial human characters. However I will give you a partial refund.
I do request that next time you want a commission from me or any other artist though, to review their work and look to see if they are use to the image you are requesting to save yourself and the artist any undue stress.' and that I should have paid more attention during the stream. (My mistake as my internet was giving out) but they have agreed to pay be back half of what I paid within this week.
In my opinion not being used to a species doesn't excuse the anatomy but I digress.
Thank you so much everyone for the advice.
Update: I messaged the artist and politely told them that I was unhappy with the piece and pointed out each thing that was wrong as suggested by a commenter and explained that I would appreciate either a re-draw or a partial refund. They replied telling me that 'Well I am not use to drawing monster/partial human characters. However I will give you a partial refund.
I do request that next time you want a commission from me or any other artist though, to review their work and look to see if they are use to the image you are requesting to save yourself and the artist any undue stress.' and that I should have paid more attention during the stream. (My mistake as my internet was giving out) but they have agreed to pay be back half of what I paid within this week.
In my opinion not being used to a species doesn't excuse the anatomy but I digress.
Thank you so much everyone for the advice.
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If yes, then you got what you paid for and you should've vetted your artist a bit better.
If your commission piece looks much lower caliber than other pieces in the gallery, then it falls down to how much the trouble is worth.
Depending on the price of the image, sometimes I will ask for it redrawn, and sometimes I will just deal with it and make a mental note to not commission them again.
It is up to you, but if the art you received is of much lower quality than their other posted work, you have a right to bring that up and ask why.
Also: were you given any progression images where you could have picked up on this sooner?
I'd say price might also figure into this. If the picture was $10 or $20 vs. a couple hundred, then one shouldn't expect the same quality or detail.
1. What was the level of completion?
2. Was there an agreement for WIPs or wing-it?
3. If there was agreement for WIPs, was it approved as is?
Personally speaking, if I've ordered a one-shot sketch type wing-it and I got something that was a little borked I'd probably just move on.
Oh, I've seemed to have found the item in question. I'm going to guess that you were not present for the stream?
But yeah, I think I'm going to just move on. It just costed a good bit so I thought I would ask for advice.
Edit: Didn't see the last part. I wasn't present for the entire stream as I was having internet connection issues.
Edited at 2016-11-14 04:55 am (UTC)
That being said, if the piece was cheap and/or you agreed to get no WIPs or revisions, you probably shouldn't be too surprused if the artist does not fix/refund, and instead move on and accept it as a loss.
Also does your re-draw mean completely re-doing the piece or simply fixing the piece? If the artwork is not a sketch, the latter sounds a bit excessive, and an artist who knows their digital tools can do fixes without completely re-drawing the piece.
(this includes traditional art -- if you have Photoshop, learn and start loving "Liquify", artists!)
As I said above I'm probably just going to chalk it up as a loss and not worry about it.
I don't know how much you paid, what the artist usually charges, what level of completion was intended or how the artist works (and how good they're with editing "finished" pieces), so it's hard for me to draw judgment.
I do think you definitely should bring it up with the artist (I'm a commission artist myself and I dislike it if people don't like what they got and never tell me, personally :V) but whether or not they want to fix the artwork and whether you should just let it slide if they decline to fix depends on price vs level of completion vs terms you agreed to.
I'd honestly request a partial refund and tell them you're unhappy with the level of quality you received. There's no excuse to have such broken anatomy when their other work looks so much nicer and more cleaned up with very nice anatomy.
Either way, good luck dealing with it! It's a somewhat unique and very frustrating situation.
Edit to add: I noticed you're a bit apprehensive about approaching them regarding the work, which is totally normal and fine in these situations. If you do approach them, try to remember to be polite and clear in the issues- focus more on "This part looks too big/small/short" versus statements like "I don't like this/this looks wonky", etc. I try to keep in mind what I'd like to hear about my own art, which is clear, specific feedback that focuses less on how the art made someone feel and more on which specific parts need work. That and a little politeness, without so much sugar-coating that the message isn't clear, should do the trick. :) And if it doesn't, you can always say you tried your best as a respectful customer!
Edited at 2016-11-14 05:39 pm (UTC)
edit: Whoops, accidentally responded to you instead of a new comment. A+ Livejournaling.
Edited at 2016-11-15 12:41 am (UTC)
I've seen the piece in question and the lopsidedness of the genitalia is such a glaringly obvious problem that I can't believe it was given to you as a completed product. I don't think being unused to drawing humanoids excuses something being entirely off-center like that.
QFE!
Don't accept a commission if you don't think it's within your ability to produce to the standard the commissioner is asking for, or at least tell them up front it's not something you're used to drawing, let them know there may be errors, and work with them through WIPs getting it right for them, if you really want to take the commission. Blaming it after the fact on such a thing is just excuses.
Did they ever post it in their own gallery? Artists have many reasons for not posting every commission they've done, but in this case I feel like the artist was at least somewhat aware of the subpar quality they delivered.
As a tip for the future, next time ask if you can continue it as a normal commission with a sketch approval stage if you have to leave the stream. It might have prevented this unpleasantness.