Not liking a faceup you just paid for

Dear, I guess you probably do not want to hear this, but in the future, how are you going to work with an artist you have contracted to work for you who you fear would drop you as a customer because you simply dare to ask a very understandable and justified question? And equally how will you deal in the long run with a (well-established) artist who does not even provide in their TOS for the possibility of a customer asking for changes? I mean, it's art, yes, but it's still a business they are running, and since neither of you can project your images into the mind of the other, there will always be room for misunderstandings no matter how hard you try?

One thing I can say from experience is that bonding with a doll character whose face up is not what you need for them is going to be hard, very hard.

And if it goes wrong again next time you get a commission slot, despite all effort - after having gone through all this just to secure another spot? It's just a thought that occured to me. I do feel for you, you are in a difficult place.

 

I have commissioned four heads in my time in the hobby and only been 100% happy with one of them. The others were beautifully done and almost what I wanted, but each had something very small that was slightly off. In two cases, the heads needed blushing to match a body and they weren't as close as I would have liked, but that's something that will very rarely ever be exact. In the other, the faceup was gorgeous, but I didn't like how the lips were done. Though upon inspecting her other works, that was just her style, something I hadn't noticed until the doll was in my hand. I didn't say anything because I felt they were either things that couldn't be helped, or my fault for not noticing an artist's style before commissioning them. Not their fault! And probably not something that could have been changed.

But if the faceups had been extremely different from what I requested, and not something I could live with, I probably would ask the artist if it was possible to make changes, assuming their policy allowed it. It could be a miscommunication, could be artistic liberties, could be that they didn't have enough info to go on and filled in the blanks. Back when I used to take commissions, I had someone send me three heads. When I sent photos, she loved two and....didn't love the third one. She basically told me she hated it, although was extremely polite about it. The problem was that she wasn't detailed enough in her instructions, so I had just kind of gone with what she did say and did the rest as I saw fit--which obviously, she did not envision the same thing. I wiped the head and redid it to her liking after getting more details and examples. I didn't think she was rude at all. I was actually glad she told me, as I would have felt awful to take her money and give her something she hated in exchange.

 

@CloakedSchemer I don't have much to add here; but you ALWAYS give the most amazing advice. Any time I've had a complex question you always have a wonderful experience to share. Your wisdom and experience insights in the hobby are always invaluable.

 

Thank you! I do my best to help out when I can and give back to the community. After 14 years in the hobby, I've had a lot of experience in a lot of areas, good and bad! (Although there are still plenty of areas where I'm still asking for advice too!)

 

I understand what you mean...It can be really hard to explain your vision to someone else. I do faceups too, and I probably ask WAY too many questions to get as many details as possible before I start. I know it can be weird to tell an artist "Dude this is totally not what I imagined", but it can definitely help while they're working on your doll, like giving directions and opinions on what you like or don't like. Also, it's SO helpful to digitally paint a picture of what I intend to do before I start working on a faceup, so if there's something to change, the client can clearly see it. It takes more time, but I would hate for my faceup to be removed and for someone to have wasted time and money! I get so excited when I receive one, and want others to feel the same way!

 

That's the thing though. I had chosen the "Artist Choice" (which only allowed a general idea with few key words for this particular artist, no specifics) option for this particular time and couldn't give more details even if I wanted to. I figured it would be perfect since I didn't have a specific vision for this doll and only had a general idea. I remember using "girly" as my main key word and she ended up coming out more on the glam side, way bolder than I thought. I chocked it up do us having different ideas on what "girly" meant. Also, even if I told the artist I didn't like it, I would have to have paid for a second faceup redo if I wanted it changed. I figured it's better to take the L and wipe her when she got back to me and send her out again for a new faceup when I did have a more clear vision for her.

 

I see...That makes sense.

 

This thread is kind of scaring me, but thankfully i think my own drawing skills are decent enough to convey what I want.