I'm not a 'toon fan, and I don't use 'toon figures for purposes other than testing.  "Realistic" is exactly what I want to see in new characters.  Nothing against 'toon fans, BTW -- this is just my personal taste.

There have been numbers of 'realistic' animations.  But some few people find those to be creepy, rather than attractive.  To them, the effect is probably reminiscent of "living department store mannequin" episodes of old TV shows like Twilight Zone.  This is the same reason why some people don't like 3D art at all -- or at least 3D art involving human figures.

But as has been hinted at here -- the day is coming when 3D renders (including animation) will be indistinguishable from a real photograph or video.  Just imagine the potential for creating embarassing ads of your political opponent......doing whatever.  Or for that matter of anyone else.  I can envision a whole new set of government laws regarding the creation of realistic videos using your neighbor's, or co-worker's, or whoever's image...........

We'll also probably start to see an entire new industry of "do it yourself" wannabe movie directors.  No real actors/actresses to pay -- and all of the special effects that you want created on your home PC.  Sell your self-created movies online -- or on DVD at your local video store.

I don't think that P7......or even P8.....will be there yet.  But I think that it's coming eventually.  The better the hardware/software -- then the easier it'll be.  You'll no longer need to be a top-notch high-end 3D expert to produce realistic 3D scenes.

Something To Do At 3:00AM