AuthorTopic: I am looking for Joshua Astorian. (AKA Joshua Robinson)  (Read 62291 times)

Offline Torokun

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Re: I am looking for Joshua Astorian.

Reply #40 on: November 12, 2012, 09:24:29 pm
Sigh...

I wish I got to see this post first.

I still don't think Josh is a total scammer.  Looks like he is in a very tough situation... and has been for some time now.

I did pay him upfront last weekend.  I decided to give him a shot because of his Wayforward work experience and Adam Tierny's endoresement.  I had no idea something like this was going on... 
Sic Transit Gloria Mundi

Offline polliwog

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Re: I am looking for Joshua Astorian.

Reply #41 on: November 14, 2012, 10:11:27 pm
Apparently he is still looking for more work, as he responded to my post looking for an artist just yesterday.  Seems like he will never change. I responded to him stating that he had already taken money from me on another project without doing any work, and haven't heard back from him.

Offline AdamTierney

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Re: I am looking for Joshua Astorian.

Reply #42 on: November 18, 2012, 04:23:35 pm
Guys, please - never pay ANY artist money for work they haven't done. It is industry standard to receive the completed work, and all revisions, before the artist can even invoice (let alone get paid). I'm not justifying Josh's actions at all, but you should never feel like you need to pay someone before they can begin a project. That's just not how it works, and any artist telling you that you need to pay them first is taking advantage of you.

Offline wishie

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Re: I am looking for Joshua Astorian.

Reply #43 on: November 18, 2012, 06:09:42 pm
Um, what happens if the client doesn't pay the artist for their work? This is why artists ask for some payment up front. It's a way to protect themselves from getting screwed over as well. I like the half-half idea that someone stated earlier, sounds pretty fair to me, but it also depends on the client and artist discuss amongst themselves.

With graphic design work, I read somewhere online that some people take payments in little increments. They do a sketch, get some payment; do the actual work, get some/the main payment; any revisions or further editing, get more payments.

It's seems to be all about communication, which isn't there with this josh person. If I were someone that didn't get any work from him after 30days of sending the payments, I would report him, even if it's just on the site that you found him on like linkdn or other portfolio based sites that help client and contractors find/get work. Start demanding your money back because he didn't send any form of work yet. Even if he's in a tough situation, he should have told you guys ahead of time that getting WIPs may be a a little slow or not promised to do any work for you at all.

Are there any contracts involved with this person? even if you're just an independent programmer or artist, there should be contracts to protect yourself. This might something that should be considered. I'm just starting to learn more about contracts myself, it's something that I didn't know about when it came to freelancing until a few months ago :blind:
« Last Edit: November 18, 2012, 06:11:31 pm by wishie »

Offline yaomon17

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Re: I am looking for Joshua Astorian.

Reply #44 on: November 18, 2012, 09:20:49 pm
Um, what happens if the client doesn't pay the artist for their work? This is why artists ask for some payment up front. It's a way to protect themselves from getting screwed over as well. I like the half-half idea that someone stated earlier, sounds pretty fair to me, but it also depends on the client and artist discuss amongst themselves.

With graphic design work, I read somewhere online that some people take payments in little increments. They do a sketch, get some payment; do the actual work, get some/the main payment; any revisions or further editing, get more payments.

It's seems to be all about communication, which isn't there with this josh person. If I were someone that didn't get any work from him after 30days of sending the payments, I would report him, even if it's just on the site that you found him on like linkdn or other portfolio based sites that help client and contractors find/get work. Start demanding your money back because he didn't send any form of work yet. Even if he's in a tough situation, he should have told you guys ahead of time that getting WIPs may be a a little slow or not promised to do any work for you at all.

Are there any contracts involved with this person? even if you're just an independent programmer or artist, there should be contracts to protect yourself. This might something that should be considered. I'm just starting to learn more about contracts myself, it's something that I didn't know about when it came to freelancing until a few months ago :blind:
The truth.. It hurts me so....

Offline wishie

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Re: I am looking for Joshua Astorian.

Reply #45 on: November 19, 2012, 05:56:58 am
No matter which side you're on, whether you're the client or the artist, there is that small chance of getting taken advantage of. There's a certain level of trust that both sides place with each other. One expects work and the other expects payments. It's also why we got to try to protect ourselves by taking the necessary precautions if possible.

Offline big brother

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Re: I am looking for Joshua Astorian.

Reply #46 on: November 20, 2012, 03:29:16 am
When working with a new client, it's a good idea for the artist to arrange a small deliverable and bill upon its completion. This approach establishes trust and manages the artist's risk without having him/her to ask for money upfront.

Offline Torokun

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Re: I am looking for Joshua Astorian.

Reply #47 on: November 20, 2012, 10:08:22 pm
Guys, please - never pay ANY artist money for work they haven't done. It is industry standard to receive the completed work, and all revisions, before the artist can even invoice (let alone get paid). I'm not justifying Josh's actions at all, but you should never feel like you need to pay someone before they can begin a project. That's just not how it works, and any artist telling you that you need to pay them first is taking advantage of you.

Bit of an update on the situation as well as reply to Adam's posting...

Adam,  I have been on the both end of being a client and an artist in the gaming industry numerous times.  I know you are familiar with working with people on different size projects. Big projects often require some percentage of payment up front...  Small project like this situation with Joshua... I would probably wait until the project is done.  Not knowing Josh's past record...  I just felt bad about his situation and decided to give him a chance.  Which backfired.  I also have a famous artist take large sum of money and just completely not delivering...  ended up jeopardizing the entire project... 

With Josh... he did get back to me via Skype once saying he is doing work.  I requested to get in touch with him for updates and communication but he has completely disappeared.  I was going to pay certain amount and demand the rest back.  But at this point, this is serious breach of contract.  I will have to ask for the full refund.

All this to say... more things like this happens to the client, it's not good for the all the artists.  Reasonable clients will always negotiate with terms of payment.  But more things like this happen, it will be harder for artists to have flexible payment method...
« Last Edit: November 20, 2012, 11:08:40 pm by Torokun »
Sic Transit Gloria Mundi

Offline burzum

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Re: I am looking for Joshua Astorian.

Reply #48 on: November 27, 2012, 09:14:19 pm
Same situation, he tried getting 600$ from me. Fortunately I read this thread while talking to him.

Offline zeteginara

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Re: I am looking for Joshua Astorian.

Reply #49 on: December 03, 2012, 06:24:05 pm
Yeah, he tried getting money from me too, multiple times.  I read this thread and slept on it.  I have seen the work that he has done and am very impressed with it. and I came to the conclusion that Josh is a very skilled artist and I want him to do some work for me, BUT, because of his history, I will not pay him in advance for his work.