Hello!
On my first and only contract here on Upwork I had a very difficult client to deal with.
I received an invitation for that specific contract where the client was asking for a couple of T-Shirt illustrations. She provided some refference photos and demanded something with a similar feel. And that's basically all the info she provided. I replied to her, saying that I'd be happy to take the contract IF what she desired was indeed a similar punk-rock/psychedelic style, and NOT a "copycat" type of illustration. Without saying anything, she just gave me the contract and I began working on the sketches.
Later on, after she accepted the concepts, and paid the money for the first milestone, it was time to proceed to the finished pieces. And this is where it all starts. Out of nowhere, she says she wants the illustrations in a fully editable .ai file (Adobe Illustrator), in order to be able to modify them in case she wanted to do so. I politely explained her that my technique involves traditional ink on paper drawings, and digital coloring, so there was no way for me to provide a VECTORIZED illustration. If she would have specified her desire for a VECTORIAL illustration, I would have turned down her offer right from the start.
Further on, I explained her, from a technical point of view that what I would deliver would be enough to cover a surface much bigger than a T-shirt (since I only work with very high DPI scans), so that was no reason for concern. In addition to that, I can't allow her to produce any changes to the artwork, since she only has USAGE rights, not CREATIVE rights. From this point on she just caught on fire, insulting me and my artwork (note: she was the one who invited me ) and contradicting her own statements. I'll copy-paste below a few examples:
"You fail to understand. **bleep**ing apples?. I asked for Phillips and you gave me some crap that is way off. the job is very clear. .ai format. I only asked for the file. I'm not paying for your services, I'm paying for a finished product, emailed to me. If i knew some stupid rule about not being able to receive an email, i wouldn't have used the site and definitely wouldn't have hired you."
Later on:
"that's all I wanted was our design with the "inspiration". You wouldn't understand what i was going for unless i said somebody's name you recognized. i used Phillips as a an example of art that is based on a style that matches my home town. i never wanted a Jimbo copy. Your art is just way too hipster skinny jeans for us."
I'm definitely not a native english speaker, but I think can speak the language well enough to distinguish between these two statements. First she's ASKING for a Phillips, then she claims she used that name only to give me a hint about what she desired. That's pretty contradictory to me.
The feedback she left on my profile, is also insulting and equally misleading, and consequently: abusive. And since I can prove everything I said above just by showing the conversation we had on Upwork, who should I adress to in order to have that removed? Obviously, such a feedback is most probably driving many potential clients away.
Sorry for long post but, I wanted to offer as many details as possible in order for this not to be mistaken for some big - ego - feedback -removal - request.
Have a nice day!
