Commission Problems 2 2

[grapeape]

    On this subject we certainly see a number of bad actors. Taking the money and not producing art or begrudgingly completing "hardship" with unsatisfactory wait times. So I want to point out a guy who IMHO is a terrific artist and kept his word. I gave him a few suggestions about a representative Batman the Animated Series commission. We both agreed that he would use that as inspiration but not a Timm copy.... something that showed the Pitilli style.

The artist is Thomas Pitilli http://www.thomaspitilli.com/

https://linktr.ee/Thomaspitilli?utm_source=linktree_profile_share&ltsid=34ca974f-e7d5-428f-ad4b-644b5563fc82

Thomas Pitilli is also on CAF under his name.

       Thomas used a combo of the Pentel Pocket Brush Pen and the Kuratake brush pen, on Bristol board! The commission is 9x12. This artist is very talented and he can draw anything. I contacted Thomas in June. He promised to complete work by end of August and I received this the first week of September.  The process was simple we exchanged a few emails to iron out price (subject to size and characters etc.) and what I wanted. I am a different cat when it comes to commissions. I know what I want character wise, but I almost always let the artist choose how they want to draw them and the scene they are in. I like surprises and I know less control might seem like I would be more likely to be disappointed. I have found in my case the opposite to be true. I'd love to hear more transactions with artists that went well. I love the good outcomes some of you shared already.

In the past Bob Layton, Rich Buckler, Bob Hall and others all did fine work and within reasonable completion times. I've been fortunate compared to some horror stories already shared.

 

 

 

 

[paqart]

On 11/29/2022 at 3:00 AM, grapeape said:

    On this subject we certainly see a number of bad actors. Taking the money and not producing art or begrudgingly completing "hardship" with unsatisfactory wait times. So I want to point out a guy who IMHO is a terrific artist and kept his word. I gave him a few suggestions about a representative Batman the Animated Series commission. We both agreed that he would use that as inspiration but not a Timm copy.... something that showed the Pitilli style.

The artist is Thomas Pitilli http://www.thomaspitilli.com/

https://linktr.ee/Thomaspitilli?utm_source=linktree_profile_share&ltsid=34ca974f-e7d5-428f-ad4b-644b5563fc82

Thomas Pitilli is also on CAF under his name.

       Thomas used a combo of the Pentel Pocket Brush Pen and the Kuratake brush pen, on Bristol board! The commission is 9x12. This artist is very talented and he can draw anything. I contacted Thomas in June. He promised to complete work by end of August and I received this the first week of September.  The process was simple we exchanged a few emails to iron out price (subject to size and characters etc.) and what I wanted. I am a different cat when it comes to commissions. I know what I want character wise, but I almost always let the artist choose how they want to draw them and the scene they are in. I like surprises and I know less control might seem like I would be more likely to be disappointed. I have found in my case the opposite to be true. I'd love to hear more transactions with artists that went well. I love the good outcomes some of you shared already.

In the past Bob Layton, Rich Buckler, Bob Hall and others all did fine work and within reasonable completion times. I've been fortunate compared to some horror stories already shared.

 

 

 

 

You got an excellent result here. I can easily picture it as a cover for Batman Adventures or something like that. What puts me off of commissions (and the reason I don't do them) is that I don't like to be over-directed on a drawing like this. After finishing my last assignment, the most complex I've ever done, I told the client I wasn't willing to work for them anymore because they kept asking for tiny details to be changed; things like buttons on coats and so on. Attached is a panel from the job, to give you an idea how high the detail level is already, without deciding whether the fortifications I drew were the ones at X encampment or the one 200 yards down the line.

[KingOfRulers]

Having run comic conventions for 10 years, I've commissioned many artists in a professional arena. For every convention we hosted, we commissioned one of our guest artists to produce artwork for the convention poster. This was a poster that we gave out for free to all attendees. The posters were large too; usually 18" x 24". We commissioned some really great pieces over the years. There were some duds in there as well, but only a couple of deadbeats...

Deadbeat #1: Jae Lee. Jae Lee is the absolute worst. If I ever get back into the convention business, I'll never work with him again. We booked Jae to be a guest at the convention, which entailed an appearance fee of $5,000. Part of the deal was that Jae would create an illustration for us. Jae appeared at the convention, got his $5,000, but never delivered on the commission. He's a flatout, liar.

Here's some screenshots of the emails for your enjoyment. There were a lot of emails. This entire charade went on for approximately 2 years. 2 years of Jae "giving his word" as he would say. The final email was Feb 2017. After that I just gave up. Here we are almost 6 years later. His word means nothing, apparently. 

 

 

[Peter L]

On 12/1/2022 at 6:48 AM, KingOfRulers said:

Having run comic conventions for 10 years, I've commissioned many artists in a professional arena. For every convention we hosted, we commissioned one of our guest artists to produce artwork for the convention poster. This was a poster that we gave out for free to all attendees. The posters were large too; usually 18" x 24". We commissioned some really great pieces over the years. There were some duds in there as well, but only a couple of deadbeats...

Deadbeat #1: Jae Lee. Jae Lee is the absolute worst. If I ever get back into the convention business, I'll never work with him again. We booked Jae to be a guest at the convention, which entailed an appearance fee of $5,000. Part of the deal was that Jae would create an illustration for us. Jae appeared at the convention, got his $5,000, but never delivered on the commission. He's a flatout, liar.

Here's some screenshots of the emails for your enjoyment. There were a lot of emails. This entire charade went on for approximately 2 years. 2 years of Jae "giving his word" as he would say. The final email was Feb 2017. After that I just gave up. Here we are almost 6 years later. His word means nothing, apparently. 

 

 

This is terrible to hear about Jae Lee.  It sounds like everyone should stay away from him.  I am surprised that the San Diego Comic Con still allows him a booth.

[KingOfRulers]

On 12/9/2022 at 5:33 PM, Peter L said:

This is terrible to hear about Jae Lee.  It sounds like everyone should stay away from him.  I am surprised that the San Diego Comic Con still allows him a booth.

You've heard of others that have been scammed by Jae Lee?

[Peter L]

On 12/9/2022 at 2:59 PM, KingOfRulers said:

You've heard of others that have been scammed by Jae Lee?

Yes quite a bit.  There is a facebook group called Comic Art Buyer Beware.  Jae Lee seems to be the most frequent name and a kind of Hall of Famer in his own way.  

[RBerman]

On 12/9/2022 at 5:17 PM, Peter L said:

Yes quite a bit.  There is a facebook group called Comic Art Buyer Beware.  Jae Lee seems to be the most frequent name and a kind of Hall of Famer in his own way.  

Jae Lee was one of my first commission experiences. It was suboptimal, though I have had worse since.

Jae was at DragonCon 2019 (Labor Day weekend). He was front and center, the first table on the first aisle at Artists' Alley. I paid for a 3/4 image of Colossus to be delivered at the convention. He was unable to do so but said he could mail it to me in a couple of weeks. Every couple of weeks I sent him a "Still waiting on that sketch" reminder email. He was apologetic in response, and the sketch arrived in November. It's longer than I expected and was told, but since then I've discovered that it's relatively short, as waits go from busy artists. Still, it would be nice to be the one receiving updates instead of requesting them. I did not feel that he was lying; he seemed rather to be in the (not small) group of artists for whom time management and customer service are not strengths.