"Eowyn in Pelennor Fields" was selected Grand Prize at the Tolkien Remembered contest organized by Daz3D.
I was so thrilled to read the news from Daz, especially as I submitted both versions of the same scene and the first version was selected as "Honorable Mention" as well. This made it worth starting over the entire scene after the first version had so many elements to change.
Now if only I could find enough time to work on the next picture ...
It is not necessary to invest (or steal) into expensive software to get impressive lighting results. Vue d’Esprit 4, or in this case Bryce, are perfectly adapted to simulate advanced lighting techniques.
This tutorial on simulated HDRI from Azagoth provides tips to obtain realistic lighting - check out his gallery for amazing images in Bryce. This technique builds on a simple trick of light domes, detailed extensively in a tutorial from Bryceanworld.