Mysterious Members

[Castro]

Your fears are 100% valid Circe, I find the practice rather rude, but that just me, why do I think like this? I do business on FB and other social sites and often I get ppl message me out of the blue, not friends and never heard of them. In our line of work, the majority find the practice unprofessional and rude. many just want a sale or such like. rather than build up a business relationship first.
So members here, if they want an artist to do a commission, get involved in te community first, and get to know us with threads, posts etc.

That is my support for Circe in this thread.

[JoJo JoJo JoJo]

I was kinda curious about that too, ever since you said you accept payment upon completion, I was like "Woah. A little TOO trusting there."

Sure, I like to think you can count on the commissioner to come through, but any precautions you take are 100% understandable.

No track record iffyness is all good. ������

[Circe]

Zae: Totally true on the pricing issue. If it wasn't spanking porn it would ironically be more profitable. I knew an artist who got paid $500.00 just for a simple cartoonish sketch of a proposed building. It took him less than an hour to hammer that out. It was a lucky break for him, and is one of those random situations that lets you see how crazy the industry can be at times.

The problem is that it's also inconsistent. Income for art isn't like a 9-5 job, you only get paid on commission and if no one is needing your art then you don't get any commissions. Unless of course if you are working for a company AS AN ARTIST. But that's not always gonna happen as it's cheaper for the companies to just hire temps.

---------- Post added at 08:58 PM ---------- Previous post was at 08:44 PM ----------

Castro: Thank you hon ! It's much better to do business with a quantifiable personality instead of an unknowable void of mystery. I had one guy see my work on a blog and he wanted me to do free art for him as a 'personal favor'.

Get this. He sent me a photo of some pretty woman that he claimed was his wife. She was just standing innocently in what looked like the living room of an apartment. The art he wanted of her was porn based. I turned him down immediately.

Why ?
I don't know this guy. I don't know this woman. For all I know he's lying and isn't married to her. She could just be some random person he had a boner for, and wanted free naked drawings of her in sexy poses. Or she's a friend/acquaintance that he got a photo of, and wanted free blah blah blah....you get the idea.

Even if he's married to her, and she also wanted the naked art of herself, it's STILL a bad situation.
I think the term that best describes it is "shady".

^_^

---------- Post added at 09:08 PM ---------- Previous post was at 08:58 PM ----------

AfroJoJo: Some things you tend to pay for first before receiving them: gasoline, money orders, lottery tickets, groceries. Other things you tend to pay for when the work is done: plumbing, auto repairs, medical services, vampire slaying.

Ok, the vampire slaying was silly of me. ^_^
Vampire Slayers get paid half now, and half when the vampire is slain/destroyed. Because, of course, hunting vampires can get expensive and insurance premiums need to be payed in full.

Not that I have a lot of experience in that area.......lately......
X3

[Cutiexx]

Would it be possible for you to be paid like a vampire slayer? (Half before half after) I always thought that sounded like a good solution. Maybe I'm wrong, I have no experience in commissions either way.

I don't know if I'm considered a lurker or not, my activity on this site fluctuates a lot, depending on how busy I am irl, and there are long periods of time when I just come over to check out art, masturbate, and don't engage with anyone at all.

Anyway, all it comes down to is what you feel comfortable with as an artist. If a commissioner seems shady and not trustworthy, it's completely normal that you be allowed to refuse them. My opinion on this is, too bad for the friendless lurkers, but Circe and all other artists should never be made to do something that make them uncomfortable, or scared that they won't be paid.

[Salazar Hotel]

Hmmmm...im probally the most shady charcter here>.> <.< buuut isee your concern


Im not an artist...buuuut i've had some random people ask me to do rps with them...somtimes im not comfortable with it i decline,and then well they show me uh pics-much like the one that one guy showed you circe-and im like ,"AAAAAAH NOOOO!", and that was when i decided to well go under the radar,and be like im off 24/7 so he doesnt send me more...mind you it doesnt work always

So i understand your concern-even though mine is more of like a " i dont wanna do it so please stop thing" ^^

[Circe]

CutieXX: Doing the half/half payment is a nice solution too. But it still boils down to dealing with a faceless unknown. ( The commissioners, not the Vampires. XD ) I'm always flattered when I'm contacted by someone new for commissions but I have to temper that with the requirement of needing the other person having some noticeable activity on the site other than just joining and lurking, even if it's lurking for 10 full years. ^^

---------- Post added at 07:29 PM ---------- Previous post was at 07:12 PM ----------

TheSupremeOverlord: I like shadows, so don't worry about that connotation, hon. ^_~
I know how you feel about encountering situations that take you out of your comfort zone. Now sometimes it's ok to leave a comfort zone and try something new. Food can be like that, I heard that snake meat tastes like chicken ( but then, most meat can be said to taste like that XD ). But some social situations call for listening to your Inner Advisor, and if your inner self hears some alarm bells then it's time to bug out as fast as your sweet ass can move.

If you are hanging with some casual acquaintances and they start smoking cigarettes in a parking lot of a nice restaurant you just left in the middle of the day for a few moments, it's all good.
But if they whip out crack pipes or start cooking meth in a plastic liter bottle...........RUN !!! Don't ask questions, don't request they stop what they are doing, don't be a hero. Just cheese it. Get out before the cops arrive, because it's your own fault for staying and taking the risk of getting arrested. Honestly, why take the chance when things go that south ? Leave and call the cops, don't linger. Some people shouldn't be your friends for a reason.

If anyone has an objection to what I just said, then tough. You like weed ? Then go home and smoke it. You like beer ? Go home and drink it. Hard drugs in public ? Just....damn....get some help and rehab. Please.
Anyways, I'm rambling. To everyone still reading my rants, take my advice and listen to your common sense. If it smells wrong, tastes wrong, sounds wrong, looks wrong, feels wrong......then you have some clues as to what it is.

And there's some things in life that have consequences far worse than a spanking and corner time.
^__^

[Ironfang7]

I was not sure where you were going with this at first until you brought up.the payment for services. I am lurker, I try to comment when a pic sturs me but I am bad at meeting people online and hate text chats because so much is lost when you loose tone and inflection in speach. So I get interacting is not always easy and I love this site for its variety of art and the Sue Bell stories. So asking people not to ask for commissions unless you force yourself to partake in things you have no idea how they work or the edicate for them (in my case threads and fantasy / role play / thread stories) waz a little pushy.

But I completely agree that when you ask for a commission, YOU PAY THEM FOR THEIR WORK. I am honestly shocked people would ask and dash. After hearing the artists side, I feel a little nieve about the whole commission process. I have agreed with some artists method of getting paid before releasing the art though it is more likely to believe artist will draw a commisssion even after payment then it is to believe someone will pay after they have what they want. As an artist, you all enjoy making the commission in the first place but once recieved all ensentives are lost.

[thingywhat]

I know some people who commission work without really being well-known.
Usually they're shy fans who really don't want to make themselves known because they get anxious really easily. People who are afraid, and don't want to get involved.

The internet is filled with people like these.

Often, the act of even creating an account somewhere might seem like an enormous risk, it's proof that they are what they feared: Weird.

I can get why they might seem creepy, because honestly yeah... That's hellua-creepy.
But it helps to know that they are people too, and probably have their reasons for not wanting to be anything besides anonymous, even if they are your fans...

I think the amount of us that actually participate in communities like we do are in the minority. Spanking is actually a super-common kink, so it's way more than just us.

Ironically, a lot of the people who don't make themselves known think they will come off creepy if they do--because talking about liking something like spanking is super-weird too them. It becomes a bit of a self-fulfilling prophecy.

I'm not saying you should accept commissions from them; that's up to you, but hopefully knowing this might help you understand their position a little.

[KathyKane]

This whole thread inspired me to be more active here...umm...a process that I'm still working at as my regular RP buddies can attest! But I never really considered just how much wasted effort a artist can suffer at the hands of a few careless individuals. It also inspires me to actually commission something from someone...eventually.

Great thread Circe, good thoughts.

[Jaded Entity]

Thank you to Circe for this topic. As someone who is very much guilty of doing this albeit with a different artist here I feel it only fair that I apologize. Being socially active on the forum is not something I find particularly easy and it was not my intention to cause any worry.

At the time I saw an artist whose work I very much enjoy announce that they were doing commissions as they also needed to raise money. With that I felt it was worth inquiring into. This topic is not something that had actually occurred to me so I will do my best to remove myself from being this mysterious member and also showing more support.

Thank you.