place your water layer(s) above some sort of defining vanishing point of objects to show some depth and also on the top of the water show some breaking of it, ripples, wave action, blowing mist...
ok, here is a hint on learning some things by doing them...
Below is a list of a couple of Magazines you can pick up at Borders or at your better Magazine stand.
Photoshop
Computer Arts Projects
Design Graphics
EFX Art & Design
Those four magazines will be more than enough to give you some real hard line tutorial projects to work through. I would also suggest the Photoshop WOW book for the version of PS you have purchased. Also I would suggest you become a member at the Adobe Studio online so you can pick the minds of some of the developers, tech support and users from the beginers level all the way up to some of the highest paid individuals in the graphics industry.
But you really do have to do as much as you can as far as learning on your own to gain any respect because they are constantly seeing people who pop in for a bit and they spend time (which is at a personal premium, always) only to have the person kind of fade away and in time it leaves a person wondering why they even exert the effort...
Sitck with it, bang your head against the wall a bit and ask away, but thinnk about what you want to ask, how you need to ask it, and pay attention to what they are saying in and many instances what they are not saying. You'll get it just give yourself some time
