Personally I see myself as a realism artist. It wasn't until I got on Gaia that I started to try and catter to the anime lovers out there. No one wanted realism and I didn't have the time to put into my real artwork. It sounds kinda bad maybe but everything I've done for Gaia or Menewsha for the most part save one or two images I see as killing time just my sketches. I don't consider them "real" art.
I do think anime can be hard and for me it is at times. Though again I don't consider my stuff anime it's some halfbreed. But to me it's not the difference between anime and realism that is the divider for me it's the cg artist and the traditional aritst I see more seperation and this barrier I just can't seem to get past. No matter how much I practice there is something in me that just hasn't grasped being able to color or draw on the computer very well. -shrugs-
But for me I will always respect the artist that can go back and forth between them and you would never know. That is a master in my eyes.