Sunset

I came across this work while randomly browsing and I think the atmosphere of this piece is really nice.

I have a couple of suggestions for you if you plan to go further into matte paining.

- the perspective of the foreground elements doesn't match with the background so that the vanishing lines now all lead into the middle of venice. If you compare your stock image of the ruins with your artwork you'll notice that the horizon has moved upwards which is causing this issue- perspective is really important in a matte painting, so you need to choose your stocks carefully in the future, or manipulate them in a way so they match.
- the lighting of the ruins in the foreground doesn't quite look like it should in a sunset. I think the edges, which face the sun should be lit slightly and the upsides of the buildings should generally be slightly darker. This would require some careful overpainting on your part.
- I like the girl's blending and the shadow you've added. However, the direction of the shadow is slightly off, I think you have to rotate it a few degress counterclockwise. Furthermore it seems you forgot some of the shadows on the environment, for instance the shadow of the stone in the grass and the stonewall.
- due to color and contrast adjustments there are some nasty overcontrasted and oversaturated spots all over the image, a few of them in the middle of venice and also the quality of the pyramid on the left has suffered a lot from the adjustments. It might help to reduce the sharpness over there.
- last but not least, landscapes usually becomes lighter and less contrasted in the distance. Some of the hills in the background on the other hand are very dark. I would brighten them up slightly in order to improve the depth of your scenery.

That is all I can think of right now, I hope it's helpful. <img src="e.deviantart.net/emoticons/s/s…" width="15" height="15" alt="" title=" (Smile)"/>

Cheers
kire