DaYtime versioN
For the day scene I wanted to flood the room with warm sunlight. I started out with several reference frames including the two shown below. I ended up moving more toward the peachy tone of the Little Women reference image, for a cozy and even reminiscent feel. I also noticed many images flooded by yellow-orange sunlight had a pop of blue or turquoise attracting the eye. I placed the surfboard to be that pop of turquoise.
NighTtime versioN
For the night scene I was inspired by the images below. I really wanted to create a contrast between the cool tones of the sky and moon, and the warm tones of the lamp. For the sky I went with the more desaturated blue like the image on the right, to make it feel a bit more realistic and to make the lamp light stand out. I scattered some books around the desk, similar to the image on the left, and because as a student, what is more familiar than late night studying?
credits
This is the Attic Studio asset, downloadable on Alex Mateo's website. The textures are detailed and so beautiful!
Lit and rendered with Arnold in Maya, composited in Nuke, using Derek Flood's OCIO config.