/3/ - 3DCG

>>918887
Photorealism is here to stay because
a) it's cheaper
b) it tricks the audience into thinking "woah, great graphics!"
c) it may be more resource greedy but with these new cards this is becoming a non-issue

Why is it cheaper?
Every artist on the planet knows how to do realism because you just imitate what's real. This means you don't have to waste resources on finding a stylized aesthetic that appeals to the masses. Think of "Photorealism" as the default artstyle that everyone accepts without complaint.

Also all these new game engines and creative technologies (Unreal Engine, Marvelous Designer, Substance painter, etc) are tuned for realism meaning the formula for "realism" is built into the tool itself. So 3D asset creation is now more about doing the work rather than being creative.

Realistic assets, because they have the same artstyle, are interchangeable between games. A Panzer tank is going to look the same no matter what Battlefield remake we're on at this point.


The downside of photorealism is that there's an upper limit to how far you can go. The moment movies and games reach that point the audience will get bored and will actively seek out stylized art. Look at all the success Overwatch has had. Or Fortnite. I 100% attribute it to the artstyle. I'll fight you on this point. Fall Guys would have been a complete failure if it had a realistic artstyle.

Going forward I believe studios will pay the big bux to the artists whose WAIFU style appeals to the masses. Not joking. There's this one guy that all he does is these close super rendered shots of anime+western waifus. Japan paid him (a lot of?) money for the rights to his artstyle. Pic related.