Quote - I will presume to ask a favour. I have just made my very first portrait, based on a Poser figure, but still I must have made an error, because alpha102039 was able to see that it was a Poser figure. What did I do wrong? I would very much like to get help in this matter. My try is here,

If you want one reason, then i agree it would have to be the nose. There are some things a bit off in other parts of the face but they can be ascribed to your personal style. The nose, though, is almost stereotypically poser. From the thin bridge, glowing nostrils, the way the nostrils are flaring and the little nubbin at the tip, it pretty much screams 'poser.'

Quote - Not always true. Look at work like the Primitive Masters, like Grandma Moses. There's no composition worth spit in there, certainly no lighting. Yet her work is considered classic -- and for good reason -- because it evokes. Tools are great, but that image in particular is only about tools, proving that style over substance is just another Hannah Montana.

Well there are always exceptions but i dont think you'll find many 'masters' in any discipline that weren't also masters of technique. You certainly wont find any in CG, even people who work with something as abstract as fractals need ultimate understanding of their tools to produce anything worthwhile.

As for poor hannah montana, note that dumb as she is, she still manages to influence millions of people with her 'art.' And even work by/on someone as shallow as marylin monroe is considered a 'classic' in some circles, so what does that tell you about the whole substance thing anyway :p