There seems to be a lot going on in this one. I voted on this image earlier this morning and I really liked it in the default resolution size I saw. Now that I can see the jewel closer up , I have to agree with mum42 that some of the clarity is lost, but on the other hand some of the detail going on in the background which makes this so kewl can be seen much better.
:)PJ
My new profile pic was drawn by Phinnbad who was pointed out to me by Owd Bob and was altered and used with Phinnbad's permission.
I love the grungy background, very Pirates of the Caribbean. The Jewel effect has been lost somewhere on this one - maybe you should try something different as a centre piece.
I love the background... and like most of the rest; the only thing I don't particularly like is that the darkness around the jewel is too thick: it is too wide. Makes it hard to even imagine where the jewel begins. Then again, maybe itt's the effect you wanted. But for me it just seems that the jewel is sucking the light out of its surroundings. Maybe it isn't so nice after all. (the jewel, I mean: maybe it's evil) ;)
Mum42 said exactly what I was thinking. Actually I'm not sure that the jewel is even necessary for me, the background might be enough on it's own in this case.