I believe that Anthony took on more than he could handle and was then hit with a personal tragedy/crisis. I'm not defending his current position just saying this is more likely the case as opposed to intentional theft.
The answer, if you're reading, Anthony, is very simple. If you are unable to make the refunds available, you will have to produce the art you agreed to do. This is the measure of a man. Your word. Solidify your good name (your family name) and post a completed commission every few days. I am certain you will do the right thing.
I totally agree. I highly doubt that Anthony is cackling with glee at the few grand he's bilked boardies for, but innocence of intent is no excuse. His best bet is to come on here, or contact people individually, and offer up a real schedule that he believes he can stick to. And then stick to it!
Tony Fleecs got into a similar situation, although his was a lot worse. He set up a blog that anyone can follow, and posts one commission a day until he's caught up. It's been running for almost two years! Obviously waiting that long is not cool, but people can see that he's trying, and I bet that would go a very long way with people here.
The most painful part of this kind of wait is lack of communication. I got into something very similar with Bill Sienkiewicz: I paid 100% up front, the commission took 17 months longer than promised, and months passed with no communication on his end, with the odd excuse and request for more time thrown in occasionally.
"The sacred rights of mankind are not to be rummaged for among old parchments or musty records. They are written, as with a sunbeam, in the whole volume of human nature, by the hand of the divinity itself; and can never be erased." - Alexander Hamilton
#5644247 - 05/01/1205:33 PMRe: OFFICIAL 4th Anthony Castrillo blank sketch cover opportunity!
[Re: Speedy-D]
Dark Prime 0Dark Prime 0
The Post-man always rings twice. Uhm... ring ring?
Registered: 09/04/08
Posts: 1702
Loc: PA
i agree, i don't think the intent was for him to take the money and run as it were.
i think this is more a case of biteing off more then he could chew......remember there were times in this and other threads where he'd take lets say 20 commishions but would stop for no reason and make 6-7 sketchs that he would then put for sale during the middle of the opp, very odd imo but no one ever said anything about it (me included)
hope he gets back on his feet and starts to produce the books (at least the stuff that is done) or the money (hell start makeing monthly payments, at least it's something) bc anything short of that i doubt people will care for his excuses any longer......people can only hear a sob story so meny times before that stop careing
i agree, i don't think the intent was for him to take the money and run as it were.
i think this is more a case of biteing off more then he could chew......remember there were times in this and other threads where he'd take lets say 20 commishions but would stop for no reason and make 6-7 sketchs that he would then put for sale during the middle of the opp, very odd imo but no one ever said anything about it (me included)
hope he gets back on his feet and starts to produce the books (at least the stuff that is done) or the money (hell start makeing monthly payments, at least it's something) bc anything short of that i doubt people will care for his excuses any longer......people can only hear a sob story so meny times before that stop careing
I'm new to the boards so I'm not fully aware of this sketch opp back story. It seems Anthony took on a bit more than he could chew while he had some personal issues to attend to, and left some pissed off forumites in the wake.
These kinds of excuses people keep giving him are exactly why more people got taken. Just like advancedpillow said, I would never have trusted him with my money had I known about all the problems he's had in the past. And I'm sure those people wouldn't have given him their money if they knew about previous problems.
Now THIS is an important question!
Why did Anthony Castrillo promise me such a quick turn around, even saying, "I'll try to get it done this weekend" when he was already way behind the 8-ball? Do you really think he thought he was going to get mine done? What was his plan, push me ahead of people who were waiting over a year? Why did he also solicit more business from me in October, promising to have it done and bring it to me at NYCC under the same circumstances?
At what point do you start to realize this is an integrity issue?
It sounds to me like his way of running his illustration business is to take as much money as he can get away with, with no regard to any sort of reasonable schedule for delivery, with no regard to the workload already on his table.
#5644650 - 05/01/1208:13 PMRe: OFFICIAL 4th Anthony Castrillo blank sketch cover opportunity!
[Re: advancedpillow]
Dark Prime 0Dark Prime 0
The Post-man always rings twice. Uhm... ring ring?
Registered: 09/04/08
Posts: 1702
Loc: PA
paratrooper i wasn't trying to give him an excuse, just stateing a fact
my excuses for an opp going over stated time is bc these opps aren't how they pay their bills (real work 1st, commishions 2nd)
i used that for AC sometime last year, and i think a 2nd time for him as well......but it's way past that point now
and i agree with pillow, not on the business part (reason is intent vs. what really happened are 2 different things) but the rest honestly sounds spot on
paratrooper i wasn't trying to give him an excuse, just stateing a fact
my excuses for an opp going over stated time is bc these opps aren't how they pay their bills (real work 1st, commishions 2nd)
i used that for AC sometime last year, and i think a 2nd time for him as well......but it's way past that point now
and i agree with pillow, not on the business part (reason is intent vs. what really happened are 2 different things) but the rest honestly sounds spot on
I could type a lengthy post explaining all the reasons why you're wrong, but allow me to simplify it.
When AC told me, "I'll try to have yours done this weekend", when he had a mountain of others who had been waiting for months, was he telling a lie or telling the truth? When AC solicited more business from me in October, telling me he would have my second op done and delivered to me at NYCC (that same month), did he really believe that or was he lying?
#5644863 - 05/01/1209:27 PMRe: OFFICIAL 4th Anthony Castrillo blank sketch cover opportunity!
[Re: DevilsRain]
DevilsRainDevilsRain
I was posting here when you were in diapers.
Registered: 10/03/07
Posts: 3267
Loc: Manhattan, NY
But seriously the thing that got under my skin was the empty promises.
I understand life can get in the way, thats fine, but its easily rectified. Communication is the big one. Everyone here is, for the most part, pretty reasonable. If you communicate what is happening then people can be pretty forgiving. The problem is when you communicate an empty promise. Ill have it done next week, (a month later)...Ill have it done next week.... (a month later) .....Its no way to conduct business and pisses everyone off.
Anthony, Im not trying to bust your chops. I know you read the boards. Just be honest with everyone. Maybe you are afraid to give refunds? Dont have the money? You are more than capable of producing quality work in a short amount of time. Why not just explain what is happening. And be honest.
When AC told me, "I'll try to have yours done this weekend", when he had a mountain of others who had been waiting for months, was he telling a lie or telling the truth? When AC solicited more business from me in October, telling me he would have my second op done and delivered to me at NYCC (that same month), did he really believe that or was he lying?
Lying. If he wasn't he would have been upfront, apologetic, and have gotten it out to you late with full details.
What valid reason could there be for such blatant falsehoods and almost complete silence since?
VIVA INFANTINO 
