Couple of thoughts on the sinking feet.
I tried it, and you are right – “seeing” the hill is a problem. So perhaps;
1) Maybe you could make a walkway with very thick patch density in a strip.
2) Use the conform plug-in to make it fit your hill. This is my FAVORITE plug in, I use it constantly. http://www.kci-group.com/z/conform.htm
3) Pose the actors.
4) Remove the walkway, since you no longer need it.
Or, try the grass. Hair systems are kinda hard to work with. I generally turn drawing OFF when I am working, and just render. Don’t bother turning on the hair dynamics on for grass. If you have to see it to adjust it, try wire frame. Hair is a RENDERING HOG!
Anyway, for fun I made a hill and some moss-like stuff, and put a model of a chicken by Con Kuomis on it.
The grass grows through the feet a little, but it looks okay, fairly organic, and your robot feet are thick enough so that it might not poke through them.
To put hair on something, you make a hair system (emitter material) and then just drop the material on the group of patches you want “hairy”.
My fool around project with a mossy material is attached. Going this route may be more trouble than it is worth!
If you have never worked with hair, there is something to note.
You can change the thickness of the hair to make it wide at the bottom and thin at the top. (See pic)
This allows you to set the density way down, so the render time is better, and while you are working on it, it does not chew up so much processing time. Tip courtesy of Colin’s wonderful hair tutorial.
USE WIREFRAME OR DO NOT DRAW FOR REALTIME, otherwise you will be growing a beard waiting for it to process.
hill_project.zip