OMUKADE "i'm just gonna always be at fault with whatever i say" with that attitude, maybe so! guilt-tripping isn't the best look when you're looking to defend yourself.
this could have been sorted out and handled much better.
if anything, even if you HADN'T actually stolen this design, your attitude has turned off MANY potential customers and buyers.
also - you're taking your own biased, emotionally-charged reading of the DMs. you are taking it way too close to heart. if you can not handle a customer not being 100% satisfied, and you can not handle being given light criticism, you should not be doing commissions. not for people you don't already know, at the very least.
Okay, so first! While I was writing this PSA, I ended up being approached by a few different people who informed me that they themselves, or others whom they know, had also experienced issues with this designer. However, I'm going to try to keep this PSA clear, concise, and centered solely around my personal experiences. If you have your own stories to tell and your own receipts, I welcome you to add on to this PSA with comments.
Who:
OMUKADE
Other Accounts: OMUKADE on DeviantArt [account largely wiped], EDAKUMO [abandoned] & OMUKADEART [deleted] on Twitter, KlLLEROUS [with a lowercase 'L' instead of an uppercase 'i'] on Twitter
When: Time stamps will be provided for each step of this- the whole mess started in 2019, and is currently ongoing
What: IN BRIEF: re-wrote their TOS in April of 2020 to add a 'design take back' clause, immediately after making a public post expressing seller's regret WRT already sold designs. Added me to the blacklist without notice, then blocked me. Recently re-uploaded a design that they previously sold to me. As of latest update: 4 or 5 [so-far] proven instances of double-selling adoptables, and failing so-far to properly compensate aggrieved parties.
Updated On: October 8rd, 2022, 12:30pmEST - YET ANOTHER IMPORTANT UPDATE
BACKSTORY:
I acquired my first design which had been made by OMUKADE on February 18, 2018, from a user who was able to resell them as part of a TH purge. At that time, I became a follower of theirs on DA, and an admirer of their design work. I commissioned them for a set of 5 on-base head shots in August, 2018, and I was very happy with the results! I then went on to purchase Lydia on February 4th, 2019, and then LEX [the design involved in the core dispute of this PSA] on February 11th, 2019. After that, I purchased Murdoch and a set of Triplets as part of an OC sale, on April 7th, 2019.
SCREENCAP OF MY OMUKADE-MADE CHARACTERS + prices/acquisition dates
SCREENCAP [with IDs obscured for privacy] OF MY FULL PAYPAL HISTORY WITH OMUKADE
On May 9th, 2019, I ordered and paid for a $50 Half-Body commission from OMUKADE. THIS was the image used as the example of what half-body commissions looked like, and although I was paying for flats rather than full-shading like that shown in the example image, I anticipated a similar level of execution. On May 24th, 2019, without having received any WIPs beforehand, I was given THIS finished image. After expressing my dissatisfaction with the commission results, and receiving a hostile reaction, OMUKADE gave me a partial refund without first confirming that I wanted to receive one, and notified me that I was no longer welcome to order commissions from them. I WAS NOT INFORMED THAT I WAS IN DANGER OF BEING ADDED TO A BLACKLIST, nor that I was barred from buying or trading for any more of their designs.
SCREENCAP OF THE CONVERSATION VIA NOTES ON DA [taken at the time of this dispute]
NEWER SCREENCAP SHOWING THE TIME STAMPS ON OMUKADE'S REPLIES
Although this was an unpleasant interaction, I continued to follow them on DA and TH because I still enjoyed their work. We did not interact after this screen capped correspondence, I was not informed of any ongoing issues, and I was not blocked on either platform. I acquired my [Not Yet Named] Isekai character on October 7, 2019, and neither myself nor the person who traded the character to me received any notice with regards to a blacklist.
On April 4th, 2020, OMUKADE made this journal post, titled 'BUYING BACK OC'S/DESIGNS I SOLD!!' The entry linked to a now-deleted Sta.sh folder full of designs which OMUKADE had previously sold, and was looking to re-acquire.
Stash Screencap 01
Stash Screencap 02
Stash Screencap 03
Stash Screencap 04
On April 5th, 2020, the very next day, OMUKADE made a journal entry entitled 'REVOKING DESIGN USAGE INFO.' It was on this day that I found myself blocked*, despite having seen journal entries and status updates as recently as the day before. [* At the time of this conversation, my recollection was incorrect when I said that it had been 'more than a year' - it had in fact been just under a full year since we had last spoken.]
It was at this time that, when my friend checked the TOS to find out what the 'Revoking Design Usage' update might have been about, we discovered for the first time that my name was on the Blacklist, along with 38 others. After a user commented on the April 5th addition of a 'Design Take-Back Clause' to the TOS, criticizing OMUKADE's choice to add such a clause to their TOS, and after some hostile
reactions to that criticism, they then posted an even newer version of their TOS.
THE FULLY UPDATED TOS AT THAT TIME, MARKED AS UPDATED APRIL 5TH, 2020
OMUKADE'S STATUS UPDATE REGARDING THE FINALITY OF THEIR DECISION TO ADD THE TAKE-BACK CLAUSE TO THE TOS, STATING THAT 'Every rule on my T.O.S. has been updated with new info or changed info'
Having never been contacted about the addition of my name to the Blacklist, having been blocked on DA, and frankly, because OMUKADE's interactions with me and all of these other DA users had been so hostile, I decided to just mind my own business, and at MOST, keep an eye out in case OMUKADE made any attempt to execute their take-back clause, despite never having spoken to me about the TOS updates or asking for my renewed agreement to it.
NOW:
Fast forward to night time on September 14th, 2020. While browsing random characters on TH, I happened to come across a familiar face. It appeared that OMUKADE had created an updated reference sheet for LEX, whom they had sold to me on February 11th, 2019, and posted them as a new character in their ownership, effectively stealing my character.
OMUKADE'S UPLOAD - A CHARACTER NAMED 'RIAN,' CREATED ON JULY 16th, 2020 +
Design Image 1 [taken from OMUKADE'S Twitter to show more clearly] + Design Image 2 [also taken from Twitter]
On September 15th, 2020, I sent a note to OMUKADE asking her about the design, and just after midnight on the 16th I received a response which appears to allude inconsistently to either an invocation of their take-back clause, passing of blame onto me for having my account blocked on DA, or acquisition "via money, trade and/or [gift]" through an unnamed third party scammer. OMUKADE also admitted that Rian "is indeed that [same] char," clearly indicating that this is not simply a near-identical new character, but the exact same character that she originally sold to me.
I asked for proof of the alleged acquisition from this third party scammer, and received a reply that did not include any proof of such a claim. I asked, once more, for proof of the alleged resale, and in the late hours of the 16th, OMUKADE's final reply to me was a simple refusal to provide proof. Rian, whom OMUKADE has now acknowledged to be a stolen character, is as of this posting still uploaded to their TH.
IN SUMMARY:
Although I was never formally told that I was on her Blacklist, never asked to renew my agreement with their updated TOS, and received neither a request to return this design nor an offer of a refund for their return, OMUKADE has created a new ref sheet for an OC that I purchased from them, has uploaded it to at least Twitter and TH, has acknowledged that the character was stolen from me, and is continuing to use it as their own design.
I am not yet sure if they have done this to other former customers of theirs, but I felt it was vital to warn other users to be mindful when interacting with them, in case 1: they too have ended up on OMUKADE's blacklist [which now includes 44 names] without having been informed, 2: they too discover that the records of their design purchases have been purged from OMUKADE's 'Sold Designs' Sta.sh, effectively obfuscating their ownership history, and/or 3: they're unaware of the no-refunds take-back clause in their TOS, and the possibility that OMUKADE will implement it without warning.
★ UPDATE September 17th, 2020: OMUKADE has deleted the stolen character. They have also changed their TH profile to announce that they are "Never on Toyhouse, only twitter" and "Deleting [their] dA account." OMUKADE continues to allege that a third party scammer was responsible for the theft, but as of this Update, has not provided any proof of this claim. THE IMMEDIATE ISSUE REGARDING THEFT OF MY CHARACTER HAS BEEN RESOLVED. However, this PSA will remain unaltered so that past, current, and future customers of OMUKADE may have the opportunity to better inform and protect themselves.
★ UPDATE September 18th, 2020: For anyone who was unable to see OMUKADE's comments on this thread before she deleted them, as well as the items she provided as rebuttal, I am including screencaps that were provided by various TH users. I am including these screencaps both so that OMUKADE's words may be allowed to speak for themselves, as she initially intended these to comprise her defense, but also because I do not want anybody to have to rely on hearsay or potentially biased second-hand accounts of what was written.
OMUKADE Comments 1 and 2 [shown within the thread of conversation for context]
OMUKADE Comment 3
OMUKADE Comment 4
Here are sceencaps of the Google Doc containing OMUKADE's statement, as well as screencaps from the Stash link provided by OMUKADE
Google Doc 01
Google Doc 02
Google Doc 03
Archive of OMUKADE'S Stash link
I responded [with ping] both to OMUKADE's comments, the contents of the Google Doc, and OMUKADE herself in a comment on this thread. However, on advice from a fellow TH user concerning the likelihood that OMUKADE may be unable to see my response due to the 'Never on Toyhouse, only twitter' message currently in their TH profile, I copy-pasted the portion of my comment that was written as a direct response to her into an e-mail, which I sent to her on September 17. At some point during the night between September 17 and September 18, I received a response from OMUKADE, which included more references to a third-party scammer whom she claims to know personally as a friend, but whom she also now claims to have been blocked by. OMUKADE provided 'proof' in the form of a RAR file titled 'screenshots' which appears to be either damaged, or empty.
A screencap of the e-mail correspondence.
At this point, although the immediate issue concerning the theft of my OC Lex has been resolved, I felt that it would be important to include this information. Although the design was definitely stolen, and almost certainly by OMUKADE herself, I feel that OMUKADE's continued response to the theft and continuous deflection onto the commission issue are reflective of a larger pattern of blaming others, and avoiding responsibility.
★ UPDATE September 18th, 2020 - Part 2: After four days of refusing to share proof of the alleged scam by a third-party, starting fights in the comments of this PSA, posting and then deleting a Google Doc and Stash folder dedicated to a subject unrelated to the theft around which this PSA is centered, declaring her departure from both DA and TH, and then having to be reached by e-mail for a response, OMUKADE finally provided me with screencaps [saved to my own stash, in order to ensure that they will not be lost or deleted] that appear to prove a third party scammer.
E-mail correspondence with OMUKADE surrounding the screencaps provided
As of this date, OMUKADE alleges that they were scammed by their friend, 'KikiLove / Kiki-Loves / KichiLove / Kichi-Loves.' However, neither myself nor the people who have been responding to this thread have been able to locate any online profiles for 'Kiki,' and due to the ease with which one can create fake screencaps of Discord conversations, it is up to the reader whether or not OMUKADE's allegation seems feasible.
Given credible proof of at least two instances of double-selling that were uncovered in the comments of this thread, it seems possible that rather than having been scammed, OMUKADE may have either bought back or traded for a design which she had previously double-sold to both myself, and the named third party.
★★★ UPDATE October 3rd, 2022 : Some of the information contained within this update is from a much earlier date - I have decided to compile several instances of OMUKADE/KILLEROUS double-selling adoptables that were discussed in the comments of this thread, since resolutions were not adequately reached between OMUKADE and the aggrieved parties.
On September 17th, 2020, TH user Fidough commented on this thread sharing their personal experience of purchasing a design from OMUKADE, only to see that it was double-sold within two days to a different user. Although Fidough settled the matter amicably with the second buyer, this was the first in-thread allegation of double selling on the part of OMUKADE.
On September 19th, 2020, TH user L1N6L1N6 commented on this thread sharing first their concerns about being the victim of a potential double-sale, and then a follow up confirming that they had made contact with a second party to whom OMUKADE had sold their design. The initial sale to L1N6L1N6 took place on August 24th, 2019, and the second sale to Cathartic1/LunarWolf11 took place on December 8th, 2019.
In a follow-up comment made October 1st, 2022, L1N6L1N6 explained that they had approached OMUKADE along with LunarWolf11 ["back in 2020"] and come to a mutual agreement for OMUKADE to partially compensate for the double-sale with artwork in place of a partial or full refund of either sale. However, they allege that OMUKADE eventually ceased responding to messages, and that no subsequent contact has been made to-date.
Fidough's Comment
L1N6L1N6's Comment expressing concern about potential double-sale
Proof of payment included within L1N6L1N6's First Comment
L1N6L1N6's Comment confirming discovery of double sale/providing screencapped proof of TH upload date
L1N6L1N6's Comment updating the current status of their grievance as not-yet-resolved
UPDATE October 8th, 2022 : Another victim of double-selling, Timshel, has come forward in the comments section.
This time, the victim and their wife have proof that not one, but two of the OMUKADE-made designs that they own are either currently listed for-sale on OMUKADE's account here on TH, or currently listed as being in the possession of third party customers, presumably due to double-sale of already sold designs. These are now either the 4th or 5th documented incident of double-selling by OMUKADE [this being because I am now not certain whether the design for whom I initially wrote this PSA, Lex, was re-uploaded as blatant character theft or acquired by OMUKADE through purchase or trade from a third party to whom they may have double-sold her on the past].
If you have proof of further examples of double-sale by OMUKADE and are willing to come forward with information, please feel free to comment on this thread.
A partial refund to compensate for the difference in delivered quality vs expected quality, one that was forced rather than thoroughly discussed in a way that would make both parties happy, is not the equivalent of a full refund. A partial refund comes with the implication of the buyer gets to keep the piece after agreeing upon its actual value.
I can understand how there may be a misunderstanding between both parties regarding how a partial refund should have been handled, but that is why the way in which it was done looks as bad as it does. Especially, per both parties logs, the last message was from Zeda clarifying that their understanding is a full refund should've been given if they were not allowed to use the art at all. That would've been a good opportunity to continue the dialogue and make sure both people were on the same page.
I'm sure many others see this same discrepency.
Ah yes the whole 3 people @ you is so much!
As for the commission question, if my customer was dissatisfied with my work and told me WHY they were not happy then i would 100% try to make things right with them! i would at least give them the work and the partial refund if they felt dissatisfied ...ya know why??? cause that's good customer service!
That whole google doc is just nothing but rambling and doesn't really do anything for the situation.
Edit: Omukade promptly deleted their google doc, but if you would like to read it I have screenshotted it. Here you go.
As for the stolen design:
There is nothing wrong with wanting to buy back old designs you've created and sold. However, posting something like this is extremely unprofessional. It also has no effect at all because as a seller, you have given up the rights of any past character you've sold to the buyer. You cannot control whether or not they resell these characters and who they transfer them to, because that wasn't stated on the initial T.O.S at the time they purchased it. And it is shown that you later edited your own T.O.S with this new term and expected it to apply to all past buyers. Past buyers have no obligation whatsoever to follow this. If you can't understand this, then you shouldn't be selling designs in the first place.
The design in question here (Lex) is undoubtedly not yours anymore, as much as you'd like it to be. The fact that you could not even provide proof that you purchased it back from a third party, greatly suggests to me that it's simply a lie.
As for the commission:
Art is subjective, so it's hard to make a fair judgement on what to do if a customer doesn't like a commission. I see that Zeda was partially refunded, and if it was left at that it would be fine. However, not allowing them to use the art isn't just unprofessional, but a scam. You've literally just taken $25 from them and they've gotten nothing in return. Now, you didn't even have to partially refund them, they didn't even ask for it. You could have offered to make changes to the art, or another art piece as compensation.
It's clear to see you also aren't up to handling taking commissions because of this. The reaction you have to receiving (rightfully placed) criticism is over the top. No one is saying your current T.O.S isn't enforceable for present and future designs you make. You will find that the majority of buyers will, however, be put off by it. The actual issue here is trying to control your old designs via T.O.S and it's simply impossible to do, you writing a new term won't make a past buyer just revoke all their rights to a design.
Furthermore, a blacklist pertains to people's interactions with you, not anyone else: I'm sorry if someone you don't like gets a hold of one of your designs, but you lost the ability to control what happens with your designs once you sold them.
This situation can easily be solved by admitting you were wrong to try and 'take back' a design, delete your stolen design, and just allow Zeda to use the commission they paid for (yes, even though they got a partial refund you still have $25 of their money. whether or not the art you provided is worth $25 is subjective, but your client has said in your deviantart conversations that they are fine with it and just want to keep the art.)
OMUKADE gentle reminder that zeda talked about the commission issue as backstory. The problem is the character you actually took back and made a new reference of zeda's character.
pretty much, except that zeda never sold back their character... and still no proof of said scammer you mention...
Looks like someone deleted their comments, thankfully i saved most of them but i couldn't save the one were they said they would apologize to Zed and give them the art of the character they stole. If anyone screenshot that lemme know.
EDIT:////
Thanks to my insomnia!! i have their first comments, their last comment and their google doc I unfortunately forgot to grab one (the one im talking about above)
https://sta.sh/2fi7l0ebfn7?edit=1
looks like they took down the character along with others on their account, overall the situation seems to be over.
I'd keep the PSA up since potential buyers should beware this user and their bad business practices. This whole situation could have been handled cleanly if they had just given the name of the person who scammed them and proof. Without it, it leads us to believe it was all just a lie to hide their character theft.
Is no one touching on the fact that a lot of her actions are illegal?
Attempting to impose a TOS on previous products sold.
Attempting to apply a TOS which states a subject to change at any time— to all present and future products sold...
Unless this artist drafts a legal document (examples; NDA, Copyright License Agreement, Bill of Sale, etc), that requires a signature at time of purchase— her digital TOS is little more than a professional courtesy. And if at any time she attempted to enforce it... could be slapped with fines, or the suspension or closure of her account (if pressed thru Paypal due to their buyer protection/dispute service).
This is one of those times where the seller is grieviously misinformed about their legal rights as a seller.
I understand it is the internet, but all it takes is one person and a lawyer with time to kill/or a bone to pick. It isnt like anonymity on the web is a thing anymore eith most social media.
EDIT//
Thank you for this psa, it saved me some time, frustration, and funds.
I'm really not sure where to begin! After posting the PSA, I was only on my PC for a short time before I decided that I needed to take a break from staring at screens all day, and except for the occasional check in by phone for the rest of the evening, I wasn't immediately present for most of the interactions that took place during this thread. I am grateful for the screencaps taken and provided by several commenters on this thread, because without them I would not have been able to read more than the very first comment left by OMUKADE.
FIRST - The chain of notes surrounding the May 2019 commission, which I provided as backstory. Both OMUKADE and I provided screencaps of the same conversation via Notes on DeviantArt. I see that, while compiling screencaps, I missed including my very last correspondence with OMUKADE, that being "If I wasn't allowed to keep the artwork, then I should be receiving a full refund and not a partial one." It was an oversight on my part, taking screencapped proof from my Inbox rather than checking my Outbox for unread or unanswered correspondence as well, and I appreciate the addition of the final portion of our conversation to the record, because I should have looked for it and included it myself. I do not believe that my final message alters the content of our conversation.
SECOND - OMUKADE provided screencaps of their commission in my character's gallery. After OMUKADE refused to provide me with the image, I was able to save the image preview from Discord, where I had posted the link as part of a conversation with a friend about how I should best approach the subject of bringing up my dissatisfaction with the commission. SOME NOTES ON THIS: 1: there are two autocorrect errors ['eleanor' instead of 'example,' and 'leaving' instead of 'leaning'], as well as usage of male pronouns at one point, This was a correct pronoun at the time of this conversation. Further, I was candid when expressing my disappointment to a friend - I am not sharing this out of any intention to further hurt OMUKADE's feelings with my blunt assessment, but in the interest of transparency, I feel it should be included here. And finally, the image preview no longer displays because Discord's cache has long since been cleared, and the original upload is gone. Because I had only been given a partial refund, I did not feel like it was fair to have paid $25 for nothing, and that is why I saved and uploaded the image preview to TH. I listed its value at $25 on the image itself, where it is uploaded here on TH.
THIRD - This PSA was centered around the theft of my character, Lex, and not the commission. I provided the information regarding the commission as backstory, so that those who interacted with this PSA would have an understanding of my history with OMUKADE. I was uncertain if it was entirely necessary to include this information at first, and included it in early drafts based on the advice of a fellow TH user. However, when OMUKADE's responses to my notes here on TH included so many references to the commission, I determined that it was indeed necessary to include this part of the backstory.
FOURTH - OMUKADE I have seen the screencaps of your comments, which included an offer to apologize to me for the theft of Lex. [thank you to nidoran in particular for this specific screencap!]
You have continued not to provide proof of this third-party scammer. In the absence of proof, I hope that you can understand why it's so easy to assume that you are the one who stole the design back for yourself. If you can acquire proof of this scammer's identity and your transaction with them, I welcome you to share it at any time. You expressed your intention to apologize to me for the theft of my design, and I appreciate that. However, you also said that you expected an apology from me in return, and I do not believe that I have done or said anything for which I need to apologize. Further, I do not and never have alleged that you definitely stole other designs - This PSA was created as a warning that it had provably been done with Lex, and that there was a danger of it happening again to another owner of one of your designs.
As stated in my PSA above, I also received DMs here on TH from other users who informed me that they had "experienced issues with [you.]" These issues do not, to my knowledge, include proven character theft, and that is part of why I encouraged users to compile receipts and come forward with their own grievances, if they felt that it would help lend nuance and further warning to the PSA.
You say here that you are "also willing to give the ref sheet and other drawings to [me] as an apology for any mix up." While I appreciate the gesture, and I do firmly believe that you are in the wrong for having stolen my character, I feel that it would be crass of me to take your artwork from you. I did not create this PSA so that I could receive art that you made of my character without my permission, and I feel that the integrity of this PSA would be damaged if I were to accept these images from you at this time.
I would rather pose this option to you: Change the design on those pieces of art, and turn them into assets for an entirely new and unique character for yourself. Change the piercings and the hair colour/shape, so that you can have refs for an entirely new and visually distinct character.
If you would rather not make alterations to the existing artwork, and/or if you insist on including them as part of your apology, that choice is up to you. However, I would prefer if you would consider using your own art as the building blocks for the creation of your own brand new, entirely different character.