great critique guys... 1) kill the border. borders were cool in like...2004. 2) watch your flow. the...brushstrokes? go up and in, but the render gives a feeling of up and out. the conflict isnt good for the compo. 3) like everyone else said: too many filters. the effects should feel cohesive. this looks like brushstroke then brushstroke then brushstroke and so on and so forth. it doesnt blend. 4) also, nobody's mentioned the colors: your render is too pale compared to the vibrant BG. it needs to stand out above the BG. really. our tuts are free and absolutely the best you'll find online. check em out.
too many filters and the render is almost lost in you trying to over blend it.. also the filters over the render makes him seem hazy and the depth isn't great..
Uh.. where? I don't see any. Black lines on top/bottom don't count as a border, that's called a frame.