Benchmark and your face - Dont judge by the character creator alone

[Sindele]

Super funny that even a new lighting engine isn't enough to get them to fix the oldest juke in the book: character creator lighting being completely detached from reality.

[Tethan]

Looks like the benchmark areas already uses dawntrail lighting, and character creation retained "old" lighting we currently have ingame.
New skin textures were probably created with the new lighting in mind and devs forgot update lighting in character creation.

That means that our characters will have the same terrible look in all old areas with old lighting (as seen in different background previews in creation) and look much better in new dawntrail maps unless they update lighting in all old areas.

It is just my own hypothesis so Im not sayin it is exactly like this
Would be best if devs write an official pronouncement regarding this character rework fiacso, at least to appease all that displeased players.

Nope, it is not the same lighting. You can see this easily if you go to the inn scene. In live the overhead light causes shadows that are super harsh in the classic FFXIV way, looks completely different in benchmark. Not to mention all the other differences, such as hair no longer having proper shadows.

[Bun_Vivant]

Super funny that even a new lighting engine isn't enough to get them to fix the oldest juke in the book: character creator lighting being completely detached from reality.

Dye preview has always been terribly inaccurate as well.