Franco

I think we need to have a serious talk about the artists on here, specifically the ones that consistently work with VTubers. I am the last person who wants to be negative in my own space but the last 6 months I’ve experienced stressful business that can only be defined as disrespectful and violently unprofessional. I have commissioned a couple of dozen (20-30?) artists in the last months. Big and small. I have been a fan of, and genuinely believe them to have immense talent. But of those artists, almost ALL of them were completely silent after taking my payment and did not EVER send me a message, update, or any sort of communication even while being severely late or breaking their own TOS and set agreements with me. I had to beg to be acknowledged 4-10 times during these purchases. But even after begging, I was met with lies, more ignoring, rushed pieces that were already late, or yes, just straight up shockingly late pieces. I have given every single person I ever worked with their full compliments and 5 star ratings regardless, in fear of upsetting any artist, or being seen as rude. As a customer and VTuber, artists are the backbone of the community and I do not exist without them. Reputation is everything and I don’t want ANYONE to feel ill after working with me. So, I grit my teeth and endure. That does make me apart of the problem. I rarely speak up or adjust my rating to see fit. I am extremely small, poor, & have NO artistic talent. I must live within the ability of everyone I work with, through mutual respect and agreements. But at the same time, I have never felt as broken, ignored, ghosted, and damn near scammed since I begun working with these VTuber Artists. Scamming is a lot less common now that large profiles and portfolios exist. However, no one ever talks about how it was replaced with unprofessional behavior, lies, ghosting, having to message them once a month to make sure you exist to them, and sketches taking half a year to complete. I hate whining. I’ve been silent because I LOVE these artists. But the truth is, I don’t think they really treat it like a job (even though you pay them.) Just taking money, and caring about the rest later. If it was 1, or 2 or hell even only 10 people who did this to me I could bear it. But the fact that nearly 90% of the people I’ve encountered an issue with or been ignored by shows it’s heavily normalized.