Good to know about the timing. Thanks. For the reflection, I'm using Photoshop CS6, in the filter section, under distort, i used ripple. Then i just put the layer on a bit of transparency and called it a day. I might have even put the layer on multiply, but I can't remember. The ripple is good for reflections. There is a 'liquify' tool as well but it works with a brush and you'd have to scrub the whole thing - not worth the time.
Ah! Thanks for the heads up. We went over the many blending options in class, though not enough detail to understand why you can get some real odd-ball colorings out of 'em. I'll keep this in mind for the future. The liquify tool I had thought about, but gave up on, along with the idea of making reflections, for one of the reasons you mentioned. Looking forward to your input for the upcoming one if you so choose. :)