Receiving a commission that is underwhelming 4 4

[Blastaar]

2 minutes ago, vodou said:

As i suspected: hacked out for the $$$ not "art". Doesn't make this artist unique, that, it's a big part of why I don't high-five much in the commission or art day threads...lots of hacked out work being done daily by many. Why rain on somebody's parade if they don't see it that way though? (Lack of taste knows no demographic nor socioeconomic barriers!) I only put that up because you were already negative. Hope that makes sense. I won't add more, I'm sure there's somebody on eBay that would put that $300 back in your pocket (you eating fees/shipping though?) and I don't want to queer that.

I would never list it for that, wouldn't feel right. I am listing it for $65 just to buy myself a bottle of Jameson Black Barrel. 

[grapeape]

2 hours ago, Blastaar said:

Ok, so I decided to post the commission but whited out the artist's name. Again, he is a great guy, easy to talk to, and I will probably reach out again some day. Just think he was having an off day plus it was on the cheaper end of commission prices. I'm trying to fall in love with it, put it in a frame.....but I think this one is going into storage

Also below is the image I gave for inspiration to the artist. 

 

 

 

 

If this were drawn for me at a con by an artist that gave it to me gratis I would cherish it. I would always remember the 3 minutes he took to scribble it for me.

I understand your disappointment not terrible but far from the artists best I’m sure.

[dirtymartini1]

41 minutes ago, Blastaar said:

I said i wanted a Venom perched on a rooftop, here is a pic for reference. When I got the package at the front door I was pumped like I usually am getting the "knock" we all love to hear. Then I opened it and got sad. 

you know its not bad. if they would of threw in even a suggestion of back ground it would of brought the piece to life. 

[ESeffinga]

You could draw the Taj Mahal behind a scratchy turd, and it’ll still be a scratchy turd. 

 

[vodou]

8 minutes ago, ESeffinga said:

scratchy turd

Single hair brush...skillz!!!

Appropriate respect: please

[Blastaar]

It is close to Christmas, who wants to trade me a White Elephant gift for it?

[Unstoppablejayd]

16 minutes ago, Blastaar said:

It is close to Christmas, who wants to trade me a White Elephant gift for it?

Put it in the Holiday gift exchange when they do it!

[Stat Monsters]

My general stance on underwhelming commissions is it's a subjective "in the eye of the beholder" judgment sometimes, but if you truly don't like your piece and it wasn't a free sketch, a cheap commission, but a high ticket item by a known name, odds are, there's going to be a fan out there to possibly sell it to. 

There's nothing wrong with selling a commission you paid for and are dissatisfied with.   I'm pretty sure if an artist charged $300 for a commission and a customer refused to pay citing dissatisfaction, the artist would be upset, but if the customer paid for it and sold it, at least the artist got paid.  It's not like the old days where fans in disguise would commission work for cheap then flip it for profit.

Everytime you look at the piece maybe your blood boils or you feel negativity from the experience, why not just get rid of it, and not store it away.  It's taking space and tying your money up with a constant reminder present in your life of a regret.

Somebody else may enjoy it and you might make back your money, possibly even profit or maybe take a loss, but call it a day to salvage a bad situation.

I'm sure the artist wouldn't be offended and even if they were (and that's all contingent on them actually finding out) it's easily explained through either the truth said respectfully or a "white lie" cover up maybe citing financial strife.

Post it up for sale at what you paid then see if there's any action, then add the "or best offer" if there's no interest a few months down the road, and if there's still no action, then consign it to ComicLink or Heritage with no reserve and see what happens.

[Rick2you2]

18 hours ago, grapeape said:

Rick I hear you but this is a one off. That one interaction going south is not representative of most commissions. My position is clear. A deal is a deal. I would eat a loss even if I didn’t love the finished product.

Ive always paid the artist before a single line was drawn. I don’t like to waste an artists time. I trust the artist maybe more than I should but it’s worked for me.

In Fuggits case, this transaction feels wonky from the get go. There’s more to the story then we’ve heard I suspect.

But the buyer who “stiffed” the artist goes by the name Fuggit....

FUGGIT

He got away with one, he doesn’t give a Fugg....

In a handshake deal one guy did the work, the guy who agreed to paying reneged. So I respect the artists opinion the most. Without a written contract an artist should collect at least 50% up front in my opinion. If upon presentation of the finished art the collector balks at paying the rest the artist keeps the up front money for time and effort. 
Then he can sell that piece to another collector.

Mr. Scott Williams Anything I would commission from you I would pay you up front. I would trust you would give me your best. If for some reason I wasn’t blown away, I would just give it time.

Thats the beauty of art. I think of Moebius, whose art I detested as a teenager. There are drawings I once loathed that today I would give ( insert any boardie name here but mine) a left ball to own one of those drawings today.

Art does that....images you don’t like when seen in a different frame of mind can be images you fall in love with.

And yes purple drank you ain’t all that !!!

Thank you for your thoughtful response. 

You are correct that I missed the meaning of "Fuggit", and yes, something doesn't feel right about his description of events. On the other hand, there is a board on Facebook entitled "Comic Art Buyer Beware" naming the names of artists who take money and don't produce. There have also been comments on these boards about bad artistic behavior.

I agreed to two commissions at the NYC Comicon. I have yet to get a response to my emails or texts as to timing or details. I did not give an advance, so I haven't lost anything, but none was requested by either artist. Others have not been as lucky. 

As a side note, what you have described is called a "liquidated damages clause" in contract law. It is not presumed, but must be added to any written agreement.

I take the subject a little more fluidly than a flat bar. I have a standing statement to everyone I commission that if they find that to get the piece "just right", it takes more time than they thought, then I volunteer to pay them extra. I want the best of their work in my collection, and a few extra $ won't matter in the long run. NOT ONCE, has any artist asked for the extra. I did volunteer to pay Colleen Doran in full for a commission of a female Phantom Stranger, and did, even though she did not ask, because I figured no one else would want it and I did not want her to be concerned about wasting time. I also paid someone extra after I saw their layout of a ferret version of the Phantom Stranger because it was headed in the wrong direction, and I decided this was my fault instead of hers for failing to give her a proper direction. But for the most part, if I don't know someone, or have a reason to trust them, and unless I am asking for something strange like a femaile Phantom Stranger, I do not believe it is good policy to pay up front.

So, on balance I think Fuggit's behavior was awful, unless we see the actual piece at issue and it really is beyond the pale. And if he doesn't like the criticism, tough, he deserves it.

[Rick2you2]

16 hours ago, Blastaar said:

I said i wanted a Venom perched on a rooftop, here is a pic for reference. When I got the package at the front door I was pumped like I usually am getting the "knock" we all love to hear. Then I opened it and got sad. 

Honestly, it isn't bad, and at $300, it can't be terribly overpriced (depending on the name of the artist). It just looks to me like the artist didn't have the feel for the character like you do, and/or didn't think $300 was worth the time to kill himself for something super-special. I once commissioned Howard Chaykin for a Phantom Stranger/Tala pair of images (I have posted before), and while it is workmanlike, it doesn't rock me. A few years later, at a convention, he told me he couldn't get the feel of the character. S***t happens.

I would recommend you keep it and put it in your Itoya's as a memory of a past interaction (unless you really, really hate it). 

[Blastaar]

Just listed the beauty in a $1, no reserve, 1 day auction.....Which one of you high rollers wants to walk away with this gem!!!!!

 

 

 

Edited October 31, 2019 by Blastaar

[eewwnuk]

Well now we know who the artist is...

[Blastaar]

1 minute ago, eewwnuk said:

Well now we know who the artist is...

Yep. Typically his stuff is pretty darn good. 

 

[Will_K]

Good luck !!  But maybe you should keep the frame.

Not a Venom fan, But I do have a couple LaRocque sketches that cost me less $$$.  I was OK with them... even if they weren't particularly inspired.  My biggest beef with the drawings was that the women's hands seemed really small.  Even their fists looked like Darth Vader severed their hands. 

None of this discussion has given me the courage to sell or post the 2 underwhelming drawings I mentioned at the start of this topic.

To get better drawings, I think I should take up drawing again.

[grapeape]

5 hours ago, Rick2you2 said:

Thank you for your thoughtful response. 

You are correct that I missed the meaning of "Fuggit", and yes, something doesn't feel right about his description of events. On the other hand, there is a board on Facebook entitled "Comic Art Buyer Beware" naming the names of artists who take money and don't produce. There have also been comments on these boards about bad artistic behavior.

I agreed to two commissions at the NYC Comicon. I have yet to get a response to my emails or texts as to timing or details. I did not give an advance, so I haven't lost anything, but none was requested by either artist. Others have not been as lucky. 

As a side note, what you have described is called a "liquidated damages clause" in contract law. It is not presumed, but must be added to any written agreement.

I take the subject a little more fluidly than a flat bar. I have a standing statement to everyone I commission that if they find that to get the piece "just right", it takes more time than they thought, then I volunteer to pay them extra. I want the best of their work in my collection, and a few extra $ won't matter in the long run. NOT ONCE, has any artist asked for the extra. I did volunteer to pay Colleen Doran in full for a commission of a female Phantom Stranger, and did, even though she did not ask, because I figured no one else would want it and I did not want her to be concerned about wasting time. I also paid someone extra after I saw their layout of a ferret version of the Phantom Stranger because it was headed in the wrong direction, and I decided this was my fault instead of hers for failing to give her a proper direction. But for the most part, if I don't know someone, or have a reason to trust them, and unless I am asking for something strange like a femaile Phantom Stranger, I do not believe it is good policy to pay up front.

So, on balance I think Fuggit's behavior was awful, unless we see the actual piece at issue and it really is beyond the pale. And if he doesn't like the criticism, tough, he deserves it.

It makes sense to pay when the art is finished. My approach is smaller dollar commissions done at a show and picked up during convention I pay up front to grease getting it done.
 

I too will pay extra to get the best result. It’s a fine line though when it comes to speed. You want to position your request as a priority without having the artist rush and spoil the detail.

in every case where larger amounts were involved I either knew the artist or had reliable references especially with pieces that were going to be completed over a time period and mailed to me.
 

My preference now is to buy what I can see. A finished piece of art. I try to treat the artists with respect. I expect them only to give me their best effort in return.

 

 

 

[Blastaar]

2 hours ago, Will_K said:

Good luck !!  But maybe you should keep the frame.

Not a Venom fan, But I do have a couple LaRocque sketches that cost me less $$$.  I was OK with them... even if they weren't particularly inspired.  My biggest beef with the drawings was that the women's hands seemed really small.  Even their fists looked like Darth Vader severed their hands. 

None of this discussion has given me the courage to sell or post the 2 underwhelming drawings I mentioned at the start of this topic.

To get better drawings, I think I should take up drawing again.

Frame is not included! So far my $1 listing fee is paid for!!!!!

I do have a great Iron Fist from him. The price was actually less than $300. To me I think the face just looks off....maybe the eyes? Probably would have made a decent looking black suit Spidey.

 

Edited October 31, 2019 by Blastaar

[Will_K]

6 hours ago, Rick2you2 said:

I take the subject a little more fluidly than a flat bar. I have a standing statement to everyone I commission that if they find that to get the piece "just right", it takes more time than they thought, then I volunteer to pay them extra. I want the best of their work in my collection, and a few extra $ won't matter in the long run.

For one of my nicest commissions, over 10 years ago, the artist agreed to take on the subject.  We agreed on a price which was good amount of $$$ and he didn't ask for money upfront. 

But after a couple e-mails, (I found out later) that it seemed like I scared him.  That wasn't my intention.  Basically, I was just making conversation.  Anyway, he didn't respond to a couple e-mails and I didn't pursue him.

A few months later, he e-mailed a scan of the completed commission.  That's when he mentioned that I was (kind of) scaring him in my e-mails.  I told him the art as amazing, wasn't trying to scare him and offered to pay him more because it was so great.  I sent him $$$ for twice the agreed amount.  He was appreciative and I forget the exact wording but he seemed happy that I didn't just give him a token amount in addition to the agreed price.

---

For another commission, over 20 years ago, the artist's agent quoted me a price ($250, I think) and I paid in advance, the agent would hold the $$$.  At the time, I thought it was actually cheap.  At some point, the agent contacts me and says the artist would like a little more ($100, I think) because of the work.  And I paid it.  And it turned out A-mazing.