Ok, let me say up front that I do use GC and that I'm immensely grateful to those who figured it all out, explained it and showed us how to use it, and all for free too. Kudos to them.

That said, I'll tell you why this issue is so divisive:

Time and again I have seen, in technical threads dealing with GC matters, comments such as 'If you don't use GC all you get is crap' and, "Without GC all you produce is rubbish'. Those are the actual words used.

And for many people that is simply rude and insulting, and possibly demoralising. It's also not the truth, which only makes matters worse.

Artistic merit isn't just about GC (shh!) - it's about capturing somebody's imagination, intriguing them, inspiring them or making them think for a moment. It's about telling a story or touching an emotion. It's about amazing them.

And then somebody who might well have achieved all those things in their artwork has their entire portfolio rubbished just because of some yellow bloom or a few dark shadows! No wonder it gets people's backs up!

The comments in this thread by comparison have been much more diplomatic and considerate, to the effect that good pictures can be made even better with GC applied. Unfortunately that's not the usual message given out by the GC gurus in other threads.

GC should be on everyone's list of priorities, but it doesn't need to be near the top. There are things much more important -  the kind of things I mentioned above.

It doesn't help that all we ever see from the gurus is a blankly staring V4/M4 in a bland setting and no attempt whatsoever at artistry. It must be disheartening (and annoying) for your inspired and carefully crafted image to be relegated to 'crap' compared to these endless series of technical renders (which aren't always that good technically anyway).

I think the GC gurus should marry their undisputed technical wizardry with a little bit of diplomacy, or just common politeness. It can be done, as we've seen in this thread. It just so rarely is in other threads.

On occasion I've seen the most amazingly technically accomplished Poser images posted here, of V4 or Miki or whatever in a simple scene. Beautifully lit and wonderfully rendered. Some have looked almost like a photograph. I've been awed by them, and I mean that sincerely.

But then I've thought to myself, "If this image actually was a photograph, what would I think of it then?"
And usually the answer is: not much, actually. Not compared to the brilliantly creative photography seen here or on other dedicated photography sites. And then I realise that the Poser image's merit lies exclusively in the fact that it looks quite like a photograph. Clever, impressive etc., but not enough to make it a real work of art.

And then I'll see another image by somebody far less technically accomplished that has a bit of yellow bloom or some overly dark shadows or whatever, but see something in it that really excites my imagination.

Do you see what I'm getting at?

Me? I'm going to keep trying to make art with cool ideas and use GC to make it look as good as I can. But I'm going to keep my priorities in order :-)

Free stuff @ https://poser.cobrablade.net/