Thanks for the comments nemirc! I've been playing with the table and you're right, it does look better with less ripples. Thanks!
The guy's clothes and hair are just regular 3d renders with outlines on them, while the guy himself is cell shaded. I like the idea of keeping the guy cartoon looking, but I think the real shading on the clothes helps to add depth to it. I've been expirimenting with these combinations so long that I think I'm just used to it by now. I hope that while watching the animation the veiwers will get used to it too. This one will be a lot longer than the last one since I'm actually writing out a story first ;)