A gamillion different lights and HDRIs later and I finally got something I was happy with. The good news is, with a little patience and a few gamillion renders of your own, you TOTALLY have the power to surpass me (and I expect ya to do so, cuz I'm sloooow...). I just spammed your comment section with a couple of my favorite YT instructors, so... lemme know when you're ready for more? Ha!

There are also some really good galleries here to study (if that's your thing. Mjrk comes to mind, and some of those entries even have break downs of how they're built, so they act like tiny tutorials.)

Thank you. It comes from the oculus up above. More specifically, the environment lighting and one or two point lights. (I also enhanced the atmospheric effects in Photoshop.)

High praise from someone whose skill I've respected for quite some time now. Thank you.

*Insert happy dance here* Right?! Lookit how far I've coooooome! Also, thank you for being part of the reason I made it here. *cheek squooshes*

heart emoji, heart emoji and one more heart emoji:) See the way I typed it out since I dont know how to do emojis here.... laugh emoji

Thank you very much! I appreciate it.

Thank you for sharing your thoughts. I appreciate them and your kindness.