Great thread, I've already learned alot reading through it too, thanks! I saw this in the gallery and noticed the grasshopper and lampshade first. I really liked both as is but understand your desire to learn to create a different look. I liked the image very much, cool mat choices, but one thought I had while looking was that your primitives are too flat on the floor. If the tile has bump to it and normal dust is on the floor, then there would be just a hint of shadow under them...maybe hold the ALT key and hit "page up" a couple of times?