3D Toolkit: Modelling the Alien Legs and Append Tool

Creating the Alien Legs
The legs of the alien model were designed to be a complex hard-surface model with its own set of orthographic images. I intended to create these separate from the alien torso model, creating them in Blender to be imported into Zbrush. I could then alter this model in Zbrush, having imported it as a Subtool into the Alien torso project. I started with the thigh of the model, creating half of the form then using the mirror modifier to add vertical symmetry. From this, I would only have to create half of the form, with the other half being mirrored automatically.

To make the mechanical components of the legs, I used the mirror modifier and used Subdivided cubes to create rudimentary spheres that retain a blocky shape. I used long and flat tubes to create the skeletal connecting bones between joints. When creating the back feet, the mirror modifier created two claw-like toes at the front of the foot and at the back of the heel. On the orthographic, the toes are tripodal in nature, with two at the front and one at the back. To retain the accuracy of this feature, I welded together the toes on the back heel to create one mass that protruded from the ankle. 

With the model complete, I exported it as an FBX file. I then imported this file into ZBrush using the FBX Export/Import functionality, which added it as a Tool to the project. I could then use the "Append" functionality to assign it to the Alien Torso.

Append Tool
The Append tool is found within the Subtool menu and allows you to open Subtools into a project, importing the selection as a separate Subtool within the project. This is different to the IMM functionality, which are drawn into a project and are intrinsically linked to the model they are drawn atop. A difference between Appended Subtools and IMM Primitives is that Appended Subtools do not, unlike IMMs, align with symmetry. To make an appended subtool align with symmetry, the "Subtool Master" Zplugin must be used. From this, you can select an axis that the subtool is mirrored around, mirroring the subtool to the project axis. 
The Append functionality can also be used to merge Subtools together. 

In this project, I used Append to add the imported FBX files into the Alien Torso project, using the world symmetry to align them to the centre of the torso, situating them in the pelvic cavities where the thigh region would sit. I then merged these into the torso, creating one tool.

I then went about experimenting in creating the clothing for the alien. I used the Extract tool to do this, masking off a region of the torso and using the extraction to form a covering around it. I found that this was too thin and hugged too close to the body: it looked almost like a bodysuit that, with the leanness of the alien's body, seemed too tight and too thin. As such, I queried what other options may be available for creating the robe, and began planning on how I could create the form of the robe.