Wonderful Work!

A very interesting picture! Dont take what Im about to write personally, because I've rated this an excellent (what it deserves).
The unrealistic feel about this image, is the other fellow zebras in the background. Although they had a much better feel to the image altogether, they're stance and actions show no emotion and dont look like they have anything to do with the foreground. If a tiger was running around like that, the zebras in the background should be running away faster than a bullet! Im not saying not to include them in, but make them look scared and running. Other than that, the image is fantastic! I think the surface underneath the grass is supposed to be dry mud, but It also looks a bit like water. You know when somewhere rains alot, and the water is covered with water and is all soggy and damp (etc.) - well it sort of looks like that which is great. I pressume you didn't mean to give off this effect, but you should make a re-make of this image with maybe duller weather. Make the dampness around where the grass is look more like water than it already does, and possibly add in water affects coming off the zebras back legs and lions paws. Also add a more wet feel to the rest of the picture (like the trees, and stuff). The way you've made the zebras in the background with a sort of blurred and less-distuingishable is brilliant!! Absolutely fantastic!

Anyway, Im babbling...so Im going to stop. This truly deserves an excellent.

/Greg Hilton.

This is such a great piece of work!

Excellent image Coa! I love the action! The DOF turned out quite nicely. Well done!!

To address a couple of Greg's comments....The reason the background zebras are not running is that I've seen on many doumentaries that the zebra herd will stop and sometimes watch after a lion has picked out it's "victim" knowing that a lion will only pick one...weird but it's true. The ground texture is not dry mud but just a hard ground with grass coming up. Maybe I'm missing somthing but I don't see a water effect...does anyone else? I was just working on getting the grass stalks to throw shadows. Thanks for your ideas and I truly appreciate the "excellent"!

Excellent and well explained. Love the composition, posing and DOF. Well done.

Excellent work Coa. I dont see any water in the grass.... and you are right on with the comment about how the zebras will hang back and watch after a lion has chosen it's prey. Well Done!!

Nice detail. I KNOW this took a lot of work and attention to detail. I am rating it highly. As you stated from watching nature documntaries, I agree about the zebras in the background as well. I have two suggestions to offer to you: What my experience in drawing animals is; if the zebra was kicking out at the lion, the lion would hunker down more flat to the ground, even if swatting, and the tail is always outstreched to maintain their balance when charging or defending. The lion just appears fixed in time to me here, and does not have the same fluid dynamic of the zebra. Anyways, let me close with: Well done!

Great job, coa, I like this image very much! And that zebra looks really mad!!!

Wonderful work coa.

Beautiful!

I think this has a lot of action and looks very realistic! I adore the composition here and that grass is to die for! Nope, no water effect that I can see. Beautifully done!

Great work coa, and fantastic posing of the animals!!

Wow - looks excellent - the grass perfect - well done

Somebody is going to get a mouth full of hoof if they're not careful!! Wonderful image especially with the addition of the DOF.

Wow! Very well done! :)

i'm sory, but, yet again: the lioness. It looks good but give it a thinner, more starved look. Sometimes lions have to spend quite a while without food and with that kind of look, you could probably make it look like it really wants the zebra more. Apart that, this is really great. I LOVE the zebra, about to kick out! :)

Hey well fed lions need to stay fed also lol. Very nice render.

Okay, I am just seeing this for the first time and can not understand why some people chose to pick it apart. This is art, art is YOUR expression. I see nothing wrong, no water, no over fed lions and no expressionless zebras. Keep up the good, no great work.

very well done!