final reference piece for broadside model-

Admittedly, im quite out of practice with using my graphics tablet to draw using photoshop these days, after taking such an interest in the 3D modeling side of game design, so starting off this work flow was quite difficult to get going, despite how basic the images are, fortunately it seemed my muscle memory kicked in and i managed to get a pretty accurate reference image to work from.

Despite this being one image what ill now be doing is splitting the image into several pieces so that i can place them onto planes within maya so that i can begin making a start on creating my model. This will certainly not be my final pose that I will be putting my model in however, what i plan to do is model it in the this stance to begin with and then perhaps rig it or something like that to give me the ability to pose the model in any way that I please.
There will be a lot more detail on the model that i plan on adding in while i'm modeling, the reason i didnt include it in the model reference sheet was because i used my figure that i created and and the reference images i pieced together to put this work together, and on those pieces, the model is quite basic as it a simple minutre figurine, so I plan to add a lot more detail on the pieces that have flat boring plains like the sides of the jet pack like part of the model for example.
Also, the face will certainly not look quite as boring in the model as it does here, I will attempt to replicate the Tau head that I featured in my mood bored reference sheet that i posted in one of my previous blog posts for the head on this model.

Post primer model paint

Despite finishing putting together my reference model, I didn't like that there where parts of the model that where made of metal and some parts that where made of the grey plastic.
Using the model as a reference proved difficult with the two different materials present on the model, so I purchased a can of grey spray primer and layered the model in the primer to give it a nice even coat of the same grey all over. Now when i go back to view my reference model it will be a lot easier to pick up the details on the previously metallic parts of the model

Easter 3D Project

I've decided for this project that I want to model a detailed iteration of the Tau Broadside battlesuit from the warhammer 40k universe. So the first thing i      decided to do was go out and try and find the type of figure that I wanted to model to use as a real life visual reference when modelling the battlesuit in maya. There will of course be some visual differences between my final model and this figure as I don't want it to be exactly the same, but i didn't want to miss out on the opportunity of having a physical piece of reference as with my previous project I didn't have that luxury. 

Broadside battle suit inspirtation

So in this collage that i've made above, i have gathered together some images of broadside battle suit figures and some un-helmeted tau warriors. I have included to mixture as I would like to create something similar to what I have pieced together in the bottom right hand corner of my collage. I want to have the battlesuit with out a helmet on, instead having the alien looking tau head there instead and perhaps with a banner clipped onto his back, creating a sort of commander look to this model.
When it comes to creating my reference images to model from, ill incorperate all these traits into my final image, and also add a lot more battle damage to the model, as you can see in the images above of these figures they all look very new as if they have never seen battle, so i want to add some sort of burned effect around the missile gauntlets things and some blast marks on the chest and legs of the model so it looks like its been shot at few times.