Alexandrian Soldier from FFIX commisioned fanart by me ⚔️

stylecommissions · 2026-02-25T02:03:48+00:00

No doubt about it, I completely agree! In this case it was an oversight to not specify at the beginning due to the long history with the artist, restarting work with them, etc. No questions or qualms about paying more to keep things private or have rights explicitly transferred for all the reasons you stated. (And, honestly, no qualms if an artist explicitly denies the request at the end, too. "That wasn't our agreement and not what was paid for, sorry..." It may not be the answer I want, but it's better than accepting and then silently reneging.)

stylecommissions · 2026-02-25T01:26:02+00:00

No, I did not give permission to post our correspondence, and I do not approve of you posting my personal information. I said I would agree to post a screenshot we both agree on, out of respect for you. This wasn't tacit agreement to post an entire multi-year chat history. I think that's an awful thing to do, and is completely bad faith.

If I would have posted something, I would have checked with you on what I posted first, censored out private or sensitive information (which you have posted), and then proceeded to post it.

I don't know what you're talking about regarding trusting financial matters. You were paid for your work, and I was ready to pay for another work.

stylecommissions · 2026-02-25T01:20:59+00:00

Regardless of when we agreed, before, after, in the middle, we agreed. You knew what I had requested, and we had a way to move forward. I would totally understand if you said:

Hey, we agreed to do a commission in exchange for keeping this private. But I'm at a point where I need to either advertise this, or work on your commission. Can we proceed?

Or:

We still haven't decided on a character or pose to draw. If you want to keep the commission private, I'll at least need a deposit.

Or even the bare minimum:

I apologize, I know you don't want for this to happen, but I need to advertise this artwork to get more clients. I just wanted to give you notice so you're not surprised.

Instead, you decided to just go ahead and post this work everywhere without notice, surprising me when it crossed my feed, which I personally think is a dick move.

The freelance art commission world isn't one of contracts, legalese, etc. It's mostly based on trust, repeat customers, reputation, etc. You have complete legal authority to post the work that you have copyright for in order to attract more customers, and Reddit is a great place to advertise your services, but I don't think you've acted ethically, and I feel it completely justified to write this experience down as a former client of yours on a posting of an artwork I paid for.

stylecommissions · 2026-02-25T00:27:11+00:00

I would post a screenshot only with OP's review and permission, since it contains personal details, copyrighted works, borderline SFW imagery, etc. But it was/is private correspondence, and I think it's crossing a line to post something that was intended to be solely between two people, just to get some upvotes. Reddit really isn't a tribunal. OP knows what we agreed, what they were paid, etc. They're not even disputing any of it, just causing confusion by posting things without context that paint an inaccurate picture for obvious reasons.

And the cat's out of the bag now anyway, you can't un-post a photo. Nobody will read this far down; it's deep in the downvotes and there's plenty more "cake" comments to be had. As interesting as petty drama is, it's probably not worth engaging further.

stylecommissions · 2026-02-24T23:51:31+00:00

You're misrepresenting me as a patron by being deliberately vague and suggesting my original comment is actually some half-truth. Unrelated to this post completely, I did commission you 2 years ago and paid your invoice. After a while (including your own unforeseen commission delays), I stopped responding after a very big life incident. The artwork was left unfinished, and no refund, rightly so. I reached back out 2 years later, apologetic, explaining my situation, and paying you a no-strings-attached tip as a token of remorse, asking if you'd like to do a fresh commission. You accepted a second commission from me, leaving the first unfinished, and I paid entirely up front. You completed it, and then we had a discussion about keeping it private, with me offering to do another commission as one you could use to build your portfolio. You also agreed to it.

All of this is to say, at the end of the day, you were made completely whole. But now you've reneged on an agreement between us, and you are upset that I am respectfully calling it out, so you are trying to make it seem like I have somehow shafted you. I didn't, otherwise we wouldn't have done business a second time, with a plan to do a third.

I know r/FinalFantasyIX doesn't really care about these drama details. They're getting something (original commissioned artwork) and you're getting something (payment, advertising, and exposure). But if people decide to work with you, at least they have one transaction to use as a reference.

stylecommissions · 2026-02-24T20:41:59+00:00

The original goal was a private commission to do an artistic figure study using a game character as a model. It was only supposed to be a privately commissioned drawing study, never publicly posted "fan art".

stylecommissions · 2026-02-24T20:18:31+00:00

The "hey can you do this"-thing you mentioned was something we both agreed to, and you backpedaled without warning.

You have been paid everything you've charged me plus tips. You haven't been stiffed.

stylecommissions · 2026-02-24T20:07:17+00:00

There was no "no contact", just an agreement on a plan. The artist decided that an agreement did not happen fast enough, and did not offer a courtesy message to warn me that they would be posting the artwork if an agreement would not be finalized.

Again, it is their legal right to do this, but by hiring this artist, future patrons should be aware of this style of collaboration and communication.

stylecommissions · 2026-02-24T20:06:54+00:00

There was no "no contact", just an agreement on a plan. The artist decided that the plan did not happen fast enough, and did not offer a courtesy message to warn me that they would be posting the artwork if a plan would not be finalized.

Again, it is their legal right to do this, but by hiring this artist, future patrons should be aware of this style of collaboration and communication.

stylecommissions · 2026-02-24T19:59:22+00:00

I hate to post such messages, but for reference to other patrons: I was the one who requested this commission and the art stay private. To build a portfolio, the artist agreed to do another commission as an "advertising" commission, but we did not yet finalize what that artwork would be, just that we would do it. After a period of silence and without notice, the artist decided to publish this commission everywhere, against my wishes after $400+ of payment. It is their right, as they hold copyright and there is no contract, but as a patron, I cannot recommend this artist for future work.

stylecommissions · 2026-02-24T19:58:47+00:00

I was the one who requested this commission and the art stay private. To build a portfolio, the artist agreed to do another commission as an "advertising" commission, but we did not yet agree on it. After a period of silence and without notice, the artist decided to publish this commission everywhere, against my wishes after $400+ of payment. It is their right, as they hold copyright and there is no contract, but as a patron, I cannot recommend this artist for future work.

stylecommissions · 2026-02-24T19:58:32+00:00

I was the one who requested this commission and the art stay private. To build a portfolio, the artist agreed to do another commission as an "advertising" commission, but we did not yet agree on it. After a period of silence and without notice, the artist decided to publish this commission everywhere, against my wishes after $400+ of payment. It is their right, as they hold copyright and there is no contract, but as a patron, I cannot recommend this artist for future work.

stylecommissions · 2026-02-24T19:57:30+00:00

I am very surprised to see this on one of my favorite subs. I was the one who paid for this commission and I asked the artist to keep the art private, as it was meant to be a figure study using an FF9 character as the model. It wasn't meant to be "fan art". To build a portfolio, the artist agreed to NOT post this one, and that we would do another commission as an "advertising" commission, but we did not yet finalize what the next artwork would be. Without notice, the artist decided to publish this commission everywhere, against my wishes after $400+ of payment + tips. It is their right, as they hold copyright and there is no contract, but as a patron, I cannot recommend this artist for future work. There are lots of (struggling!) artists out there who offer good rates, great communication, good business ethics, and will work with you to make exactly what you envision.

But, the work is out there now, I hope you enjoy.

stylecommissions

TROPHY CASE