Is Domestika in Trouble? What Artists and Students Should Know
I’ve seen Domestika’s ads for affordable art courses everywhere. Some of them genuinely caught my eye — but something always felt a little off. The prices were the first red flag: USD $0.99 courses regularly “marked down” from USD $49.99. Deals that drastic are common in scam-style marketing, so I hesitated.
Then I watched a great video by Kat n’ Chat on YouTube and learned about Domestika’s increasingly unethical business practices. Instructors not getting paid. Students charged for subscriptions they never signed up for. Confusing billing. No support. It left me asking: what exactly happened to this once-beloved platform?
This has been quite the rabbit hole! The more I dig, the more I find. There is a deeper story here far beyond what’s on the surface. I will be doing follow up posts.
A Word of Caution Before Joining Domestika
I’ll dive into the full timeline below, but first — a warning. Whether Domestika is intentionally scamming people is unclear. What is clear is that years of restructuring, layoffs, and investor pressure have left them struggling to run the platform properly. But that doesn’t excuse their unethical behaviour in this situation.
From the outside, they still market themselves as if everything is perfectly fine. But many users are reporting that they are unable to access courses, unanswered support tickets, unexplained subscription charges, and refund requests that only get resolved through their banks. Employees describe a company that doesn’t care about them.
Here are some Facebook groups where students have shared their experiences with Domestika refunds. There’s also many similar threads on Reddit:
Domestika Victims: global action and accountability project
Domestika Scam Fraud Activities
This isn’t meant as an attack — just a realistic look at the current situation. If you’re thinking about joining Domestika, it would be wise to wait and see whether they resolve these issues first.
Domestika Timeline: From Creative Community to Controversy
Understanding the timeline demonstrates how a once-thriving creative hub unraveled. It is long, but important because it shows where things started to go wrong.
Early History (Pre-2012–2016)
Domestika begins as a Spanish online creative forum and community space for designers and artists.
It grows organically through community events, job boards, and creative meetups.
Leadership includes Julio G. Cotorruelo (CEO) and a small founding team based in Spain.
Around 2013–2016, Domestika gradually transitions from a community site into a curated online course platform.
Growth Phase (2016–2020)
Domestika starts recruiting artists to create high-quality, highly produced courses.
The company becomes known for:
Strong production values
Creator-friendly royalties
A supportive, collaborative atmosphere
Domestika expands into Latin America and English-speaking markets.
By 2020, Domestika has:
Millions of users
Courses in multiple languages
A rapidly scaling marketplace model
Major Funding Shift (2021–2022)
2021
Domestika raises significant venture capital funding and begins shifting toward aggressive global expansion. Venture capitol is a type of private investment for companies with high growth potential given in exchange for equity or ownership.
January 2022: The Big Turning Point
Domestika raises $110 million (Series D – a late-stage funding round for established companies that went through earlier funding rounds) and becomes a $1.3 billion “unicorn.” A Unicorn is a privately held startup company valued at over $1 billion.
This dramatically changes expectations inside the company:
Investors expect rapid global growth
Monetization becomes a priority
Expansion must justify the billion-dollar valuation
This marks the beginning of Domestika’s institutional-pressure era.
Structural Changes & Layoffs Begin (2022)
Multiple sources report mass layoffs beginning as early as April 2022.
Around 40% of staff are let go globally according to internal leaks.
Regional offices start closing:
France
Italy
UK
Germany
Brazil
Many affected staff worked in:
Community management
Localization
Course production
Customer support
These layoffs are the first public sign of drastic internal restructuring driven by investor pressure.
Shifts in Instructor Compensation (2022–2023)
Instructors notice royalty percentages quietly declining for new contracts.
Older contracts (30–50% earnings) are no longer offered.
Deep discounting (frequent $10 or $0.99 sales) makes many instructors feel undervalued.
Domestika introduces Domestika Plus, a subscription model that leads to:
Confusion around billing
Auto-renewal complaints
Customer support overload
Domestika Acquires CGMA (Early 2023)
Domestika purchases CGMA – CG Master Academy, a respected digital art school.
Intended goals:
Expand into higher-end professional art education
Acquire CGMA’s roster of top-tier instructors
Strengthen Domestika’s industry credibility
What Actually Happened
Multiple CGMA staff were laid off immediately post-acquisition.
Course administrators and student support roles cut drastically.
Several courses were cancelled or never launched.
Enrollment plummeted due to instability.
Deterioration Accelerates (2023–2024)
Instructors across Domestika report:
Slower communication
Reduced support teams
Pressure to accept lower royalties
Students increasingly complain about:
Auto-renewing subscriptions
Difficulty obtaining refunds
Support tickets going unanswered
The Hidden Crisis: CGMA Dissolves Quietly (Late 2024)
November 14, 2024: CGMA is legally dissolved in California.
Domestika does not inform instructors or students.
CGMA continues to:
Run classes
Accept student payments
Hire instructors
All while technically being a dissolved entity — a major red flag.
2025: Payments Stop — The Instructor Revolt
Summer 2025
Domestika stops paying many instructors across both Domestika and CGMA.
New clause introduced tying payment to forum activity, even for instructors who:
Were never required to respond before
Had older contracts
Had thousands of students (making constant replies impossible)
CGMA Teachers Go Public
Around 140 CGMA instructors publicly state they have not been paid for:
Spring 2025 term
Summer 2025 term
Autumn 2025 term
CGMA platform access is suddenly shut down.
Many instructors discover the 2024 dissolution only now.
Students Join the Backlash (Mid–Late 2025)
Students who paid for CGMA classes receive:
No classes
No refunds
Sparse communication
Domestika’s billing practices (especially Domestika Plus) face increasing scrutiny.
Trustpilot scores drop; some banks begin flagging Domestika as a risky merchant.
September–October 2025: Legal Dispute Emerges
Domestika publishes a Legal Notice confirming:
CGMA is dissolved
Courts are now involved
Payment systems are in “deposit-only” mode. This allows funds to come into an account but blocks withdrawals, transfers, or payments. It’s often applied when a company is restricted from operating normally due to financial or legal concerns.
Strange twist:
The official dissolution documents appear to have been signed by a Domestika executive,
yet Domestika claims they never approved it.
This contradiction becomes central to the legal dispute.
End of 2025: Domestika’s Reputation Collapses
Instructors abandon the platform.
Students warn others online.
The creative community expresses shock at Domestika’s behavior compared to its early years.
Domestika quietly reincorporates CGMA in Florida, raising more suspicion.
Domestika continues posting marketing content as if nothing is wrong.
Conclusion: Domestika's Apparent "Fall From Grace"
Domestika’s current challenges didn’t appear overnight — they’re the result of several converging pressures. After receiving major venture-capital funding and reaching unicorn status, the company shifted toward rapid global growth, higher revenue demands, and scalable systems, which naturally pushed profit and volume ahead of its earlier community-first culture. As Domestika expanded, the economic slowdown brought further cost-cutting pressures, leading to layoffs, office closures, reduced support, and lower royalty offers for instructors.
The acquisition of CGMA added another layer of strain, especially as the school’s specialized courses and operating costs conflicted with Domestika’s new efficiency-driven approach. Staff cuts, cancellations, and eventually the dissolution of CGMA created a chain reaction of unpaid teachers, frustrated students, and now a legal dispute.
While Domestika still operates publicly as though everything is normal — releasing new courses and running regular promotions — these underlying issues are important for creatives and students to be aware of. If you’re thinking about purchasing courses or getting involved as an instructor, this is a good moment to pause, research the current situation, and make an informed decision. My hope is that transparency, fairness, and respect for creative labour will guide whatever comes next, both for Domestika and for the many artists and students.
Sources & Further Reading
Class Central – “Unpaid Domestika and CGMA Instructors Protest Online, Students Join Over Billing Issues”
By Kanishka Nangare (Nov. 4, 2025) A detailed report on unpaid Domestika and CGMA instructors, payment freezes, student complaints, and the timeline of events leading to the protests.
The Beat / ComicsBeat – “CGMA Missed Payments for Instructors, Future of the Art Academy Is Foggy”
By Javier Perez (Oct. 6, 2025) Covers the CGMA dissolution discovery, instructors finding out months later, and Domestika’s response.
Cartoon Brew – “140 Teachers Unpaid After Online Art School CGMA Abruptly Shuts Down Operations”
By Jamie Lang (Oct. 3, 2025) An overview of the shutdown, payment issues, and the public statements made by instructors.
80.lv – “EXCLUSIVE: CGMA Might Be on the Verge of Shutting Down, Instructors Warn”
By Theodore McKenzie (Sept. 30, 2025) Explores early warnings from instructors, Domestika’s restructuring, and the internal problems leading up to the collapse.
Reddit – r/craftsnark “Domestika Scam – Warning About Domestika Plus Subscriptions”
Community discussion (2024)
Crowdsourced reports from students about auto-renewal issues, billing concerns, customer support delays, and advice on navigating the subscription system.(search for “Domestika Scam” or “Domestika Plus” threads for more)
Class Central – “Domestika, the Online Learning Unicorn, Closes Global Offices and Downsizes Staff by 40%”
By Dhawal Shah and the Class Central team (2023)
A breakdown of Domestika’s 2022–2023 layoffs, office closures, and the early signs of financial strain.
TechCrunch – “Domestika Raises $110M at a $1.3B Valuation to Expand Its Online Learning Community”
By Ingrid Lunden (Jan. 27, 2022) Background on Domestika’s major funding round and the shift into hyper-growth mode.
Clay.com – Domestika CEO Profile (Julio G. Cotorruelo)
Short corporate profile confirming leadership, founding details, and structural information.
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