Attached Link: http://www.renderosity.com/tut.ez?Form.ViewPages=968

i'm not gonna do a critique here -- mostly people have already said what i would say. but i can add a little bit of information about lack of comments.

i'm new here, and i joined renderosity specifically to learn more. i am much more interested in receiving (and giving) constructive criticism than i am in admiration. i have noticed that this is very, very rare, however -- most comments are praise. and really unequivocal and strong praise to boot; it is as if many people had no other terms in their vocabulary than "excellent" and "fantastic", and for images that, sometimes i boggle at, they're artistically so unformed. i imagine that with some folks it's meant as encouragement for their friends, and encouragement is important -- but as a result, when i got such comments on my first post, i didn't know how to take it; was it just more of the same, meant as encouragement for a new artist, or did people really think my image was excellent when i can see some problems with it myself? it devalues praise if it's given by the bucketload.

furthermore, i have also seen people who give an actual critique cut down immediately by others. all this has led me to step very carefully when offering one, though really, i love analysis, and sharing of process, and hearing how others see the very same image i see.

i looked at your latest image when you posted it, and saw the notes that said "Hell with riding a chocobo or a horse, I want to ride a giant feline. [...] Used the gimp this time for some mad post processing, hope you like it.".

i don't write critique when somebody says "hope you like it". i only do it when a person asks for comments either directly, or in a way that makes me think they want my honest impressions. your notes made it seem like it was more of a private enjoyment than an image meant to be critiqued. i imagine i am not the only person who's gunshy about comments.

of course if you don't get anyone to view it they won't even see the notes. eye-catching thumbnails and good titles are the trick here. the link up there is to a quickie tutorial (which isn't great, but gives you a decent start). the most important part is the bit about moving the crop tool selection around until you find an interesting view.