AuthorTopic: I am looking for Joshua Astorian. (AKA Joshua Robinson)  (Read 62259 times)

Offline Froli

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Re: I am looking for Joshua Astorian.

Reply #60 on: October 08, 2015, 04:25:59 pm
He is. As far as I can tell, he does contract work for them whenever they are in need of pixel work. The most recent game seems to be Transformers: Rise of the Dark Spark (summer 2014). Adam Tierny (who directs some of the Wayforward games) already posted above that he's been working with them for years and they've always been super happy with him.

I love Wayforward, but allowing a known scammer associate with them, giving him gigs/projects is very disappointing. All those people (the latest one JForceGames) who got victimized by Josh and god knows how many are they From 2009? to the present and he gets away with it.

He is also using Wayforwards background to lure potential future clients/victims.
This is just ridiculous
« Last Edit: October 08, 2015, 04:32:39 pm by Froli »

Offline Gil

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Re: I am looking for Joshua Astorian.

Reply #61 on: October 08, 2015, 06:33:02 pm
If he didn't have a contract with you, I would refrain from posting such comments. You don't know what happened. I assume this thread isn't locked yet, because it provides people looking for info a place to talk. These are simple legal matters, which we have no reason to interfere with.

For example, you mention he is "luring" "victims", you have no proof of that. Slandering people you don't know is just as bad as not fulfilling a contract.

Offline Froli

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Re: I am looking for Joshua Astorian.

Reply #62 on: October 08, 2015, 07:16:24 pm
I'm not really fluent with English but I hope it's comprehensible enough to what I mean.

Proofs
Quote
You recommended him in 2011 on linkedin. Because of that recommendation I paid him upfront.
Because of his profile in Linkedin specially with his connections to Wayforward, some people will get lured to him/go to him for commissions (the company has a very good reputation for retro and pixel artists with skills at high caliber)

Quote
montonero Posted: 28 October 2012 at 3:39am

Looks like Josh Astorian is back to his old tricks.
A resume posted on TigSource this summer: http://forums.tigsource.com/index.php?topic=27532.0
And still ripping off people by using his linkedin recommendations:

Quote

Joshua Astorian: 2D Game Artist with Licensed NDS & GBA titles experience
« on: July 26, 2012, 01:00:37 am »
   
Hello Tigsource!

Sorry for the long title- I tried to be brief but eye catching. Tongue

I have 5 years experience creating graphics for licensed GBA & mobile phone games and about 3 years in the Nintendo DS industry.
Portfolio: http://digitalmosaic.blogspot.com
LinkedIn page (includes work history and references): http://www.linkedin.com/pub/joshua-astorian/11/740/476

And aren't this guys who came forward on this thread victims? just like JForceGames who made that recent post.
His friends posting here saying what he is doing is wrong and Even Adam Tierney the Designer/director at WayForward Technologies said this.
That's what is of course so frustrating. Josh is one of the most talented character pixel artists I've ever seen. It's just a shame he muddies his talent and destroys his reputation with scams such as these. :(
All of this are proofs, so where is the slander in that?
I've seen this thread years ago and kept myself from posting until now because god damn, nothing has changed after 6 years.
« Last Edit: October 08, 2015, 08:17:45 pm by Froli »

Offline Gil

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Re: I am looking for Joshua Astorian.

Reply #63 on: October 08, 2015, 07:48:56 pm
I stand by what I said, that we shouldn't comment too much, as we aren't affected parties.

Offline Cyangmou

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Re: I am looking for Joshua Astorian.

Reply #64 on: October 08, 2015, 08:24:33 pm
And aren't this guys who came forward on this thread victims? just like JForceGames who recently made that recent post.
His friends posting here saying what he is doing is wrong and Even Adam Tierney the Designer/director at WayForward Technologies said this. All of this are proofs, so where is the slander in that?

From a moderation standpoint I have to say that stating facts (you got scammed how and why and a warning that it's still happening) or stating assumptions (you don't got scammed, but are just shitposting your personal opinion about someone in this thread) are 2 completely different things.

If one got scammed, it's as it is and we as Pixelation comm can't do anything about that, except leaving hints how to do professional business.
We have this thread here, but as far as I know Joshua is not part of this community, or at least not part of the active posting community.

If one gets a victim in business because of one's own fault, it's sad for all freelancers out there that it happens but we just can't do anything against it.

There are artists who scam their client.
And there are clients who sam their artists.
That is a fact and it's just how it is - but you can prevent this with contracts and preliminary searches for names via google THen most of these scams won't happen at all.

Only go ahead from now on if you have news or something constructive to add.
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Offline ExtinctGames

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Re: I am looking for Joshua Astorian.

Reply #65 on: October 12, 2015, 07:21:31 am
I just got sent to this thread because I posted another thread about Joshua scamming( http://wayofthepixel.net/index.php?topic=18964.msg166352#new )

He did the same with me just 2 weeks ago, said he needed groceries for his son and had no money, produced a VERY good mockup of the character I wanted so I paid him the whole gig up front. Stupid me for not Googling and searching the forum before... Seems this guy just keeps going from one person to the next...

There is a so much evidence here and on other forums and websites that I put to my legal team and We've already contacted the Murphysboro Sheriffs office and WILL be pressing charges and a court summons will go out straight away If I do not hear back from him within the time stated in the email I sent him today.

Such as a shame as I had a LOT more work for him lined up.

Offline Probo

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Re: I am looking for Joshua Astorian.

Reply #66 on: October 24, 2015, 01:46:37 pm
^ Hope youre serious, its about time this scammer got held to account. keep us updated

Offline Conzeit

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Re: I am looking for Joshua Astorian.

Reply #67 on: November 01, 2015, 08:29:27 pm
oh my fuck jawsh not again  :'(

it's awful to see this stuff he was a great member here once. There's no denying he's had it coming....it's strange to think how people can go down this kind of path and not face themselves until it gets this bad
« Last Edit: November 01, 2015, 08:32:54 pm by Conceit »

Offline AdamTierney

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Re: I am looking for Joshua Astorian.

Reply #68 on: November 01, 2015, 10:11:23 pm
Ugh, here we go again...

Since I'm getting called out by name here, I should probably respond. Let me clarify a few things.

1) I don't recommend or endorse Josh in anyway at this point. The last time he created art for me personally, I believe, was in 2008 on Aliens DS. That art was great, and I had no issues with him. But as I keep saying, I've never paid him upfront.

2) Since then, it looks like he's worked on a few projects for WayForward. This wouldn't surprise me. We have done a lot of pixel games, and there are a lot of directors at the company, several of whom know Josh and have worked with him before. I wasn't aware that he worked on the Transformers game, but it wouldn't surprise me. Since my company never pays artists before the work is done, there wouldn't be an opportunity for him to scam us.

3) Apologies to anyone who gets scammed by this guy. The whole situation is very sad. Some people seem to want Josh to stop using WayForward as a reference to get more work. Well first, I have no control over what he posts in his profiles. Second, even though it appears he is still actively ripping people off, if he did work for my company recently and there were no problems, then I don't see how that reference on his resume would be invalid. If it were up to me, he would not be citing us. But I have no control over that, and I'm not the last person he worked with at this company, so there's unfortunately not much I can do.

4) As I keep saying, never pay artists before the work is done. Obviously Josh is using the system to scam people constantly, but if it wasn't him, someone else will scam you. Don't pay artists before the work is done and you will not get ripped off. If they tell you they need to be paid upfront, that is unusual and unprofessional, and you should move on to the next artist.

5) If someone got scammed by him, they should by all means report him to the authorities. It's going to be difficult to prove that stuff, because unless you have contracts, or unless it was very formal how you went about things, I imagine it will be pretty difficult to lay blame on him. He can always just say that he's running behind and was still working on the art. But please feel free to try. If this is something Josh is still doing to this day, there should be consequences for his actions.

6) I'm going to talk to my bosses at the company, let them know what's going on, and recommend that we don't use him for any future projects.

EDIT: I just saw Josh's LinkedIn profile. It makes it sound like he currently works for WayForward. He does not. To my knowledge, the last project he worked with us on was Transformers 3DS in 2013. I've asked him to update his profile to reflect this.
« Last Edit: November 01, 2015, 10:24:26 pm by AdamTierney »

Offline yaomon17

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Re: I am looking for Joshua Astorian.

Reply #69 on: November 01, 2015, 10:29:28 pm
Scamming goes both ways. Now I always ask for half of pay up front. I've been burned for several hundred dollars worth of work, though it is a small price to pay to learn this. If you are really worried about scammers, for both client and artist, the absolute best thing to do would be to write up a contract you both agree on.