Original sketch vs. the finished composition. I replaced the photos of my friends and I with simple silhouettes for the portfolio presentation only.

I bent and twisted the train with a lattice modifier, layering multiple shapekeys to control the taper, the curve and some final adjustments non-destructively.

If I were to do something similar again, though, I would use a curve modifier to twist it.

Lighting setup sans the HDRi and tree models.