Thread by @phi6, Last week I posted a concept art job/commission for Recompile. TW @QualityArt301 [...]

Last week I posted a concept art job/commission for Recompile. TW @QualityArt301 (identity hidden for doxxing reasons) contacted me and then tried to pass off another artist& #39;s portfolio work as his own. He then asked for a $400 payment upfront. Here& #39;s how it went down (THREAD)

TW sent me a few samples of "his" work, but was cagey about sending me high res versions. A quick look at his profile revealed some suspect behaviour. I also couldn& #39;t find any link to portfolios (eg Artstation) which was odd. So I decided to do a little investigation.

After some reverse image searches (Google and TinEye) I discovered that "his" samples were actually taken from another artist& #39;s portfolio:
https://www.julesduchoadurand.com/ ">https://www.julesduchoadurand.com/">...
Jules Durand& #39;s work is amazing and I contacted him directly via email and LinkedIn to confirm my suspicions

It turns out Jules never applied to my job listing and did indeed confirm that TW passed off this work as his own. I wanted to make sure I wasn& #39;t misunderstanding the situation and that TW wasn& #39;t just using these pieces as examples for inspiration...

Nope! He& #39;s still not denying the images are not his own, and even said he trained 2-3 years to get this good. Right...

I decided to have a bit of fun and asked him about made up color spaces (ABC and TYMZ)

https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="😂" title="Gesicht mit Freudentränen" aria-label="Emoji: Gesicht mit Freudentränen">

I decided to have a bit of fun and asked him about made up color spaces (ABC and TYMZ) https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable=

My questions got more and more ridiculous. I asked for a non-layered jpeg so that we could edit the pixels directly so it could be easily embeded into Flash banners.

https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="🤣" title="Lachend auf dem Boden rollen" aria-label="Emoji: Lachend auf dem Boden rollen">
Yep, by this point I& #39;m 100% sure I& #39;m the target of a scam

My questions got more and more ridiculous. I asked for a non-layered jpeg so that we could edit the pixels directly so it could be easily embeded into Flash banners. https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable=

Yep, by this point I& #39;m 100% sure I& #39;m the target of a scam" title="My questions got more and more ridiculous. I asked for a non-layered jpeg so that we could edit the pixels directly so it could be easily embeded into Flash banners. https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="🤣" title="Lachend auf dem Boden rollen" aria-label="Emoji: Lachend auf dem Boden rollen">Yep, by this point I& #39;m 100% sure I& #39;m the target of a scam" class="img-responsive" style="max-width:100%;"/>

There were a few more red flags during our conversation. His real name was nowhere to be found. He wanted $400 upfront payment. Unlimited revisions/edits! Really?! And finally CashApp and PayPal (friends & family) preferred.

To appeal to his greed, I said I& #39;d be able to transfer the $400 right away, but only via bank transfer and I& #39;d need his real name and full address. By this point I& #39;m gathering as much evidence and personal details so I can eventually pass these over to the relevant authorities.

The real name he gave was different to the name on his e-mail address. Another red flag.

After receiving the details, I was able to determine the exact bank he was with by looking up the routing number. By this point, I have enough information to file a report with his local police department, and contact both PayPal and his bank to report fraudulent activity.

TW, if you& #39;re reading this, please close your Twitter account and cease this activity immediately. I have your bank details and your full address and other personal information. If you do not comply I will not hesitate to escalate this further with law enforcement & legal action.

PSA to other game studios/creatives :- When commissioning work from someone you do not know/trust, don& #39;t use PayPal/CashApp, reverse lookup the sample work to determine it is their own, and do not pay 100% upfront. Keep vigilant! Pass this on.

Final fun fact. The artist who the scammer stole the work from, his name is Jules Durand. I absolutely love Jules& #39; work to bits, and we both expressed an interest in working together in the future. A potentially happy ending to this strange story ^_^ https://www.julesduchoadurand.com/ ">https://www.julesduchoadurand.com/">...

JULES DURAND

https://www.julesduchoadurand.com/

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