"Lafitte - Galveston's Pirate Patriot" was done in Carrara using 3D elements from Renderosity and DAZ3D.  It took several weeks off and on, testing different approaches, camera angles, etc.  Many of the effects were done with Particle Illusion, and of course Photoshop is always in there somewhere.  I live near Galveston, so the inspiration was the legends of Lafitte that are part of the history.  Jean Lafitte (c. 1780 – c. 1823) was a French pirate and privateer in the Gulf of Mexico in the early 19th century.   The Lafittes became spies for the Spanish during the Mexican War of Independence and moved to Galveston Island, Texas, where they developed a pirate colony they called Campeche.  In return for a legal pardon for smuggling, Lafitte and his comrades helped General Andrew Jackson defend New Orleans against the British in the final battle of the War of 1812.ity c