Quote - Call me pure.

Call me realistic.

Call me whatever you want, but I never understood why we need specular maps on the skin of a figure.

Skin and light "diffuse and/or shine" depends on the skin and the position of the light.

Skin is skin.
Be it on the arms, or on the belly or on the legs.

And Light is light.

Bump, displacement and normal maps OK.

Specular maps on the skin of a figure however????

 

The skin does not have uniform oil and perspiration glands.  If the skin is entirely covered in unmussed makeup of a uniform nature, then specular is not needed.  But if you want truly natural, then the oily spots need more specular, as does the neck and forehead for perspiration  And don't forget the elbows of an office worker who sits in an armed chair with rough fabric.  These things are subtle, but the difference between real and not quite right is delicate in the visual processing center of the brain.

 

Poser/DS users are so accustomed to the representational look that they don't see the divergence from reality like the average person on the street.  I have often seen Poser/DS users ask someone for feedback, and the praise they expect often doesn't come for these minute reasons.  It just depends on your audience.  If you're going to show Poser/DS users, you don't need the fine details that you need for those who are not constantly evaluating 3D renderings and only have reality as a point of comparison.