So uh, like 4 people are asking for my Discord despite me saying I don't take commissions yet (saying they want to chat or "know more about [me]"). I've checked their accounts. Two seem to be empty accounts with only favs, one seems to be a legit commissioner, and one seems to be a legit artist but I think it's a little suspect: they only have 20 favs, 9 of them are my stuff including this which I can't find a good reason to fav, and the rest are completely SFW stuff from various artist. I can buy the legitimacy of this account (I checked their YT channel and nothing seems amiss), I'm just afraid if they're getting on to me. Like people are trying to befriend me and then all of a sudden they want discounts because I'm their "friend". I've always been wary about this since I had this exchange.

I'd say give the legit commissioner a chance at bare minimum, but it's possible that everybody's simply hoping to get a slot, even without discounts--not a whole lot of artists do the weird stuff you do.

What's the worst that can happen? They start badgering you for free art and you say no?

wat8548 said:
What's the worst that can happen? They start badgering you for free art and you say no?

This/That kinda thing does happen, Dood T‿T)
Know I met my fair share, NEVER. DO. ART. FOR. EXPOSURE.
What you're doing now is exactly that, They're just asking for
free art in a fancy way. You, Your time, and Your Skills
are worth Waaaaaaaaay~ more than 'free', Dood.
◠‿╹)~★

Personally, instead of feeding around the bush,
I'd cut right to the chase and offer a slot in a commission,
talking through e621 of course, and if you have space for one.
That otta open 'em up to what they have in mind for the chat.
From commissions to wanting to talk to the artist, starting off
with a pitch sets the tone and tells them your all biz, Dood!
◠‿◠)~★

wat8548 said:

I could say no and block them, and frankly that's what I'm going to do anyway if it gets to that point. However, I'm also afraid this could be used to slander/blackmail me in some way (e.g. "This guy's a dick. Don't commission him!")

notkastar said:

Yeah, I figured someone asking for free art is just something that's bound to come eventually.
I like your idea. I'm not going to waste my time with those people.
Though, in my mind when I get to open commission at some point I'd just disregard any previous attempts at contact and start queuing people through Google Forms or something.

I guess many other artists have had his happen at some point. Though, I'm too afraid to ask them directly. And I doubt they'd care enough to reply anyway.

You could do things through an alternate E-mail or Discord account with a different name. That way, you can only provide what information you're comfortable with and only have to engage with it when you're in a good mental state to do so.

peacethroughpower said:

I can see how that can help if I was being stalked or if they're pestering for personal info. But it's not like I'm going to provide them with any anyway. I don't know if this can help against people trying to fabricate a relation.

peacethroughpower said:
... only have to engage with it when you're in a good mental state to do so.

Somehow I always forget about this. Thank you for reminding me. I'm always needlessly worried about stuff that has no urgency.

I'll only deal with them when I have commissions open. By then I'll already have prepared for things.

Tl;Dr Use sites like e621 with good tagging on your upload of existing work for 'exposure'?

alphamule said:
Tl;Dr Use sites like e621 with good tagging on your upload of existing work for 'exposure'?

I mean, I've already been doing that.