Why do so many digital artists post flat scans and call it a showcase?
I was scrolling the showcase tag last week and noticed something strange. Almost every post had this dull, grayish look to the colors, like the art was scanned under a cheap desk lamp. I grabbed 3 of my older pieces and reshot them with my phone on a windowsill at noon, and the difference was huge, the paper texture popped and my blues stopped looking muddy. It made me realize the problem isn't the art, it's the light. Do you all use a scanner or natural light for your photos?
Watching people defend their gray muddy scans like it's some kind of artistic choice is wild. Half the showcase tag looks like everyone took photos in a cave with a potato, and then they get mad when you mention the lighting. News flash, a scanner with a dirty glass plate is not doing your colors any favors. I switched to shooting on my windowsill with my phone and suddenly my blues stopped looking like swamp water. The art was never the problem, it was that sad little desk lamp fighting for its life in the corner. Natural light costs nothing and fixes almost everything, so why are we all still pretending otherwise.