I think at the end of the day, the art does not resemble the character you asked to be drawn and you should ask for it to be redone, if they refuse then request a refund and if they refuse further then a small PSA may be in order. It more so relays on you and how you feel about the art. If you are not happy with the product then you have every right to ask for changes or a refund.
Hello everyone, I must start by saying that I'm not used to this and that english is not my strong point, I will try my best to be comprehensible but if anything seems unclear to you feel free to ask !
I will not name this artist because as you probably read it I'm not sure it's a scam yet, I'm here to humbly ask for your opinions and if it turns out I'm at fault here I will delete this thread !
A few days ago I commissioned a fullbody of this character https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/778705937145528350/852972390774210630/Patreon-june21-DeaKahena-white.png
What I received is this https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/853181877339029504/853937410425094184/1.jpg
A few things are concerning me, first I don't think it really looks like my character. I know the reference is pretty small but still, I told them that if they had any doubt they could ask but they didn't say a thing. What do you think ?
Secondly I don't know if I'm being paranoid here but it oddly made me think of those automatically generated characters or pieces of art you can make on some websites, I don't know if you see what I'm talking about. You can create pretty accurate drawings whitout even drawing. Maybe this feeling was reinforced by the fact they delivered it in barely a few hours, wich is pretty fast for a fullbody.
And finally it doesn't look like the art advertised on their com sheet, here's an example [edited because the case is solved and the example was easily leading to the artist's name]
So I'm here to ask you : Am I being paranoid or is there really something suspicious ?
Edit:
The artist gave me more informations. They told me it was really cheap and they wanted to do a fullbody because they wanted to have more examples in their portfolio ! Also they explained the differences by the fact that they "mixed 3D models" to gain time but as I'm not an artist myself I'm not sure what it means...
Does that count as a scam to mix models to make a commission if it's not said before ?... From what I understand they also draw on top of it.
They 100% started from an AI generator image, but I think a lot of this is either photoshopped heavily or done a paint-over, which might be seen as okay in their circles and is a reflection of their skills. It's kind of a coin toss whether they were malicious or not, but you definitely didn't get what you expected, which I'd press farther in your case, in either a redo or clean-up.
Stretched image artifacting on this hair area:
The crown has the key meltiness you'd see in an AI generator image, and in the bottom-left corner there's more stretched pixel artifacting.
Hair where it wouldn't make sense to hang also has a bunch of pixellated artifacting, also I just noticed the strange blurring on the fabric where the texture was blurred out, including what would normally be a texture overlay that's used to block out gradient banding. It's kind of strange that it's there, imho, but it could be a stylistic choice.
While there's nothing wrong with this and wouldn't complain about this normally, I want to note an additional cut corner for timesaving: The hanging arm fabric, and the fabric on either side of the legs, are both mirrored. The metal bits on the braids are also copy-pasted (the lower-most one is flipped upsidedown).
I will say this is all an absolutely normal workflow in the concept art industry, including making alterations to a character's design as they go, while it's not expected and actively frowned upon in our OC-creation circles. This artist very likely didn't feel like they were doing anything wrong, and they wouldn't be incorrect in doing so.
Farther proof of AI-generated image as a base: How do you miss this.
Pepperly letting you know those images don’t show/appear broken ^^
edit: to show what it looks like https://sta.sh/02bxizdpl4nq
(reply) maybe it was on my side i donno? but they show now anyway!
Worked okay in incognito, so it could be a problem on your side? Changed the hosting to imgur anyway. 👍
SlayerOfDucks the images work fine for me? maybe check your internet or browser settings
merry Artbreeder ! That's the name I was looking for, I couldn't remember it ! Thank you !
Pepperly Honestly I don't mind the time-saving techniques, for the price I was only expecting a sketch so I can't complain. What bothers me is that it doesn't look like my character at all, I can't use it like that. And I feel like the original outfit from my character is more simple that what they did so I don't understand where it comes from ! I'm just afraid they used a pre-made design or art they don't have the right to use !
Akira thank you for your answer, I didn't think of that ! But it's true that they might have used game designs, that would explain a lot, you're not the first to talk about the angle problem, I also received a dm about it, it is true that it kind of look like they "glued" it on top of the head... you seem like you know what you're talking about ! Honestly I would feel scammed if it's true...
I'm not sure they were malicious, they told me they were a characters designer for years and that they always used that technique but honestlty if I knew I would have not commissioned them.
My two cents is that anyone can tell you they've been a character designer for years, but if the portfolio doesn't match up and there are too many shortcuts taken... It screams someone trying to make a quick buck. I've had someone use a base they bought for a commission, completely ignore my requests and hard no's for it, and even didn't clean it up enough to where a tattoo they put on without my permission actually sticks out beyond the character. Don't be me and just let it slide, take care of yourself and make sure you stand strong. :)
My two cents:
Even though yes, photobashing is a method used amongst illustrators. I feel like one important component in it (for completed illustrations) is using the materials AS MATERIALS so the finished product is clearly different - or a much larger picture. In this case, especially with the one involving the figurine, the assets used essentially make up 80~90% of the illustration or are just left in with little to no modification. When it comes to commissions like this I just personally don't agree with it.
And with the new evidence posted above, the artist seems to be using artworks from other artists, not free or purchased materials. (not even 3D in this case)
The two points above + the artist not being transparent to you about their methods from the start would make me agree that this is definitely something shady going on :(
Yeah you were definitely scammed, especially when looking at Akira's comment that links the original art this is edited from :(
I wish you luck at trying to get your money back :(
Omg Akira thank you so much ! I don't feel guilty anymore that I was suspsicious ! This is definitely not okay ! I'm not even sure it's legal, I'm not very aware of the copyright rules on ArtStation !
I was told it's a very common technique in the characters design industry so maybe they thought it was normal to use it but that's not what customers are expecting when they're commissioning someone, I'm not even sure it's legal ! The very weird thing is that I didn't pay them yet, I refused to send them the money because I was suspicious, it's not a scammer attitude. Usually they would ask for the money before, not after...
And when you look at their page they look like a pretty normal artist, they have thousands of followers, they've been active for years and they have a regular artstyle. And maybe I'm naive but the art they post doesn't look "photobashed", it looks like they made it. So if they can really draw why would they do that ? I don't understand what was the plan since they didn't gain anything in this.
No I'm torn, I'm thinking about making a real psa with the name of the artist. I'd just like to know if their regular art is "legit" or not.