Ack!... and cropping the right side! This is what I get for setting my size bigger than the work area...

some smoke or steam coming out of the train engine would help some, although it would slow down the render. other than that i think it looks great

the pillar texture is too busy...i'd make it more concrete like, reduve the bump height or something...other than that it looks really cool, especially the ripples

Fun picture! The poses are awesome, especially the boy in the lake. There's always something mesmerizing about a train passing by. As for suggestions... I like the fact that you put in ripples, however they aren't realistic. Too much regularity, and not enough variance in size and direction. And lastly, what do you think about anchoring the left side of your picture with another pillar, or even maybe a dock on the far bank?

everything looks perfect, my only crit would be to change the sky maybe, i suggest using a 2d plane and applying a sky texure on it, to get some nice realistic clouds. other than that, excellent!!!

The water is great as is the bridge and train! The sky is bit too blue and boring. The texture on the boys could use a little work and I would make the blonds body wet as he already did his splash. Oh the tree looks great as well. Can't wait to see how it turns out!

Overall, I would say really nice work. The pillar texture was mentioned and I would agree. Concrete or perhaps even stone blocks, almost like a castle wall. Tweak the ky so that it looks liek an awesome day during summer vacation. Love the water and the tree reflection in it.

The ground texture could do with some work it doesn't look natural to me. You could also try putting some 3ds grass in it and/or some cat'o'nine tails which can be got in free stuff. The composition is looking very good though and I look forward to seeing where you go with it. 8) Catlin

Oh, this is going to be great! :) I'll never forget my son playing soccer when a train was passing by next to the soccer field. All the 6 year olds on the team facing the train rail, froze. They got so busy watching the train go by that they didn't realize that the other team did NOT stop playing. lol The other team got a goal, - and of course it was the train's "fault" :) The water looks great, as do the boys poses. Can't wait to see this one finished!

You could show one of the kids impaled on a partially submerged branch. Ok water safety class is over. It is a really good pic, but you do need some bits and pieces of debris and branches floating in the water here and there.

This picture looks fantastic mboncher! The ironic thing is that I've been working on a similar pic, with a slightly different viewpoint(railroad bridge over river)I hope you don't mind if I post mine too 'cause it uses a model I built in Wings, and it's been awhile since I've posted anything. I'll post mine in B&W, so there's "less confusion". I've often read that online communities become a sort of entity unto themselves, and I can kinda believe it.

Britt, that sounds like me as a kid. As far back as I could walk, I've been fascinated with trains. I used to fling myself at my grandmother's bay window to watch the old Chicago & Northwestern freights go by her house. Excitedly I'd count out how long the train was by cars. I guess my art still reflects that joy. This is the third pic I've done with that bridge though. September Freight and Trainspotting are the other two. Check em out if you're interested. And Danamo, do what your muse wants you to. Don't change cause of me! :c) BTW if anyone else knows where I can find other FREE railroad meshes... I'm interested.