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1/4 T'au Fire Warrior Full Figure Sculpt


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Okay so basically my shed is too cold and needs a bit of a tidy so I haven't been working on my STAP build, but once it warms up a bit I'll be back on it.

 

So in the meantime so I've got something to do (in the warm!) I decided to start on the Tau sculpture I've been wanting to do since finishing the last one below

 

 

 

I know very little about the T'au or warhammer in general to be honest, always wanted to dip my toe in with miniatures but in all honesty I just dont have the patience for that kind of careful brushwork. 

 

So I had the idea of making a large sculpture of my favourite warhammer race, the T'au. I really like the idea of making a huge version of something thats only available in small scale, and in actual fact although I stated this as being 1/6 its actually a bit bigger than that, my measurements of the face where "eyeballed" and after measuring and scaling it up based on an eight head high figure it will be a little over 40cm high so I'll have to do the torso and legs separate so I can get it in my oven!

 

Well anyway I just thought what the hell and watched a few sculpting vids on youtube as a refresher and then grabbed the tools and my block of super sculpey firm.

 

50927195357_615843a71b_c.jpgIMG_20210207_132738 by Nick Frost, on Flickr

 

I had some clay left over in a bag that you can see in this pic but I failed to bring it back from the dead so just chucked it and grabbed the new block, dont want to chance it going crumbly on me when I need to blend facial features smoothly.

 

Started by making a rough armature from stiff wire with a tight ball of foil which was then wrapped around with thin flexible armature wire

 

50927072841_a9c1a060a4_c.jpgIMG_20210207_133041 by Nick Frost, on Flickr

 

50927072736_1e63d1c6f3_c.jpgIMG_20210207_133131 by Nick Frost, on Flickr

 

50927072681_0ceac9cb46_c.jpgIMG_20210207_134042 by Nick Frost, on Flickr

 

Then I rolled some flat sheets of sculpey which was pressed very firmly around the armature to ensure no gaps and plenty of stability for when I'm working on it.

 

50926386128_fcda9aa1d6_c.jpgIMG_20210207_134529 by Nick Frost, on Flickr

 

50927072476_6c80df4c78_c.jpgIMG_20210207_134622 by Nick Frost, on Flickr

 

50927072331_2162188717_c.jpgIMG_20210207_135214 by Nick Frost, on Flickr

 

50926385508_0dd86a0aba_c.jpgIMG_20210207_135850 by Nick Frost, on Flickr

 

Then I started to think more about the shape of the head and began to add a bit of form to work towards making a basic head shape as a blank canvas to work on

 

50926385338_10b994575c_c.jpgIMG_20210207_141053 by Nick Frost, on Flickr

 

50927194367_756b5ea064_c.jpgIMG_20210207_141609 by Nick Frost, on Flickr

 

50927071871_47c19827e3_c.jpgIMG_20210207_142001 by Nick Frost, on Flickr

 

50927194187_dd3d5cd066_c.jpgIMG_20210207_142007 by Nick Frost, on Flickr

 

Then it was time to mark out the features and to correct the symmetry here and there by building up areas and then smoothing.

 

50927194737_fb78da71ef_c.jpgIMG_20210207_143909 by Nick Frost, on Flickr

 

50926384763_e360ef5112_c.jpgIMG_20210207_144039 by Nick Frost, on Flickr

 

50927071476_74cf2180d0_c.jpgIMG_20210207_145215 by Nick Frost, on Flickr

 

Head was looking a little too round so I trimmed the sides a bit

 

50926384553_52c420be24_c.jpgIMG_20210207_145507 by Nick Frost, on Flickr

 

And building up more of the shape here and there

 

50927071096_7d38b5b612_c.jpgIMG_20210207_150902 by Nick Frost, on Flickr

 

Pretty happy at this stage, its looking like a blank head

 

50927194007_91a3209bf3_c.jpgIMG_20210207_151944 by Nick Frost, on Flickr

 

50927194007_91a3209bf3_c.jpgIMG_20210207_151944 by Nick Frost, on Flickr

 

50927070901_619cff53b9_c.jpgIMG_20210207_152139 by Nick Frost, on Flickr

 

Got my marks back in place after reshaping a bit, and then began to think about features and shape of the face

 

50926384048_c6b3e4ce57_c.jpgIMG_20210207_154023 by Nick Frost, on Flickr

 

50927070701_817bf2ab67_c.jpgIMG_20210207_200613 by Nick Frost, on Flickr

 

Now at this point, I lost my confidence a bit and started to feel a bit lost, and that maybe the first sculpt was a fluke and maybe I cant do this.

Then I realised that in the first one I was a lot more "devil may care" and was just going for it a bit more without getting to hung up on the big picture and just working through one bit a time. So decided I was just going to get stuck right in because at the end of the day you cant do anything that you cant easily undo or tweak until your happy with it (which is basically what sculpting is)

 

So I threw myself into the next session and cut out the basic eye recesses and shaping the head and face to the shape I was after by working on the chin jaw and mouth and overall tweaks here and there.

 

50926384148_7c7efe07ec_c.jpgIMG_20210207_202220 by Nick Frost, on Flickr

 

50927192767_764c1c7570_c.jpgIMG_20210207_203604 by Nick Frost, on Flickr

 

50927070476_6867b974ec_c.jpgIMG_20210208_190056 by Nick Frost, on Flickr

 

50926383243_c00723ce04_c.jpgIMG_20210208_190103 by Nick Frost, on Flickr

 

50926383178_66d6442dd6_c.jpgIMG_20210208_190259 by Nick Frost, on Flickr

 

50926383068_7277617d24_c.jpgIMG_20210208_190809 by Nick Frost, on Flickr

 

50927192342_09679506d3_c.jpgIMG_20210208_190821 by Nick Frost, on Flickr

 

50927192262_dacc82df54_c.jpgIMG_20210208_190958 by Nick Frost, on Flickr

 

50927069666_fc5917cf42_c.jpgIMG_20210208_191059 by Nick Frost, on Flickr

 

50927192062_374f16f685_c.jpgIMG_20210208_191132 by Nick Frost, on Flickr

 

50927069531_5606583ec5_c.jpgIMG_20210208_191439 by Nick Frost, on Flickr

 

50927069436_e8f46a2581_c.jpgIMG_20210208_191603 by Nick Frost, on Flickr

 

50926382548_64ae713591_c.jpgIMG_20210208_191920 by Nick Frost, on Flickr

 

50927069226_36355f9bba_c.jpgIMG_20210208_191924 by Nick Frost, on Flickr

 

50926382428_e484b7a673_c.jpgIMG_20210208_192240 by Nick Frost, on Flickr

 

50927068991_09e5a7059a_c.jpgIMG_20210208_192247 by Nick Frost, on Flickr

 

I increased the eye sockets a bit, all of this will be covered over when I build up the brow later, I just need to bare in mind the eye socket shape and where I'm going to put the eyeballs.

 

50926382203_5cbef6024d_c.jpgIMG_20210208_192725 by Nick Frost, on Flickr

 

50927068871_d0030251cc_c.jpgIMG_20210208_192731 by Nick Frost, on Flickr

 

50927070126_df3c25955e_c.jpgIMG_20210208_192744 by Nick Frost, on Flickr

 

Right, I'll leave it there for now, Im on my lunch break at work and need to get back. Later on this evening I'll update more progress from last nights sculpt session, in real-time I'm up to the bit where I've done his basic eyes so more to follow soon.

 

Been so pleased with this start, last time the thing that seemed to hold me up most was the non sculpted elements and the crazy posing chanllenges, so with this one its nothing crazy or complicated, just a T'au soldier with no helmet on in a standing pose and everything is being sculpted in clay. I already feel like I'm getting this done much quicker the second time around!

 

Thanks for looking, more soon :)

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  • Hunter Rose changed the title to 1/6 T'au Fire Warrior Full Figure Sculpt

Right another update just to catch up with where its at!

 

Next up I wanted to increase the size of the bit where on a person the nose would be, but the T'au dont have them and I dont know what they call that area!

 

50927068731_11a339625a_c.jpgIMG_20210208_193142 by Nick Frost, on Flickr

 

50926381838_4228c5ba22_c.jpgIMG_20210208_193310 by Nick Frost, on Flickr

 

50926381763_ac9f49d547_c.jpgIMG_20210208_193317 by Nick Frost, on Flickr

 

50927190937_eec1cfa169_c.jpgIMG_20210208_193552 by Nick Frost, on Flickr

 

50927190857_de4b6efdde_c.jpgIMG_20210208_193559 by Nick Frost, on Flickr

 

And whilst I was thinking about it I wanted to add some neck muscles

 

50927190792_dbf625ce7f_c.jpgIMG_20210208_195711 by Nick Frost, on Flickr

 

50926381388_16432db12b_c.jpgIMG_20210208_195751 by Nick Frost, on Flickr

 

50927190552_bb532f9f74_c.jpgIMG_20210208_195845 by Nick Frost, on Flickr

 

50926381143_beeefb3067_c.jpgIMG_20210208_200248 by Nick Frost, on Flickr

 

50927190377_2ed67699fe_c.jpgIMG_20210208_200302 by Nick Frost, on Flickr

 

50926380773_323d485f06_c.jpgIMG_20210208_200636 by Nick Frost, on Flickr

 

When shaping his face I think I pinched it a bit unevevenly so need to build up his left side a bit

 

50927067566_cd13fde7d9_c.jpgIMG_20210209_192040 by Nick Frost, on Flickr

 

50926380608_973b53fe5c_c.jpgIMG_20210209_192118 by Nick Frost, on Flickr

 

Left temple area is a little flat compared to the other side too, so sorted that out

 

50927189872_45679725bf_c.jpgIMG_20210209_192349 by Nick Frost, on Flickr

 

50927189802_6127e4a43c_c.jpgIMG_20210209_192545 by Nick Frost, on Flickr

 

50927067156_fa24333383_c.jpgIMG_20210209_193751 by Nick Frost, on Flickr

 

50926380263_8c403d008b_c.jpgIMG_20210209_194019 by Nick Frost, on Flickr

 

Next I gave him a bit of an adams apple

 

50926380143_51659944c0_c.jpgIMG_20210209_194207 by Nick Frost, on Flickr

 

50926380063_1c83b32219_c.jpgIMG_20210209_194411 by Nick Frost, on Flickr

 

50926381283_b892883746_c.jpgIMG_20210209_194415 by Nick Frost, on Flickr

 

50927189362_4e7fa9b972_c.jpgIMG_20210209_201248 by Nick Frost, on Flickr

 

Just thought I lost a bit of lip definition when smoothing out his "central face no nose" area :lol: so I redid his top lip by adding clay and shaping them a bit

 

50926379843_ca9b95f819_c.jpgIMG_20210209_201337 by Nick Frost, on Flickr

 

50926379758_ecb6e64f87_c.jpgIMG_20210209_201758 by Nick Frost, on Flickr

 

50926379688_6bb120fa79_c.jpgIMG_20210209_201810 by Nick Frost, on Flickr

 

Then came the "take a deep breathe" moment, when I took a loop tool and cut out the socket for the eyeballs, which I rolled out and then put in place, and my god that looked creepy!

 

50926379603_af1e997e9f_c.jpgIMG_20210209_202613_1 by Nick Frost, on Flickr

 

50927188892_726b47352f_c.jpgIMG_20210209_203015 by Nick Frost, on Flickr

 

Then came the moment of what now? I really hate sculpting eyes, I remember doing the spacemans eyes, but these I've done a bit different. For the other sculpt I blended in half spheres and added eye lids, for this one I added full balls into sockets so it was easier to keep them smooth.

For the eyelids I decided to try cutting an eye shape in a thin bit of clay and laying it over which would also help flesh out the surrounding eye area too.

 

50927066206_aa9db1069d_c.jpgIMG_20210209_203907 by Nick Frost, on Flickr

 

50927188787_ba0c01d98d_c.jpgIMG_20210209_204206 by Nick Frost, on Flickr

 

50926379378_bcd180f14d_c.jpgIMG_20210209_204644 by Nick Frost, on Flickr

 

50927065951_74ede5217d_c.jpgIMG_20210209_204945 by Nick Frost, on Flickr

 

50927065946_5bb03aefee_c.jpgIMG_20210209_205329 by Nick Frost, on Flickr

 

50926379848_ba895c5b22_c.jpgIMG_20210209_205340 by Nick Frost, on Flickr

 

And thats where I'm up to with him.

 

Im really pleased with that, the whole time I was doing it I was waiting for it to look crap but thankfully it didn't! He looks a lot less like a cartoon alien now and a bit more real, but still needs a lot of work.

Next up I'm going to build up his brow a lot and work on the area around the eyes, also going to build up his "central face no nose" area. Basically I want to make his cheeks look sunken, but I'm going to do that by building everything else up so it will flesh his face out more and even it out with the heavy brow I'm going to give him.

 

 

Thanks for looking, more soon :)

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2 hours ago, rockpopandchips said:

Now that is impressive! Looking really good already. 

 

Would love to see you build a tactical drone to go with him as well. 

 

Cheers Brian! And OH MAN that would be epic, and as much as I said I wanted to keep this simple I'm seriously tempted by that, hmmm food for thought!

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2 hours ago, rockpopandchips said:

Exploratory-Drone.jpg

 

That's funny I was already thinking shield drone! (no guns=easier :)

 

1 hour ago, Gimme Shelter said:

Crikey - that's a superb stage by stage tutorial - looking forward to much much more from you there

 

Thanks dude appreciate it! :D

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Okay update time!

 

Spent another evening of sculpting at the kitchen table, started by fleshing out his brow with a sausage of sculpey I smoothed to shape.

 

50933823416_e2198c9da7_c.jpgIMG_20210211_191858 by Nick Frost, on Flickr

 

50933134238_b9305960de_c.jpgIMG_20210211_192001 by Nick Frost, on Flickr

 

50933823231_32553556d3_c.jpgIMG_20210211_192221 by Nick Frost, on Flickr

 

50933133823_6c76981243_c.jpgIMG_20210211_192507 by Nick Frost, on Flickr

 

50933133683_69a67effdc_c.jpgIMG_20210211_192520 by Nick Frost, on Flickr

 

Then I bulked out the area under each eye for structure and to start to give the eyes more shape

 

50933947862_68a5c92e6c_c.jpgIMG_20210211_193513 by Nick Frost, on Flickr

 

50933133513_e0b2da6493_c.jpgIMG_20210211_193831 by Nick Frost, on Flickr

 

50933947757_304075a819_c.jpgIMG_20210211_193944 by Nick Frost, on Flickr

 

50933822591_ea7849160d_c.jpgIMG_20210211_194150 by Nick Frost, on Flickr

 

50933822496_dde3d05b89_c.jpgIMG_20210211_194203 by Nick Frost, on Flickr

 

After that I used some thin bits for the upper eyelids to further shape the eyes and give him more of a lid

 

50933133098_65937fae1e_c.jpgIMG_20210211_194539 by Nick Frost, on Flickr

 

50933947302_c1908b4340_c.jpgIMG_20210211_200507 by Nick Frost, on Flickr

 

Just had to add a bit to even things upa bit, and shape his brow to give a little emotion

 

50933947162_6cf4defa47_c.jpgIMG_20210211_201033 by Nick Frost, on Flickr

 

50933132798_0c8bd0b0eb_c.jpgIMG_20210211_201150 by Nick Frost, on Flickr

 

50933132688_7634735578_c.jpgIMG_20210211_201451 by Nick Frost, on Flickr

 

Next I wanted to bulk out his central face area and rework the mouth a bit

 

50933132553_a83553aa46_c.jpgIMG_20210211_201627 by Nick Frost, on Flickr

 

50933132253_c641969111_c.jpgIMG_20210211_201738 by Nick Frost, on Flickr

 

50933821526_f60f2b93a7_c.jpgIMG_20210211_201949 by Nick Frost, on Flickr

 

50933821511_ea21f28f0c_c.jpgIMG_20210211_202340 by Nick Frost, on Flickr

 

50933821231_7972176ea2_c.jpgIMG_20210211_202516 by Nick Frost, on Flickr

 

50933821176_6ff41f018b_c.jpgIMG_20210211_202945 by Nick Frost, on Flickr

 

50933821016_912242ede2_c.jpgIMG_20210211_203243 by Nick Frost, on Flickr

 

50933821386_b61acf909b_c.jpgIMG_20210211_203259 by Nick Frost, on Flickr

 

Then it was time to make the groove that runs from their forehead between their eyes, so I started by adding a bit of clay so that when I used the ball stylus tools it would create a slight lip rather than just look pressed in at the edges

 

50933131613_7e9a6a2b04_c.jpgIMG_20210211_203812 by Nick Frost, on Flickr

 

50933820856_77fdf6d083_c.jpgIMG_20210211_203921 by Nick Frost, on Flickr

 

50933820701_506ac26738_c.jpgIMG_20210211_204054 by Nick Frost, on Flickr

 

50933945722_20cd06cdb8_c.jpgIMG_20210211_204609 by Nick Frost, on Flickr

 

Just had to work up the sides of the brow again, I wanted his brow to be forward of the slit, and I worked on the bottom of the slit a bit more to make it less flared and not so circular

 

50933945587_af30f1a566_c.jpgIMG_20210211_204751 by Nick Frost, on Flickr

 

50933945587_af30f1a566_c.jpgIMG_20210211_204751 by Nick Frost, on Flickr

 

50933945592_c08f7614bc_c.jpgIMG_20210211_204853 by Nick Frost, on Flickr

 

50933945337_96d2052dbc_c.jpgIMG_20210211_205939 by Nick Frost, on Flickr

 

50933945342_5f270693b8_c.jpgIMG_20210211_205924 by Nick Frost, on Flickr

 

50933820336_2afc4ea41c_c.jpgIMG_20210211_205915 by Nick Frost, on Flickr

 

Pretty pumped now he's actually looking like a T'au! Still plenty to do though, want to give his skin som texture. Also I haven't done the ears yet because they are going to be covered, when they're helmet is off their is still a collar that goes around his chin and side of head, and where the ears would be are two circular connection points (I'm assuming thats what they are!)

 

Plus I just remembered a few things I forgot to mention; I dont have all the materials for a large armature yet which is why I've started on just the head first so I could get on with it. I was going to do him in thate standard fire warrior colours of yellowy beige armor with a black undersuit but then I realised thats the colours I did the spaceman in! So he's going to be the colours I've seen on the newer Tau stuff, white armour with some red detailing, and black undersuit.

 

Next up I'll do more shaping and neatening of the face and make a start on the surrounding collar and ear bits.

 

Thanks for looking, more soon :)

 

 

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Really nice work, really like all your WIP photos as well, if i ever pluck to the courage to do something like this they will be great references. 

 

Not sure if this link will work but really like the texture of this skin on this one and a good view of the head/ear antenna. 

 

I do like the white/red armour. 


https://images.app.goo.gl/AVWPw7Eb9U5qNiFA6

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Nick. I'm in for another epic build, and what an epic start! Fifteen minutes ago I had no idea these things existed.

Thanks to the picture from @rockpopandchips I am highly impressed. He's not going to suffer fools gladly, is he?

Your sculpting skills seem to have come on with more confidence showing, and less second guessing.

I like that exploratory drone too. I'll hang around in high orbit. Cheers, Pete

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14 hours ago, rockpopandchips said:

Really nice work, really like all your WIP photos as well, if i ever pluck to the courage to do something like this they will be great references. 

 

Not sure if this link will work but really like the texture of this skin on this one and a good view of the head/ear antenna. 

 

I do like the white/red armour. 


https://images.app.goo.gl/AVWPw7Eb9U5qNiFA6

 

Cheers Brian, appreciate it, I would love to see someone else dip their toe in! And thanks for the image, I've been looking around at lots of them, most of it is fan art, its always good to see what other people have done to help with your won look.

 

I found an image that shows the kind of texture I'm after as an example, I dont want to go as heavy, but like the kind of muscle texture look

 

50938426182_250ca6b65e_c.jpgtau head by Nick Frost, on Flickr

 

14 hours ago, Pete in Lincs said:

Nick. I'm in for another epic build, and what an epic start! Fifteen minutes ago I had no idea these things existed.

Thanks to the picture from @rockpopandchips I am highly impressed. He's not going to suffer fools gladly, is he?

Your sculpting skills seem to have come on with more confidence showing, and less second guessing.

I like that exploratory drone too. I'll hang around in high orbit. Cheers, Pete

 

Thank you Pete, I really appreciate the kind words! Glad your along for the ride, hopefully it wont be a meandering 4 year scenic route with u turns a plenty! :lol:

 

 

And you guys have made me realise that I was quite hasty in my first post and with my excitement to get going failed to realise not everyone knows what the T'au are or look like! So below are a couple of iamges just to show the kind of direction I'm heading in.

 

50938426222_01ced80fc7_w.jpgtau art 1 by Nick Frost, on Flickr

 

50937626728_ed3b2b04b7_m.jpgtau art 2 by Nick Frost, on Flickr

 

There are a couple of options I'm toying with (and to be honest am VERY hesitant to mention incase they dont happen!) I'm not sure if I'm going to do a second head, was thinking as the head is seperate to start with I could maybe use magnets to be able to swap between an exposed head and a helmet head.

Also I said a couple of options, but one of them was to not give him a weapon for ease but even as I write that I can feel how ridiculous that would be, he has to have a weapon and nothing is more iconic to the Tau than their cool pulse rifles.

 

But in any case those things are a long way off, and I really would like to make a second head option work, I'll just have to see how it goes. With the last one I did the usual promise of eclectrics before the inevitable head explosion of trying to figure that out and cancelling it! So I dont want to promise loads and then under deliver at the minute.

 

I have made another small start on the helmet attachments on the side of the head, not enough to be worthy of a full update but I'll do more this evening and then do another update.

 

Thanks for looking, more soon :)

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Mate, the praise is well deserved. I like the look of the muscle tone you are aiming for. There's real character in there.

Could you do this one as just the head with helmet attachments? With the mottled blue tones and on a simple mount it would look great.

Plus, that way it will be a quickie, and you'll learn as you go on.

This will give you time to plan and plot the next one, bigger and with the helmet/weapon etc.

Having now seen your pictures of the full thing, it's an impressive formidable beast. Will look fabulous, but could take ages again

 

As always, it's your build, so your choice. But this game is a learning curve. (Plus, I am really looking forward to the result!)

 

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Thank you again Pete, and that's a great idea about a display head. 

 

I think I'm definitely going to do two heads, I'm adding this head onto the torso separately anyway so it shouldn't be too hard to make it removable and then do the same for a second head. 

Then I can still do a small display stand to hold whatever head isn't in use. 

 

I had a bit of confidence boost when I checked out the last sculpt topic and realised that I've achieved in 3 days what took 3 weeks last time! 

However a lot of that is down to my modelling stuff now being at my house, back then it was all still at my parents and I was limited to lunch breaks in the week. 

 

I know that sounds odd, I just didn't have space at my old house, so I do think this is going to be MUCH quicker than the last one (fingers crossed! :lol:

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Right I have been sculpting some more, so time to update the progress.

 

Want to get the helmet connection point bits (excuse the technical term!) on to him. Started by rolling a ball and the slicing some the ends to get a couple of domes, then marked the area on the side of his head and made sure I marked the same area in the same place on the other side then pushed them in place to check the look.

 

50942682358_e7dc05a45f_c.jpgIMG_20210212_192814 by Nick Frost, on Flickr

 

50942682183_131b9a9a37_c.jpgIMG_20210212_192851 by Nick Frost, on Flickr

 

50943381471_bcbb1d8cfe_c.jpgIMG_20210212_193042 by Nick Frost, on Flickr

 

Now at this point while marking out the areas I noticed the sides of the head were bulging at the sides more than I likeed the look of so sliced a little of each side.

 

50942681848_b176b25d3b_c.jpgIMG_20210212_193350 by Nick Frost, on Flickr

 

50942681593_65a1a937bf_c.jpgIMG_20210212_194114 by Nick Frost, on Flickr

 

50942681878_9e08eb6763_c.jpgIMG_20210212_193400 by Nick Frost, on Flickr

 

Probably doesn't show much, it wasn't a massive amount but its looking better now I think, next I put the dome bits in place

 

50943481547_1e497c884e_c.jpgIMG_20210212_194527 by Nick Frost, on Flickr

 

50943481522_758b0c28bd_c.jpgIMG_20210212_194536 by Nick Frost, on Flickr

 

50943381136_18c77e1c78_c.jpgIMG_20210212_194545 by Nick Frost, on Flickr

 

Then I wanted to start marking out where the seam for his, man I dont even know what to call it! Its like the flame retartdant balaclava that race drivers wear except it doesn't go right around his head. SO I rolled a thin sausage of clay to creat the edge on the back of his head.

 

50943380751_e494c3e580_c.jpgIMG_20210212_195004 by Nick Frost, on Flickr

 

After getting it straight looking and even all the way I blended the lower edges to lock it in place and begin the process of creating a definite edge to it.

 

50942680923_6975aee454_c.jpgIMG_20210212_195201 by Nick Frost, on Flickr

 

50942680893_f79176be52_c.jpgIMG_20210212_195314 by Nick Frost, on Flickr

 

Obviously it looks a bit weird and sticks out at this stage, needs more clay to blend it in, but before that I noticed one of the domed bits looked smaller thasn the other. After looking at a few angles I realised its just because its sitting at slightly more of an angle so I need to add a small amount of clay to even it out with the other side.

 

50942680038_a548cf6634_c.jpgIMG_20210214_161438 by Nick Frost, on Flickr

 

50943379626_766e131db3_c.jpgIMG_20210214_161705 by Nick Frost, on Flickr

 

Then after blending went back to getting a flat piece of clay rolled out to blend in the material edge round the head. I was going to just blend it over but instead created another edge tp creat a double layer effect which I though looked a little more visually interesting.

 

50942679933_0f185d5f9c_c.jpgIMG_20210214_162151 by Nick Frost, on Flickr

 

50942679598_2f45d75d28_c.jpgIMG_20210214_162308 by Nick Frost, on Flickr

 

50942679718_dd9bc62777_c.jpgIMG_20210214_162340 by Nick Frost, on Flickr

 

50943479237_cdb1be9214_c.jpgIMG_20210214_162807 by Nick Frost, on Flickr

 

50943378746_1b5c1c457d_c.jpgIMG_20210214_162816 by Nick Frost, on Flickr

 

50942679053_0a58e45e1e_c.jpgIMG_20210214_163057 by Nick Frost, on Flickr

 

50942678893_a5d0a07a6a_c.jpgIMG_20210214_163217 by Nick Frost, on Flickr

 

50943378376_0fb7379ffe_c.jpgIMG_20210214_163329 by Nick Frost, on Flickr

 

50943378236_a658b47904_c.jpgIMG_20210214_163555 by Nick Frost, on Flickr

 

Then after smoothing all that the other job I wanted to do was to thicken his brow a bit, at the minute it looks like a bit of a thin ridge, and I want it thicker and to blend into the forrid more smoothly at a more shallow angle. So got some clay in place and blended it in with the tools.

 

50943378236_a658b47904_c.jpgIMG_20210214_163555 by Nick Frost, on Flickr

 

50943478662_ae76231418_c.jpgIMG_20210214_164008 by Nick Frost, on Flickr

 

50943377876_cbfb5ddf72_c.jpgIMG_20210214_164116 by Nick Frost, on Flickr

 

50943377721_14c6f75ce4_c.jpgIMG_20210214_164220 by Nick Frost, on Flickr

 

50943478292_c9028936ec_c.jpgIMG_20210214_164509 by Nick Frost, on Flickr

 

50942678093_d58f13508e_c.jpgIMG_20210214_164526 by Nick Frost, on Flickr

 

50943477857_7329a7e465_c.jpgIMG_20210214_164541 by Nick Frost, on Flickr

 

50942677343_b9994074ac_c.jpgIMG_20210214_164724 by Nick Frost, on Flickr

 

50943477457_7fe3f41766_c.jpgIMG_20210214_165438 by Nick Frost, on Flickr

 

50943477537_7e8e7eb303_c.jpgIMG_20210214_165452 by Nick Frost, on Flickr

 

50943376946_6783e34a58_c.jpgIMG_20210214_165502 by Nick Frost, on Flickr

 

Very pleased with how that came out. Now I haven't created the edge for the material that goes down his jawline and over the chin because I want to add the skin texture first to make it easier. Which is what I'll be doing next.

 

Thanks for looking, more soon :)

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I saw a few of these WIP images go past on Flickr and thought, wow, that looks like a T'au. And then I remembered your plans and it was a T'au!

 

Cool stuff, I think the basic shape is really good and I look forward to seeing the rest take shape. No. 1 offspring will be following with interest as she's a fan of these heretical xenos scum.

 

Will

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Got the sculpt tools out last night and had another session, was time to get the skin sorted!

 

I did do a little mucking about on piece of clay to see what looked the best, I cut some slashes and blended with a wire brush but in the end the best look came from just simply using my ball stylus tools. If you're thinking of having a crack at sculpting, I really couldn't recommend a set of them more, the ball stylus tool is very versatile tool, great for blending and removing clay and here I've used the smallest in the set to create the skin texture.

 

First little step was to add a line under each eye for the lower lid.

 

50955717972_d367391221_c.jpgIMG_20210217_185537 by Nick Frost, on Flickr

 

Then I began adding some lines, I was a bit nervous at first I but I just tried to keep in mind the muscle structure of the face and where the lines would make the most sense and not look odd.

 

50955613156_5edc5833c5_c.jpgIMG_20210217_185835 by Nick Frost, on Flickr

 

50955717802_e93d9b088f_c.jpgIMG_20210217_190305 by Nick Frost, on Flickr

 

I just kept in mind that the lines under the eye should follow the eye socket, central face ones going down, and the side of the head loosely folowing the jawline.

Where the too area met I just used light X's in either direction to help blend the two areas without looking too obvious.

 

50955717737_da255803b7_c.jpgIMG_20210217_190317 by Nick Frost, on Flickr

 

50955612906_6134d62b98_c.jpgIMG_20210217_190718 by Nick Frost, on Flickr

 

50955612841_02d212a8f6_c.jpgIMG_20210217_191050 by Nick Frost, on Flickr

 

50954907893_b28ffb5d1b_c.jpgIMG_20210217_191057 by Nick Frost, on Flickr

 

50954907858_771ff64824_c.jpgIMG_20210217_191106 by Nick Frost, on Flickr

 

Then I moved onto the forehead, kept the lines mostly going up, but also loosely following the shape of the slit in his head.

 

50955718007_95b700b9a3_c.jpgIMG_20210217_193046 by Nick Frost, on Flickr

 

50955717347_9cb5087d6d_c.jpgIMG_20210217_193757 by Nick Frost, on Flickr

 

50955612536_c54282fd98_c.jpgIMG_20210217_193809 by Nick Frost, on Flickr

 

50954907528_cd446dba3d_c.jpgIMG_20210217_193817 by Nick Frost, on Flickr

 

50955717182_e85f43a7d7_c.jpgIMG_20210217_193840 by Nick Frost, on Flickr

 

With that done I could start on the edge of his face surround that goes along the jaw and over the chin. So I rolled out a thin flat bit of clay and blended in one edge as I did on the back of his head.

 

50954907728_84b5f682d1_c.jpgIMG_20210217_194142 by Nick Frost, on Flickr

 

50955612251_2ae7c0991e_c.jpgIMG_20210217_194219 by Nick Frost, on Flickr

 

50955716982_4222d81838_c.jpgIMG_20210217_194418 by Nick Frost, on Flickr

 

50955612136_a137efc5d4_c.jpgIMG_20210217_194603 by Nick Frost, on Flickr

 

50955716812_d9f1a7e3eb_c.jpgIMG_20210217_194950 by Nick Frost, on Flickr

 

50955716732_402c472d1a_c.jpgIMG_20210217_195001 by Nick Frost, on Flickr

 

Just added a small bit under the jaw to build that area up so it does look more like an extra layer

 

50955716667_05ee392e05_c.jpgIMG_20210217_195037 by Nick Frost, on Flickr

 

Then as an extra little detail I just cut a small piece to add to the chin area

 

50954907403_47e44b1f87_c.jpgIMG_20210217_195307 by Nick Frost, on Flickr

 

50955716562_ff23f95b88_c.jpgIMG_20210217_195349 by Nick Frost, on Flickr

 

50954906968_6f5125be52_c.jpgIMG_20210217_195710 by Nick Frost, on Flickr

 

50955716352_953bba43b3_c.jpgIMG_20210217_195738 by Nick Frost, on Flickr

 

50955611741_acca028a44_c.jpgIMG_20210217_195742 by Nick Frost, on Flickr

 

50955611661_beefc251e2_c.jpgIMG_20210217_195748 by Nick Frost, on Flickr

 

Over the moon with how that went! I feel like its gone from looking like a toy to real with the added texture.

 

Next up I think I'm going to add a little detail to the helmet connector bits, I think for this scale they look a little basic so will work on them a bit.

 

Thanks for looking, more soon :)

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Sculpting has never really been my thing (primarily due to a lack of talent).  However ever it's been really fascinating reading your step by step guide and quite clearly being able to see how each element adds to the final piece.   Thanks for sharing - Andy

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