Hyper-smooth Skin (Plasticity)
Skin texture that lacks pores, fine lines, or natural imperfections, appearing like wax or plastic.
Real skin has texture—pores, tiny hairs, wrinkles, scars. AI skin looks like a plastic doll that's been polished for hours.
The "Instagram" Overlay
AI models are trained on "aesthetic" images, so they tend to remove every imperfection. This leaves you with skin that looks waxy or rubbery. Even when AI tries to draw an old person, the wrinkles often look like they were carved into clay rather than realistic sagging skin.
The Shine
Real skin absorbs some light. AI skin is often 100% reflective, making it look oily or like a 3D video game character. If they look too perfect to be real, they probably are.
Common Manifestations
Comparison to Reality: Compare an AI portrait to a raw photo from a DSLR. The AI portrait has zero pores on the nose or cheeks, looking like a blurred cosmetic ad.
The Clay Wrinkle: On elderly subjects, wrinkles appear as deep, smooth cuts in a clay surface, rather than the complex micro-texture of aging skin.
How to Spot It
- 1Zoom in on the cheeks or forehead. Can you see pores?
- 2Does the skin have the waxy sheen of a mannequin?
- 3Do wrinkles look "drawn on" rather than formed by sagging skin?