MABB v6.6.6

I ordered an album cover, and I have a feeling I get scammed by the artist...

He's not a big name, but he's not so small that I thought he couldn't afford this luxury.

I'm sure that most of his work is done by hand, maybe he just tried a "shortcut" with me.

What gives me reason to be suspicious:

- He didn't send me a sketch, didn't even describe what concept he had for the cover, because he likes to "work spontaneously".

- He didn't send me a picture of the work in progress.

- He sent me the finished image in a scanned version late, but half of the concept is missing, which I wrote down for him, and which should have been clear based on the reference images.

- The style of the image itself is also suspicious to me. He must have added details by hand, but the lack of style itself, and the fact that it has little to do with the reference material sent...

In my experience with AI image recognition, they are not reliable, and I paid via Paypal, he asked me "as a fellating lover, family member", so I can't ask for a refund.

This may all seem obvious and I'm a naive idiot, but this was the first time I ordered a painting from an artist, and there was also the trust... which I don't have anymore.

What do you think, is there a chance of fraud, how can I find out, what can I do?

You are bot naive

This is becoming a huge issue especially with things you pay for in advance. A lot of my artist friends will send a version with a huge watermark before taking pay to prevent situations like this where the customer didn’t get what they wanted.

I don’t know how to confirm without an image. Im not well versed in the ever evolving wirld of ai but its def a huge problem in all creative fields and sounds like your concerns are valid. You can often tell with backgrounds and hands.

There are programs to detect ai but they are not reliable and i am not sure they work with images yet. I have not used paypal in years but generally you are sol with money transfers there are lots of warnings for that reason.

Sorry this happened and don’t feel embarrassed by it.

Thanks Noyka!

Yes, I'm fucking naiv!

But what makes it more fucked up, is that the dude can actually draw, paint, most of his work are real as I can tell, he probably know I would be an easy prey...

What can I do basicly is call him out and ask back my money, otherwise i will spam his FB, Insta and forums that his a scammer...

very high chance you've been scammed. this type of thing is ramping up very fast right now.

you could try contacting your bank and reporting the charge as fraudulent, i would try this asap.

moving forward:
never pay the full amount up front, arrange a deal where you only put down a deposit and pay the rest on delivery
the paypal "family/friends" payment is a red flag, he should be operating as a business
avoid artists without a decent following / plenty of reviews but even this can be faked

also fuck that hard-on bearer, name and shame, these people shouldn't get away with it

zim wrote: ↑

23 Jun 2025, 22:25

also fuck that hard-on bearer, name and shame, these people shouldn't get away with it

Absolutely this. It's just going to keep happening if no one says anything. AI "art"

i have to commission a fair bit of art for work and i definitely prefer working with people who paint or draw on canvas/paper. digital art has become unreliable these days

I am so thankful i only sell in person and cash only too much drama and too many scammers and beggars in general. I also am careful with free images that are for commercial use since a lot of those are ai i feel weird supporting programs that steal from artists. I just make my own images on inkscape when necessary or buy paint inlays and transfers (adult stickers basically) since im not a super skilled painter or anything. I do some painting/drawng of my own but only simple pieces like flowers ir backgrounds.

I often make shit for free for friends and family because I feel resellers and crafters online way over estimate the value of their thrift flips. I think part of it is shipping costs but Im unsure.

Digital art is a total clusterfuck i rec people I have personal relationships with and know aren’t scammers and would never use ai.

Ive heard music has become a clusterfuck too with people seeking stuff for vids and what not, i imagine a lot of stuff like thumbnails, editing, all of it is going to be trouble too now as more models become easier and cheaper to access. I am really nervous for all creative fields in the future.

I am so thankful i only sell in person and cash only too much drama and too many scammers and beggars in general. I also am careful with free images that are for commercial use since a lot of those are ai i feel weird supporting programs that steal from artists. I just make my own images on inkscape when necessary or buy paint inlays and transfers (adult stickers basically) since im not a super skilled painter or anything. I do some painting/drawng of my own but only simple pieces like flowers ir backgrounds.

I often make shit for free for friends and family because I feel resellers and crafters online way over estimate the value of their thrift flips. I think part of it is shipping costs but Im unsure.

Digital art is a total clusterfuck i rec people I have personal relationships with and know aren’t scammers and would never use ai.

Ive heard music has become a clusterfuck too with people seeking stuff for vids and what not, i imagine a lot of stuff like thumbnails, editing, all of it is going to be trouble too now as more models become easier and cheaper to access. I am really nervous for all creative fields in the future.

yeah, commissioning digital anything is just a total no-go now. it's all 100% AI scams and it's never going back to the old way

is this whole thread ai

deckard wrote: ↑

28 Jun 2025, 02:01

is this whole thread ai

This has all been a simulation

You've got to look for little watermark cocks in your art to be sure it's real

If you pay digital artists will remove those for you in a lot of cases. They will have a signature or something like that just like any artist.

If you have a noticeable watermark it usually means its stolen. Look at etsy stores to see what I mean.

I personally dont buy from etsy shops anymore because ai and drop shipping has ruined it but its a great example of the watermark stuff and bad ai “art”.

Noyka wrote: ↑

30 Jun 2025, 01:48

If you pay digital artists will remove those for you in a lot of cases. They will have a signature or something like that just like any artist.

If you have a noticeable watermark it usually means its stolen. Look at etsy stores to see what I mean.

I personally dont buy from etsy shops anymore because ai and drop shipping has ruined it but its a great example of the watermark stuff and bad ai “art”.

i go to a few conventions every year where there are lots of vendors selling art and what not. so much of it is ai art, sticker (misc) packs from amazon, the same 3d prints, or aliexpress junk. it has really killed the fun of those events. i hardly even want to spend the time looking at anyone's booth now.

There was a local arts festival here last month that I took the kids too. So much of it was the same 3d printed shit or generic craft garbage. The kids did find some nice jewelry along with some odds and ends that enjoyed though. I managed to pick up 3 prints that will eventually go up in the new place whenever I can get that sorted out.

Shit is infesting craft fairs now too

Its sooo bad

Its hard to get new clients now because everyone is sick of it


I have luck with word of mouth more than anything. Im not interested in expanding beyond a side business/making enough to feed my hobby but those who actually make a living off creative fields i feel really bad for.

I do a lot of vintage thrift flips using clay molds and paint. I also do a lot of floral arrangements/center pieces those are what sell the best. I feel like those are generic/boring but it seems to be what folks want. I spend more time on the planters/pots antiquing and molding them than the arrangements themselves.

Problem with trying to sell people say they want unique but unique often wont sell so its a catch 22 how unique they mean. Im lucky I don’t depend on my hobby as a business I hear more and more folks getting burnt out because ofcall the issues in the creative fields currently which is sad and only going to make the problem worse.


What i see happening is folks going back to using websites and true human made crafts and art becoming niche.

i'm on the look out for some more bad ass little sculptures for my desk. i found some mass-produced resin ravens which are very good. but i need a beagle and a red panda

kaww kaww motherfuckerrrrr