AMAZING ... Congratulations!!!!

@ Author ...no apology necessary The image is lovely and I can see how you got carried away in the creativity! Just thought if it happens again you might get higher votes in a non-source contest (but you never know) ;-D ...

Very nice work and what a lovely spot ... can I have a little corner in the back somewhere ... something overlooking the valley! Great Chop (I do agree about the shadow but I probably wouldn't have noticed it had I not read KingRa's comment)

Really interesting image ... I do agree with Driven on the Tack blur ... but it is only noticeable in High res.

Stunning image but not much of the source left

A suggestion for future thought ... when you CBR the source (chop beyond recognition) you might get a better score if you submit it to Mixed Manipulations (there is usually one running every other week - MM11 is happening this week). I have noticed on this site that (sometimes) you will not get as high a score if the source is not visible. Lovely image though!

Bravo on a wonderful painting and your SBS is incredible. Overall amazing job! A few things that I noticed in Hi Res ...IMO I do find the eyes a little too "symmetrical". Making them slightly different from each other would give the face more character ... also I think the eyes would benefit from tear ducts, inner lids (the part the eyelashes grow out of) and lower eyelashes. These are all very minor things, the image is truly lovely and has a style all it's own! High marks and definite fav!!!

Now that is what I call a shoe tongue! Super work and love the colours and whole "cartoon" feel to this!

You should be a shoe designer ... these remind me of those roller skate running shoes that kids wear... only for adults ... I have this vision of a lady leaning back on her heels and wheeling down the street ... weeeeeeeeee! Great!

Great ... but I think these might hurt to wear ... if not the wearer then anybody who happens too get to close!

Great work!

I really like this ... I think what you did after Mossy's comment must have helped as I can see it clearly! It has a simple elegance to it and I think you should be happy with the final image. It is unique and clever! High marks for your individual approach!

Really clever idea and love the song!

I have to agree with Mossy ... perhaps instead of enlarging the eye you could reduce the rest of the Tiger ... your image is quite large and you could easily reduce it to 1200-1500 pixels wide (a lot of monitors are no more than 1280x1024) and still have a decent High res. Also, in high res the edges of the Magnifying glass are a bit rough (to help this you can select the Glass, contract selection by 1 or 2 px then apply a layer mask and blur slightly or you can create a new layer and set blur tool on "sample all layers" and blur the edge then erase away what you don't want ...or if you don't like either of those could just go over the edge with the blur tool but you don't have as much control.

Edit: MUCH BETTER!

Lovely image and great concept ... I agree it is a little dark but only a little ... I have seen a night sky where the stars stand out against a "void" when there is something that you cannot quite make out in front of them. I think a little lightening and some minor toning down of the sparkles would enhance the image .

To lighten you can apply a Levels adjustment layer and brighten it up so the image is "too" light ... then mask out what you don't want to lighten and set opacity to get it just right ...that is if you want to

EDIT: Better!

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.

You have done a very good job of blending all the different components together and nice work on the perspective.

The only thing I might suggest is that the large helicopter in the foreground is a bit blurry in Hi res ... if you cannot get a sharper image of a helicopter you could make this work if the "bridge" was equally as blurred on the same horizontal plane as the heli ... sort of like this image here http://www.flickr.com/photos/dalemoorephotography/4191542938/ ... that also might help draw the eye into the image more.

Has an almost Peter Max sort of look ... almost but not so much that it is not an Original. Very creative and definitely unique! Great work!

I really like this ... I do agree that it is a tiny bit too dark but only a little. IMO it would take away if you lightened it up too much. I have a pretty well calibrated monitor and I can just make out the bridge on the right and the left is pretty much not there. I think that with the amount of light coming from the center would have a bit more highlights on the railing etc. on the left.

As for the overall image ... it is really stunning and very dynamic!

A hi res version would help. Looks like you have done a lot of work but it is hard to see. It does not have to be huge ... even something 900PX wide would help! Your score will be higher if you have a large image for people to view. I will hold off voting in hopes that you can get something up

EDIT: Much better!

Different concept!

Congrats!

Congratulations ... lovely shot, colour is lovely and the whole image is spectacular!

Yeah Author, I know what you mean ... I debated saying anything as now it has an almost antique feel. The decision is always in the artists hand and I don't think you are wrong just thought it was worth a mention

Congratulations! Great image!

Love what you have done here and great drawing on the viking! He is an ideal figure for the source image!!!

As for the blur you can create a (sort of) false depth-of-field by duplicating the background layer, blurring it (maybe even a bit more than you already have), then you can add a layer mask and use it to "paint" out the blurred image close to the figure allowing more of the blur to show the further away from it you get. (I hope that makes sense ... let me know if you can't figure out what I am saying and I can try and explain better)

Incredible work and very original use of the source! Love the mood and overall feel of this piece and your reflection in the water just puts it over the top! Definite fav!!!

Very clever idea! In high res you can see some circular brush marks on the mice (if you lower the spacing on the brush and set the feathering high it helps avoid this) ... it is such a sweet image ... just a few minor improvements and it would be super

Really lovely and creative work ... great realism! I like the addition of the noise but think it might be a bit better if it was not quite as strong. This is just a minor thing though and will not effect my faving and giving high vote!!! Bravo!

A great way to add noise is with a neutral gray layer , add noise to it and set on Soft Light blend mode (you can find a tutorial here http://photoshoptutorials.ws/photoshop-tutorials/photo-effects/natural-film-grain.html)... then you can set the opacity at whatever level works ... it just gives a little more control over the finished image.

Lovely work ... very moody image ... just a thought about composition, have you considered not centering the house? It might add some more tension to the image and enhance the already great mood ... check this out if you are interested http://www.jakegarn.com/the-rule-of-thirds/

Great work Author and GL!

Truly fun entry and well done ... gave me a good laugh ! The sun glasses are soooo cool! Good luck!

Super! Congrats!

Congratulations Elke ... this is a wonderful image and just so lovely to look at over and over!

Congrats

Congratulations Anoop! Wonderful entry!

Hey ... good for you ... 2 in the top 3!

Congrats on a lovely image!

Great big congrats ... a little late but you know what they say!

Strange, surreal and a touch of whimsy ... very interesting creation.

Love the idea! I do find it a little over saturated but I will have to come back and look at it again, could just be my mood and after seeing the previous submission the difference is a little striking. I would also suggest some slight ripple lines to give the swans a sense of movement, they seem a little static right now.

Other than that it is a wonderful composition and well thought out! Great concept. I am going to come back for a second (and possibly third) look before voting though as I think this image will just get better and better each time.

Moody and delicate image. Love the subtly to the piece. Fine work and good composition!

Love the creature in the foreground ... fascinating creation.

Gruesomely eerie and interesting take on the source. Tree appears a little flat in places (could have used some shading to add come "curve" to the branches) but well put together otherwise.GL Author!

Yummy!

Lovely and I think I can guess the artist ... I must be getting familiar with the site. Quality work this!

A world of waves and wonder ... weird, wild, wonderferful and whatever wistful alliterations I can think of that begin with "w"!

Seriously, I particularly like the upper side of the "wave" on the right side! It is almost it's own little landscape.

A world of waves and wonder ... weird, wild, wonderferful and whatever wistful alliterations I can think of that begin with that whacy "w" letter!

Particularly like the upper side of the "wave" on the right side! It is almost it's own little landscape.

Love this ... but I would think that the word for these little guy would not be flat but something very similar!

Great mood piece and the lighting is wonderful!

Amazing, clever and wonderfully strange!

One of my favs ... really fun creation!