Clauce details how Astrix Commission Studio executives pressured them to perform unpaid extra work and issue a refund on a completed animation project leading to a one sided PayPal dispute and warnings for other freelancers in the space.
Clauce completed the animation and sent the final files through the server ticket system. The client then requested changes that required rendering the entire project again which can take up to ten hours depending on the setup. Clauce offered to do the re render for ten dollars after already discounting the original commission from sixty five to fifty dollars.
Executive Intervention and Escalation
According to the thread an executive known as RIZEN joined the ticket and called the request for payment silly claiming the client offer was already generous. The discussion continued with the client lowering their counteroffer and the executive suggesting that doing the work for free would lead to future commissions. Clauce refused and stood by the position that the extra render was outside the original agreement.
The client then filed a PayPal dispute without notifying Clauce and won by submitting edited screenshots that omitted key context including an explanation of time zone differences and prior acknowledgments. The evidence also questioned a portfolio watermark that the same executive had seen when originally recruiting Clauce.
Pattern of Issues and Community Response
Clauce reached out to the server owner itzjimjam with a full explanation but received no response within the stated timeframe before going public. They also spoke with other freelancers who had worked with Astrix or the related earlier server SMP Sales and reported similar patterns of treatment.
- Clauce consulted around thirty other creators and animators who all agreed the ten dollar fee for the re render was fair or even low.
- The executive reportedly claimed rendering was just one button despite the lengthy processing time involved.
- Clauce advises freelancers to document every step of commissions including deliveries updates and agreements.
- Multiple community members replied to the thread offering support and sharing their own concerns about commission servers.
The thread has drawn replies from other Minecraft creators and animators who expressed disappointment and reinforced the need for better protections in the creative freelance side of the community. While the server itself has not issued a public statement the post serves as a warning for those considering similar commission platforms.
