OK, about those clients.
Client #1 from the Netherlands wanted to make a game, apparently something like Counter Strike, I was supposed to just make a model of his counter terrorist with clothes and gear specified by the guy using pictures, all seemed well and suddenly he stops responding, I panic and leave him a message telling him I am putting his stuff on hold and since that silence was too sudden I asked for 50% upfront payment to continue.
He comes back, says he was on vacation "so what?" then he says "that was not what we agreed upon" then he says "screw it, I don't want to continue" which means the time I spent making his stuff was wasted.
The thing is, we never agreed on when to pay, only the amount, the norm would usually be asking for a % upfront regardless, I was just being naive.
Client #2 from Mexico wants to enter the toy market by making some kind of dioramas for figmas, he said he couldn't pay me upfront and this would be mostly a partnership, his commission was a simple piece for 3D printing, I made it, he liked it and even got to print a test piece and showed it, then I asked for a measly 20 bucks for the time spent, he then began saying that's not what we agreed upon.
I told him it wasn't a full commission payment, just what you would call a tip, he said maybe he would have to release his product without my works (as to not pay me on the partnership deal), I reluctantly had to wait for his "pre-order" date to get my fricking 20 bucks then and in turn asked him to post it on the figma collectors group we were as to at least give me exposure including showing the picture of the piece he printed.
Thn he told me he can't do that because showing off the piece would reduce the impact of his product upon release, I just played along but I basically plan on releasing that piece to the public if he doesn't comply, still, a fucking ingrate.
In both cases I didn't ask for upfront payments because I wasn't used to that, and most potential clients don't respect people like me because there was no portfolio so now I have to render every single thing I can do just to stop these assholes from treating me like a beggar.