Robot Swing - Looking for Feedback

j0pine4

I'll give a brief explanation behind this project and what I'm trying to accomplish.

I was inspired by the fantastic illustrations from Matt Dixon. One that really caught my eye was this image of a tiny robot swinging above the clouds. I love the composition, the colors, and mood it sets with only a few elements. 

I saw it as a perfect opportunity to try out some Houdini volumetric techniques while getting out of my comfort zone with the lighting.

Here is the first pass of my attempt.
Note this is just a work in progress render so the sample rate is extremely low. Hence the awful noise in the clouds.

There are elements I like but there's so much room to improve. So I'd love some feedback on anything from the robot's pose to model proportions to shading or lighting. Anything that could bring this piece to the next level. I just feel like it's lacking some of the magic of the original image.

For more context, my goal was never to 100% replicate the original piece. More to capture it's overall essence, if that makes sense. For instance, the robot body is kind of a kitbash of elements I liked from other robots in Matt Dixon's collection.


Thanks for reading my long-winded post haha excited to see what advice you guys give and I'm ready to push this scene above and beyond!

Ashervisalis

Looks super cute! I think you could make the shoes and hands larger, the antenna thicker, and bring its collar more of a third down its torso. I also think the metal material should have more of a hammered look to it. Regarding the clouds, I think you should have a colour/brightness gradient which is darker the closer it is to the camera, as well as closer to the ground. The ropes could be chunkier as well, and I feel the knots could use a little love and attention. I can see a hole on the rope which you can see right through, and that hole is repeating. The hands look like they're caressing the rope, whereas in the concept, they're firmly grasping the rope. I also want to comment on the cloud material, because it looks really fuzzy, or noisy, but I don't know anything about houdini volumetrics.

j0pine4

@Ashervisalis Thanks for the great feedback! I'll make sure to implement your tips!

sarasumm

That robot is so cute! The main thing I would suggest is moving the clouds further into the background. Right now, it looks almost like the robot is resting their feet on the clouds. Bringing the clouds back (and maybe playing around with your camera's depth of field) should bring some more depth to the image. 

j0pine4

@sarasumm Yeah, getting a sense of depth has really been a challenge for this scene. The idea of adding some depth of field will really help. Thank you!