Shizuki

[hamburger.livejournal.com]

I hesistate to post this, because I do think this person is very nice and does wonderful art, but I'm feeling slightly frustrated and want to save others from experiencing the same.

I commissioned Shizuki back in December for a colored chibi. At the time, I'll admit, I hadn't paid much attention to her previous journal and I merely skimmed her FAQ. Because of this, I understand the current situation is my own fault. I hadn't taken notice of the fact that a) she didn't issue refunds and b) the type of commission I purchased offered no deadline.

A few weeks after I paid her for a commission, she posted a journal lamenting her backlog, at which point I learned some people had been waiting over a year for commissions from her. This worried me, but I decided to just give her the benefit of the doubt and kept quiet. A month or so afterwards I came upon other people's complaints about her wait time. During this time, she continued to take in more commissions, in spite of making it clear she was overwhelmed by the backlog she already had.

I decided to try and write a polite note asking if the commission would be done by the end of January (as it was suggested to me by an accquaintance of hers that giving her deadlines helped), and if not if it was possible to ask for a refund. I was pointed to her FAQ and reminded of the previously mentioned 'no refunds' and 'no deadlines' rules. As I stated previously I take full responsibility for this, and that is not the reason for this post.

Just today, I noticed she posted on teenycom offering icon commissions, and I couldn't help but feel a little frustrated considering she has many times made it clear she knows she has too much on her plate.

So, I suppose this is a 'beware' in the sense of 'beware of being careless like me, and always CAREFULLY read an artist's FAQ before you commission them'. I'm now stuck in a situation where I have no idea how long it will take to get what I paid for, with no chance of a refund. I suppose it's also just a general heads up to those interested in the artist's work that you (as friends of hers aware of her backlog issue have advised me) make sure you're able to give her a deadline before you make your purchase.

Comments

[baronyiffington.livejournal.com]

An artist with a "no deadlines" and "no refunds" policy on the same piece just screams suspicious to me.

[pkempa.livejournal.com]

Yeah.. I feel the same way. That added with the artist taking MORE commissions when there is a huge non refundable backlog? Hmm

[stormslegacy.livejournal.com]

That is just bad business practices. I personally don't believe no deadlines = a year is fine for an icon or other small piece. I do feel it is a reasonable expectation for small jobs to take at most, with extenuating circumstances, 3 months. I know there are some out there who feel differently, but i wouldn't do business with someone who does and keeps taking on more even if they know it will be a wait. She needs to be open, in the post, about the wait-time.

[hamburger.livejournal.com]

keeps taking on more even if they know it will be a wait

I suppose this is the part that bothers me. Especially as she has made it clear she's aware of her own huge backlog and has had stress over it.

[mukichan.livejournal.com]

I know Chevi and am good friends with her. I have even bought a few commissions from her. I can GUARANTEE that you will get your artwork and that the wait is worth it. Yes, she is overloaded with work, but ART is her only form of income. It's not that she can't find a job, it's more she wants to live her dream of being an artist. And she does have a life outside of arts and that she puts her own health and life before arts. (i.e. sickness, broken tablet, etc etc etc)

If you wish, I can speak with her regarding your feelings about this.

[spiffystuff.livejournal.com]

ART is her only form of income. It's not that she can't find a job, it's more she wants to live her dream of being an artist.


None of these are an excuse for not warning people they can expect to wait a year + on commissions.

[armaina.livejournal.com]

There is something very wrong with a person that has a no-refund policy if she has never even started on the art in the first place. FAQ or not, that is a horrible policy to just sneak in there, it really should be something they have in bold on their initial commission page.

[zackfig.livejournal.com]

I have not commissioned her - but I've commissioned people with similar clauses.

If you have the patience of the biblical Job, the product will seem to be worth the wait.

The only difference is that they have told me as such, that it will take long because it takes a while to get the art juices flowing -- and I've commissioned those people with that in mind -- and I've never been disappointed with the result.

On the other hand, those people do commissions as a side source of income. Key difference is that... just like other people have said here in this thread.

[likeshine.livejournal.com]

i just went to the post on teenycom ... it doesnt state anywhere how long the wait will be.

then, i went to the artists page, saw her ridiculous TOS, and checked the length of her list.

she really needs to be more forthright about the length of time something will take, especially with a non refund policy. that's bullshit. if she hasn't started the artwork, and hasn't had to purchase materials, she should have no claim to the money.

now that i think about it, she should also make the no refund policy very clear :p

the whole thing stinks of bad business practice. commissions are my only form of income now, yes. but i stagger what i take so i never get overloaded again. i used to have a list like hers, but i stopped taking artwork until i was more caught up.

[circlemeats.livejournal.com]

On one hand, I kind of like when an artist takes a while to do art because I like surprises, haha. I like commissioning someone then forgetting about it, and getting it much later as a surprise. I'm weird like that.

I personally take a while on my art. If I'm not in the mood to draw, my art will come out very lackluster and lazy, but if I have my juices flowing my art can be amazing sometimes. I however would never REFUSE a refund, OR refuse a deadline! Even if I'm not given a deadline when I take the commission, if the commissioner decides they're uncomfortable with the wait, I welcome deadlines! They can sometimes be very helpful.

Sometimes I'll take a couple extra commissions even if I have a backlog if people ask me personally (usually friends). Other times I'll offer quick commissions that I know I can whip out just for emergencies.

If someone ever expressed concern, I would address the issue immediately. Ideally, I wouldn't have to because I'd be a super professional art factory, but that's just not how I am.

Wow I don't know why I talked about myself so much, hahaha. MAYBE GUILT BECAUSE I KIND OF EMPATHIZE WITH ARTISTS WHO HAVE TOO MUCH ON THEIR PLATES?

regardless what she's doing isn't cool. I hope it wasn't too much money :/ Try to file a paypal dispute?

[hamburger.livejournal.com]

Try to file a paypal dispute?

It's been over 90 days, unfortunately.

[filthy-animal.livejournal.com]

I owe like, 5 people artwork that I haven't been able to work on-- and like hell am I taking more on before I finish them. Why is this such a hard concept for people to grasp?

[hamburger.livejournal.com]

While this may be true, the amount is too low for it to be worthwhile for me to take this to court. The fees would be far and away more than the amount I'm out.

[anjel-kitty.livejournal.com]

Wow a no deadlines + no refunds is like "give me money for nothing" policy. Did you mention this to allykat and the other teenycom moderators? I do think there is some attempt to moderate the people who post on there and then don't follow through on commissions.

[hamburger.livejournal.com]

I wasn't sure if it was really my place. Especially as she does have these policies in her FAQ. :/

[thaily.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I don't think "no refunds" is an enforceable rule.
Did you pay with Paypal? If so, file a dispute.
This is bullcrap.

[hamburger.livejournal.com]

It's over 90 days since I paid her, I think. :/

[digivolution.livejournal.com]

I've never understood the concept of drawing furry art for a 'full time job.'

[jamesalesto.livejournal.com]

I know right. The furry market pays way too little to sustain one's self on.

If it weren't for my job, I wouldn't make it off of commissions alone.

[ichigoneko33.livejournal.com]

just to tell you, when I comissioned her months ago, she DID have something that says you can ask for a deadline. It's probably cause most artists don't take deadlines on small things like icons and chibis.

[fyphfoko.livejournal.com]

it sounds to me like she's changed her t&c a bit

when you comissioned her, was her "FAQ" needlessly long winded? also, you say "FAQ" rather then rules, or t&c, or anything else. did the "FAQ" contain other things taht weren't relevent to anything?

if so, then reguler sca, is reguler. there are laws protecting us from this, as stated above, which is probebly why she changed things around

i would alert any websie where she's offering commisions, and report to paypal as a scam - to try for a refund and she may even be permibanned from using paypal - myself

[hamburger.livejournal.com]

I just used 'FAQ' out of habit, it's technically called her Terms of Service. I can't remember word-for-word what they were when I paid her, but I do recall checking them in January to confirm the 'no refund' policy was there.

[kayla-la.livejournal.com]

I commissioner her sometime last year, for this icon I'm using right now, and I do believe there was a deadline field in the form, so the no deadlines thing must be newer.

That said, she was very slow, and I regularly heard 'I'll have it done at X time' and that time would pass. It took many months to receive the icons I purchased and her communication was a bit poor, but I DID receive them. Eventually.

It's a shame she's not terribly professional about her practices, but I don't think you're going to be ripped out of your money, at least.

[hamburger.livejournal.com]

When I'm home (I'm at work now) I'm going to double-check the form I sent her. I'm now wondering if there WAS a deadline field and I don't remember.

[lilenth.livejournal.com]

Well she has nice art, I'll give her that but a year long wait for something as small as an icon is just ridiculous.

[thanatoast.livejournal.com]

Hmm. I am always wary of "no refunds" as a general rule. Thanks for the heads up.

[oceandezignz.livejournal.com]

Well it seems she's added to her teenycom post that the turnaround time will be less than a week. Hopefully after that she'll just focus on her backlog.

[neive.livejournal.com]

One would hope but, I got an icon commission from her in January for her Winter Themed ones and she had a deadline for those. (passed it by a day but, I didn't complain since it was only a week for the deadline anyway) and it turned out great...but yeah.

Shes still been taking commissions since then. I figure like Neolucky has said, she just needs people to stop enabling her. I had no idea how big her backlog was when I commissioned her - And even though I'm very happy with my icon and that it was on time...with the no deadline thing now? There's no way I'd commission her again anytime soon unless the deadline/refund and her backlog changes for the better. :[

[haruko-san13.livejournal.com]

I commissioned her on dA, where she has a much shorter list, about a year ago I think. Then I moseyed over to FA because I had a bunch of artists become FA only and noticed her To-do list on there. IMO it's sort of misleading to have two separate lists.

For the record, I've gotten one of the commissions, but I'm still waiting on the other one.

[neolucky.livejournal.com]

I am a longtime, old friend to Chevi (Shizuki). I know her in person, have lived with her for 3 months. You have no idea how much I hate to speak out like this. Unfortunately, despite our friendship, I noticed her taking on more then she can handle in various communities, since around or before 2007. This has been been building up for a long time. I am not surprised to see this pop up here, not with the backlog she has. And with the fact she keeps trying to get more. There have been many times I was in disagreement with what she did, but I held my tongue in hopes she would stop. It didn't stop. And it won't. She gets money for cons, for a laptop, for tools. She offers commissions, then never gets time to do them. Complains about being sick and what have you.

Dream or not, she has no excuse for this. She needs to finish her backlog, and get a part time job and refund those who have been waiting 2 years plus. She needs to stop trying to take on more commissions so she can finish older ones. This is not a "should" this is a "MUST" for her.

Sadly, all I see are people boosting her ego, giving her no deadlines and falling for her "Tos" bullshit. They are afraid to speak out against an artist they admire.

And I am incredibly disappointed at this situation.

[hamburger.livejournal.com]

Yeah, no disrespect to her friend upthread, but I'm not planning to take down this post. I think it's something that belongs here, even though in my case I could have prevented this with a little research beforehand.

She's promising now to get her current backlog done within 2 months. So I will wait and see what happens, as I have no other options at this point, and I do still really like her art.

[mykath.livejournal.com]

Chevi (Shizuki) is a wonderful and delightful person and has a beautiful style, but sadly I saw this post coming and I'm actually surprised someone didn't say something sooner. She probably knew it was coming herself and dreading the day. I know she will be emotionally crushed, because she does really do mean well, but I really, really hope that she won't let this cripple her, and instead motivate her to get her backlog cleared.

[princessrena.livejournal.com]

I myself DID set a deadline, two commissions one for v-day of last year which I got this year, and a bust of three characters been waiting on for two years and it was only lineart.

[neolucky.livejournal.com]

I'd like to ask the OP to supply a screenshot of the note they sent to Chevi/Shizuki, regarding their commission in January? Her recent Journal ( http://www.furaffinity.net/journal/1257702/ ) leads me to think she either 1.) didn't get your note prodding her or 2.) She won't admit to it.

I simply just want to make sure you did in fact contact her, as she seems to work with people when they talk to her directly. It seems she knows about this thread and made that vague journal to acknowledge it. I realize she wants people to 'bug' her...but they shouldn't HAVE to do that. She needs to keep track and set her own deadlines, if one is not provided.

[hamburger.livejournal.com]

Luckily I never delete any notes on FA:

[bubonicapple.livejournal.com]

man

how early did you sign up to get that username

[hamburger.livejournal.com]

I'm not the original owner. I got it when it was purged. :)

[thedogisdead.livejournal.com]

FML I paid her for an icon a few days ago :C

It does say on her teenycom post 'TURNAROUND TIME, LESS THAN A WEEK!' but now I'm not too sure I trust that.

[hamburger.livejournal.com]

That was added after this post, but hopefully knowing people will be paying attention means she will keep to that turnaround time.