Shadow test in Maya

For my Maya scene I thought I might try and use shadows because although we can't model humans yet I though using shadows to suggest there is a human might be an option. So, I have done a couple tests in Maya using the skills I've learnt to try and create a shadow, I then figured out it was harder than I thought so I need to ask for help on how I can do it, however this is only a test and I'm still debating whether to use it or not yet.

I got the idea of my shadow shape from this image Phil showed us, Russell I Sorgi, Suicide. However I didn't want to look at images of suicide so I looked at images of free falling and used that image for my outline of the shadow. I thought that if I import the shadow into my final scene it can look like someone's jump off the landing to either escape or commit suicide.