well i have seen alot of these, and i think that th erender is pretty good for your first one. The brushing you did is insane, maybe a little to smudged, but nonetheless still good. I personally think you sig and avatar look alot better than the actual pic. Probably becuase its easier to make something small look good than it is to make something big (like a wallpaper). Anyways, keep up the good work.