Thank you Author

Author, as you have only used the contest image, please add a step by step showing how you made your entry.

If you fix it in photoshop it should look good anywhere else.

Looks good. Just match the white areas between his ears & shoulders to the background.

Cool idea and good story to go with your image. I think the fire would brighten the area a bit more though, then we would be able to see a bit more of Ninja Bear. You put time into dressing him, it would be nice to see a little more of his outfit.

Congratulations...

Congrats gosseyn

I love the mood you accomplished, the blue is very nice. Making it Halloween themed is great also, would have never thought about that!
Normally the white edges around the girls would have annoyed the hell out of me but here it, surprisingly, does not. It works!
Only thing: why the grainy moon?

Good source finds to make the birds wings come to life

Nice idea well made!

I like the blending... looks nice... good luck..

Nicely done.

Does it like water like frogs do, or does it hate water like cats do?

Well I've seen lots of frogs, but never a furry one, well done.

Having a flash back of the Mothra Egg from my child hood. Yowza.
That little white edge on the the lip of the crater is a slight distraction but the overall feel of chop has a very red feel to it. Sort of like a Sepia Effect only pounded into the orange/red spectrum.
While the egg is technically a baby dragon (in my book anyway) the contest is a DRAGON contest so that might be something to look into.
As time is a factor (and it would be a big change) you might want to think of having a crack in the egg with a claw popping out. Just a suggestion.
Good work overall, enjoyable vision.

Question: why post your entry before the "stuff that needs work" is done? You have FIVE MORE DAYS to get it right... I'd also suggest making the dragon larger, since it's the purpose of the contest.

Beautiful and dreamy

A better technique for sharpening an image is to duplicate the layer then use a high pass filter on the upper layer. Set the blending on that layer to overlay. That can sharpen up an image nicely without adding the black lines. Coincidentally, if you invert the top layer it gives the pic a nice soft effect and can hide sharper imperfections.

Much improved author,the lioness is much more Panthera leo and less Felis silvestris catus. That little tweak made a world of difference (IMHO). Smart move on the on the flowers as well. The labyrinth was a solid choice and adds a lot of interest to the chop. Once again IMHO. Good luck.

Much improved, author!
Just try to lighten the shadows under the girl & beast, along with less opacity.

Kind of looks like an illustration from an old Fairy Tale Book, after smoking crack. I'M JUST KIDDING.. but seriously, it looks really sharp.
If you have the original images (before the filter effect) place it under this layer and experiment with blending options to see what happens.
This is a mixed media contest, so this image is fine. Though I think the Lioness could be just a tad bit bigger so her ears break the cliff edge. She's looking more cat like instead of lion like. More little mushrooms might help to give them some purpose. They kind of look like the just plopped into the picture. Not a bad thing, but they are curious.
Good luck author.

Lighten the shadows and make them less opaque. I'd remove the pink blob. I know it's supposed to be flowers, but it looks like a pink blob.
Also, the filter makes the castle look like a drawing. The basic concept is good, if a bit too saturated. The eagle/camel is well blended & believable.

Very clever though simple.. less is more Well done I especially like the Sun Effect on the whole scene