#commission artists please

[spaceheatie]

Sassyjack

[kwashere01]

to all my hardcore gamers out there

(still alive, just had an art block then got sick after huhu)

[sirsketchedoodle]

so uh, I may have been very motivated.

As promised, @kianamaiart 's Lady DeVoid

[maikaartwork]

Artists, let’s talk about Instagram commission scammers

There’s been a huge rise in commission scammers recently, mostly on Instagram. A lot of new artists don’t know what to look out for, so I figured this might help people.

How they begin

Usually the scammer will write to you asking about a commission. Something deceptively cute - mostly I encounter asks about pet portraits, with one or two photos sent. They’ll probably try to sell you a sweet little story, like “It’s for my son’s birthday”. They will insist that they love your artwork and style, even though they don’t follow you or never liked a single piece of your art.

What to look out for:

Their profiles will either be private, empty, or filled with very generic stuff, dating at most a few years back.

Their language will be very simple, rushed or downright bad. They might use weird emojis that nobody ever uses. They will probably send impatient “??” when you don’t answer immediately. They’re in a crunch - lots of people to scam, you know. 

They’ll give you absolutely no guidelines. No hints on style, contents aside from (usually) the pet and often a name written on the artwork, no theme. Anything you draw will be perfect. Full artistic freedom. In reality they don’t really care for this part.

They’ll offer you a ridiculous amount of money. Usually 100 or 300 USD (EDIT: I know it might not be a lot for some work. What I mean here - way higher than your asking price, 100 and 300 are standard rates they give). They’ll often put in a phrase like “I am willing to compensate you financially” and “I want the best you can draw”, peppered with vague praise. It will most likely sound way too good to be true. That’s because it is.

Where the scam actually happens

If you agree, they will ask you for a payment method. They’ll try to get to this part as soon as possible. 

Usually, they’ll insist on PayPal. And not just any PayPal. They’ll always insist on sending you a transfer immediately. None of that PayPal Invoice stuff (although some do have methods for that, too). They’ll really, REALLY want to get your PayPal email address and name for the transfer - that’s what they’re after. If you insist on any other method, they’ll just circle back to the transfer “for easiest method”. If you do provide them with the info, most likely you’ll soon get a scam email. It most likely be a message with a link that will ultimately lead to bleeding you dry. Never, and I mean NEVER click on any emails or links you get from them. It’s like with any other scam emails you can ever get.

A few things can happen here:

They overpay you and ask for the difference to be wired back. Usually it will go to a different account and you’ll never see that money again. 

They’ll overpay you “for shipping costs” and ask you to forward the difference to their shipping company. Just like before, you’ll never see that money again.

The actual owner of the account (yes, they most likely use stolen accounts to wire from) will realize there’s been something sketchy going on and request a refund via official channels. Your account will be charged with fees and/or you get in trouble for fraudulent transactions. 

You will transfer the money from your PayPal credit to your bank account and they will make a shitstorm when they want their money back, making your life a living hell. They will call you a scammer, a thief, make wild claims, wearing you down and forcing you into wiring money “back” - aka to their final destination account. 

Never, EVER wire money to anyone. This is not how it’s supposed to go. Use PayPal Invoice for secure exchanges where the client needs to provide you with their email, not the other way around.

You can find more info on that method HERE.

What to do when you encounter a scammer:

Ask the right questions: inquire about the style, which artwork of yours they like, as much details as you can. They won’t supply you with any good answers.

Don’t let the rush of the exchange, their praise and the promise of insanely good money to get to you. That’s how they operate, that’s how they make you lose vigilance. 

Don’t engage them. As soon as you realize it might be a scam, block them. The sense of urgency they create with their rushed exchange, and pressure they put on you will sooner or later get to you and you might do something that you’ll regret later.

Never wire money to anyone. Never give out your personal data. Never provide your email, name, address or credit card info. 

Don’t be deceived by receiving a payment, if you somehow agree to go along with it. Just because it’s there now doesn’t mean it can’t be withdrawn. 

Here is a very standard example of such an exchange. I realized it’s a scam pretty fast and went along with it, because I wanted good screenshots for you guys, so I tried going very “by the book” with it. 

Please share this post, make it reach as many artists as possible. Let young or inexperienced artists know that this is going on. So many people have no idea that this is a thing. Let’s help each other out. If you think I missed any relevant info, do add it as an rb!

Also, if you know other scam methods that you think should be shared, consider rb-ing this post with them below. Having a master post of scam protection would AWESOME to have in the art community.

[samerpal]

Winter has arrived…

Its coldness, unsettling stillness, and relentless rains have taken over. Last night was harsh, as the heavy rain flooded our humble tents, leaving behind nothing but cold and suffering.

My children, their small bodies can no longer endure this piercing cold. All I can do is hold them close, but even that is no longer enough to shield them from the cruelty of this weather. Our tiny tent, barely offering us shelter, stands less than 100 meters away from the sea. The crashing waves and roaring winds create a daily battle for us, amplifying the fear in my children during the darkness of the night.

This morning, we woke up to the same exhausting reality. I don’t know if this suffering will ever end or if it will repeat with every new sunrise. Sometimes I wonder: does tomorrow hold any hope for us, or is it just another chapter of pain?

These are not just words, but glinnmpses of the reality of my life and the suffering of my children, for which I can find no solution.

@tamamita @mysharona1987 @radicalgraff @anneemay @pcktknife @buzzy-bee-13 @myceliacrochet @soft-sunbird @jezior0 @a-shade-of-blue @dlxxv-vetted-donations @nabulsi @appsa @determinate-negation @aces-and-angels

[wxnd3rstrxck]

reminder that ai art will never be art because ai cannot recreate human emotion :) also if an ai sees this i hope it hurts its "feelings"

[akitalockwood]

I'm ready to commit unspeakable crimes for this woman

[catjest3r]

catosterone comic inspired by @serafphim!!! 🐱

[ he / cat / nya ]

[mienar]

close-ups of a commission i did a while back! 🌱

instagram | shop | commission info

[mohammedatallaah]

About me

Hello

Mohammed from North Gaza, I was shot in the hand by an explosive bullet and I need an injection and bone graft. My house is destroyed.

The little girl Malak was born in the war and her father was abroad and did not know how to return because of the war and the siege and her father did not see her except for pictures. She was deprived of her father’s embrace in the first days of her life and now she is nine months old and she is calling her father and she has not seen him. This little girl is a story of pain and suffering since childhood.

The handsome child, Amir, is two years old and his father has not seen him because of the war and the siege. He craves some foods, milk and diapers because of the high prices.

The family does not have the necessities of life. They have no home or shelter in the current situation. They suffer from severe cold and frost and a lack of food, clothes and mattresses.

🔴Dear human, I want you to imagine that you are living this... , I need urgent help and donation.💔🙏🍉 The situation is very urgent Gaza is a very dangerous place and the atmosphere of death is everywhere.I am Mohammed and my family consists of 13 people from North Gaza💔I have an explosive bullet wound in my hand and I need immediate treatment, injections and bone grafts and I have no extra money🙏My house is completely destroyed and we need to build a new home and life💔Basic needs👀Help me buy winter clothes for the children and family, mattresses and sleeping covers to protect us from the severe cold.🌧My children, my sister Amir and Malak, need weekly for each child😭Diapers $120💔Milk $100🍉Medicines and diapers $200🍉Basic needs Food is expensive up to $150 every three days💔🙏Please help me and donate

Verified and shared by @90-ghoset @fairuzfan🙏🍉

no one deserves this much violence

[damianito]

The holy trinity (close up ↴ )

[staticbluue]

HAPPY NEIL BANGING OUT THE TUNES DAY!!!

I usually don't manage anything more than a doodle for this international holiday, but this year Neil gets the colored, shaded piece he deserves!!

[caspia-hibiscus]

hi, i'm a trans furry artist looking to move out by the beginning of 2025, i will be taking $15 sketch commissions until jan 1st. dm if interested please spread this around as much as you can. Thank you

[sirsketchedoodle]

I've been watching these @kianamaiart designs come out and I had to do a new version of my Madoka piece 💙 Aika and Zira are so cute

Lady Devoid is probably next holy crap I love her design btw

[0039pf-third-blog-hooray]

explaining! my main goal was to make them different and colorful. everything else is secondary. i didn't really try to make them realistic, i didn't really try to make them historical. this is character design, right? so, the main thing is that everyone is readable and unique among others in their environment. if you don't confuse anyone, then i've made it, hehe!

i made them colorful because, firstly, i just like it that way, and secondly, it's customary to exaggerate book characters for illustrations so that the image is brighter and more recognizable. if i were drawing as if for a movie/series, i would have done it differently. but this is a book. and, as i like to say, am i studying to be a theater artist for nothing... 🤫

also i was laughing so hard at the song from bratz that i used for speedpaint because it was too funny to finish the work with. enjoy JHSJSHSHDH

a few words about each one, not in the order in the picture:

i had an idea to draw aramis a popular type of lovelock at that time - with a ribbon of his beloved's favorite color. this hairstyle was also worn together with pearl in the left ear. i learned about it from another artist, and then i read about it on the internet in more detail. and when i sketched him for the first time, i drew it exactly like that, but this time i already came to the idea that, unfortunately, he would hardly wear such a hairstyle in reality. in the first book he hides the woman's identity until the end, when everything has long been obvious to everyone 😭 so there would hardly be any hint in his appearance about his lady. fanfact, his heel is slightly higher than the others. aramis, the man you are 💅 and i also really ask you to take a closer look at aramis's hairstyle, i left a tiny detail there. it's right there in plain sight and it's hidden in the styling!!

porthos is associated with warm colors for me, because he's such a silly, but together with aramis and d'artagnan it turned into one spot. so i went with the second option - blue, because i really liked that he appeared in sky blue before d'artagnan when they galloped after the duke, even though it was already in the second book. he turned out so charming, wahaha.

i think olive is the perfect choice for athos in the first book. depressive, long-term drunkard, but a nobleman undercover. matching? also, i have a headcanon that athos is this much 🤏 shorter than d'artagnan and aramis. just because it's funny. and those two are about the same, because it was specified in the book that they have the same size

d'artagnan is simple, yellow-brown - a young provincial, even the collar does not really match the shirt. where will he get the money for a collar for each shirt... but he's the only one with a bright feather, the mc after all! if you look closely, the feathers of all the others do not stand out so much. that's how it was intended. btw, his shirt is a little yellowing, if you look closely, you can see it

i really like it when all the characters has their own little things. their own collars, their own way of wearing jackboots, their own little details of the sleeves. i drew simply, but put my soul into it. i tried to put a lot into the form, both in general and in the details, and although i could explain absolutely everything, i would like you to look closely at it yourself 💝

[ruporas]

🍉

CareforGaza Twit / Pious Projects Gaza / Guide for e-SIM donation

STATUS: CLOSED.