JAE LEE - taking your money

[risingstar]

Originally Posted by Henbone

Delivered!

Added w/colored version (Thank you June Chung)

Nice!!

[Henbone]

Originally Posted by Punisher1919

Whoa....spectacular!

How long was your wait?

17 months

[Mr. Machismo]

He's definitely not going chronologically then.

[Punisher1919]

Originally Posted by Mr. Machismo

He's definitely not going chronologically then.

Definitely not. I'm at 30 months now. I agree with Kyle...those promises don't mean too much at this point. I've set up pickup on my piece from Jae at 8 cons....8 guarantees along with numerous guarantees for completion in between those 30 months. I'm actually surprised that Henbone's got finished. Happy to see that, but definitely frustrated. I guess I'm just a sucker for punishment

[s.slayton]

I'll be going to the Cincinnati Comic Expo on Saturday September 23rd. Maybe Sunday, but probably not. I'd be happy to pick up and ship to anyone that has an outstanding piece. Let me know here or at s.slayton@twc.com

[carlito1978]

Fellas just bucket this experience as something that gets better with time. Before you know it you will have a nice blue cheese jae lee piece.

[Punisher1919]

Can anyone on the list shed any light on their expected timelines, communication with Jae, etc? I'm in the Kyle camp where the number of promises I've gotten has reached an insane level. It's gotten to the point of routine. I set up pick-up at a show, 1-2 weeks prior to the show I email Jae asking for progress or making sure the piece will be completed on time. If its 2 weeks out, he'll guarantee it. If its less than that, he wont respond until the day before the show only to tell me how sorry he is that he's let me down again, but I dont need to worry because he's dedicated the entire next week to my piece and it will be completed and in the mail by the end of the next week, then in a week when I check on the progress, nothing. I usually send 3-4 more emails out asking for progress, which get ignored, then I ask about completion for a con I'll be attending in the future or one where I know I'll have pick-up available. He responds to that with a guarantee for that show. 1-2 weeks prior to that next show, the cycle starts all over again.

I've seen the layout and I've seen progress on 1.5 figures on the piece (there's 9 in total i think) and it's phenomenal. The layout and the little progress I've seen is exactly the kind of piece I've wanted from Jae my whole collecting life...and I think this is where the frustration really builds. I dont want my money back...I never have, and its not like Jae is completely unresponsive...its just that he refuses to put pencil to paper, and I cant understand why. Is he just cherrypicking pieces that he feels like he wants to do?

On top of all this, Jae is actively seeking more commission work (sending out emails about pre-show commissions for NYCC to people) despite his seemingly never-ending list of commission that have waited 1, 2, even 3 years on. This whole thing has just taken on a life of its own and I just wanted to see who else is currently going through the same thing. I'm still holding out hope that my piece will get completed one day. I'm going to fan expo in Toronto and he's once again guaranteed completion for that show, but once again, I cant get a response in the days leading up to the show. Fan Expo's just over a week away and I havent seen any progress on the piece and Jae's attending LSCC this weekend (and likely spending the entire show sketching a whole new set of commissions), so I'm not confident about fan expo pick-up, in fact I'm giving it a zero possibility for completion, but this message wont be relayed to me until the night before the show I'm guessing.

I just wanted to provide some further insight into this whole thing and see if anyone else cares to share. Is there any rhyme or reason behind all this, or is his commission list just as much of a crapshoot as it seems? I know that some collectors have commissioned multiple pieces from him in the past and in some cases, it seems they've had the most luck, almost like he's favouring people who have commissioned him before or people who commission multiple pieces (not including Kyle). I originally planned on commissioning multiple pieces, but it's impossible to commit to a second or a third piece when your first has taken 30 months thus far and it appears to be no closer to completion.

Maybe I'm just venting, but I just thought I'd share.

[JadeGiant]

Venting is fine - it is what this thread is about. My take on this as an outsider who has never communicated with Jae is that he is cherry-picking but maybe not in the sense most people think of. I get the vibe that he is very scattered/unorganized – the true mad scientist type artist. I would not be surprised if he is cherry picking the easier commissions – one character, headshots, quicker pieces because they might require less work/inspiration, etc. If yours is a 9 character pieces and Kyle’s was $9K, it might support the fact that he avoids these due to the amount of work or possibly a creative block. I would bet that a “batman” commission might jump to the top of his drawing board whereas a “Batman with catwoman against 7 villains set in a lightly lit Gotham scene with Arkham asylum prominently displayed” might find its way to the bottom of the heap (unless that of course REALLY has him inspired). Once again, I am shooting from the hip and have no clue. All that said, it does NOT excuse being pushed aside for newer work (with money that hasn’t already been spent) and I would be inclined to be more and more vocal (email) with how I felt about the delay and seeing newer work done before mine. I have a feeling that if Jae had an agent/rep none of this would be happening (assuming a good rep). I wish you the best of luck!

[Punisher1919]

Originally Posted by JadeGiant

Venting is fine - it is what this thread is about. My take on this as an outsider who has never communicated with Jae is that he is cherry-picking but maybe not in the sense most people think of. I get the vibe that he is very scattered/unorganized – the true mad scientist type artist. I would not be surprised if he is cherry picking the easier commissions – one character, headshots, quicker pieces because they might require less work/inspiration, etc. If yours is a 9 character pieces and Kyle’s was $9K, it might support the fact that he avoids these due to the amount of work or possibly a creative block. I would bet that a “batman” commission might jump to the top of his drawing board whereas a “Batman with catwoman against 7 villains set in a lightly lit Gotham scene with Arkham asylum prominently displayed” might find its way to the bottom of the heap (unless that of course REALLY has him inspired). Once again, I am shooting from the hip and have no clue. All that said, it does NOT excuse being pushed aside for newer work (with money that hasn’t already been spent) and I would be inclined to be more and more vocal (email) with how I felt about the delay and seeing newer work done before mine. I have a feeling that if Jae had an agent/rep none of this would be happening (assuming a good rep). I wish you the best of luck!

You're definitely right on the smaller/easier pieces taking precedence. Jae's been pretty open about that with me in the past. About a year ago I questioned why he was still taking sketch opps and offering commissions when there were tons incomplete and that was essentially his response...those pieces are simpler and less involved with the larger ones...and I get that. The issue with him still offering commissions is that he's continuing to offer the larger ones as well.

It's definitely turning into one of those infamous commission opportunities, but it seems like its for different reasons. He has offered refunds, and he (for the most part) is communicative, but his reassurances, his unwillingness to stop taking on commissions while some of us wait years for ours, his empty promises...its definitely getting more and more frustrating by the day. I have actually been getting much more vocal about my displeasure about all these things to him lately, but it really isn't accomplishing much. He apologizes and promises great things, but has yet to deliver on a single promise yet.

[carlito1978]

sounds like a big pyramid scheme.