Just back up from a system crash - took a while to get the necessaries back on but I'm there again and messing with the shadow values as pyrus suggested - it seems like that may brighten the fur up again

thanks arran, those ears have driven me crazy and I ended up working on them from scratch a couple of times!

cheers 13th_resident. I'm not offended in the slightest. Any c&c is good and it does indeed look a little 'cold and dead' in that last render

thanks jay I havent got fur/hair so this or paintfx was the only option available. I agree with you about how easy it is to get stuck right in and play (maybe too easy as I disregarded the manual after a bit and didnt realise you could reselect growth areas and reapply the fur again - lots of time wasted there!).
Definately recommended for anyone wanting to get into it without having to fork out for unlimited If I get into things more seriously then this'll certainly be on the shopping list

I'm just running another test render off (taking upto an hour) so will post shortly