Paul, you have some nice stuff. I see you’re trying to sell your work in a few venues, so I’ll give you my 2 cents (as objectively as possible) on what you’ve posted in case it might help.
And I’ll give my input solely based on the images themselves, not what software you used or whether they are 3D, since most prospective buyers probably couldn’t care less…
You’ve got some beautiful landscapes in those images. Even without the characters the first two images are beautiful and very serene. “Hesitation” is my favorite, partly because of the beautiful composition. The focal length, the lighting, and the general composition all lead the viewer to a single point, the deer’s face. The deer’s pose and the lighting are also very nice. And it also has a bit of a story line and invokes a certain feeling in the viewer. The big nasty hunter dude having a split second of pity on a poor defenseless little deer. My only comment on the hunter character is he is uniformly dark and expressionless (of course, since he has a helmet hiding his face). I think you’re missing an opportunity to make him appear a bit more dramatic and interesting. Perhaps some dapples of light on his body to make the visuals a bit more appealing, or more dynamic range in his texturing, and maybe a hint of an expression on his face might make the story a bit stronger. Or you might have him partly emerging from the dark shadow of a tree to increase the mystery. Not sure, I just think you could have him a bit more dramatic and compelling and menacing.
The first image, while beautiful, doesn’t really have a clear message. Partly because of the dragon. I think most people quickly realize he’s Standard Dragon #1 used in every single dragon image ever generated with DAZ software, and IMO it really detracts from the image. First because the dragon itself really doesn’t look very menacing. I’m not sure if the image is of a tired knight and his friendly pet dragon Herbert, or maybe something else. And since they are in such a beautiful and serene setting, if the message is a fight to the death with a menacing dragon it really doesn’t come across. The knight’s pose is great, completely captures a really exhausted guy lying down on the rocks. But I’d strongly suggest re-thinking the dragon. There are so many similar images of dragons and knights floating around, you might try to rethink things and come up with something very original. Scary dragons are dripping with saliva, with big nasty teeth, in dark, foreboding surroundings, and slimy skin, with the blood of their victims dripping from their fangs, etc….
Actually, with the Dragon image, I even thought that if you lose the dragon altogether you’d have a gorgeous image with a bit of a story line. An exhausted knight lying down in peaceful surroundings, perhaps recovering from a successful battle with some unknown and unseen evil lurking somewhere ahead in the beautiful forest.
And the last image, well, I won’t comment because it creeps me out too much to even look at it. Not sure why, it just gives me the creeps.
