Im like the queen of critiques today hehe
Background
- I would select most of the background (from around the end of the horses tail and up) and blur it out a bit. It will draw more focus to the horse.
- It seems as though you just took the bg without editing it at all, which is fine, but I personally would have tainted it more of a blue-hue or something of the sorts. Remeber to experiment instead of just going right to the original BG!
- I would add a darkened, precise reflection to the water here. Duplicate the horse layer, position it behind the horse, and laying on the water, and then darken it, and lower the opacity. Then, erase all of the spots where the lilly pads are, and replace that with a very light shadow, so that there is a reflection on the visible water, and a light shadow on the lilly pads. :)
Horse
Lighting
The lighting in this photo is quite nice. Its not a super difficult bg to work with, and you definatley chose a great stock image to pair it with. Well done!
Horse Body
- Great job with the majority of the body, I really like the way you prepped its coat! Just right on smudging and such.
- As for where his legs meet the water, I would reccomend a clean cut instead of a fade into the water. in real life, thats how it would really work. I would also add ripples in the water where the legs meet (you can find ones that are ready to go on DA) to add some detail.
- The eye needs some work. The horse in question has a small eye in this photo, so you need to be very precise. You definatley have the right idea here, but remember, practice makes perfect!
Mane and Tail
- Mane looks fine to me, it seems that in this image the mane was roached (shaved) so you didnt have to worry about that.
- Tail needs a bit more expression. Grab a 1px brush in 100% smudge mode and fan it out a bit. remember to use curved lines with movement!
Accessory
- I like your idea here, but the flower needs to be smaller. I would also put some shadows around it to make it fit in the image better.
I hope this helps!
Partly Cloudy, Rain Possible
