Very well done, great mood!

Thanks MossyB...........

Really nice!

The flames are very dim. Fire is quite bright at night.

interesting chop - i agree about the flames , (not emanating light) and the castle is in too much contrast so is not merging very good with the bridge

Interesting work and I like your idea ... agree with the fellows above ... I also might suggest a few less stars and perhaps more variation in size. If you are using PS you can adjust the Scattering of your brush and the variation of size to get a more Star like look. If you need help just PM me.

Thanks for the advise, I agree with them

I tried to fix the contrast, still not sure the bridge works just yet

much better now.... flames in the "eyes" of the castle look identical maybe a tiny liquify fix to make it more realistic

Thanks gornats - know of any good tutorials for the liquify?

http://www.pxleyes.com/ext-tutorial/photoshop/11684/Turn-a-Girl-into-a-Witch.html

try this one , but for me the best tutorial is experimenting , just give it a go and see what will turn out

add an SBS author.. it will increase your vote chances.. it's a very nice image

thanks for the tip Drivenslush

very nice work author...gl

. Any help anyone could offer to help me understand how to do a step by step if you use your own photos and they aren't online.

. Any help anyone could offer to help me understand how to do a step by step if you use your own photos and they aren't online.

Just upload them in one of the steps.

Excellently! GL

Very nice effects with the snow! Looks pretty windy
The building in the back has a strong light coming from the left, the wizard has light coming from the right top (flipping the wizard would take care of that).
The light of the staff looks unrealistic, the glow is on the snow that is far behind him. There should only be a glow on the snowflakes surrounding the staff. Hard to explain Gl!

Thanks Ressiv.

I have changed the lighting on the wizard (darkened the right side a bit) and softened the glow of the staff (not too much as it is a Magic staff). I do not want to flip him as it would change the composition.

I am not too sure that the lighting is off that much as the castle is quite high and there are a lot of clouds. The lighting can be quite different on both subject because of that .

very nice work author

yes.....! finally .....here it is ...the great pic manips ....just perfect...! my fave for sure,.....and......moreover I learned something from your skill,.....now I am just guessing the winner of this contest,.....must be this one.....

Fantastic work author...I love it...well done

The foreground figure is pretty indistinct. Otherwise this is a lovely moody image.

Hey Bob ...thank for the comment/critique ...I sort of wanted him like that but after looking at the image on my work computer (darker screen) I lightened him a bit. Hopefully he stands out a little more now.
Thanks!

i like the dramatic story of this piece of art...

very nice good work

Awesomely done! I shouldn't have underestimated brushes
I now realize: you're a LOTR fan, righ?

The attention to detail is just incredible! Fantastic work author.

Author...you astound me. Truely great talent you have. I'm starting to recognize your work, and i am always impressed. This one is goin to my favs. Beautiful work!

Thanks so much for the wonderful comments and favs. This was a troublesome manip ... your thoughts make it worth the effort.

@greymval LOTR - what's that

(I have only read the books 10 times or more) but then I like that genre of fiction. Only thing that comes close is SF.

Love the story, sounds like a great beginning, also great art work, my fave in this contest =)

Very good image.

What a lot of work - fantastic image! Love the eagle's eye.

Well deserved first place - congrats!

Congrats Arca, a beautiful piece, love the story too

Good job Arca!

Congrats for the first place.. great mood and result..