it’s funny because I think my style is very cartoony, i love cartoons and flat stylization sooo much! I actually struggle really hard with drawing irl people likenesses, it takes a lot of work for me (i’m trying to get better but it’s cursed…i have so many ugly sketches….) But yes currently I am more interested in (historical) RPF. i just think especially historical people stories are so deeply interesting, more so than a lot of fictional stories since the “lore” and “worldbuilding” is kind of infinite. many of people’s favorite fictional stories are built upon the tropes and stories that came from real people’s personalities established by their culture and contexts.

However i usually interpret that “realness” visually through a very cartoony lens, since I think cartoons are the peak of personal expression. (for example, when i draw shota stuff i feel like i draw them in a kind of “unreal” cartoonish way, that feels more like Concept idealized creature cuteness to me, when i draw the occasional Sexy Woman or bishonen I feel i’m referencing more the “idea” of sexiness than an irl woman) . because i’m interested/hyperfocused etc on Medieval People, its doubly interesting bc we have no idea how these people looked and acted aside from verbal description and stylized cartoony depictions, and thus my depictions kind of by necessity need to be Made Up. It’s different ofc for ppl who RPF people who lived during the age of the photograph….

i do want to improve my realistic likeness drawing so I can be more flexible and also make BETTER cartoons, but yeah XD It’s an interesting artistic relationship for sure