Been working on this while on vacation. It needs some help I think. I'm aware of a few things that need fixing, but I have a real old machine and the render time on this was 38 mins with nothing special about it. And trying to move anything has become a real pain in the a$$. So I'd like to mention what I'm going to change and then if anyone else sees something else needing fixing please, please let me know so I can't make all the fixups at the same time, please. 1) The cedar tree cuts off my 'S' path. Not sure where to move it or to just get rid of it. 2) Brown lump behind cedar tree is going, not sure if I should replace it with something recognizable or just leave the space blank. 3) Ducks need textures. Also, are they positioned poorly? 4) Some of the darn waterplants managed to crawl up on the ground, will reposition them. Any other things look wrong? I really like how this is coming along, I'd like to bring it up a notch. Thanks in advance for any help.

Errr really need an edit button. Should say "so I CAN make all the fixups at the same time".

Ang...this really isn't looking too bad to be honest...everything you listed pretty much is what I noticed...although for some reason the ducks seem a taaaaaaaaaad too large, but that could be just my POV on it...we'll have to see what the others may think. Is it possible to change the angle of the wings on one of them so they don't match each other so closely? Just wonderin'. ;) Hope this helps if I've even done anything to help. :) MD

Thanks and yes I want to hear anything that might help. I will have to check out the duck more closely to see if it has parts. I didn't like the neck angle myself. We had ducks when I was growing up. The neck position looks more like a landing duck, on take off I think the neck would be stretched out. And shrinking them will help too. Ang

I agree with what you've pointed out, although the big rock has an overpowering presence, can't decide if it's the geometry,texture,or just the large size. Looking forward to seeing the progress. ICM

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Ockham's razor- It's that simple

It looks good. I was trying to figure out what the foreground object was. ICM says it's a rock. If so, I'll agree with his concerns.

hi ang.... great picture here... i have to agree with ICM... having 2nd thoughts with your rock... its a bit big, overpowering the whole scene... but if that is your main image or focus, then you could add a little thing to it, like more geometry a little green on the bottom a little grass, vegetation, or just stuff to add a little interest... but all together its a good pic!

Oh...that's a ROCK...i thought it was a hunters blind or something. I think it's much too large, and the texture is too different from everything else. I agree, add some moss or something.

Cool, the rock is a problem, I will try toning it down a bit. I was thinking of some catninetails in front of it too. Also, at one point I thought of sticking the barrel of a shotgun into the pic, but I hate the idea of hunting animals, but I thought it would fit in, lol. Thanks for the help guys.

cat tails? Cat o' nine tails is a type of whip..

Ang, if you don't mind I'd like to offer my opinion as well. I do agree that scaling down the rock is one of the best suggestions, beside the ones you already planned yourself. One consideration about the rock, if the rock is a "ledge", that is a rock which has been undercut over time so that it hangs over the river, it usually has a smooth rather than sharp underside. Wind and water tend to carve stone into flowing shapes-like the "hoodoos" in a canyon. I use terrains rotated on their sides and make them protrude from my bank terrain with a couple of small plants or grass, or flowers to smooth the transition zone between rock and bank. I really like what you have so far, I look forward to your finished render.

Danamo, thanks for the suggestion. Yeah I liked that the rock stuck out over the water like it does and it was originally a terrain that I converted to a rock. I totally agree that the rock needs changing glad you guys have pointed it out, somehow I didn't see that when I put this together. Now when I look at it, it jumps right out at me. Ang

I live in the land of to good ole TVA smack in the middle of lots of man made lakes. Everywhere I've been where the slope of the bank is that shallow the plants do creep out into the water. Also when it rains the water rises so it looks natural to me. The rock does bother me. It's so big... and so not rocky. It's square, more like one of the concrete boat ramps. It hides the great sky reflections off the ripples which I think is the greatest part of the picture. You really have a good balance with that pink sky, the dark colors on the plants, and the sparkling water. The rock is too bright and smooth to be there. Maybe you could upend a tree to where the roots stick up in its place. A nice grey bark texture and it could be a great piece of driftwood. Cattails come on later in summer though green ones are up now, hunting is in fall so forget the gun or change the name of the picture.

Just want to say thanks so much for the help. If you don't mind adding your opinions to this, I won't mind either. It's still a wip unless I don't get any feedback. I couldn't change the duck wings position. I still should try fixing the texture on it and the dang weeds are still a little bit on land. Other than that how's the rock and the other stuff looking? Thanks again for helping me with this. Angela

I like The Rock. He was good in The Scorpion King. Oh, your image's rock? Much better.