Indexation and fastranslation of the tutorial article from Corvus Belli that was lost during their site transfert. A memorial to the never forgotten. A Tohaa piece of scenery for Infinity. By Álex Quinteiro "The Tohaa have been engaged in a long war against the EI and its combined army, losing large parts of their territories, including entire star systems and large population centers. As a result, memorials to their dead are common throughout the Tohaa colonies. These memorials are a way to maintain their fighting spirit, remember the cost of freedom, and enshrine the names of heroes and victims who cannot be forgotten." Excerpted from "The Tohaa, a society forged by war" by Dr. Margareta Petterson. Published by Mannaheim University, Concilium Prima. Concilium. When the Tohaa came out, new scenery was required exclusively for them. As a new race, completely different from the humans and aliens of the Combined Army, they could not be introduced to the community using the same types of backgrounds scenery. The Tohaa needed their own environment. And the creation of environments and scenery was the job of Álex Quinteiro, CB's fabulous scenery designer. Here we present the entire process, from conception to creation, as it was undertaken by this great artist. The idea for this diorama of scenery came from the leftover metal used to cast the Infinity figures. During the casting process, some drops of metal fall from the ladle, creating interesting shapes and textures. Álex thought that these leftovers could be useful to create unique and unusual plants, giving an alien look that would go perfectly with the Tohaa. Álex always had a vision of a textured ground that would reproduce small waves of energy, with few elements usually used in the realization of scenery (static grass, sand...). However, he needed a clear idea of the environment in which these plants and ground elements would be placed. Carlos "Bostria" Llauger, one of CB's graphic designers, helped him by designing a Tohaa cemetery. The textured base of the scenery was made from insulating foam, cut roughly with a Dremel tool with a large drill. To do this, the drill had to be moved always in the same direction and never apply too much pressure. The setting to be placed in the background of the scenery needed to have a rocky appearance, suggesting the idea of a cave. Álex achieved this by carefully burning glued blocks of expanded polystyrene. This kind of work must be done in a well ventilated area and with a mask, because of the gases that polystyrene gives off when burned. The resulting texture is similar to that of a rocky terrain with lots of roots, which fits the Tohaa look very well. To make the cavities where the Tohaa monoliths designed by Bostria would be placed, more pieces of expanded polystyrene had to be burned, as seen in this picture. The Tohaa monoliths have a triangular shape, with several inscriptions engraved on them, taken from the Tohaa alphabet seen in the Human Sphere N3 book. The engravings were made using a metal pen burner with variable temperature control, to avoid melting all the expanded polystyrene. This procedure was also used to create the main slab of the field, which was also broken and etched. The plants and vegetation were made from the leftover metal and required only minor reshaping to achieve the desired shapes. Álex created the shapes by imagining large lettuces whose stems resembled conch shells. To achieve this, he used parts taken from the wings of the now abandoned Combined Army Caskuda. Several sheets of metal were glued together to make plants of various sizes. The largest plants were made by joining several sheets of metal in the shape of leaves, adding tentacles from the former Combined Army drones. These plants were placed in the center of the field, underneath the pyramids, providing a truly evocative final effect. The other plants and vegetation were made using the same process, adding the tentacles of the Anathematic for a nice effect. Some natural flower petals treated with alcohol, paint and varnish were also used. Once the set was finished, Álex primed it in black and, after drying, he applied a new layer of white in zenithal light to obtain an important contrast effect that will help him to paint in different shades of green. The ground was painted with different shades of green and yellow with the airbrush. The texture of the background was highlighted by applying the colors from different angles with the airbrush. Once the ground and the background were painted, Álex started the second part of the plot, creating three pyramids with a lot of vines to simulate the energy source of the Tohaa cemetery. The volume of the pyramids was easily achieved using plasticard sheets, while green material was used to make the vines. However, the challenge for Álex was to invent something on which to hang the pyramids above the scenery. This problem was solved by taking thick hedges used in railway scenery, which gave a good visual effect and a safe support for the pyramids. Thus, Álex created three floating pyramids in the center of the Tohaa Memorial backdrop. For any ordinary scenery maker, this would be the final part of the plot, but not for Álex, who is the reincarnation of a medieval miniaturist. So he added several touches of paint in green, yellow and orange tones until he got the final look that you can appreciate in the photos. Now, thanks to this great scenery maker, the Tohaa have their own scenery, a place for their memories, a place they fight for. #ThreeTheTohaa #TohaaUnfallen
