Hey everyone, I just wanted to shed some light on a shady practice happening in the 3D art community, especially on Fiverr, Etsy, and VG3N. Many Indonesian "3D artists" or studios arent real artists but middlemen running an MLM-style operation that exploits underpaid workers and AI-generated images. (Sorry, Im using a throwaway account to protect my identity. Also, apologies if this post violates subreddit rulesjust wanted to spread awareness.) Heres how they operate: They operate across multiple platforms: On Fiverr, they sell 3D services and childrens book illustrations. On Etsy, they focus more on anime-style 2D artwork. On VG3N, they also offer 2D illustrations. On Upwork, they sell presentation services. Use AI-generated images in their advertisements, misleading buyers into thinking theyre getting high-quality, handcrafted 3D art. Pay freelancers extremely low wagesas little as $10 to $48 per project, while reselling the work for hundreds of dollars. They also force these freelancers to provide unlimited revisions without extra pay. Freelancers are unaware that their work is being resold at much higher pricesthey are told its for personal use only. Have in-house 3D artists, but theyre paid only Rp 1.5 million (~$100) per month, with zero bonuses from the massive profit the studio makes. Meanwhile, the bosses make $5,000$10,000 per month (~hundreds of millions of rupiah) while treating their workers like slaves. That means the actual artists only get around 1%2% of what their work generateseven though they are the ones keeping Fiverr, Etsy, VG3N, and Upwork accounts running and profitable. Target young, inexperienced workers, especially fresh SMK (vocational school) graduates, brainwashing their parents into believing their kids will have a bright future with their own Fiverr, Etsy, or VG3N accountswhen in reality, theyre being exploited. Some of the higher-ups verbally abuse their workers, insulting and belittling them. Brainwash their workers with lines like "We are family, dont think about salary, this is a learning process, lets grow together, just follow your mentors." They convince young workers that pay doesnt matter as long as they are learning. The so-called mentors control their workers' personal lives, constantly prying into their problems and blaming personal issues whenever their work isnt good enough. Workers are not allowed to question or challenge their mentorsthey have to obey everything they say. A 14-year-old even dropped out of school to join this system, dedicating themselves full-time to 3D art under false promises of success. Workers are forced to do non-3D tasks, including cleaning, mopping floors, scrubbing toilets, cooking, and even taking care of the bosss neglected pet cats. A freelancer once reported one of these studios, causing their account to get suspended. And do you know how the MLM bosses reacted? They told their workers: "Those are just jealous losers who can draw but dont know how to market themselves. Theyre mad because we can sell their work for way more money than they ever could." Recently, a case about these exploitative middlemen has gone viral on Twitter. Many Indonesian studios use this system, where the people at the top (who dont even know anything about 2D/3D) make huge profits, while the actual artistswhether full-time or internsare treated unfairly. You can easily spot their accounts on the platforms I mentioned. If you search for "3D" on Fiverr, the top results are dominated by Indonesian sellers, and 90% of them are part of this exploitative system. Some accounts use the real names and personal data of former employees, claiming those accounts as the studios property. However, the people running those accounts are often not the actual artistsmost of them are young workers aged 15-24 who were recruited into this system. I doubt the sellers will ever admit to this, but if youre buying from Indonesian artists on these platforms, please be careful. Many of them are just resellers who profit off underpaid freelancers who dont even know their work is being resold. I'm only sharing this because, as a fellow human being, I feel its important to speak up about something so morally wrong. Artists deserve fair pay, and buyers deserve transparency. Do whatever you want with this info, but I hope it helps. Stay safe, and support real artistsnot exploitative middlemen. submitted by /u/Content_Detective198 [link] [comments]