Click for bigSeeing as I'm just working on this as pretty much a single purpose image/mesh, I tend to get things set up in parallel to one another, so at the same time as Im working on detailing and texturing the character, Im also working on the set, the lighting, and test rendering as I go.
So here is the basic setup of the scene, with a basic pose put in, just mushing the mesh about with a few simple bones. Since theres no animation, theres no full on rig, and the finer points of deformation will be ironed out in modeler toward the end.
On show also is the basic lighting, and surfacing... no radiosity, no special shaders (SSS and the like), my basic philosophy being, get it looking as good as u can with just the basics... then when u add all the bells and whistles, it should really sing.