Yes! I'm really O.K. with the 7th place. Like I said before, it wasn't the best idea. But having few comments about being robbed or other things like that... makes me just thinking about it. And also... am I the only one who think that ReyRey's "The pool" entry is really undervoted?

For the metal effect, I used only the brush tool on layer mask with my Wacom tablet on pen pressure. It's possible to do the same result with the mouse (it only takes more time), brush tool 0% hardness, something around 20 -30% opacity, 10 px diameter.

downloaded psd in about 30 sec...gotta love dat wide open pipe!
Thanks for supply'n that Claf. I keep look'n at it and think'n "Shit , I got a loooong way to go!"

HA! yer kidding! HAHAHAH! I'm not even gonna hazard a guess at how many hours you spent doing it such a hard way. KUDOS to YOU!
I thought Heyhey's water one was terrific too, it was amazing that the two most incredible water surface reflection chops ever done here were in the same contest.
No matter what place some of those super highly skilled chops finished...it was a huge pleasure seeing them.

Um Claf...yeah..heheh..ueah............
mmmmmmmmmmmm...yer not gonna believe this but..........
ummmmmmmmmmmm..............
ok...uhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh,.,
ok, so , at say 30% ???if I do that...err..
Ok, I don't know how to do that and not have it be 60% everytime a line touches another? Kapiche?
i do teh drawing on layer after layer after layer, merging down and down and down and setting layer opacities, but
i dunno how to draw lightly without density compounding on overlaps/

Ooops! Sorry!
I opened my PSD file just to make a test with the mouse. I didn't touch a mouse for few years now so...
Brush tool 0% hardness --- that was right!
20 - 30% opacity --- WRONG! A lot better at 5% opacity.
10 px diameter --- mmm WRONG! Better to alternate between 5 & 20 px.
No merging down layers & layer opacities adjustments.
Just using brush with white foreground color, and black... and white... and black...........
But with a Wacom, it's 3 time faster for sure.
I made that chop in something around 10 hours.