It goes like this:
Make nice art in a similar fashion to Varrock and Canifis or dragons and rats - we get told they’re not the correct style and that it’s too flashy.
Make art like lumbridge and draynor or the earlier 2004 style NPCs and we get abused for recycling graphics and being terrible artists.
It isn’t a game we can win and I suppose it calls for a wider discussion around what OSRS art style is as it’s clear that there isn’t a general consensus.
We always listen to feedback and are willing to take it on, there just needs to be constructive criticism to go off on and that isn’t always the case. Personally I always try to tone my designs down when I can but I’m not planning to make 2004-era graphics any time soon and will continue to match it with models released in 2007.
Hopefully that explains my stand point on the matter, sorry if it wasn’t what you wanted to hear.