The Thrynn have been born.  They were pretty easy to create since there were already a few pretty decent gecko and lizard models out there on the Internet.  I found one that I could use, but it was in Maya format.  So I installed Maya for the sole purpose of exporting the model out into the FBX format.  I imported the model into 3D Studio Max and then started my work on it.  The only thing I really did to the model was to elongate the snout a bit and to bend the body so it looks like he is standing upright.  I also rigged and skinned the model so it could be animated in Unity.  This is what the Thrynn looked like in the original game:

I also built the eyeballs and created the cat eye texture maps for them.  I used the body texture maps that came with the model nearly as-is – the only change being the general color tint.  The original color was brown/tan, and I tinted it to green since that is the color the Thrynn appeared in the original game.  For the background, I found some interesting looking sci-fi wall and used that.

Here are the pictures and video!

The octopus-like aliens, the Gazurtoid, have been brought to life in this Starflight remake!

This is what I based my work off of:

As you can see, it’s basically an octopus with weird ears, side-looking eyes, and a mouth thing.  Making the model itself wasn’t too difficult… the hard part for me was animating it.  I have not done much bone and skin animations in Max in the past… so, this was a bit of a learning curve for me.  But, I did manage to figure it out and I think I got some pretty decent results out of it.  Real artists can do much better, for sure!  I’m going to put this in the “good enough!” part of my brain and move on.

Here are some images of the build process, and a video of what it looks like when brought into Unity and animated.  Enjoy!

…to watch the timeless dance unfold…

Another day, another character completed.  These are the Minstrels, telepathic beings that travel through space without a ship.  Modeling this was quite easy but fun.  This is what they looked like in the original game:

Enjoy the pictures and video!  I’m running out of easy characters to do.  I think the next one up, the Mysterion, is the last easy character to model.  After that, the rest of the characters will definitely push me to my breaking point as an I’m-a-programmer-not-an-artist.  Pray for me.