"Alien Quadruped Sculpt WIP" Topic

Hey folks,

I've already shown off one pic of this alien quadruped I'm sculpting in another thread but didn't want to hijack that thread to show a few more angles.

Please excuse the grainy camera phone pics, but as they are WIP they should suffice.

This creature is about the size of a small buffalo. I wanted the feel of the beast to be familiar, yet alien. When it is complete it will have tusks and a wide mouth with broad teeth. I also plan to have a spiney mane or crest on the head and shoulders.

The images above give an idea of the sort of structure I am going for. The face will have the mouth widened a bit from what is showing there are large, grinding teeth will be sculpted inside.

The miniature shown is an Astro Miniatures science fiction crewman in 15mm.

-Eli

VERRRRRY interesting! I look forward to seeing the finished product, Eli.

Nice work in progress, Sir.

Quadruped shoulder and hip muscles are tricky, but a little bit of research and application can pay dividends. Keep it up!

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Warren B.
minisculpture.co.uk

It's hideous! I like it

Cheers, TC.

I figure I can fudge some of the muscles a bit as it is alien but not so much that it looks awkward.

I tried to lay down the major muscle groups before applying surface details, but that really seems to have been a wasted step as I am covering it all anyway and could easily visualize the final contours.

-Eli

Wrinkly skin can hide a multitude of sins.

Nice

will add some needed wildlife for my colony world!

AA

If this one goes well enough. I'll likely sculpt a doe and calf as well. Maybe I'll get brave and sculpt a carcass.

-Eli

Seems somewhere between Woola and the draft beasts in Circus Imperium.

Manes can also hide some of those 'sins'.

Looking good, Eli!

Doug

Quick disclaimer: I do get that many people sculpt stuff for a personal hobby project rather than the potentially harsh world of professional wargaming minis and grognards' vocal opinions, and it's not worth getting into the nitty-gritty of complicated anatomical and proportional details and concepts if you don't have to deal with that, but…

… I still think it wouldn't hurt to have another quick look at a bison's bumpy parts.

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Warren B.
minisculpture.co.uk

Warren,

I have been referencing bison parts. In fact, I started by looking up at bone and muscle skeletal structure and simplified for sculpting purposes. I expect my creature to be close, but not identical.

I'm curious if there is some particular feature that is bothering you? Keep in mind there is still a lot of fleshing out that is needed on my sculpt.

Thanks for all the feedback. That's why I posted the WIP.

-Eli

I'm really liking that… lets hunt!

Love it :)
We NEED more alien fauna!

Good stuff, and I like alien fauna, that's for sure.

Plus, now I have a good shot of your fingerprints. Mayhem might ensue.

Just saying…

It'll be strange explaining the fish-faced alien in the middle there, J…

-Eli

No, you see, I just lift the print from the photo and make a fake one out of latex, apply over my own fingertip and…

…or have I said too much? I do that sometimes, classic villain blunder. One of the things I liked about Goldfinger.

"No Mister Bond. I expect you to die."

I want to kill it.

Dug up this sketch from the design work. It shows how such a no-neck beast with massive tusks feeds. If you don't mindm e waxing "fluffy" for a bit, here is the background thoughts I am using while designing this thing…

The idea was that the long tongue works like a cross between an elephant's trunk and a giraff's tongue, reaching out to grab leaves and grasses and bringing them back to a mouth full of grinding teeth.

This allows the creature to have such a muscled neck, supporting piercing tusks used for defense as well as mating challenges. Females also have shorter tusks which angle downward instead up forward and up. these are used to guide young to the mouth where they regurgitate food.

The spines on the back would seem like a pointless defense for something the size of a bison. These are used for display, communication and to protect from "something" else.

Their primary predator is the "Narwolf", a pack hunting predator that take down prey by darting in and goring with its central tusk over and over. When the prey is too weak to fight back, they will wait for the herd to abandon it and move in to devour the kill.

-Eli

Hey Warren,
Any chance of seeing any of your sculpts? You're always quick to provide input but I've never seen your stuff.
Thanks,
Ed

I'm still curious, from a purely critical point of view, to what you took exception on my sculpt.

-Eli