I've made a discovery after uploading my latest Bowser collections (this one and this one), and it began when I noticed the colors on those pictures were washed out on Inkbunny as opposed to other places on the internet I uploaded them to. After mentioning it on Twitter, I got confirmation that it is an Inkbunny thing, and that I'm thankfully not crazy! Well, crazier.
So, as a privacy measure, Inkbunny automatically mass strips metadata from images when they are uploaded, and some of that data contains color profile info apparently. I totally get stripping metadata for privacy's sake! You'd be amazed how often personally-identifying info can be unintentionally left in image files. However, it can also have the unfortunate side-effect of changing how a picture looks. If, how, and when a compromise that protects users' privacy and maintains image fidelity is implemented to this site is something I leave to Inkbunny. What I want to put before you is how to compensate for it for the time being.
First, an explanation. In short, a "color profile" is the method of how color data is stored in a digital image. There are many color profiles, each with their pros and cons. Some are better suited for certain purposes, such as printing, and new ones come and go as hardware becomes better capable of displaying a wider gamut of colors. sRGB is pretty universal as far as basic display goes; it's effectively the standard and every device and website knows how to use it. However, it's pretty old, it has its limitations, and newer/fancier color profiles have been becoming more widespread. Mostly by happenstance, much of my art uses Display P3, which is more accurate and capable than sRGB, but not as many devices or websites are compatible with it yet. In short, at the time of writing this, Inkbunny is fully compatible with sRGB, but some other color profiles, including Display P3, will have their data trimmed upon uploading them, resulting in changes in how their colors are displayed.
So if you upload images to Inkbunny, check what color profile you're using! If it's sRGB, you're fine. If it's anything else, it may be worthwhile to export a version in sRGB before uploading it to Inkbunny to maintain as much image fidelity as possible! Because if you leave the conversion up to Inkbunny's uploading tool, it trims data with dynamite rather than a scalpel and your colors might get caught in the blast.
This is just what I gleaned from a brief exchange with someone familiar with the process! Please feel free to leave a comment if I omitted or misunderstood any info! I have already re-uploaded those Bowser collections here as sRGB so they are as close to their originals as possible, but for the rest of my past stuff here on Inkbunny, I'll just be looking over them and figuring out whether or not it's worth the trouble (yet another instance where MORE VERSIONS works against me XD). Regardless, if you want the most accurate and intact versions of my artwork, you can always find them in my Proton Drive archive and my Telegram channel!
