There is a couple of answers and whole are very simple: - first think on the concept of your scene - don't spent less than 2-3 hours on this process (1 day of sketching would be appreciated) (or even more if you can afford) - Then when you have the idea, identify technology needed to complete your picture - Modify your design if there is no technology available to achieve what you planned. - Make a Plan = a list of elements you'll need to complete your scene (models, textures, atmosphere etc...) - Start working on your scene - Render it, check what is wrong (always there is something wrong - there are no perfect scenes ) make a list of all corrections needed, correct them make another render and so on, until the moment when you think that only very minor problems remain - only then publish your scene. THEN IT WILL BE REALLY & TRULY EXCELLENT IF YOU MADE YOUR SCENE IN 15 minutes, DON'T BELIEVE IF SOMEONE TELLS YOU THAT IT IS "~~~ MAGICAL ~~~" ARTISTIC CONCEPT FIRST TECHNOLOGY ONLY TO SUPPORT IT NOT IN OPPOSITE WAY however sometime it is possible to show some example of what can be achieved using a technique - why not - but this too, should be done as properly as possible.