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[pinkpuppybelly.livejournal.com]

Ten days ago, someone named Misty Crom sent a private message on FurAffinity, asking if I could accept a commission with a deadline - the 27th - and how much it would cost. He wasn't sure exactly what he wanted, other than it would involve two characters: A shrinking male fox and a busty vixen. This was meant to be done for St. George's Day.  

It took three or four more emails before I could get him to decide on a pose and scene and setting, and it took plenty of needling. Instead of sending descriptions of the characters and background, he sent a story, expecting me to read it, and I suppose to choose a scene from it to illustrate.  But, as I said, I eventually get him down to this: The shrunken fox sitting on a canopy bed, watching the busty vixen showing off a green dress with yellow trim, next to a dresser with a tudor rose in a vase on it. He included an image of a Victorian-esque manor house - from the outside - to 'give me an idea of what the bedroom will look like'.  Also, a link to his gallery for reference images of his character - a blue winged fox - and a naked drawing of a vixen with huge tits. It is now the 14th, three days after he originally asked for the art.  And he ever so politely reminds me that this has to be done by the 23rd.

I start sketching, drawing a busty vixen and the shrunken fox, looking at his gallery to see what he looks like. Blue fox with wings- that's his character in the first five uploads of his site. That must be it, right? So I send him the sketches, and he suddenly has tons of tweaks and suggestions, some that are helpful, and some that are not. He wants more tits on the girl, provides a link for the type of dress he wants her in (why did he not send that in the first place? It would have HELPED.), and informs me that the boy fox in this story - his character - doesn't have wings and is normal colored. Again: Why didn't he specify that in the beginning?

I fix all the little details he wants changed, and start coloring. He has more changes to be made. I make them, add background, show him that. MORE changes to be made**. Finally, he's satisfied. I add my watermark, and upload it to my FA gallery, breathing a sigh of relief. This is last night that I wrap it up, nine days later, and three days before the deadline. Not bad!

I get this in my email this morning: 

"you posted it?! why?
 
i said. i was saving that for thursday.
 
aw fuck its ruined. i said dont post it untill i do. first thing i said when i comissioned you, im sure of it. thats 2 in one day thatve been posted before i could do so. can you please take it down untill i have posted it?"

First off, no party during a commissioned art piece - be it customer or artist - should EVER swear during communication. It is immature, aggressive, and tantrumesque. Second, he never asked me not to post the image to my gallery before the 23rd. He said he needed it by the 23rd. That is not the same as 'don't post this till I do plz'.

I informed him that the image would be deleted, and to please be more clear in the future as to what he wanted and expected, as not once was I asked to refrain from uploading anything. And indeed, I have deleted the image. It will probably not be uploaded again.


TO CONCLUDE:

Misty Crom,
Pros: Paid quickly and in full.

Cons: Did not know what he wanted from the get-go, expected the artist to wade through his personal story and make decisions on the art that were HIS to make, did not provide adequate links or image references or written descriptions from the beginning, got extremely picky, very bad communication on what he wanted or expected.

So, beware!

**Just to make a note, I don't mind clients being picky and pointing out things they want changed, added, subtracted, etc. It's important that they be satisfied with the end product. However, when a client doesn't give specifics in the beginning, it is very irritating to suddenly be given specifics after you've started work - especially in another direction.