It's going to be up to you. Some folks might choose to drop it due to the price paid, but the artist chose their prices. If they told you you could choose your own poses, and they weren't simply "suggestions" I would let them know.

Just a polite "thank you! But in my note I requested X pose."

If the artist has a stipulation that they were going to choose the pose(or just 'wing it' in general) and not the customer then take it and leave. Otherwise ask for a redraw I assume.

Double-check and make sure these weren't wing-it commissions or there's any statement that the artist chooses a pose. Screenshot your note where you said that you requested X pose, and politely inform the artist of what you asked for, with proof in the screenshot.

If the artist is doing wing-its then unfortunately you may be out of luck.

I think that you should probably leave it in this instance. The price is very low, and additionally, if your exact phrase was "in a presenting fashion" that could potentially be confusing for the artist. It's beneficial to avoid slang or phrases that might not be clear to an inexperienced artist (assuming this due to their prices).

A better prompt would be "A view from behind, standing next to each other bent over a little bit, presenting their butts to the viewer." That leaves very little room for interpretation or confusion.

As everybody else has suggested, check to make sure the artist didnt state that they were going to choose the pose. Otherwise, please let them know what you originally requested and that they may have misunderstood, and state again what you had wanted clearly.

Honestly I do not see why everyone is saying to just ask for a re-draw or let it go. If they're decent quality and undercharging themselves that is not the commissioners fault and the commissioner should get what they paid for. Just because it was 'very low priced' doesn't mean that they should just let it slide.

My advice is like others said and to check if they were wing-its. If they were you're SOL and should read the information more thoroughly next time. Otherwise I would send them a message saying something along the lines of-

"Hello, I'm sorry to bother you but when I sent you the original details for the commission I asked for the characters to be drawn in X pose, and you drew them in X pose instead. I would very much like it if you could re-draw the image with the pose I requested."

but in your own words of course. Just be polite and it should be fine.

Hm, if the wording in the note was just "in a presenting pose", I can see where confusion might come in. Bending over is pretty specific though.

Like everyone else said, check the parameters of the commission. If it doesn't say the artist gets to choose the pose, go ahead and ask if they'd be willing to redraw it.

Even if you choose to let it go, I would still tell the artist that the pose was wrong. Something like "I'm happy with what I got but when I said 'presenting' I meant a butt-view." That way the artist will know for next time someone asks for that pose assuming there was a language barrier and they didn't just forget. They might offer to fix it for you anyway.

If it were me and I liked the art, I'd probably offer to pay for a new commission (this time in the pose you -actually- wanted) and keep both versions.

Another option besides asking them to redo it would be to ask for a partial refund, though a partial refund of $5 might not be worth the hassle.

Edited at 2017-03-08 11:13 am (UTC)