Realism and pixel art

[Hugo]

hi, 
i read these topics about realism and colors palette :
http://www.wayofthepixel.net/pixelation/index.php?PHPSESSID=e060ea5dc0aaa236864a2e0238fde3d4&topic=1013.0
http://www.wayofthepixel.net/pixelation/index.php?PHPSESSID=e060ea5dc0aaa236864a2e0238fde3d4&topic=1396.0
and here a interview's graphic artist 3d at http://raph.com/3dartists/interviews/i-i132.html : "Each image seems to contain a unified color scheme. How important do you consider this to producing a good looking image? For a realistic image, it is important to use low saturated colors. And it helps a lot if the colors of the various elements match. The more different colors you have, the more artificial your picture will look."

the words "detail", "low saturation", "contrast" are frequent in these citations. Turbo says : "good values".
my question is : how do artists's Pixelation choose colors to create a pic realist ?
thanks.

(sorry for bad english...)

[Sherman Gill]

I'm going by what you posted in this thread, but those low saturation and contrast bits are total bullshit . I mean, on a whole, fake things are generally more saturated in total, but you don't want everything to be washed out like modern video games.

[Hugo]

No of course, i don't want everything to be washed out. 

Here is an example of image photorealistic of the demoscener Mustafa.
http://gfxzone.planet-d.net/personal/mustafa/01/mustafa-veronika.html
no dither, the areas has abrupt transitions. The image has a gray palette, so here saturation does not contribute to the realism. The level of detail isn't extraordinary.
But it's photorealistic ... Then this is the richness of tone ? (unfortunately, with my bad english I did not understand the tutorial by Ron Lemen...)
please help...

[Helm]

That's not photorealistic I'd say. It's based on a photo, with this strange posterization effect... it's realistic sure, but photorealism is hitting it pretty close to reality.

[Hugo]

Despite this fact, the image remains realistic (photorealistic was too strong a term ...).
lot of details ? It's still a mystery to me. 
with a color palette to the Cyclone (psychedelic!), Helm your images remains realistic, how it is explained?
http://www.pixeljoint.com/pixelart/11191.htm

[Conzeit]

there is no single way to aproach "realistic" style.


"Realistic" style is simply applying natural looking lighting set ups. These can vary wildly, "Realistic" is completley dependant on the ambience you are trying to convey (indoors with neon lighting, outdoors in the middle of the day...ETC) so...basically, just observe real samples of the real ambient you want to recreate, and express your observations as faithfully as you can in your art.

[Helm]

Hugo: it's more about construction and volumes than hues. If it looks like a real head and not a collection of idealised symbols (eye, eye, mouth, nose) it'll read more as realistic though it really isn't that much.

[Hugo]

posterlization = banding ?

Helm : "if it looks like a real head and not a collection of idealised symbols". yet, i thought it is simulating approximately keys points of the face, than the viewer projects and complete the picture creating the illusion of realism. Only a huge level of detail can achieve "copying" the appearance of a true face. 

Conceit and Helm : good set up light = Volume detailed = lot of forms 3d = shadow/light = realism ? If I translated correctly...

thanks again.