A parallel I like to draw is Thomas Kinkade and HDR photography. This style has always been popular, even pre-AI.
Just defend the original subject on its own merits.
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I didn't mind the Thomas Kinkade reference, but you do have me thinking about to what extent analogies are lazy. Do you abstain from using them completely, or keep them rare?
Hyper-detailed but somehow off, intense colors, not entirely realistic as a complete scene but a combination of realistic scenes.