So, here’s something I worked on today.
It’s a sculpted model… the subsurf is a little strong in the render, but that’s kinda the look I’m aiming for.
My idea is to put this in a windowsill… I’m going for a pretty realistic look. I’m working on the window right now… I’ll put up renders in a minute.
What do you guys think? Comments and crits please!
Here is the window so far.
Textures are from CGTextures.
What can I do to push this into photorealism?
The statue will go in the corner of the windowsill… I still haven’t added glass yet, either.
All of this was done in a 8 hour sprint today… I think I’m going delusional. haha.
Comments and Crits please!
Finally, the background.
Obviously, this is the most unrealistic part of the scene… but I really don’t want to spend much time on it. Is this convincing enough when it’s blurred out? Any ideas of simple things to add in that would make it a little more believable?
Comments and Crits please!
Beautiful looking figure. Even at this distance she appears feminine and attractive. I’m looking forward to seeing the finished work.
Do the buildings have bump maps?
@FutureHack: Thanks! I’m actually really impressed it came out at all… it’s the first time I’ve tried to model a continuous mesh like that. I think the face looks a little older than the body, though… I think there’s something a little off. But I am satisfied with the result. Glad you like it!
@Gordax: I applied the brick texture very slightly in the bump category… though I’m not sure that a bump map will even show at all in the final render. It’s blurred out significantly. What are you thinking?
Thanks for the thoughts! My plan is to finish this up by tomorrow so I can enter it in this weekend’s challenge. We’ll see how it ends up. 
I think the bricks on the wall are a little too uniform–they should be different colors here and there. And the windows would look a lot better if they were clear, even if they were just showing a dark room. Plus the material on the tree needs the specularity turned down further, if it isn’t all the way down already. Oh, and chimneys or something on the roofs would add a nice touch.
@Gordax: Awesome. I’ll see if I can do that… again, I don’t want to spend too much time outside… I’d rather focus on the color and effect of the overall piece. I’ll see what I can do about it, though. Thanks!
I spent some time working on the textures in the windowsill. What do you guys think?
Comments and Crits please!
lighting looks good. Geometry of the windowsill looks a little sharp given the worn look. You should round the corners a little more, a windowsill like that has thicker layers of paint that make the corners smoother.
I worked on the background a little more… Here’s where I am so far.
@Kemmler: That’s a good thought! For this render, I put a bevel on the window… it’s a little better, but I’ll see if I can make it smoother.
My next biggest thing I want to get to work is the window… I’m not sure how I’m going to get the background to work with the difference layers… we’ll see.
Comments and Crits please!
The backround is looking great! I think the glass, being in an old, worn building, could use some smudges or dust.
@haha, of course the glass needs smudges! 
Glad you like the background, though. Thanks for the thoughts!
Unfortunately, they didn’t come across all that well in this image. 
haha. I’m trying to figure a way of compositing so that I can separate the background element out into a different piece in the compositor. Right now I’m rendering two different images… one for alpha and one for the scene.
I don’t think it’s working all that well. I’m still trying to figure it out a little bit.
Oh well. This is where I’m at now. This does have a simple rgb curves in the compositor.
Comments and Crits please!
Ok. This is where I’m at.
Sorry I’ve been updating so quickly! I’m wanting to just do tweaks tomorrow before I enter it.
Grain is added in AfterEffects.
Comments and Crits please!
Alright. Here’s the mostly-final draft.
I’m going to look at it for a little longer, then call it good. Any final comments or crits?
I feel like the figure needs more texture detail, and I think would look great with a bit of sss but not too much, if you already have some applied then disregard this comment 
Is the window supposed to be broken? It lacks something if it is so… some thickness… or what… I can’t put my finger on it. I love the figurine, and all of your textures on the surrounding of the window.
Edit: Also just noticed the vignette effect is too strong :s
