In order to merge the main dorsal fin into the back, we need both halves of the back attached. Select the two isoparms that are closest to each other on both halves on the back of the creature and Edit NURBS > Attach Surfaces > Options. In the options, make sure “Blend” is selected and “Keep Originals” is un-checked (Fig 65). Don’t worry about Open/Closing the other side, as when we get ready to put an arm on, we’ll be deleting the front half and mirroring it later.

As in the flipper attachment, this is a tricky step and it’s a good idea to save now as sharkman8.mb in case you must come back to this point.

First, we’ll frame the section we’ll be dealing with, giving the future merging of the arm plenty of room. Detach two vertical isoparms as in Fig 66. This should allow plenty of room for the arms later.

From here, the steps are practically identical to merging the flippers. We’ll detach four horizontal isoparms, two above and below (Fig 67).

Detach two vertical isoparms, one on each side (Fig 68).

Delete the hole where the fin will merge, and detach the isoparms on the pieces above and below, using the boundary of the hole as a guide (Fig 69).

You may need to rebuild your dorsal fin with more spans in order to have enough to detach with. I’ve rebuilt mine to be 10U-8V. Detach the fin in the four corners where it will meet the four corners of the hole (Fig 70).

Select the two halves of the front of the torso, delete their history, and Hide them (Ctrl + H) to get them out of the way. Select the surfaces that remain (Fig 71) and Rebuild with optimization settings and delete their history.

Next, we’ll check our merging pieces’ number of spans and surface directions. Mine are as in Fig 72, 73, 74, and 75. Yours may vary.

Rebuild and Swap Surface Directions where required to match your surfaces. Use the flipper merging step (Step 15) as a guide if you need help.

Once they match in number of spans and direction, rebuild all with optimization settings and delete their history.

Next are the fillets. Again, the tool I use is the Fillet Blend Tool (Edit NURBS > Surface Fillet > Fillet Blend Tool). Select the isoparm from the bottom edge of the top body piece, and hit the ENTER key. Select the isoparm from the top edge of the top fin piece and hit ENTER. Your fillet may twist, but continue with all four sides in this manner (Fig 76). It may be easiest to enter Wire Frame Mode (“4” key) with the lowest resolution (“1” key).

To repair the twisting surfaces, select the body piece they are attached to, and Edit NURBS > Reverse Surface Direction > Options. In the options, try the V direction. If it does not work, undo, and try the U direction. Do so for both. You should end up with a result similar to Fig 77. Select all, rebuild with optimization settings and delete their history.

Now, we’ll attach the fillets to their corresponding fin surface. Select the two touching isoparms of each surface and Edit NURBS > Attach Surface with “Blend” selected and “Keep Originals” un-checked in the options. Do so for all four sides (Fig 78). Select all of the surfaces in question, rebuild with optimization settings, and delete their history.

Next, we attach the four fin surfaces together in the same manner. To attach the fourth corner, use Edit NURBS > Open/Close Surface > Options, and try the V direction, with “Blend” selected. If the V direction doesn’t work correctly, undo and try the U direction. You should result with something similar to Fig 79 with gaps in all four corners. Select all, rebuild with optimization settings, and delete history.

Lastly, is the Global Stitch. Select the surfaces in question (Fig 80) and Edit NURBS > Stitch > Global Stitch > Options. In the options, choose:

• Stitch Corners: Closest Knot
• Stitch Edges: Equal Params
• Stitch Smoothness: Tangents
• Modification Resistance: 1.0

Apply. Hit Ctrl + A to open the Attribute Editor for the Global Stitch. Watch your model, and slowly edge the Max Separation slider up. Once again, at around a value of .158, my surface merged. If no value on the Max Separation slider gets the results you like, than try checking the “Stitch Partial Edges” box and try it again. If still you cannot get the results you’d like and none of the other options seem to fix it, I can only suggest starting over from your last save. If it worked correctly, you should hopefully result with something similar to Fig 81 after un-hiding (Shift + Ctrl + H) your hidden torso surfaces.

We’re going to repeat this step for the smaller dorsal fin. Before starting, save your file as Sharkman9.mb. First, scale the second dorsal fin smaller and situate it in a good position to allow for merging (Fig 82).

Once again, we’ll need to attach the halved tail section in the back to allow us to merge (Fig 83). Detach horizontally and vertically as before, getting to this point (Fig 84). Use the previous two stitching steps as guides if you need help (Steps 15 and 21). Select all, rebuild with optimization settings, and delete history.

Check the number of spans and surface directions for the corresponding surfaces, rebuilding and Swapping surfaces as required. Create the fillets using the Fillet Blend Tool, reversing the surfaces need to fix the twisting that appears when required. You should be to a point similar to Fig 85. Select all of the surfaces, rebuild with optimization settings, and delete history.

Attach the fillets to their corresponding fin surfaces. Rebuild with optimization settings and delete history. Then, attach the four resulting fin surfaces using Open/Close Surface for the fourth corner’s attachment (Fig 86). Again, rebuild with optimization settings and delete history. Move your seam to a desired position.

Select the surfaces in question (Fig 87) and Global Stitch with the previously discussed settings. In the Global Stitch attributes, edge the Max Separation slider up until the merge takes place (Fig 88). Select all, rebuild with optimization settings, and delete history.

Our shark creature now is nearing completion (Fig 89). Save as Sharkman10.mb.

For the hammerhead form of the creature’s head, we’ll first create the main portion of the head and then add the “eye stalks” using the same procedure as the fins and flippers. To create the main portion of the head, we’ll use a Loft. A loft simply creates a surface between two or more curves. In the Side View, draw a curve, following the contours of the top of the shark’s head, but instead of following the drawing the entire way, draw the curve down into the center of the head. This will make an opening for the shark’s mouth (Fig 90).

Draw a second curve for the bottom portion of the head (Fig 91).

In the Front View, draw a curve for the side of the head. Once you’ve drawn it, go into the Perspective View and situate the curve to flow along the contours of the head (Fig 92 and 93).

Check the spans of each curve and rebuild them all to the highest span number (12 in my example). Select them in order (top, side, bottom) and go to Surfaces > Loft > Options. In the options, Edit > Reset Settings. Change the Section Spans to 2. This will add an isoparm in between each curve, giving you a little more control. Apply the Loft, and you should get something similar to Fig 94. Use the history of the curves to adjust the shape to your liking, then rebuild with optimization settings and delete the shape’s history and the curves. Once you have the shape, select the top of the neck on the body and check its spans in the direction of the head. In my example, it’s 20U-2V, while the head is 4U-12V. Rebuild the head to match the body’s number of spans in the correct direction (in my case 20 in the U direction). Rebuild both with optimization settings and delete history. Attach the head to the neck by selecting the two isoparms on the respective surface’s edges and Edit NURBS > Attach Surfaces with “Blend” selected and “Keep Original” un-checked in the options. You should get a result similar to Fig 95. You can delete the neck portion on the opposite side, as we will mirror the head and neck later, once we’ve attached the eye stalk.