Rate this image and help me improving !!

[Ragnarok-X]

Hey everyone,

i recently downloaded lots of tutorials and finally found the time to work myself into Photoshop. Today i created this picture, which took about 2 hours. I really like and i would like to hear what you think of it. Where can i improve, what went wrong and what i could add in the free corner...eyecandy anyone ?

thanks a bunch !

[narf poit chez BOOM]

The clouds look a little flat and not entirely real. Other than that, shiney!

You might want to check the lighting angle on that big planet too.

Maybe another sun in the corner.

[Ragnarok]

I agree with Narf on the lighting on the large planet. The way the sun is being blocked by the other object would effect how it is shining on the big one. Also on the large planet it looks like part of it is just missing...I imagine you are trying to create the effect of it being dark that side of the planet like it should, but the fact that you just see through that area into starry space and not a almost pure black, with lights in the mix as well, dark side of the planet makes it seem like half or part of the planet is just not there. You did good on the other planets on doing this, try to recreate that on the large one. But overall a nice image for a first time shot at it...

[Ed Kolis]

A ship, of course! You've got to have a ship, flying toward the sun!

[Slynky]

Agree with the "mistake" in direction of light on the planets. Disagree with the nebulae/clouds being too flat. They COULD have some darkening/lightening done to improve its "depth" but I don't think it's a big problem.

Lower right corner? Sometimes, unbalanced images are just fine. If you wanted to leave it like that, then consider flipping the entire image so that the lower left corner is empty...as lots of people will say that the eye naturally looks at a picture from left to right (according to the way they read, of course) so, the viewer should be led into the picture that way (IMHO).

IF you wanted to fill that part instead, as mentioned below, a fleet would be kewl !

[Kamog]

The planets look great. Each of the three objects in the picture look very nice....

Somehow, when they are put together in the picture, I get this vague impression that it looks "unnatural"; as if my mind is telling me that it's unlikely to see three planets, two moons and a star in an arrangement like this. Well, in our solar system at least, the distance between planets is so great that I don't think you can have a vantage point where you'll see three planets at any point in time where they all appear big enough to be seen as disks rather than points. Anyway, this is an alien solar system so anything's possible - besides, a picture of one planet and little points for the other planets won't look good - please ignore this comment.

[David E. Gervais]

Very nice composition, and welcome to the world of 'Artists'. BTW did you know that 'we' artists are able to create our own rules where lighting and composition are concerned? It's called an 'Artistic Licence'. Unless you're trying to go for something 'photo-realistic' or an 'accurate rendering of a solar system with one sun' then the pic you did is verry good.

Keep having fun. Cheers!

[Ragnarok-X]

thanks for comments so far. I indeed noticed the lighting of the big planet (homeworld) is wrong. Still the "perspective" is okay, i just need to lay the planet "behind" the nebulae at the right, that way it will look like the planet is far behind the nebulua and the sun is lighting even though a planet is blocking the sun.

thanks a bunch !

[Raging Deadstar]

David E. Gervais said:
BTW did you know that 'we' artists are able to create our own rules where lighting and composition are concerned? It's called an 'Artistic Licence'.

Artistic Licence is not to be confused with Creative Licence which is what Hollywood movie directors take when telling the "true story" of something