The Stratosphere Studio | Episode 7

Maybe it is just so thin that I can’t see it, but your procedural planets do not seem to have an atmosphere.

Of course, the volumetric scattering required for an atmosphere increases the render times by a very significant amount and, maybe you just had it turned off for these test animations to save time. If that’s the case, I stand corrected. Meanwhile, I just wanted to say that an atmosphere greatly enhances the depth and realism of a planet. The reflection of the atmosphere will even color your oceans quite naturally.

Another thing that adds a great deal of depth to the planet is to make the clouds a separate layer above the surface so that they can cast shadows below. That doesn’t cost hardly any render time and looks fantastic. Maybe you did that too and the lighting just happens to be such that it doesn’t show it. Again, I stand corrected if it’s already there.