I've been working on a space game where the visual style tends towards realism but I'm wondering; what do you guys think about a space game with a non-photorealistic slant? I haven't been able to find much reference for such a look but think movies/shows like Appleseed, Titen AE, and certain parts of Cowboy Bebop, Ghost in the Shell and Invader Zim (which is a big influence on me). Imagine if you will almost a Zelda: Wind Waker stylized game, but in space. Is this something you think would be cool to see? I want my game too look great but photorealism can only go so far until it all starts looking the same and X3: Reunion really sets the bench here imo (although ysanaya is doing some impressive stuff, at least for planet rendering). It would also _greatly_ lesson my art burden to not try for perfect realism and would allow me to gave the game some flavor and possibly even some humor. None of these are in a space setting I'm afraid but here are some example scenes of the basic look I'm going for: Let me know what you guys think and if you can recall any space games, movies, 3d scenes/models that have followed along the same vein. I'm definitely looking to make my game stand out so anything outlandish would be a plus. Thanks!

Check out Geoff Darrow for work that is super clean, but insanely detailed at the same time. Instead of covering his work in a haze of texture (like most scifi games do) he keeps each element supremely crisp and clear but overwhelms with the sheer amount of details. It kind of reminds me a robotron.

Scott

I think the rendering technique your referring to in those images is known as Cell-Shading. It could be quite interesting, the closest i may have seen is some spinoffs of Gundam Seed somewhere.

Um, I can't help but think but my own artwork, which is fairly cartoony-
Here's the best sample I have(I'm not a proffesional -yet[smile]):

Hmm, yeah good stuff. I wonder then, what defines good art for NPR rendering? Very simplistic subtle tone changes or harsh outlines.

Prinz Eugn, you for instance have a lot of high frequency detail (great model btw), yet the inking is kind of... flat (?), which I think was the intention.

Are resources created for realism then completely unsuitable for non-photorealism, and if not, what defines a resource that is?

Thanks for the help thus far guys.