The base and surroundings

Two extremely important factors that will determine the outcome of the final model, will be where she is, and if she looks legitimate. How many figurines do you know that stood on their own and not on a scene, or platform ? exactly, none.

So as you can see in SKETCHBOOK i designed a platform for her to stand on, but took it that extra step further than just a base.
The Foyle river is full of memories for me and everyone else thats even heard of Derry, and i want to really push the 'very Derry' theme more than i have been so far, So what i designed, was actually inspired by a tutorial done in class recently, a water effect.
So i could make the Foyle river, gravity wise it would be at her feet, but not standing in it, so she has an extra wee platform and the well known black railings down by the river Foyle.
As i designed the water i came to a problem, apart from the fact i dont know how to actually make the water effect in 3D Max but thats not the issue right now, a design problem was i didnt know where the water would end, and thats when i thought it could be in the shape of Derry.... not the city mind you, thatd be messy, the county.
This will not only add a more Derry theme to the figurine, but will also give me a big challenge of making water and shaping it into Derry.

I still have to work on the size and actual dimensions of the character, but for now im picturing her about the size of a pint, i played with the idea of her being a statue in Derry (easily photoshopped in) or like the statue of liberty. The annual giant xmas trees in the shopping centres also gave me the idea she could perhaps be a landmark inside, like the giant trees several storys tall.
For now i am going to design her in either a glass cabinet or shelf with other ornaments, ether in th home, or in Austins department store itself, which meas yet another fun run back to Austins. tenth times the charm to get all the reference photos after all.

As seen in SKETCHBOOK, this was developed quite  bit and thought through, as is the next stage, narrowing down my favourite objects, deciding the most featured, and object placement.