Really, I am quite pleased with this. I have resampled it to fit here, I rendered it much larger (for the print size). I think I am done with this. I could tweak it forever, it just seems to be time to put it to rest and be happy with it. I thank you for the suggestions earlier, they helped. Now, I get get to put it in my gallery! Comments are always welcome, I am not thin-skinned. J.Dexter

Uhm... what happened to the gold in the key? Last time around it was brighter and more noticable (or at least it seems it was?). It's getting just a touch lost now.

That's an interesting work. Seems very symbolic. In a way, it reminds me of the novel Chronicle of a Murder Foretold by Gabriel Garcia Marquez. Have you read that? Could be an op ed type illo too. Pretty good I think. Larry F

Yeah, when I changed the POV the key is reflecting less light than it did before. I tried moving the light but the results were not good for the rest of the picture. I think this angle is much better than the original one. I will try to brighten up the key manually. Never heard of the book Larry, is it good? I'm always looking for something good to read.

Anything by Marquez!!! And then, poke around for Jorge Amado. "The Two Deaths of Quincus Wateryell" is a short but fabulous read.

Oh, and VS, the key also got lost moreso when I resampled down to this size. It is much more noticible on the actual render. I am planning on having this one printed, (Kinko's if I can figure out how they do that) so I rendered large.

JDexter,yes, that will probably look very good when printed. You know, with Kinko's, they have this dealie where you can send them your work electronically and they can have it ready when you go to pick it up. I THINK they do different sample prints as well, but you should check with them. Might get kind of pricey, depending on what you want, but they're very helpful. In my experience at least. In re Chronicle of a Murder Foretold, it's an intriguing read, short, little over 100 pages, can be read in one afternoon. Of course, the re-read might take longer. Garcia Marquez is a master. Of course, those magic realism types can be addictive. My bookshelves groan from time to time, LOL. Good luck with that print. Larry F PS: On second thought, I think there's also a short story by Garcia Marquez which featurs a "Norwegian angel in a cage". At least I think it's him, might be Allende ([Stories of] Eva Luna, House of Spirits, etc.), but I think that character has large white wings. I think.

I loved the lighting, and the face expression, but I don't know which book you are all talking about :-)

I don't know the book either, but I am going to find out. Thanks for the book tip Larry.

The shadow is wonderfully effective. I don't think it matters that the key is a bit subdued. Not with the better angle. It seems more tragic if you gradually recognize he has the key. Great parched earth-- was that from the free site?? It looks great.

I like this image a lot, and I love the colourationthe grey-blue eyes with the pale skin and brown hair, against the rust of the cage and the rustish floora very nice composition. One thing is bothering me the angle of the arm holding the bars. It seems too 'up'. The man is emaciated, obviously weak, yet the grip seems assertively powerful. I guess what I'm imagining is a raising of the shoulder up-down (brings the collarbone up) and a lowering of the elbow, might have to tweak the trunk a bit to the side subtly, as if he were leaning on his grip on the bar, as if half his weight were hanging by that hand, rather than just that hand gripping the bar so firmly. It would lend a bit of heaviness. But that's just what I might do; If that's not what you would please ignore my phantom gibberings. For they keyperhaps in postwork, you might do a very small lens flare effect in a separate layer, and turn the opacity down to about 12%? Might be enough to bring attention to the key as it was in your first posting, without compomising the wonderful shadow work you've done since then. Great work! I hope to see more!

Attached Link: http://www.3dtextures.fr.st/

Thank you. Yes, the texture came from that french site which have the most wonderful textures. I only lightened up one of them a bit to get the color I was looking for. I have included their link for ease if anyone needs it. I will give that lens flare a shot, it's a great idea. I fussed with that arm forever! It's one of those things I could tweak over and forever (His other hand was clenched originally, but that seemed too agressive as well). =)

Very interesting image. I agree about the lens flare, just a touch and it should look really good. That site that you got the textures from,I can never get in, I click and click on the enter button, but nothing ever happens. Again, nice render :) Pendy

I like the relaxed attitude of his other hand. It complements the abject despair of his expression (which is very nicely done. You really did a fantastic job with that).