I think your textures on the background stuff is coming along fine. One of the weaknesses I think Carrara has are the clouds. If C could produce clouds like Terragen, well watch the heck out! It's obvious that softwares which can produce stunning landscapes have a real strong chance at excelling (Bryce, Terragen). The "wind" atmosphere in C which is currently there has lots of great features but really does fall short on some things. It would be nice to have a lot more control over most of that stuff. Terragen is coming out with a new version that generates really impressive volumetric clouds. They rock. Another thing that makes it tough for outdoor landscapes is making the texture look great close up AND far away. Another example of something that Terragen can tear up. While Terragen is strictly for landscapes, I'd love to see the same kinds of tools absorbed into C. It would realy boost the software. There are lots of technical issues surrounding such an endeaver due to C being a more formal, rigorous, mechanical code versus restricted to outdoor panaorams. I'm sure such difficulties could be overcome. I think you're on your way. I've found that re-texturing the plants generated by the plant engine in C can make great plants and you'll figure it out. -Kix

-Kix