Here's one of many concepts I did for Dylan Cole's production design course over at conceptartworkshop.com
The process for me was first deciding on an idea and direction. The task here was to design a sacred place that could work as a set.
I wanted to create something set in Norse mythology, inspired by great romantic painters. I started gathering reference from Norway and inspiration from romantic painters like, Hans Gude.
I had a larger story in mind while creating these and since this was going to be a multiple angle shoot, I wanted to be able to put the "camera" anywhere. I built out a simple 3D scene in maya and lit the set with Vray. I did not slave to the CG, but it served as a very good guide and a good way to plan out the shot's.
Feel free to ask questions, and I hope you enjoy my work :)
Thanks,
Einar