This is a bold step you are taking but I assure you it's in the right direction. So far the concept shows a good deal of imagination. But as you stated that is only the beginning. The trick is to try to make your hands, in this case, computer software, do what your mind sees. Most times that can be very frustrating as you can only do what you have learnt as how to utilze the capabilities of the software. As the old saying goes...everthing is easy when you know how. I suggest you try to do as many tutorials as you can get your hands on. Try to do those that you need to apply to your concept. Like the water,mountains,castle walls,ect. You'll find you will learn a lot. Not only what you can do with the software but all stimulation it'll give your creativity. Today artists are spoilt with powerfull software, utilizing millions of colors, alltho the eyes can only see about ten thousand. When I started out we had only sixteen colors to work with. Also, as you've already done, look at as many people's work as you can and try to figure out how they did it. Those drum like structures you have on those poles...Put some pillars on them with arched windows...Then maybe try to wrap some vines around their bases. The same with the walls...this is only one suggestion to give your train of thought a kick strart. AndreElias

It's a thankless and hard learning curve, but you've made a great start in getting here for a first post. Bryce can be a hard taskmaster, but you've certainly got to grips with it. Bravo, and look forward to seeing more renders in the future. Great work!!!

Nice view!!!

I agree with what Andre and Deane have said. In my experience, textures can be extremely important in making something "real." For example, the green area I assume is grass, but felt pool tables look grassier than that plain. (I'm not being intentionally sarcastic here.) There are a lot of great textures out there for free and for sale. Jonathan Allen at Renderosity has a wide variety of textures for sale and are well worth investing some of your hard earned capital to get. Dane and Marforno also have a texture set for sale that is worth having. Just to mention a couple. I also try to stay away from a perfectly flat terrain if at all possible. I'd go in the Terrain Editor and create a terrain that I liked--preferably one with some type of drainage system to it--then enlarge it to as large as needed, then seriously flatten it; e.g.; 8000 x 200 to 800 x 8000. The lower end of the height range would be best if you want a fairly flat effect. Then I'd apply that realistic grass texture to it. If the terrain is in the 4000 range, I'd make it either world object or world cubic xyz settings of 30 to 50, but you want to experiment to see what does the best for you. I like the way you made the buildings use the same rock textures, but more realistic would be to use a range of stone and brick textures for different buildings. Hope this is helpful.