woot, peace in the winter, santa's coming to town
but i was wondering, if the topic is peace time, why would the samurai be still holding a sword? does that means it's this some sort of plotting still going through his head? like if there's peace, why need the samurai sword?
very goood, very good

Cool! Great detail work and lighting! +8

Great symbolism. I see it that the not-too-cold winter weather is the stillness of peace. Samurai's sword is his life so of course he is still armed. Consumed by peacefulness but still waiting for something to happen.

The lighting on the samurai is great, but the background needs more detail. Perhaps more focus on the house and the trees to give the picture a bit more balance.
Also the face looks too western to be a samurai.

its nice to see the comments. as for the face looking western.. its my take on US-Iraq thing. go figure. anyway.. thanks all

Nice feel to the picture. I agree with the western face comment. I am not sure about that black trim either. I'd like to see more along this theme.

the work on the samurai armor is amazing, the face seems too desaturated though. actually, i like that face looking like a westerner, it gives a feel of mixed culture or of soft madness..

Wow! very nice armor! galing galing!