Suggestions on work

[Regular]

I have always had difficulty on compositing and making a work look coherent. This is quite amateurish. Looking for suggestions to get to the next level.

Thanks

(note: Modeling in Hexagon, shading in Carrara Pro and post in PhotoShop and Xara X V.5)

[iamtheblues]

The font used for the text in the star is quite difficult to read. Although red and .jpgs don't work well together, the coffee and the cup look really good. The foam looks perfect.
Saludos,
Bob.

[wizard509]

The font used for the text in the star is quite difficult to read.
Saludos,
Bob.

Good call Bob. I think a more legible font would be in order.

[Regular]

The font used for the text in the star is quite difficult to read. Although red and .jpgs don't work well together, the coffee and the cup look really good. The foam looks perfect.
Saludos,
Bob.

Thanks for the critique, I can change font quite easily as it was done in Xara.

I'm not sure I understand why red and jpg don't work well together. What should I know about this?

[iamtheblues]

When compression occurs with the .jpg format, red, for some reason tends to show a lot more artifacts than other colours, or indeed other file formats - ie .png. If you have a graphic that features predominantly red, then it is possibly a good idea to choose a different file format. Try exporting your original 3D program native format as a .png file instead of .jpg, and I'm sure you'll notice the difference in picture quality.
Saludos,
Bob.

[Regular]

When compression occurs with the .jpg format, red, for some reason tends to show a lot more artifacts than other colours, or indeed other file formats - ie .png. If you have a graphic that features predominantly red, then it is possibly a good idea to choose a different file format. Try exporting your original 3D program native format as a .png file instead of .jpg, and I'm sure you'll notice the difference in picture quality.
Saludos,
Bob.

Thanks iamtheblues!

What about this version? Better?

Or what improvements do I need to make?

I uploaded PNG, but it comes out JPG.

Why is that?

[ZEBtoonz]

Regular, it's hard to say what to do without the XAR file to play around with. But if it were me, I'd do the following.

1. Drop the pointy object behind the description text, it looks funky.
2. The description text is still too hard to read. It has been squashed horizontally. Start with a fresh font without any modifications. Try lining up the text on the right. Divide text into three separate sentences, possibly bulleted:
-Exactly 203° F for perfect expresso
-Smooth, no bitterness ever
-Rich foam injector
3. I'd make the red coffee cup bigger so that it appears closer to the viewer and gives more depth to the picture.
4. I don't understand what the buttons and bottom part of the device image are. The top part looks 3D and then it looks like a 2D thing stuck on the bottom with a separate button bar across it.
5. Possibly make the title "Xpresso" bigger extending over the image of the device so that it is more predominant.
6. Maybe omit background gradient gray altogether or some other background. Perhaps one color for background and one at the bottom to look like a table top or something that the machine is resting on.

Those are some ideas.