I agree about the flat look, What's happening is the focus of the scene is in all 3 levels...fore,center and background, which is confusing the focus. Little items like the mushroom are also pulling the main focal point away from the middle of the scene.(move it to about 10-O-clock of the fire). Both flowers distract too, they could be off to the side, closer to the foreground & slightly blurred.

Not sure how much post work you're planning, but if the render times are slowing you down, you could build the scene in seperate layers by rendering masks, building it in an image editor using layers. Check out the lighting I used in :"Farie Dust". Even though you can see the sides, it doesn't pull from the main focus.

Check out hobbits gallery, there are some excellent examples of composition rules for depth perception, lighting & subject matter focal point.

Great Fantasy Scene so far.
Keep us updated.
ICM

Message edited on: 11/28/2004 02:47

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Ockham's razor- It's that simple