Lachlan

Camo 1600x1000 Cloud render > Varying threshold on multiple layers > Colour each layer > Polar Inversion to the right> re-draw lines on left (they got pixelated)

Vector support could be kind of like a "smart layer" in photoshop, you double click it to open it, but instead of incorporating vector abilities into PDN, just open an SVG editor like Inkscape. Then when you save and close Inkscape, the layer in PDN is updated. The layer itself would only contain the xml text info, and PDN would need to render it - thus PDN would need to utilise an "svg viewer" type plugin. The user would also need to have Inkscape installed. I thought this would be the best easiest way to do it. (There is no need to reinvent the wheel)

As the previous comments said, depth of field is a cool concept, but removes a lot of detail. I've found some quality high-res textures at http://www.darknews.com/high-res-textures/. An easy way to make a simple seam in metal is to make a light grey 1px line with another dark grey 1px line fitting snug beside it. The order of the light and dark depends on where the light is supposed to be coming from (If the light is coming from the top then put the darker line at the top). Have a look at jake2k's sig to see how he did the seams. This might be some inspiration:

There are some VERY nice pics here. Since I'm at my grandparent's house for the week, and they have a pretty bare pc (no ps or pspx), I decided to try PDN, and boy is it good! So here's a small space scene sig I made this arvo, looks like a wallpaper I made in ps (PND is very close to being a ps killer) The overall look is a bit too dark for me and the rings get pixelated as they get smaller, but it's still good.