After being fed up with the non-constructive crits I was getting on IRC, I decided to post this here.
This is the scene in its current state:
<<scroll downl for update>>
It also has a first attempt at post-pro.
For this scene, i’m going for a smooth, colorful style. Not necessarily photoreal. Also, I’m going for the “classic” look on both the flying saucer’s and the alien.
I am not an experienced character modeler by any means, so any advice on the alien would be very much appreciated. Thanks!
There’s a little banding at the top of the image in the sky, dithering this might help, Iknow blender’s got some itnernal dithering somewhere. I’m not sure how well it works, I’ve never used it.
I like how you’ve got the shadows setup differently, though they seem to lack a little bit of depth, they both seem to be the same darkness. In real life this wouldn’t be the case, the fuzzier less occluded shadow should be lighter in shade than the sharper shadow.
A couple of the “trees” (I like the style, very interesting!) seem to be exactly the same.
The ground seems a little flat, though I know it’s not, maybe it’s just me.
Overall I like the style very much.
The alien’s skin looks a bit dry to me, more plastic than skin. I’d play with the spec to give him more of a wet look.
I don’t quite get the focus of the image, do you want us to look at the alien or at the UFOs?
Also, as it is now, I don’t think the title “Departure” fits very well. Maybe have the alien look up at the UFOs, with his toy lying on the ground next to him (holding it in one hand lazily or something).
If the greenish balls are supposed to be fruits/nuts/seeds, maybe have a couple lying on the ground close to the trunks or scattered away, depending on if you want them to be heavy fruits or light puffy seeds.
How far are the UFOs? Their shadows are a bit too sharp for them to be very far away, yet having them far (with softer shadow) would give more scale to the scene I think.
I like the ground, though it could have more slight color variations.
Martin
Thanks for the constructive comments guys!
Your suggestions sound very good.
Having some of the greenish-sphere’s on the ground is a great idea. Mabey i’ll even have one broken in half 
I’ll see if I can do anything with the ground.
The combination of both soft and sharp shadows on the ground looks rather strange. Especially on a clear day like that, the shadows should be quite crisp.
That’s true, but since the flying saucers are so much higher than the trees, they would cast a much more diffuse shadow.
I think what’s making it look strange now is that the shadows aren’t soft enough; i’ll fix that in my next update.
Here’s a small update with some of the suggestions above
More critique and comments are welcome!
The fruits on the ground looks a different color than the others.
Is it because they are ripe?
If so, the idea is good, but maybe make it a little more apparent, by making them less perfectly round for example (the glow is gone, that’s good too).
As far as the alien looking away goes, I think it would be much clearer if he was looking at the UFO beside him, twisting his neck a little more. Now, he might as well be looking at something in the distance. Though I admit it’s harder to tell with the facetted eyes.
Martin
I would put in several more clumps of trees in the far off distance. That would break up the completely straight horizon and give people a little more to look at.
The fighters should be in “clumps” rather than spread all out.
In the classic UFO pics I’ve seen, the sky seems to be a black starry background rather than a blue sky. Kind of like there’s no atmosphere. Makes it seem as if the planet is “out in space” more.
Nice pic! Can’t wait for updates.