The Making of the Reaper Chaos Toads

[TaleSpinner]

Whoooo, I can finally share my journey with the Chaos Toads (included in the Fan Favorites expansion of Bones IV) with you; I feel like I've been holding my breath for a year.  I've had to be mum about these guys since last year at ReaperCon when Ron gave me the commission.  That was very difficult, because I have seldom been more excited about a project than I was about this one.  Throughout the project, I shared progress pictures with a couple friends of mine who were "in the know" having been present at ReaperCon.  As a result, I have pictures of much of the sculpting process that I can share with you all.

 

It started with Ron and I having a conversation about my sculpting and where I wanted it to go and what he wanted for Bones IV. During the discussion, we realized that Reaper really didn't have good representations of these creatures, just a demon that was similar, but not quite.  He set me up with Izzy to design some concepts, and away we went.

 

Let me tell you right now, working with Izzy is a real trip.  She is awe inspiring and amazingly talented.  We only had about 30 minutes to talk and sketch, yet she came up with the most awesome concepts.  It was amazing how, with just a few strokes of her pencil, she had concepts looking at me from the page.  Even more fun was our conversation as she drew, where she explained her ideas, I added mine, we blended them together, and had discussions on what in her art had to be there and what I could/should adjust.  It was my first experience working with a concept artist and the highlight of ReaperCon '16 for me. I drove all the way back to MN in an excited buzz.

 

But enough talking, I'm sure you want to see the art Izzy drew.  

 

Chaos Toad Savage:

Concept:

 

Pose:

 

 

Chaos Toad Brawler:

Concept:

 

Pose:

 

Chaos Toad Sorcerer:

Concept:

 

 

Pose:

No pose for this one, we ran out of time, but she explained to me the pose she envisioned, which is pretty close to what I did in the end.

 

 

Reference Art:

I based the brawler on a horned lizard, the savage on a marine toad, and the sorcerer on a bull frog and bull dog, plus a dose of Izzy's art. Here are just a few of the photos I drew inspiration from:

 

 

 

I'll keep posting the progression as I get time.  Let me know what you think.

 

Andy

 

 

 

[ub3r_n3rd]

So. Frickin'. COOL!

[ketil]

This look awesome!

 

How did you find working with a concept designer. Did it change how you approach your sculpting? 

And in a similar vein, do you have to change your sculpting, knowing it's going to be cast in Bones?

 

Thanks

 

Ketil

[Glitterwolf]

I've seen a lot of new minis I can use for my Lost world Project, which I'm grateful for.

 

These Chaos Toads are great!

I'm going to use them as Elite troops for the Frog King!!!

 

Wonderful!!

[StarFyre]

I've been asking for slaad stand ins for so long so happy. Getting the fan fav set just for these.  I do wish there were some more though. So many slaad types that need representation :p

[Dr.Bedlam]

Y'see, this is a prime example of the secondary market takin' up the slack.

There is, I believe, a market for chaos toads. Ghod knows chaos toads have been around in the literature forever, but as far as figures? Pffft. They've had a few in the collectible prepaint blind boxes, but NEVER in such a way as to be easy to get, much less collect. 

Again, about time. And I hope they sell like mad.

[TaleSpinner]

On 9/4/2017 at 1:20 AM, ketil said:

This look awesome!

 

How did you find working with a concept designer. Did it change how you approach your sculpting? 

And in a similar vein, do you have to change your sculpting, knowing it's going to be cast in Bones?

 

Thanks

 

Ketil

 

Working with Izzy was fantastic.  I really enjoyed the way we were able to collaborate our ideas to develop a concept.  She is very knowledgeable.  One thing that impressed me was how she was able to draw from a depth of knowledge about various cultures to pull together a design that was unique and yet rooted in history and reality so it feels real, yet fantastic at the same time.

 

It did change my approach to a degree.  Typically, I am free to develop whatever I want, within the parameters my clients give me, but with this, it was even more constrained.  It was also very freeing, as the burden of design and pose wasn't all on me.  I enjoyed it very much.

 

As for sculpting for Bones, yes there are implications that need to be taken into account. For instance, Izzy drew the Brawler running with only one contact point.  We immediately knew we needed to change that, as we need at least two support points, preferably three.  The supporting structures also need to be fairly thick if possible.  I made the legs on the Brawler extra beefy and set it up so that the tail and back leg act like a flying buttress to ensure that the sculpt wont sag in the future. I also avoid thin floppy pieces if I can.

 

With other things we can get away with more, like the spikes on the Brawler would be difficult in metal due to the metal damaging the mold when pulling it out, but with Bones, the plastic model flexes as you pull it out of the mold and the steel mold is unaffected.  The Bones molding process can handle a lot more bulk and deflection angle. With metal you are restricted to a much flatter mold.  That is why Julie's Bones dragons have much more dynamic wings and poses. She can finally do the minis she always wanted to sculpt but had been limited by the process.

 

I hope that answers your questions adequately.

 

 

[TaleSpinner]

Armatures

Before I could do anything, I needed to convert Izzy's concepts into armatures.  We had decided the sizes we wanted these to be during the concept session.  The Savage (Brute in my notes) would be 8 feet tall in scale or 45.3 mm, the Brawler (Spined) would be 10 to 12 feet tall or 56 mm, and the Sorcerer (Mage) would be 7 feet tall or 40 mm.  This meant that the Savage and Spined would be Large and have 40 to 50 mm bases.  The Sorcerer was the real challenge because it was on the upper edge of Medium, meaning that it needed a 25 mm base, but would barely fit that size.  Posing a creature at the upper end of its size category so that it will fit its base is always a challenge. What's more, that aspect is the sculptor's responsibility, not the concept artist's, so it was my job to fit Izzy's pose for the Sorcerer on a 1 inch base.

 

The first step was to draw front and side armature views, given the concepts and sizes.  Here is what I drew and the base art I used to make the three armatures:

 

 

If you will notice the date, you'll note that I actually drew that while at ReaperCon. 

 

 

I used silver-coated copper wire to make the armatures, using a twisted wire method.  After getting them to the right size and joint points, I posed them according to Izzy's concepts.  Then, I added the basic skeletal structures using a blend of Apoxie Sculpt and green stuff.  I almost always use that blend for my underpinning work as it makes the models very rigid.  Here are the armatures with the skeletons defined (sorry I don't have an earlier picture):

 

 

Note that I left the head armatures off of the Brawler and Sorcerer.  I often do this, adding them later with my pin vice.

 

Adding Definition to the Brawler

OK, true confession time, I didn't suggest these guys to Ron just because I thought they would be good in Reaper's line; I suggested them because I LOVE these creatures.  I have used them and their ilk in my games several times in the past 30 years.  I love the concept, the execution, the creepy vibe, all of it, and I wanted to see them done well; the way I envision them. The Brawler is my favorite, so it was the first one I started on, an I indulged myself a bit.  I made this guy a study in human anatomy warped into another form.  I sculpted every muscle group.  I even put striations in the major muscles.  I knew this level of detail would not be seen in the final sculpt, but I really didn't care.  I was having fun, I was learning, and that was enough for me.

 

The brawler is the largest mini I had sculpted up to that point, and it hit me just how much longer everything takes as the volume grows.  I can't imagine how long something like Mal'Drakar would take.

 

Here are the initial muscle studies:

 

After that, I added the skull (based on the horned lizard skull I posted last time), lower jaw, teeth, and eye balls:

 

 

Notice the S-shape in the spine, showing movement and flow:

 

 

That is all for tonight. Questions and comments welcome.

 

Andy

 

[dsmiles]

Man, I love salads.

[ub3r_n3rd]

2 minutes ago, dsmiles said:

Man, I love salads.

That's what FOOD eats!  

 

Unless you meant Slaads?  

[TaleSpinner]

11 hours ago, ub3r_n3rd said:

That's what FOOD eats!  

 

Unless it is taco salad or potato salad.

[Doug Sundseth]

11 minutes ago, TaleSpinner said:

 

Unless it is taco salad or potato salad.

 

Not even food will eat potato salad.

[TaleSpinner]

2 hours ago, Doug Sundseth said:

 

Not even food will eat potato salad.

 

I contend then that you haven't had good potato salad. That slop they usually call potato salad in stores and restaurants should be banned.  

[Doug Sundseth]

3 minutes ago, TaleSpinner said:

 

I contend then that you haven't had good potato salad. That slop they usually call potato salad in stores and restaurants should be banned.  

 

People who say, "But you haven't tried N's M! You'd really like that!" are almost never right. Even when those people are me. 

 

For me, it's the texture that's the problem, I think. I like macaroni salad just fine, but I can't tolerate potato salad.

 

Just so everybody's vilification can be comprehensive, I also can't stand coleslaw. 

[TaleSpinner]

7 minutes ago, Doug Sundseth said:

 

People who say, "But you haven't tried N's M! You'd really like that!" are almost never right. Even when those people are me. 

 

For me, it's the texture that's the problem, I think. I like macaroni salad just fine, but I can't tolerate potato salad.

 

Just so everybody's vilification can be comprehensive, I also can't stand coleslaw. 

 

OK, I won't salad shame you anymore then. Sorry.