how would you make something like these old aqua wallpapers? 3d rendering? vector and gradients? i'm curious what the most "period correct" way would be. for that matter, what about the icons? the tutorials on how to make "aqua-like" pill buttons always felt wrong because the shading never quite followed the contour of the shape. how were they done back then, is it all hand-painted or is there a rendering technique i don't know about?
aha! looks like they WERE in fact 3D rendered! even to the point of using a human figure as an origin point for the camera to make it look like you were actually looking at a desk top
source: https://blog.cocoia.com/2008/the-origin-of-the-inimitable-icons/
this is actually a huge breakthrough for me. everyone i ever asked told me there was no way they would 3d render these, that they were all just vector drawings. i feel like i just found out the punchline to a joke everybody kept from me all these years
oh, well, duh! there's my problem