CS: no plug ins. pure photoshop. I started from a basic sketch, then I did some black lines on 1 layer. then added colours for seperate objects on their own layers. the only thing I use is a WACOM. graphire4 6x8.
chi: thanks man! that's 1 thing I really wanted to get perfect because in my 1st sketch, I made everything so bright that it just sucked. now it's getting better.
slight update:
[currently working on the water. i think the sky is mostly good for now. i'll work on the clouds detail later but the placement is done. tree leaves will be redone to get some wind motion in them. and I'm going to add a ton of detail on the sand. (bit of rocks and a few creatures like shells or something if it looks good.]
any comments of criticism is appreciated!