I believe I posted the revised version of this piece a while ago, but this is the original version. I checked, and it doesn’t look like I directly posted this anywhere. There’s another version I made using img2img with my dreambooth model that is marginally better. I’m always trying to combine ideas in new ways, and this one was more of a visual metaphor of how the appreciated aesthetics of vaporwave have changed over time. It feels like the indie photobased charm has largely gone away, save for a few places like our Reddit counterpart, r/vaporwaveart. The larger subreddit, r/vaporwaveaesthetics, has an affinity for glossy renders that are often a bit too clean and polished for my taste. I appreciate it when people try new things, and aren’t afraid to stick with an art style they like, even if it isn’t the most popular thing in the world. Still, vaporware has been around for long enough now that the true beginnings of our visual aesthetics are essentially long forgotten.