Artists! Share your client experiences good or bad

let's share a good one! 

I was holding another auction for one of my portraits. (YCH kinda stuff, I post sketch, people bid, winner gets the sketch finished up in high detail) 

the person who won (which I knew already. he wasn't new) is a very kind client, never has any worries, never wants me to change any detail (although that wouldn't be a problem at all) and even though he won the auction with AB, a price that was already very high because I always set my ABs high to keep it going. He still tipped me. not any amount but the exact same amount of the AB. I was shocked when I saw that and it made my day. especially because I really needed the funds at that time (I haven't mentioned it though) I had to triple ask if this was an accident or not. 😢❤. I get tips here and there, which I am extremely grateful for, but that was something else. 

this was also the same person who I had issues with prior. their bank messed up (hacking situation iirc) and filed a charge back because 'unauthorized transition'. My first thought was scam, obviously. But it wasn't. He did everything in his power to solve this for me, and even thought he had no access to the bank money, he resent the amount via his paypal balance instead, meaning he lost money at that time. This was such an unfortunate situation for both of us. But he just wanted to make sure I get my money back. 

definitely one of the best (and at the same time nerve wrecking) experiences I had 

Skykristal he sounds so sweet! Feel terrible for them that their bank account got hacked, he didn’t deserve that

yees omg.. I felt so bad.. He ensured me that it's fine, but it sucked. He really didn't deserve that. And on top of that I accused him of scamming me at first, because I didn't knew what was going on. aw man. But we are good now. I'm glad we were able to figure things out in the end.

A few people keep on changing my characters body types and other things and it really bothers me so much that i fell i have to explain things in more detail in their profile. People have labeled me as a wierdo because of this. But it's like i designed my character that way please stop changing their body sizes and shapes. I don't want  to have to list every little detail to make you stop! This only applies to DeviantArt and some Amino communities sometimes. However on the bright side everyone finds my prices fair.

All of my clients where always very nice to work with (never rushed me and we're super kind and patience <3), but there was this time some guy wanted to commission a drawing, he was little to no specific on how he wanted the piece + some of the references he sended me where nsfw (I didn't have my age on my bio at the time but I think you should ask if the artist is comfortable about it before sending something like that-). But yeah, he got mad when he saw that the sketch didn't look like the way he wanted and canceled the comm.

He also said that he didn't like how my simplistic art style looked like for the piece and like?? Did he saw my art examples before commissioning me or did he just looked at the cheap prices??? At least he gave me $10 for the sketch.

Most of my bad experiences involved NSFW so let's skip those, and declare that things have been pretty good XD almost all of my clients have been absolute angels, very patient and kind. I'm grateful for every one of them (⁠人⁠ ⁠•͈⁠ᴗ⁠•͈⁠)

A few years ago I opened "design update" commissions where someone gives me a design and some brief info and I get to update/redesign it with no input, just giving them a finished product, and I'm always astounded and grateful for their trust. I've been handed some really personal important characters and its really cool to know that people are confident in me and my abilities enough to trust that I'll deliver them what they crave.... I always do my best and it's very rewarding to send back the surprise reveal and have them go nuts over it in reply hehe.

I accidentally undercharged for a massive illustration and the commissioner decided to tip me $80 because they liked the piece so much, it was so sweet of them

A lot of my clients have been lovely and so far have not experienced anyone scamming or file a chargeback on me... yet

So far my most miffed ones who have a bit of a problem with my art style and can be super nitpicky about it such as wanting me to erase the little lines on the hair and another thought the character that somehow looks "dull" for them cus the shines were not enough on the face despite I have been doing the same specific style for the commission and all I did what slightly made them bigger like.. okay it is going a bit too far with my art style 🥲

i had wonderful clients these last months i have been doing commissions. the thing i most appreciate is the communication! that's for me the most important thing...asking how are updates, or telling me to change/try other things in the work in progress is SUPER appreciated by me and i thank all my clients for being honest! patience and kindness is also something i see a lot. ahh i'm happy of the audience i have.

my worst experience? it wasn't on toyhouse. it was on another site, and its just a client that commissioned me...giving a NSFW piece meanwhile i was a minor. that didn't go well. i won't elaborate further because of obvious reasons, but basically, clients have been pretty cool these days! can't complain.

not really specific examples but a couple times now ive had people who ghost me before even paying (i do upfront payment) like.... why did you even request a commission then. what did u expect to get out of this WHDJFK

i usually have a feeling if its gonna happen but its still disappointing to have to accept that the comm just isnt going to happen

generally i have really nice clients tho :) i just finished a comm for someone who was super sweet and really good at communicating things they wanted adjusted, it was great !!

Some of my weirdest and worst client interactions have been from people trying to commission NSFW art from me and promptly getting upset at me because I told them I don't do that or it'll cost extra...

Outside of those, my experiences with clients is 80% people trying to get my art for cheaper or outright free because I'm not a super popular artist and apparently I should be honored that they're interested in promoting me plus something about exposure, it's always some very weird excuse. I never understood people who look at an artist and go "Yeah I want their art but they don't deserve to eat this week."

The other 20% are absolute sweethearts who fully understand that real life happens and it can take longer than expected to get art back. Most are pretty prompt in responding and getting me payment when it is due. I especially love a regular commissioner who comes to me for designing characters for them. They'll not only tip me, but they also ensure I see all the amazing art they get of the designs I've made for them. ^o^ I always love to see the characters I created getting loved!

i do not mean to be a #debbiedowner but don't we have the entire service review subforum for this? or is that only for specific things?

re: my own, main experiences have been clients asking for NSFW and NSFW adjacent stuff (not going into detail here due to thread rules) when i explicitly had it in my commission rules i don't do that stuff. im mainly a writer, so having people asking for that sort of thing, especially in art format, shows they did not bother to read at all.

I've had mainly good experience with clients. The ones I haven't, it's because they ghost when payment needs to be sent. Oh well. I just move on. 

The other day, I finished a portrait for a client, and they were absolutely stoked. It made me happy seeing them be so excited about the piece.
Another client, that is a repeat pays extra for my work and tips well, they have been a joy to work with.