Either you have a classical art background or you are lying about this being your first project, it has good compostion, atmospheric dissipation( where it usually get's a blueish haze the farther you look from the camera-you picked green ) , soft shadows ( trees), variation in textures/color which gives it a more natural feel. Looks great not trying to be mean, but this sounds a little bit harsh. i agree with you it does have a nice feel to it. it very well could be his first maya project - but then he never said that it is the first project in ANY 3d program. cheers duckie