Okay so this is my SOTW and I want the general opinion of it and CnC. Here are the original pics: http://i529.photobucket.com/albums/dd334/Lord_Terrax_XII/P7190254.jpg http://i529.photobucket.com/albums/dd334/Lord_Terrax_XII/Halo20Wars20Spartan.png http://i529.photobucket.com/albums/dd334/Lord_Terrax_XII/untitled.jpg http://i529.photobucket.com/albums/dd334/Lord_Terrax_XII/P7190287.jpg Here is the outcome: V.2. And please don't say add lighting effects without including explicit instructions. I already tried them and it wouldn't work.
Just put a bit of lighting from the top-right to the right of the chief using a soft brush. Then set it to overlay. Duplicate and adjust opacity if you must. As for actual manipulation. You did not do very much. Try using a BG from halo. And as for the reflection in his visor, try using something like an explosion, or a nuke to make it more appealing.
I was going for more of a serene feel... I mean Chief can't fight all the time. And it is a .PNG... I just took the pics with my camera when I was in New Mexico and it was hazy from the clouds. Should I keep the stary BG though?
Right now, you've got floating head syndrome going on. Try to include a little more of the body next time. Just my .02 on that. As for lighting, try to make that star to the left of chief the light source, and make the intensity and coloring on the chief match accordingly. Coloring on the whole sig needs a bit of a tweak. Chief doesn't really look like he's in the picture, since his coloring doesn't match the BG. It's just a minor thing, but it helps a lot. Hope these comments help you out.
to be honest it doesnt look too much like a Manipulation....the background doesnt really look much more than just a regular image or idea for the MC to be on...try again though.
I think that the foreground is good, but the background is too busy. I would recommend creating you own stary background by using the Photoshop "Grain" filter with both bars maxed out and a Mode of "Sprikle" and then using the "Glowing Edges" filter to your liking to create some small stars, which would look a bit less busy than the current bg. I think that you should possibly retouch the dunes, and add shadow using the burn tool or by painting over the shadow areas with a black brush on a new layer and setting it to "overlay" or "multiply". That should fix things up a bit. Otherwise, very nice work.