Commissions Open
Commissions are open.
If you are interested in commissioning a custom sculpture, please go to viistar.com for general information, price list, and full accepted project rules, then send questions or spec to viistar(a)hotmail.com
PayPal Lessons - Scam Advice
Crossposted from Twitter with some edits:
https://twitter.com/VIIStar_/status/1758790670612062287
I was scammed by a client out of some small sculptures, the chibi and bust of Logan by :IconDoryphish333: (Who is now a he/him, as I was corrected on Reddit by Dory's flying monkey edenlikeseggs (18+ NSFL) on twitter, though I don't know his new name. He did not tell me this while we worked together, so I will stick with Doryphish but pronoun correct the journal. Congrats on your new manhood) and the PayPal agent gave me bad advice on how to deal with the case. I am going to tell you what the agent did not tell me so this does not happen to anyone else.
From the moment they opened the case, the agent did not tell me I had exactly 7 days to ship the item, or the case would auto close for non shipment, regardless of the agreed upon work schedule for the custom pieces.
What you need to do is meter out your time to get the work done and finished in 6 days, enough for you to ship the customs. And I mean ship and scan at the post office.
You could possibly add a little bit to that if you don't mind your account going into the red and then trusting a megacorp to rescind the refund. I would stick to the 6 day turnaound.
When I appealed the decision I was told not to ship until the case was resolved. And of course it was not resolved in my favor because the item was not delivered. Even though I was told not to ship.
All PayPal cares about is the tracking number! That's it. They don't care that you had an agreement on schedule or how far along the commission is. It doesn't matter that an agent takes notes and understands your case or if they send it to the 'back room'
Call as much as you want. Chat with their help. IT DOESN'T MATTER.
NO ONE is going to read the information they ask you for! I can't emphasize this enough.
NO ONE IS GOING TO READ YOUR CASE
Save yourself grief and ship asap!
I have worked for 11 years and had over 250 clients, all in good standing. The client, :IconDoryphish333: (he/him) sabotaged (his) project by withholding artwork then screamed at me when I didn't read (his) mind and didn't constantly check in with (him) for critiques.
I made two other pieces for (him) , which (he) loves, the wolf link and (his) owl wedding cake topper, neither of which required many critique rounds. (He) never indicated this was what (he) expected and therefore (he) received the standard progress photos.
I even gave (him) a mulligan on the legs when (he) provided high res photos late, and changed them to match. I changed the gun when (he) approved the wrong one. (He) liked the cute leggies until (he) didn't and it was time to scream. I asked (him) multiple times to make sure I had all the artwork I needed to complete the project and (he) said I did only to add another drawing and instructions at 6 WEEKS IN TO A 6-8 WEEK SCHEDULE.
(on a side note they gave me more instructions about the pose ref via reddit exactly 2 months and 2 days past the start of the project. I find it ... ironic.)
I have never been so sabotaged during a project.
Nothing I said was the right thing. (He) constantly accused me of being passive aggressive when I was trying to sound neutral. (He) accused me of purposefully making low quality work instead of asking questions. I agreed to double check the bust face (it was resculpted because oopsie with acetone removing the primer) and (he) started going off about something else without acknowledging that I agreed to changes.
As if I don't value my reputation more than two small commissions or sticking it to a difficult client. Ridiculous. I wouldn't throw away a DECADE of content and repeat clients just to piss ~(him)~ off.
The thought is utterly deranged.
One single turd floats beneath my bridge, never to be seen again. We move on.
And if anyone knows of someone who would be interested in the chibi or busts of Logan, let me know, if you buy them direct I will sell very cheap.
Please heed my advice and thank you for letting me vent.
^^
Vii
Hajloween Sale
1. Ignore everyone the same. Instead of picking and choosing, throwing lightening bolt answers like Zeus, I just go silent. Since I can't answer all of them I should answer none of them.
2. Make a series of written/picture tutorials (not videos) that can be purchased. Though this would probably require a kickstarter to make because I don't have the time to stop working to create them and I don't want to give up what little free time I have doing more work. That said I don't think there is enough interest to fund this in any meaningful way.
3. Patreon, though, I don't think you should have to subscribe monthly to ask a one off question. This also seems like more work than it's worth and like the kickstarter I don't think there is enough interest to make it work or worth the effort it would take to keep it up and running. I'd also prefer to just make artwork instead of devoting so much time to tutorial making and question answering.
4. Paid questions. This is the one I've decided on. Via my paypal.me link questions would cost 5-15$ (caveat emptor, you get what you pay for) and the replies would flow forth once more! It's sort of a win win scenario - answering questions and helping is incentivized so I will have the time and will to do it, value is placed on the asking of the question, so if you really need or want an answer you can get it, the artist is supported, and it's a one off thing with no subscribing or extra work on my side to run a campaign.
The structure is simple. Hit the link, choose how much to pay with a minimum of 5$, type your specific question with a link to an image if it's needed along with where you want to be contacted (devart, email, etc) then you wait. But not too long as I'm usually online and have my email open while I work. I don't know the turnaround time, as I've not done this before but it shouldn't be long.
This isn't for handouts or tips, but serious questions that need to be answered. Help with choosing materials for a project, armature plans, stumped on how to fix something, or general in depth critiques that would help the artist get better at their craft.
But as usual, the FAQ. wips, and my insta is free to browse and deduce if that's your preferred method of learning. That's not going to change.
So before making the main post with all the concise info I'll just open it up to comments and suggestions. I've put alot of thought into this in the last two weeks and if there's room for improvement or ideas I can incorporate into it, let me know! ^^
Sieben Stern's Sacred Cabbage Soup
*DO NOT ADD CARROTS!* i'm serious
ok maybe one, but they get overpowering!*DO NOT ADD SALT* the sausage and bouillon take care of this!
1 package *2 links or more* of HOT Linguiça *polish pork sausage*
1 head o cabbage
2 bunches of GREEN onions
1-2 tbsp minced garlic
Pride of Szeged Hungarian SWEET Paprika. THIS IS NOT AN OPTION.
1 tsp olive oil
2 tbsp or more total cornstarch
1/2 tsp or more White pepper
2 Chicken or Pork bouillon cubes - extra large, some vons carry them in the mexican aisle. the good large crumbly ones *also good for making tofu*.
To do:
Start with the green onions, chopped halfway up the green part, and garlic and a little olive oil and white pepper in little saucepan. cook a bit then add 2 cup water after mixing in it 1 ex large cube of bouillon and 1 tbsp of cornstarch first and stirring well. let simmer.
in bigger pot cut up Linguiça into little chunks and cook until there is a lot of the oily red stuff from inside the sausage in the bottom. add the onion/bouillon/olive oil mix into the larger pot and stir it until you're happy with the color - adding the paprika to make it as orange as you deem necessary!
now CORE the cabbage and cut it into quarters or eights. pieces you're happy with (not too big or things tend to get messy). shove them into the pot, coating them with the orange mixture. now add another 2 cups of water with another ex large cube of bouillon and another tbsp of cornstarch into the pot, making sure to cover the cabbage with liquid. add more paprika and white pepper if it's not orange/ hot enough :3
let it simmer, rotating the cabbage so it all gets soft. when you can really smell it it's done :3 nothing really needs cooking *my sausage was fully cooked* so you can just simmer it (45 mins?) until the veggies are soft :3
ENJOY!
this is probably the best recipe i've pulled out of my ass so far! 8D