Quote Originally Posted by Insertcoins View Post
I've been calling it an anime art style as the art is anime base. Another poster said it was more realistic but I guess comparing it to WoW's models it would be. As we're not all deformed. But going by the actual artstyles WoW has a more western look - cause it's a western game I know- so yeah.
Realistic in art does not necessarily mean a 1:1 model for reality. It means that it uses more realistic schema, like how the characters still have plausible, human proportions. Albeit it schematized in a way that is not necessarily true to life. You have to really go out of your way with the sliders and such to end up with a disproportional character.

Compare Miqote with the Draenei. You can still realistically look at a Miqote and say "Yeah, these proportions are possible." But Draenei have tiny goat legs with a massive upper body to the point that they shouldn't even be able to stand, let alone move. The unusual appearance of even lower level armor on WoW adds more and more layers of a more animated schema that FFXIV's art lacks.

That said, a lot of it comes down to differences in general design. Both have their charm overall, but I think it'd be kind of silly to accuse FFXIV of being more animated and exaggerated than WoW in any form lol.