Yes. But in principle, tech could be advanced enough that it doesn't require so much manual effort. Like, if someone takes the time an works long hours on model

Yes. But in principle, tech could be advanced enough that it doesn't require so much manual effort. Like, if someone takes the time an works long hours on modeling a worn book with all its wrinkles and curls and crookedness, you can probably ray trace it realistically. But you could also say that artists can digitally paint a whole scene without any 3d engine or rendering tech. The point is, currently it only works for simple scenes and needs tons of manual work otherwise. Reality is realistic effortlessly.