how it usually goes wrong
- the stolen portfolio. work lifted from artstation or sketchfab, reposted as theirs. the first delivery looks nothing like it.
- the vanish. full payment up front, then silence. no contract, no platform, no recourse.
- the moving scope. the quote covered a model; the rig, the textures and the export are each "extra" once you are committed.
- the render-only delivery. beautiful images, and a mesh that will not survive the engine.
- the rights surprise. the same asset appears in three other games, because nothing said it was exclusive.
none of these need a sophisticated con. they need a transaction with no structure around it.
checks that take five minutes
- reverse image search two portfolio pieces. stolen work is usually stolen from somewhere indexed.
- ask for the wireframe and tri count of a piece they are showing you. an author has them; a thief does not.
- ask for a work-in-progress screenshot from a current job. same logic, harder to fake.
- ask for one in-engine clip. it separates modellers from renderers.
- check the account age and history. a fresh account with a finished portfolio is worth a second look.
structure the money
the single biggest protection is not paying everything up front. split it:
| stage | what it protects |
|---|---|
| 50% to start | the artist is not working for free on spec |
| progress shots at blockout | you see the shape before the detail is paid for |
| 50% on approval | you are not paying for work you have not seen |
| escrow on larger jobs | neither side has to trust the other's word for it |
put it in writing, however small the job
a commission agreement does not need a lawyer. it needs six lines: what is being made, the technical spec, the price, the payment split, how many revisions are included, and who owns the result. a message thread both people have agreed to is enough — the point is that neither side is remembering it differently in three weeks.
every dispute we have seen came down to something nobody wrote down.
or hand the risk to someone else
this is the job bevel exists to do. every artist on the bench is vetted by hand — portfolios reviewed for topology, texel density and rig behaviour, by people who model. scope, price and terms are agreed in writing before anyone starts. payment is split. rights are exclusive and included. if a piece does not land, that is ours to fix, not yours to chase.