Hold up, gotta call out one thing. It's not really an algorithm in the traditional sense. ArtStation's algorithm just shows recent popular stuff mixed with some promoted work. The real issue is their search and discovery system is broken, not that it's some smart AI thing picking what to show. The algorithm mostly rewards artists who already have a big following or who post at peak hours. If you're a smaller creator, your stuff barely gets seen no matter how good it is. So blame the ranking system and how it prioritizes engagement, not really a complex algorithm.
Is it really just a broken search system though? Platforms like ArtStation have a massive financial incentive to push certain artists who drive the most engagement and ad revenue. Smaller creators getting buried isnt a bug, its a feature of how they design the whole thing to keep popular artists visible. If it was just a search problem, you'd think they'd have fixed it by now since its been years.