3d max can render standard non AAed 3d models as well, on any size you want.

the results aren't good because you have virtually no control. pixel art allows you to fiddle a bit with the placement of things, in a small amount enough to not get noticed, but big enough so you can add some more detail. prerendered images with the same amount of detail are messier.

 

you'd still have to fix up the pixel art. resizing 3d or cg is already being used though, because it indeed saves time with blocking out. however to render and use the sprites isnt a good idea

 

why is pixel and 3d a paradox? make lowpoly things and pixel the textures. i see no problem. probably because there is none.

 

the pixel art things suck as the mario portrait in the top left, and the tiles are pixel art and read clearly.

the sprite and the blue bubble thing are rendered and colourreduced. these look blurry

 

prerendered vs a quick pixeledit:

 

if you want to make the animating of monsters easier, you could try using steps. first just a skeleton, then add meat, and then detail such as eyes and pockets. or you could just use a traditional 3d software package and resize those images to use as a base. rendering out 3d as pixels is USELESS.

its quite a lot of work to make an entire 3d model and then go and pixel over it. you'd have to model, texture, rig, and animate. and then you'd have to edit to get it to look clean.

as for pixels, you make a skeleton, then you add blobbed shading, and then you add details. faster. and no need of extra software.

 

You mean something like an outline shader? I suppose it would be akin to cell shading then rasterizing the making sure all the lines are cleaned up mechanically. OR you could just use a cell shader in really low res. I doubt you will ever get perfect results but it would be done somewhat well. However you would piss a lot of folk off here. Another problem with conversion is that when you make raster images you have more control over important elements. For example say a character has some lettering on a jacket, 3d doesn't care that the image is clear, when drawn in 2d you might use an unrealistic scale to make sure the detail is readable. This custom scale in regard to small details is the main problem with conversion. I do like the idea of a 3d model sent through a shader and spat out as a semi done "line art with shading". I guess this is because I care about math based perfection and really hate the organic human side of art. Expression through inaccuracy be damned. I guess I'm more of a draftsman than impressionist.