At Saturday Academy, we teach various ray tracing methods for developing realistic scenery, such as shown in the "photograph" above (very professional, and not by one of our students so far as I know). The animation industry depends on faux landscapes for backdrops, much as the rest of the movie industry does, so I don't begrudge pupils learning these skills, use them myself sometimes.
However, I also encourage positive forms of realism, not just surrealism.
