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From tek@evilsuperbrain.com:
This is very good for someone who's only been using pov for a short time. I'll
try and list everything I think could be improved:

The white room and geometric chess pieces are a stylistic decision, so I think
there's nothing wrong with them (though like you say I'm sure others will
disagree).
The bullet shape and material looks a bit strange, did you look at reference
photos for it?
The holes in the chess pieces are too perfect, it's a bullet not a drill! I'd
expect the pieces to break more, perhaps shatter entirely.
The pieces that have been hit haven't moved an inch, they must be very heavy.
The trail behind the bullet looks wrong, again reference photos would help.
And finally, the lighting is nice but looks a bit too simple for an interior,
I'd suggest using radiosity (or making it more obvious).

On the whole it's a great image and an interesting concept. I hope to see more
images from you in future :)

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From rgow@lanset.com:
Good job on the focal blur






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From ewan@chmai2.loxinfo.co.th:
Very good for one months usage of Pov-Ray. Keep it up.

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From maarten_hofman@hotmail.com:
A nicely frozen moment. Maybe the point of the bullet should've been slightly
damaged, but that's merely a detail.
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From the_dark_allies@hotmail.com:

For a person only using pov for a month, this is very good work!  I like the
scattering of bits, but the smoke trail does more harm than good to the image. 
Also, it's been a year since I last fired a gun, but I don't think you will
find many bullets that look like this.

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From sammyf@wanadoo.fr:
I don't mind the blank background at all actually :) It's more the relative
blandness of trail of the bullet and the bullet itself that detract from an
otherwise cool picture though.



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From N6re@mminternet.com:
The pieces would not remain standing having been hit by that bullet but probably
would split rather than cut clean....technical.. Focus very nice and background
blur... Don't want to play chess with that guy!!!!

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From bsieker@techfak.uni-bielefeld.de:

Very nice overall image. Some minor points: I doubt a bullet would make such
neat holes. The trail of the bullet is much too narrow and is not expanding, it
also seems to be smoke-filled. There is too little debris flying from the
pieces considering the size of the holes.
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From bpjackson@woh.rr.com:
It is another 'bullet in mid-air' picture, but something about a chess game
being shot interested me. The white background did fit the rest of the image,
and a busy background would only serve to underscore the feel of the picture.
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From david.madore@ens.fr:
Concept is nice.  The idea of displaying a chess game is interesting and
original.  However, the bullet looks fake, and, worse than that, the bullet's
trajectory through the pieces (perfectly cylindrical, with no attempt made to
hide that fact) seems completely artificial.

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From clem@dhol.org:
Strange idea.  Nice shattering.  Odd but interesting chess 
set design.  Much better use of focal blur than most.  Most 
people seem to use it like a sledgehammer to eliminate 
most of the image.  Bad idea, in my book.  You are right.  
In this case, the empty background is the correct choice.

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From p_chan@shaw.ca:
The debris is done fairly well, but the bullet holes seem 
too smooth to me.  The point the trail meets the bullent 
seems a little awkward, perhaps because it seems I can 
see the shape of the first sphere.  Moving this sphere so 
it starts halfway inside the bullet might help.

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From batronyx@alliancecable.net:
There sure are a lot of bullets this round. Nice beginings you have here.

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From slone@hiwaay.net:
I like the chess pieces, both their shape and interesting metallic stone 
texture. The smoke trail is great for your first image but it really needs 
to be media (or stacked planes) so it doesn_t have sharp edges. Excellent 
job on the random bits.

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From noe.falzon@tiscali.fr:
Excellent to think about the moves before to make the scene. I really like the
idea to make the bullet hit a symbolic piece. And the textures are beautiful.