Gryphon v2

Major change made to Gryphon 2 release:
After working with the old Gryphon again, I regret to say that I feel that figure needs to be fully retired. What will be coming Friday in place of the originally announced expansion is a completely new Gryphon figure, incorporating the features originally intended for the Gryphon 1 expansion including:

1. alternate head geometries for traditional and "demonic" gryphon designs
2. alternate wing geometries for more realistic feathered look and a special "demonic" style
3. complete new uv set allowing for enhanced texturing for the base figure and it's alternate geometries
4. addition of a "split tail" option, an element found frequently in traditional gryphon lore
5. improved material zones allowing greater material control over many sections of the figure

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Our reasons for this change are very plain: the original Gryphon figure was released roughly one year ago. Over the course of this past year, between commercial releases and client work, we have produced over 150 fully rigged, textured and many times, animated figures. A workload like that will force you to hone your skills many times over, and that is exactly what has happened for us. Because of this, I feel the quality level we can offer now surpasses what we released a year ago to such an extent that to simply build onto something that no longer reflects what we're capable of would be a disservice to both ourselves and our users. So, we have started completely new, with an all new mesh and rig. This new Gryphon uses the same revolutionary wing rigging techniques pioneered on our Draconis Rex figure allowing the Gryphon to have "true modeled" feathers without the ugly breaks and distortions common to many previous attempts at fluid, feathery wings in Poser. Also, the UV's have been unwrapped in such a way as to allow all the limbs to remain fully connected to the torso, eliminating connection seams (the seams found in many models where the limbs connect to the torso) and allowing the uv template to be 100% overlap free.Also, the feathers of the wings have been structured based on real world anatomical studies, contain material zones named to approximate the actual names given scientifically to the various feather bundles found in many types of bird wings, and have uv's developed to allow for unique texturing of each and every feather in the wings in a quick and easy manner. We are also going to include a Photoshop PSD file with the package containing a breakdown of the wing mapping with the various feather groups on individual layers.

I feel the Gryphon v.2 is one of the absolute highest quality figures we have produced to date and am proud to continue our policy of making this great new figure available free to owners of our previous Gryphon figure.

The renders shown here are using 100% default lighting in Poser 4/Pro Pack. BTW: just noticed: I accidentally rendered it with the wrong transmap on the tail tuft... it's been a long damn week.

So when is it due?

Remember, kids! Napalm is Nature's Toothpaste!

Wow. Very nice. Jay

Is it too late in the development stage to add transmapped feathery tufts to the ears?

Valandar - "What will be coming Friday" ;) (all going well)

Ever read Philip Jose Farmer's Riverworld series?!? This could be straight out of there, though there is no character exactly like it in there! Excellent stuff! Larry F Sixus1 fan for life

This looks awesome! I am a HUGE fan of the original Grpyhon so I cant wait for this one! Talk about a great Thanksgiving announcement!! CheeriO! Gina

breaking news.... tufts and belly fur to be included as a conforming figure. :) -Les

now THAT is a Gryphon! Okay Les, totally see and understand the statements now that I see the 2 images and the differences. Great job. Almost night and day from the ver1 to ver2 models, and textures.

That royally kicks @$$! Talk about a Happy Thanksgiving! ;)

Way too many people take way too many things way too seriously.

wow... looks great

WOW! Beautiful... cant wait for the update.

Looks great! Can we get a side view of it standing upright, btw?

Remember, kids! Napalm is Nature's Toothpaste!

Handsome indeed! :)

couple of more shots....Rendered in P5 using the P4 engine and default lights.

Of course there are going to be some morphs....but you are going to have to wait to see those :) --Rebekah--

He is beautiful..

I'll bet adding a transmap, or making his wings a little transparant would make those look like real feathers. This by FAR is Les's most beautiful creation. Just awesome!

Way too many people take way too many things way too seriously.

He's a keeper :)

Will the Gryphon1 armor fit???

I must remember to remember what it was I had to remember.

We are planning on releasing re-fits of the old armor for the new Gryphon. Release dates and further details will be made available over the weekend/early next week. -Les

Thank you, you'all have been very busy:)

I must remember to remember what it was I had to remember.

You guys should help DAZ work on their Mil Big Cat. This is awesome for sure

Humankind has not woven the web of life. We are but one thread within it.
Whatever we do to the web, we do to ourselves. All things are bound together.
All things connect......Chief Seattle, 1854

Thanks Dave-So. We never got an invite to that particular party, but if users ask us to address any issues with that figure in the form of add-ons or some kind of expansion rebuilding what is there to fit thier needs, I'm sure we could be persuaded to go there. If our users express an interest in having our studio move into the area of realistic animals, I'll be all for it too, but just haven't gone there yet because, silly enough, monsters are just a lot more fun for me. :) If you watch our boards, you'll find that we are moving in directions now that should open up a lot of exciting new options on all kinds of things that Poser users probably never expected from us. ;) -Les

My friend, you truly have a twisted mind. I really wonder where the hell you get the ideas for all your super creatures. You have a unique style and I LOVE IT.

The Gryphon is a traditional creature from mythology. The demon part is because likes 'em scary. :) --Rebekah--

Well I for one would like to see some realistic animals. There are already quite a few out there from awesome artists like Noggin and Lyne (vista internet) but that Gryphon is totally awesome, and being a combination of animals, it really shows what you can do! I'd seriously be interested in Sixus1 animals. Daz has a lot of animals but a lot of those are the old zygote animals, and the meshes are pretty blocky by todays standards. Lyne's look nice (excellent textures) but some being based on the zygote animals, they look a little blocky too. What I've really been looking for is a cool wolf model. Lyne's textures for the P4 dog are nice, but the model itself leaves a lot to be desired, especially in the ears. What would be 100x awesome would be a nice wolf model that could be used to transform into your werewolf characters. I don't know what is and isn't possible in poser, and that is asking quite a bit...but man that would be cool. I would be willing to pay a premium for that alone.

This rocks big time. That's all I really wanted to say. :)

This is something that I'm going to have to buy. There are a lot of mythical critters which haven't been done yet, and most of the ones out there have been done inadaquately. There are also major lacks in the real creatures. I've posted lists in the past and don't feel like redoing them today, but instead of making yet another horse, wolf, or big cat why not do something NOBODY else has done? Do you see groundhogs, hedgehogs, or badgers anywhere? Nope. These are popular and useful critters, too, as are a lot of others. Meanwhile, I'm happy for a decent-looking gryphon. :) Carolly

well I've stated it before but I would love to have some Sixus Animals. This gryphon is absolutly fab!! Nice work. I really like your fantasy line of characters.

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The following preview images show the gryphon with it's alternate head, wings and the split tail feature. Nothing is conformed here, nor are these morphs, but rather all the alternates are implemented through geometry switching. The tail split might be particularly interesting to some: the figure, by default, has a straight, single tail, but selecting "tail6: (sixth joint in the tail) one can find a geom switch dial that not only switches that part of the tail for the piece it needs to make the split, but also calls in the subsequent tail pieces, rigged and ready to go. Both the primary and secondary tails are easyposed, as are all controls for the wings. Also of note is that even though there are drastically different geometries for the secondary tail, wings and head, the head and wings both have mapping identical to that of the default parts allowing complete integration of texture maps regardless of which geometries one wishes to put into effect.

More of the alternate options of the new gryphon...

Oh yeah.. forgot to mention: these images showing the alternate features are rendered using the P4 engine and are "wearing" the "evil" textures also included with the package. The default textures are basically my attempt at providing a "true" gryphon; this version is more along the lines of what I feel represents my personal "style". -Les

Attached Link: https://www.poserproducts.com/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=140

Gryphon v.2 $10.00 Included in the pack: Original Figure w/conforming earTufts and BellyFur 7 Poses 2 MAT poses (1 set each for P4-PP-P5) Textures for default traditional Gryphon and alternate demon Gryphon Specifications: Gryphon totals --> 64379 polys 66623 vert Sixus1 Style ERC Rigging on the Wings IK the front/back legs and the tail ERC dials on the bird feet EasyPose on the tail Head Morphs: EyesUp-Down EyesSide-Side browFurrow earsScale MouthOpen earsScale (100% is gone) altEarsForward altBlink altEarsScale altMouthOpen Tongue Morphs: CulRight CurlLeft Length Up Down Geometry Switches on the head, wings, and tail. Evil on the Body will set all to one. Use the alt morphs for the alternate head **Free Upgrade for all those that already own the Gryphon v.1**

Let's see. I own the Gryphon1 and his armor, how do I go about getting the free up grade? I may not have the original receipts. I lost a bunch with hard drive failures:( I missed the Dragon to because of that.

I must remember to remember what it was I had to remember.

If you could just send an email with the email address that you used and which method/place of payment (Direct from us with PayPal or CC OR from Rendo--which should be sending a download link as soon as the email is approved by the admins here). --Rebekah-- Rebekah@sixus1.com

Got mine here, can't wait for the e-mail! I liked the old one, but it looked more like an alien critter called a Gryphon because it resembled one. THIS one LOOKS like a mythological Gryphon!!

Remember, kids! Napalm is Nature's Toothpaste!

Thank you Rebekah, I just sent you an e-mail.

I must remember to remember what it was I had to remember.

I'll need the upgrade as well..;) BTW does this totally replace the original files? I'd like to keep the old one around, as well as the new one..

Way too many people take way too many things way too seriously.

Same folder, differently named files. Shouldn't be a problem. --Rebekah--

You guys should help DAZ work on their Mil Big Cat. This is awesome for sure Thanks Dave-So. We never got an invite to that particular party, but if users ask us to address any issues with that figure in the form of add-ons or some kind of expansion rebuilding what is there to fit thier needs, I'm sure we could be persuaded to go there. You know me, I'd love to see a big cat, a lion or tiger (done right) and a virile bull. A wolf that could run with the other werewolf shapes would be nice too. Sheesh, Les, you are doing the work of an entire army!

Though, guess I should add, I'm more excited about seeing the new monsters than I would be to see more animals. Of course I'd pay for the bull and the big cat, while the monsters may not end up in the shopping cart.

I can certainly say there are a number of animals I would really enjoy doing, and some I've done but just haven't released. The big reason for not releasing them is that I know animals come under an amazing amount of scrutiny and that can take a lot of the spontenaity (sp.?) and creativity out of the work for me. Part of why I enjoy doing the really bizarre monsters that have had few to no interpretations is that people don't see them then judge that against thier preconcieved notions. The Zarathant is a great example: it's one of my own creatures from a story of my own so noone can tell me what it is supposed to look like. I had a level of freedom on that figure that made working on it such fun that it was literally completed in under one day. If I'm working on figure that comes with a lot of community baggage, like the horse I've kept shelved for over a year now, I find that all the opinions that will fly about it can become such a bummer that it just isn't fun anymore. I know that's a really simple thing to say but it's true: the attraction to this as a business for me is the ability to be creative and have fun while making a living. When working on a figure just isn't fun anymore, well... that makes is "work" in a very bad way and I know at that point the project will suffer. It's also one of the primary reasons I don't post WIP images very often. It's not just that I don't like to show unfinished work, but a lot of times people become offended if you don't take 100% of what they say into the production, so we just sort of try to avoid that as much as possible. I'm also extremely self critical, so compounding that with other opinions can be really infuriating; I'd rather get opinions close to completion when I've had a chance to distance myself a bit. OK... enough of me rambling... I'll just wrap this post by saying that if anyone out there would seriously like to see Sixus1 Media producing some high quality animals, it's not out of the question, we do listen closely to the users, and so it might not be a bad idea to let us know what you want. Doesn't mean it will happen immediately, but you can bet that things we get requests for do go into the "ideas list" on our production board (the almighty dry erase board that stares at me all day from just beyond my desk... damn you production board... damn you!!!!)where it is very likely to get worked on at some point. -Les

btw: the production board haunts me.. I swear it's cursed.. every day it just seems to have more and more on it.... -Les :)

Would the word "badger" on the production board result in a waddling critter or a breakdown? The eyes on your evil gryphon have almost the look about them. ;^) And, yes, I've seen badgers, and, no, they are not cute. Carolly

Maybe instead of doing "realistic" animals, you could take a crack at doing a stylized one? I'd think a Sixus Shark would be pretty cool...

Way too many people take way too many things way too seriously.

Hmmm.. ya'know, I think we could do a badger. I thought very seriously about doing a beaver, but it seams that the more popular beavers out there have been removed from Rendo and that Rendo is going "all beaverless". I, for one, am totally against any form of beaver descrimination and vow that one day soon, Sixus1 Media will provide you with an excellent new specimen of beaver. Badger's are cool too. :) -Les

And without doing conforming fur props, you'd have a shaved beaver! ;)

Way too many people take way too many things way too seriously.

Now THAT'S a figure we should make... I can see the marketing now... New! Shaved Beaver v. 1.0 Original Poser Figure! Mimic compatible right out of the "box"! (Insert rimshot... not job... shot....sound effects, dammit...) -Les (FYI: you know, a while back, as a joke, 'bekah asked me to build a mimic ready vagina for her... so I did. it was truly frightening!!!!)

--Rebekah--

Well, I'd like a drepnir (an eight legged horse, some variations have wings, horns, claws and fangs), the badger for a project I've been doing, a big cat, a white raven, a virile bull. I'm not sure what the market is like. I've seen one raven, a few cats, no drepnirs, a steer or two ... But I really like your monsters -- heck, I've got five renders of the Nightguant on line as I type. I've got more to get done. ( http://adrr.com/story/demons.htm to see what I've got to finish up yet). Hmm, I'd better upload the update now.

Oh, and my assumption with any animals that you do is that they would be slightly stylized, kind of like the humans are, and that part of what one is paying for is the je ne sais quois of a Sixus1 product.

drepnir? :ahem: So what is a drepnir? Sleipnir is the name of Odin's 8-legged horse. It is a singularly specific animal, not a species. Loki (a male god and major troublemaker) got pregnant and produced 3 monsters... Sleipnir, Fenrir, and the Midgard Serpent. Aside from the 8 legs and a speed like the wind, Sleipnir has no other oddities. (No fangs, no horns, no claws, no wings.) Sleipnir was fertile (unlike many singular monsters) and is the ancestor of Grani (Sigurd's horse, who had the courage to jump through a wall of magical fire). Draupnir is Odin's ring (again singular), magical, cursed, got from a dwarf hoard... yeah, and you can trace the ancestry from Volsunga Saga to Nibelungenleid to Wagner's Ring cycle to Tolkien's One Ring to Bind Them All... and a thousand years from now someone will spin a tale of a cursed ring which causes all to lust after it.... So, knowing this, what IS a drepnir? We'll just have to invent one: a magical golden 8-legged steed which runs in a circle chewing its own tail, and every ninth night, it drops 8 other little golden steeds. :wide evil grin: Carolly

Actually, I think Les could make great poser versions of creatures from the Edgar Rice Burroughs "Martian Series" A Thoat, Banth, 4 armed green man, and Great white ape of mars would be quite nifty...

Way too many people take way too many things way too seriously.

A drepnir is a creature that comes up in the Runequest Grandfather Horse theme. It is the horse that Inora, the White Goddess, chased from the Hill of Gold to her thane and is part of the Hill of Gold Cycle for the White Princess. Grandfather Horse, of course, lost his fangs, claws, wings, extra legs and horn in various encounters, and those who escaped or recaptured parts of him have honrs, wings, extra legs, etc. Anyway, I use the drepnir as a magical species, but I've been involved with Stafford and Runequest/Heroquest since the 70s and you will find my name splashed across credits for all sorts of Chaosium products. Cheers, Stephen http://adrr.com/hero/

Oh, I'm also the same Steve Marsh that was involved with TSR, and the various Planes of Reality materials are finally going on auction. To quote the guy factoring them for me ... The auction is going to launch next Sunday at 8:30 CST. There are currently 27 lots and perhaps more will result from subdivisions of material. I'd like to have a chat with you one night this week, Tuesday or Thursday night works well for me after 8:00 PM. I just have a few more questions for you about Mistworld, Cupric Text, and Verdigris Testament. Here is a sample of the Authentication letter I'll be mailing for you to sign (comment if you wish): ****************** ****************** Buyer, The ___________________________________________________ you now possess comes from the collection of Stephen R. Marsh. These items were acquired during the last 30 years of Stephen's involvement in RPG design and development, one year of that time spent as an employee of TSR, the company that founded the roleplaying game industry. Stephen began working on his own FRPG as early as 1969 in Las Vegas as a side note to the military boardgames he was playing. What followed was a series of eminent contributions to the RPG industry. His early correspondence with Gary Gygax gave us materials on the Elemental Plane of Water (which became the underwater encounter section of Blackmoor) specifically sahuagin, ixitxachitl, catoblepas, and many more marine beasties, created a plane traveling character class (the mystic, which became the psionic powers in Eldritch Wizardry), came up with the concept of the good-evil gloss on the alignment system, and introduced the model of the planes of reality. He also designed TSR's first minigame, Saga, helped playtest several modules and TSR's Star Frontiers roleplaying game, and was the lead editor on the D&D Expert Set. Perhaps Stephen's most significant TSR RPG work was a proposed new AD&D hardcover, The Planes of Existence. Co-written and co-designed with Gary Gygax in the late 70's and early 80's this was meant to be the original rulebook for running adventures in the multitudinous planes of existence. Also, the two collaborated on a series of adventures set in the Outer Planes. Sadly, Gygax was forced out of TSR in 1986 and all projects he was involved with were terminated and the RPG world was poorer because of it. Steve also participated in the development and playtesting of several non-TSR RPG's, including, Heroquest, and American Gothic, ultimately becoming Call of Cthulhu. His further contributions include the design of the original specialist magic-users, acid-based mages, and other elemental, some Hero Games approaches to using Champions-based rules for fantasy gaming (which resulted in official credits in early editions), and the D&D adaptation for Thieves World. He is also know for his prolific contributions to the classic fanzines, Alarums and Excursions and The Wild Hunt. Stephen's oft unheralded but groundbreaking designs and concepts are woven through the very fabric of D&D, AD&D, and the RPG industry as a whole. A fine legacy indeed. Now you have the opportunity to be a curator of a portion of this legacy, care for it well and enjoy! Authorized Auction Agent, Paul J. Stormberg

:chuckle: I know Gregg. And Steve Perrin (and his wife). I've gamed with Steve. I've also gamed with George MacDonald and most of the guys involved with the Hero system. I've gamed with a lot of the guys from TSR. I've also gamed under (gasp) Arduin rules with half the crew from that system, but not, alas, Dave himself. I've role-played since 1978 (D&D), but prefer to game master under Hero System. I've made my own worlds. You'll find *my* name on the AD&D Core Rules Vol 1 CDROM (a couple hundred inventory items). One of the reasons I was chosen to do the inventory items is that I'm a stickler for authenticity. You'll also find my name listed as artist and designer on a few dozen other games and game products over the last 15 years. My degree (with honors) is a Special Projects Major in Early Scandinavian Culture. I don't mind people raiding my cultural background, as long as they know what they are doing. Carolly Hauksdottir

Neat. Greg Stafford's blog is interesting, the sudden change to teaching English as a second language was a trip. The "real" Steve Martin has been a good steward in Greg's absence (and isn't a bad house guest either). I'm not familiar with the CDROM, but I flow in and out of TSR stuff with Gary, old alliances die hard. Do you know Scott Bennie? I really liked his Hero Games material, not to mention the Fenris Wolf that they did ;) Currently I play a little Runequest once in a while. I should get over to the game group more often, but with my wife's schedule and our four year old (she is almost five!), the sixteen year old and I have a hard time getting loose. Visit my stories at http://adrr.com/story/ and the RQ related material at http://adrr.com/hero/ -- I think you will like some of it. http://adrr.com/hero/wildhunt/slm005X.htm for example, is a part of a hero games scenario. Other parts include http://adrr.com/hero/wildhunt/slm0ERO.htm ( http://adrr.com/hero/wildhunt/index.htm is the index to various zines from TWH [rendered to HTML a long time ago, using an automated system that, on retrospect, sucks rocks], including the sequence that includes my Genvax Cthulhoids). Guess we are ok on the drepnir -- it was just too much fun to work into Glorantha. BTW, what is Steve Perrin doing these days? I lost track about the time I buried the first child and by the death of the third, was completely out of touch with he and his wife. Life goes on, I'm glad to have found 'rosity and Sixus1.

Should have given you Greg's blog http://www.weareallus.com/ Mine is at: http://ethesis.blogspot.com/