Hi, Well, I still can think of some things to try with this, but I think I'm just nitpicking. I'm going to be entering this in the contest, but just can't bring myself to call it "finished". Please, I need some objective views on this image. Does it look "polished" enough to call it final? Anything that isn't right? I've been working on this for way to long, already have the next image begging to be made. I just need to know what y'all think. Save my sanity! ;-) TIA, Fiontar

Very nice. Someone with a more experience eye than mine may find flaws that need attention, but to me it looks great. Best of luck. Rob

Well the only flaw that I can see is ........ Just kidding !It looks great.Especally love the sword belt.really good job on this . ~ghostboat~

I love everything about her. Can't think of a single problem with it, except that the texture on those rocks just bothers me. But that's just my opinion. Excellent work. =) Rosh

It's hard for an artist to realize when a work is "finished." I for one think she's awesome!

It's a great image. If you really want some picked nits, try rotating her slightly or lighten the shadow on the rear of the torso--she appears wide, but flat and not very deep.

This is really beautiful. The ONLY thing I would change is... the er.. unfortunate... err... phallic placement of the rock behind her... the one between her legs... And no, I'm not a pervert or anything... but its placement is rather unfortunate. The image would be more balanced if it were repositioned, or reshaped. Great work. I've enjoyed seeing this develop. -sk

I looked at the image before reading the comments and came to the same conclusion that ScottK did. I think the placement is OK but should be lower & more rounded, more like the bolder to to left of her left leg. You need something there (either rocks or lighter grass) so that her legs don't get lost in the grass, the values are too similar.

Without doubt, a phenominal image. My two bits of constructive critisism... Contrast: Looking at the entire image, the only thing that appears to distract a viewer from the entire scene, is the high contrast of the rocks. Too bright or too white, it's your call. On another note: Yeah, yeah, the rock between her thighs is a tad suggestive to the eyes, But I'd bet my last dollar that none of us guys'd hesitate to trade places with that rock. :)

Her sword grip seems off somehow. When the image first came up the angle made me think for a moment that she was dropping the sword. Nice pic overall though. I like the gloves esp.

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Excellent image. My 2 cents worth: I agree with Roshigoth, the rocks need to be ... toned down? Maybe drop the slders from 100% to 65% or so for the rock's tex and bum. As to composition, you could tweak positions all day, and all you get is different results, not necessarily better ones. Good depth to the image, the background looks like it is back there, not pasted on a wall behind her. PS. Does she have a beeper number?...

An excellent image, although I do agree that the rocks need to be toned down. Other than that, that is superb, and it's come one hell of a long way from your original post. Paul

The rocks are a little bright, but I would pretty much call this finished and get going on another :) This looks great. And I can't wait to see another. Honestly, I didn't see a problem with the placement of the infamous rock, though I agree I wouldn't mind trading places with it ;)

I agree about the sword grip... It looks a little too relaxed in the hand, while the arm looks too rigid. Maybe bend that elbow just a little, and turn the sword more across her body? Also, I would make the scabbard a little wider... Katana scabbards are usually wood, and are 1 1/2" x 1" oval cross section...Yours looks like a leather one, which was rarely used with Katanas since they were so sharp. These are all very nitpicky suggestions, like you said... looks fantastic so far though! IMHO, if you're not quite happy with it, don't just shelve it to move on... Keep at it until you're happy.

Hi all, Thanks for the comments! :-) I'll cut and paste the suggestions into a text file, and see what I can try, with what results. Some of the suggestions have already been experimented with leading up to this image, but others a worth a look, (or second look). I'm going to start on the rough of the next image tonight as well, and how promising the new one looks may determine how much more tweaking I will attempt with this one. I did notice the "problem rock". LOL. You all are funny. ;-) I had decided not to change it if that was the only problem with it. The wall is supossed to give a slight impresion of teeth, the two tall ones marking the exit. I could try shifting the entire wall slightly to the right, but it was a heck of a time getting the ground texture aligned to give the "path" a slightly traveled look. Allerleirauh, I agree the rocks look very strange. Actually, the texture was the thing that made me decide to go with this scene over two other attempts. This is a remote highland border exiting an Elven occupied territory. The rocks were magically raised along the border, and even though they may not have any real protective magics (it would take a lot of power to encircle an entire nation with wards), they would radiate slight magic, and be odd looking enough to make an enemy wary of crossing them. This, combined with rumors about their magical nature, and the fact that foes often don't return, (for other reasons), gives them a psychological effectiveness as border markers. Being "grown" out of the earth fits more with the elven style. :-) BTW, yes, I've avoided showing her feet here. Two reasons, one, I'm still working on acceptable footware, and two, the texture as the land get's closer to the camera doesn't look as good as the rest. I decided to leave that part of the depth of the image to the viewers imagination... shdwcstr, the contrast was a tough call, the higher contrast made them look even less real, (which wasn't a bad thing per say, as they aren't natural), but brightened up an image that was a little to dark. I'll compare higher to lower contrast again on the final. Thanks. arcady, the sword grip looks good to me, but you are not the only person who has commented on that. Getting the grip right was done before anything else after she was imported into poser. I tried a sword grip in my own hand, not a Katana, straighter hilt, but this was pretty close to the grip that felt most comfortable. I adjusted it in bryce to look proper from all viewing angles, before going on to setting the camera position and angle. I may try a slight rotation of the sword tonight. WarLoKK, I know the scabbard isn't traditional. Unfortunately, at this angle, it looks even thinner than it is, relative to the blade width. Before putting her into the scene, I had a wall behind her. The shadow of the scabbard showed better the thickness, but I lost the shadow with this scene. Next image, or shortly after, I may try to tweak that. I also have a custom sword I might try to build for her. I chose the katana because I love them, and this model was one of the best swords out of the small batch I tried. To everyone else not named, thank you for all the comments. Having a community here to offer opinions and encouragement has helped me stick to my art, and actuall finish it, much more so than when I've worked on my own. All comments go into my head, and even if something isn't implemented, it is probably at least tried, and may very well be applied to future images. Thanks, Fiontar :-)