Attached Link: http://www.renderosity.com/mod/gallery/index.php?image_id=1268092.

Like i said it wasn't done in bryce but i owe so many of you thanks for your help with what i know i just had to show you it...its not great but i like the pov which i picked up from you guys and gals..

but the nice thing is that you can export (at least parts) of it into Bryce..;) not too shabby..;)

Hi CD - I've commented on your image (although you might not like some of the comments). But I did it in good faith:-))

Cheers,
Diolma

Hi diolma.
I don't mind the non-owesome comments, its what makes us better at our art. Now for some replise to your comments, questions.

1. I assume from the pose that she is "attacking me". In which case, why is she staring over my right shoulder?

Because i'm right handed i made it look like she was watching my arm movement.

1. Composition. When I 1st viewed this image, my eyes went 1st to the eyes of the figure, then down her L-Hand arm to the main sword, up along the sword and out of the picture. Which took away all the impact..

This actually annoyed me, for some reason i couldn't get the right look feel to the image if i moved the camera away from her.

1. Where's my (defending)sword?

It is above your right hand shoulder coming down in an attacking movement, well thats how i visioned it over my shoulder.

Answering your more detail.
I was informed by a friend that while using martial art weapons one does not actually grasp the weapon until you make the defending/attacking blow..i'm not sure how true that is.

Thank you for your comments. I will use them for my next image which i'm working on at the moment.

Well I find I have another non "owesome" comment too... (what the heck does "owesome" mean anyway?  You owe me some money???)

Anyway, to the comment.

I liked the composition of the image, liked the lighting - it's pretty darned good.

I liked the background, nice and grungy, liked the girl's outfit, again nice and grungy, looks worn and fits in with the environment.  My only problem is with the girl's skin.  She looks too clean... so very clean that she looks plastic.

I think that this is a non-fixable problem though, since it's a fault with the painted texture of the skin that comes with the figure.  Either you have to be an expert with photoshop and UVMapping so you can unwrap the model and repaint the skin then remap the model - something I'd love to learn to do but see no hope of.  Or you just need to be able to do some touch... downs on the figure's skin in postwork, i.e. on the final image rather than the unwrapped skin...

Is there a tutorial somewhere on this sort of thing?

If there is I'd like to try it.

Good pose I think there are a few things to work out.
 1. is the makup that comes with the character I would go into photoshop or another image editor and airbrush those out. (unless you are going for the whole Naked Killer thing but that is another story)

1. I would go for even more contrast in lighting and more of a rimlight feel. Very bright slightly behind making a sor tof outline of the character visible but the rest is hidden a bit from view.

The Naked Killer is an awful but entertaining Hong Kong femme fatale flic where all the girls are dolled up and assassins. Worth a rental don't see it sober though.

some folks will complain about anything..;)
From a combat standpoint (like I would know..;), you watch the eyes of your opponent, which will tell you what they're up to. The important thing is that as long as they're actually focused on something..that gives the character some life. You've pulled that off. If someone's tracing their eye movements, they'd likely be giblets on the floor..honest, if I were standing there, I'd be for makin' tracks..;)

One trick I try to use, which helps with the pic, is to have the eyes focus on the viewer (I've done maybe 3 pics in Daz, as opposed to more than a hundred in Poser..;) which establishes a connection (and ups the hits slightly..;) Makes you feel that 'someone is home'..;)

Nothing wrong with the pic, it's a lot of careful posing (that musta been a @#$..;) so don't let 'em get  you down.

Thanks all for your comments on the image. I can see the mistakes you have pointed out and i will remember these for my next one i do.

@pakled, the pose took no more than 35 minutes to do and get right, it was mostly getting the arms in the correct position.

       I could tell the pose was very good not fingers going through things like you normally see. I am only trying to be constructive I post on a lot of other sites and I get a lot of cricism on my work some of it not so nice it is something to look at if they have a point of course put that in your store of knowledge if they however do not then ignore them.