i think we can ALL learn. i sure know that there are many, many techniques that i haven't tried, yet. but, the emphasis is on ALL...let's see...i think even the artist of the year can learn something from some of the other contenders...i think that the more techniques you SEE, the more you learn from. sadly, i don't learn anything from the renders with no techniques. i think it would be much more fun for all of us if we looked carefully at what is out there, and, said..."wow", i wonder how they did that pose/lighting/texture/pov/or, postwork? i wonder if i could play and come up with my own version. and, guess what else? i bet those folks listed as "favorite" artists wouldn't hate to be asked for a brief explanation of techniques. no one is probably gonna go up for the job decider of what is crap. that is for each and everyone of us to decide before we post a 10 minute stock render, dead center, with crossed eyes, and 85 percent of the render a background. if we'd look twice at our own work...even look at it the next day to see if we still think it is as awesome as the day before....why, we just might become our own "crap" monitors.