Maestri's Fish, Part 3: Tail

These steps are extracted from Maestri's video, "Modeling with Edit Poly 3."

1. Select the fish mesh. Switch to Face sub-object mode. Select two faces at the stub of the tail structure. Move them rearward from the body to create a conical extrusion.

2. Select two faces above and two below the tail stub to serve as bases for the back fins. Extrude them to a height of 2.5.

3. Switch to Vertex sub-object mode. Move vertices of the fin edges to make the fin more triangular.

4. Switch to Edge sub-object mode. Select four edges along the centerline of the tail structure (leaving a fifth edge at the end of the tail stub unselected). Extrude these edges about 4. Apply the extrusion 2-3 more times.

5. Switch to Vertex sub-object mode. Select vertices around the joint between the tailfin and the fish body. Move them forward along the body to eliminate awkward flat spots at the tail junction.

6. In Front viewport, adjust vertices along the edges of the tail to create fin contours.