Hi Anna,

The thing that is going to make this work is definitely pushing that stylised look. I'm liking the warping in the geometry, the textures you've kept a fairly neutral colour with the exception of the two characters which is good, it's not too busy and your eyes gets drawn to the characters.
As for the wet look on the Octopus, I wouldn't be trying to get a 'realistic' wet look as such, what you're doing with the specular highlight is good, but I would bring the bump a bit, just to break up the highlights, and to get a feel that there is a texture underneath. If fact, looking at your renders I would bring the bump up on nearly everything, its all quit smooth.

For the cloth, find a piece of fabric or old cloth that has a fairly course texture and scan it. Use this to make a good bump (make it seamless) and really exaggerate this on your cloth...remember you're going for a stylized look, not realistic, so be bold with your detail.

What resolution is your final output?

C
a~