Quote - > Quote - Exactly.  Some people love recreating real people and objects, others prefer to create what ifs.

Personally, I prefer creating what ifs.  I don't recreate a specific person, but create one that is representative of the people around me or in paintings/photos/film/tv or what I imagine a fantasy/otherworldly figure to look like.

This is really beautifully put, and is my take on it also. :)

It's possible enough to create 'clones' of really real people in this medium. It's also possible to make depictions of things that aren't, or could not be. Personally, I find the ability to depict the latter pretty dang valuable artistically! If we as human beings weren't interested in idealized forms or 'impossible' beauty from time to time, we probably wouldn't have half the use for photoshop that we do in realms far beyond this medium. ;) (Though I'm also in agreement that the 'buy my product and you, too, can be impossible in real life!' grinds my nerves camp.)

 

Something I hear in art school from high llama artist teachers very often is that 'you can only push reality so much', you can push imagination a lot more.
Another thing that everyone is learning is that in order to succesfully push reality intop imagination, you have to become pretty darn skilled in realistic depiction first.

Once you can depict realisam well can you start learning how to twist reality and make something interesting on demand - which is what working artists and illustrators have to do, rather then just by accidenttal discovery. While accidental discovery is very valuable, a working artist needs more then that in their toolbox of skills.

As for preferences, I like things that present a bit of a challenge, regardles of the genre... and some genre and techniques present more of a challenge then others - mostly because of my current skillset.

___
Renderosity Store  Personal nick: Conniekat8
Hi, my name is "No, Bad Kitteh, NOO", what's yours?