How long are you willing to wait for Face-up comission?

Normally, the artist should stick to the initial contract (or form) they had you write.
Get your head back if you do not agree to the longer wait time. It is definitely okay to inquire about unexplained or unexpected delays, especially if the artist is not communicating with you. One of your belongings, which is of substantial monetary value, is in their possession. You have every right to ask what's going on, and to ask for your item back or a way out of the situation at any time.

I'm going through an unexpectedly long faceup wait too.. from last November to now in late September.. My excitement for the doll is gone and has been completely replaced with regret and anxiety. If you have a bad feeling about it already, get out of the situation as fast as you can, before it gets harder to call off.

 

6-8 weeks is normal for my chosen face-up artist! I believe that if the artist agrees to have your doll painted in 1-2 months, then he/she should uphold to that contract. I think a 6 months to a year is much too long when you're paying someone for their craft... If they're too busy with their main job then maybe they shouldn't take commissions? Just my thoughts~

 

She shouldn't even take on commission if she can't keep a deadline, she herself has given. The whole reason why I do not do commissions is that I know that I have trouble with deadlines. It's very unfair to your customer if you don't make a deadline. They expect certain things from you and are paying you for that.

You are in your right when she does't inform you about the progress, that you contact her about it. Informing your customers and talking to them when they ask question, is part of the deal. If she is so 'sensitive' that she cannot deal with that kind of thing, she shouldn't do face ups.

I would ask my head back if I were in your place and find an face-up artist who can do what they promise to do.

As to time. I think a face up should not take longer than a month tot 6 weeks. Within in that timeframe a face up artist should be able to send back the head. If not, she of he is not ready for doing commissions.

 

Yeah, I'd be demanding the doll head back right now and not commissioning this person again. If you pre-paid for services, I'd also open a dispute with paypal to demand full refund. I would also leave negative feedback. If I'm told one or two months to have it done, I EXPECT one or two months to have it done. To make customers wait a YEAR is completely unprofessional, and frankly, untrustworthy. If she has a full-time job and no time to work on painting heads then she should NOT be taking commissions in the first place (and frankly, if this is a continuing habit I'm amazed DOA has allowed it to continue; has no one else complained?!).

The fact that she's "sensitive" (ie: defensive and rude?) to any inquiry over the progress of the heads tells me that she KNOWS she's not keeping her contracts and is probably responding negatively out of a guilty conscience. There are PLENTY of other faceup artists out there who do wonderful work and who can and will keep their promised times. Forget this person, find another artist who will give you what you're paying for in a timely manner.

 

I usually expect an artist to uphold what was stated as turnaround time in their thread unless they inform me of delays. Other thing is if the person is notorious for taking longer then I factor that in or if the person is usually not taking commissions and kindly took on mine regardless, then I legit don't care.

I have waited up to a year for a faceup but I expected it and was fine with which is different from getting that sprung on you unexpected.

Usually I inquire about progress after the stated time has passed unless I hear from the artist beforehand. Then I expect a rough estimate how long it'll take and I will inquire after it after that estimate has passed (again, unless I had contact beforehand that explained delays).

However I admit I am a pretty chill person - I send every head of mine to a different artist so I am used to a whole lot

 

I think the long wait time is to be expected if they are a popular or famous face up artist - HOWEVER, if they initially said 1-2 months, and you agreed on 1-2 months, then that's the time they should be completing the job in, I believe.

If there were going to be delays, then they should have contacted you first, not wait for you to follow up with them at the end of the 2 month mark...

 

I agree with everyone else. Get your doll back. If it's common for this faceup artist to take up to a year (10 months more than was agreed upon or stated in her form/contract) then this person should not be trusted with your doll. She needs to put either on her commissions thread or the form/contract that her full time job takes priority and that wait times are subjected to long extensions of up to a year and not a flat 1-2 months. And communication is essential when you've got someone else's property in your possession and being paid to customize it in the agreed time frame. Being sensitive about updates is complete bollocks in my opinion. You've commissioned this person for a faceup, which requires updates and progress photos for approval before sealing. She shouldn't be taking on commissions if she can't handle a couple of "update please" messages. I'm a sensitive person, but sensitivity has nothing to do with ethics. If I say I'm going to do something that I'm being paid for I'm going to do it in the time frame, or if something I didn't foresee came up I'm going to message my customer immediately and let them know about the delay. That's the responsibility of the artist (I used to take drawing commissions).

Anyway, I'd be getting my doll head back if she hasn't even started it and if I pre paid for it, I'd go through PayPal and get the refund. After the head is shipped of course. I know you will be out shipping costs, but it's better to be out the shipping than a doll head. :/

 

Well now I'm curious to know who this artist is. And being a famous artist, I would expect them to be up front about their wait time. I know sdink could take months, but she stated it up front about it. Don't let other people make you feel at fault. Any negative feelings you get from this can transfer to your doll. If you're okay waiting a year because you absolutely have to have this artist do your doll's faceup, then by all means, wait a year. But if it's just going to cause anxiety and make you worry needlessly because this artist can't handle simple updates (ie. Hey, sorry, been bogged down with ft job. It's going to take longer than the promised time) that can rub off on how you feel about your doll and you may even regret the whole experience.

 

This whole 'famous' thing is, apart from being pretty subjective (hell, my country has some artists considered 'famous' I'd never send my doll to style wise), no okay reason to take their time for a faceup without communication, basically using their famous reputation into press ganging people to accept their behaviour and trying to get around regular updates.

You might be better off switching artists at this point (if you want you can PM me the name and I check if I know a more trustworthy artist with a similar style?)

 

I've waited several months before, but this is with an artist I know well and RL kept getting in the way for them; totally understandable.

For someone I'm unfamiliar with and no heads up in advance? 1-2 months max.

 

I expect my commission to be completed in the time frame of the person's expected turn around time. Now if something unexpected happens that causes delay, that's fine, I know it happens, but I would want to be informed of this delay.

I certainly would not wait a YEAR.

 

I would never wait a year for a faceup commission from anyone. There are plenty of fantastic artists out there that know how to budget time and will get your commission done faster and beautifully; a wait that long is ridiculous under any circumstances. If they are unable to complete a commission in a reasonable time frame, especially after telling you it would only take 1-2 months, they should return your head and rethink their ability to take commissions.

This whole thing about "famous" artists is also a bit weird to me. I wouldn't treat a "famous" artist any differently than I'd treat a completely unknown one. They have my respect and thanks, obviously; I commissioned them, so I obviously enjoy their work! But I wouldn't take flak from the "famous" artist any more than I would from the unknown one. I don't like offending people any more than the next person, but once money and personal possessions are involved, I will do what's necessary to either get what I paid for or get my money back if I have to.

This isn't to say I'll be rude about it; there's a difference between being outright rude and being firm. "You suck for taking this long and I want my head back!" would be rude and uncalled for. But "I'm sorry, but I was told this would only take two months and I'd like my doll back and a refund if you cannot complete the commission in X amount of weeks. If I do not receive a finished commission or refund and my doll back by this time, I'll open a Paypal dispute" or something along those lines is appropriately firm and respectful. It gives the artist several different courses of action and gives you an out if things start going south.

If someone has chosen to take commissions, they're effectively opening a business, and need to run that business and see to their customers the way any other business would. If they have a personal emergency or something, that's perfectly understandable, but they are still responsible for communicating this to their commissioners and making sure they either do the work they were paid to do or return the doll and money if they can't.

Business transactions can't be personal, I guess is what I'm trying to say. If I want my money and doll back, it's not because I don't like you, it's because I, as a commissioner, expect to get what I paid for. Which isn't at all unreasonable, in my opinion. It goes the opposite way as well; I can't demand an artist complete a commission for me without payment, and they can't demand I pay for nothing. That's why they call it a transaction.

Whelp, this got really long and rambly. Sorry!

 

I usually do my own faceup a but have sent a few out to others. The longest I've wired was about a month. I absolutely would not accept anything longer than 2 months, but that's partly because I know how long it takes me to do my own and I can finish one in a day and partly because if I don't have my doll home for many months or a year, I'm going to lose any bond I had with that doll and end up selling them.

I feel like an artist shouldn't have you ship your head to them until they are ready to paint it. There's no reason for it to be in their possession yet if they know they can't get to it for several months. I also feel that they should accurately list wait times so customers can decide ahead of time if they are willing to wait that long. I find it very unprofessional to not stick to your own wait times and not keep communications when you have someone's money and property in hand. It doesn't make a difference if you're 'famous' or not.

 

1 month I guess

 

If the artist is someone I have had paint several heads and I know them, then I don't mind waiting. It is then usually because of their lives getting complicated. In general, or with someone brand new, then I think 3 or 4 months is alright. Less time is always nice though. I like to think of a quick turn around as a bonus. I don't count on it. The final result of getting that amazing face up when you are particular is the most important thing. I want an I LOVE IT face up, not just an its o.k. face up. So a bit of a wait when necessary is acceptable to me.

 

Normally most face-up artists stick to the 1 to 2 months for just a head, I'm usually ok to wait that long, but I have had people quote me a time frame and NOT stuck to it at all. I think the absolute longest I'm ok with waiting is 5 months, but that would have to be on a 1/3 sized doll that was having more than just a face-up (mods, tats, etc), it's never a good idea to wait beyond the limit of your Paypal protection which is 6 months.

I have had people I've commissioned take MUCH longer than initially stated, it's a bit nerve racking to be sure, but as long as the artist keeps in contact with me and is showing regular up-dates I'm less worried.

 

I've currently waited six months for an artist who originally advertised a 4-8 week turn-around. They then told me it would be finished by the end of June (already a month late). Then July. Then September.
This is the first doll that I've sent overseas for a commission and my Paypal protection will run out at the end of this week.
I'm not even excited about the doll anymore, who I haven't even held yet (since they went straight from the seller to the artist), and I'm so anxious because they've got the whole doll, and so furious with myself for trying to give them time to sort out their life rather than asking for a refund months ago.