Inspired by H.Giger, this scene depicts an overcast and somber environment, host to an immense statue of the strange, ominous priest that Giger so vividly describes.
Over a million trees were scattered effortlessly by Redshift. Each tree uses translucency, has displacement and quite complicated node trees in order to allow foer colour and seasonal variation, all handled by Redshift incredibly well.
Playing with sub surface scattering on the statue material in real-time allowed me to adjust the look until I achieved a fairly worn and realistic marble look. I also used X-Particles to drop natural dust and grime onto the statue from above, as well as the RS Material Blender node to overlay organic moss growth, and the custom graffiti seen at the bottom.
The birds nest on the statue and the distant birds give a sense of scale, and an interesting contexual grounding that blends the mysterious and un-earthly statue with recognisable birds, giving us a sense of scale in a familiar environment.
Click to enlarge.
Click to enlarge.
Here's the C4D viewport, showing the X-Particles driven rain and dirt simulation.