I think it is healthy that this conversation has logically moved to a related and important issue... From the point of view of an animator... There are two schools of aesthetic philosophy in conflict in the West, naturalism and romanticism. Many think the continued drive to 'photorealism' will make animated film better. Yet...the cell-shaded world continues on its merry way achieving more and more impact, while photorealistic animated films go nowhere. Why? Is it because the technology is still not sufficiently advanced? I submit not. It is because good film makers know it is not necessary to have literal realism in animation....the audience will supply the verisimilitude in between the 'holds' and the absence of human skin texture...as long as the story, plot, characterization .... WORKS. In fact, they will forgive vastly more 'unrealism' than they will if viewing a live action film. What works for the mass audience of the West is romanticism. I don't mean 'romantic' in the "please kiss me and fill my heart" sense....I mean it in the "here is a story bigger than life with an emotional pull and a narrative story line and a dramatic (usually happy, but not always) ending." This is in opposition to naturalism, which eschews the auteur controlling the plot and goes for 'slice of life,' and very often ugly or dispirited slice of life. I think when an audience detects "oh, this is an animated film" (or a single image, for that matter) they suspend disbelief instantly and give the artist immense permission and expectation to "take them somewhere interesting" (romanticism) and that desire to be transported is FAR more important to the viewer than 'is the inside of her nostril shaded with he same value progression as the light values on her cheek.' All this is by way of echoing gabriel's point, in a way. Our medium does not need hyper real bodies and textures in order to 'get better.' It needs more artist/interpreters with story, expression, passion and vision to make both still and animated images with our marvelous tools. ::::: Opera ::::: Postscript: I admit it is "easier" to output in toon. But toon people fail too if they cannot realize a vision. The reason I possibly look forward to VickiPro is not because she will be more realistic, but that if they DO sculpt from real bodies she might not inherit the handicap of the distorted limbs/folds and outsized body/head ratio.