Overlayed Gaussian blur and a cartoon filter? I am in no way saying that is all you did, however, you really need to add more to this piece. Right now it looks like you rendered him, added text and 2xfilters, and render>clouds. It lacks direction and anything interesting/eyecatching.
I couldn't agree more. Filter>Render>Clouds shouldn't ever really be used as a background or anything in a finished project, its really just the base for randomized textures and effects.
It looks like you just added a cloud filter and added a **** load of TOPAZ with cool text. Nothing special.
On the contrary I use it all the time in screen mode- it really does make nice clouds every now and then.
That was what I was saying it was meant for. My point was that Clouds should never be left set to "Normal" in a finished project, but should be used to create randomized textures (with blend modes, blurring, etc).
Looking past technical details, the bg looks unbalanced, flat, and boring. This is a good thing, because it means you have an opportunity to fix it!
What are your suggestions on the BG? That's why I put the clouds there, cause I knew it was plain, and didn't know what to put there..