Female Skaarj

[IronMonkey]

Hey guys,

This is my first post to the forums and I wanted to show a piece I have been working on as part of a project at Staffordshire University.

I know previously that the only Skaarj female was a Queen, however I thought it was time for a female version to be in the game. I have tried to keep in the style of the current Skaarj character whilst changing her build and some smaller details to pass off that she is female. I tried to keep within the same style as the current Skaarj with the armour pieces as i didn't want some of the gender specific armour that is present in some games.

I have had some feedback from Chris (Thanks Chris) via my supervisor at the University which is greatly appreciated and I have made the necessary adjustments so feedback is welcome.

Still plenty for me to be getting on with (Hair style needs working on) but I'll be posting more images as I keep pushing the polygons. I'll be doing some paint overs for the hair so will post them here.

If anyone has any questions about me or the University project then feel free to ask and I'll get back to you ASAP.

Mike

[rapfamily4]

Good start. I'm just concerned about the fact that Skaarj females are queens.

Anyway, I like mostly how you modeled her face, which is a lot similar to Garog's. Maybe it would be wiser to do not add a human breast, since a Skaarj is a sort of reptile. Then, if I were you, I would check the posture: it looks like she's got a hyperlordosis.

About the armor, I like the direction you're taking. I think you should emphasize the popliteal and the calf muscles: in my opinion, the legs looks flat a bit sidley. If you want, you could also design a heavier chest armor, which looks quite light, at the moment.

Anyway, I really like it! Good job!

[papercoffee]

Garog is a hybrid in my eyes ...sooo why not a female hybrid as well?
[MENTION=47186]Joeliepoo[/MENTION] and [MENTION=6491]Sly.[/MENTION] created the true Skaarj

[Hunterman]

Perhaps since its a Female Skaarj or rather hybrids, wouldn't she have like those things the Queen has, stabby things I call them.

[Mll]

Perhaps since its a Female Skaarj or rather hybrids, wouldn't she have like those things the Queen has, stabby things I call them.

Human female + male skaarj? it can be as weird as we'd like it to be

Personally I didn't like the idea of female skaarj the same as the male(Because its annoying when all races are exactly like humans, I'm not sexist, I promise), but I really like your model, so I hope you find some loophole to letting her in, gl!

[darksinn3r]

I applaud your idea! The model looks awesome!
I am not an unreal universe lore expert but I certainly think a female skaarj hybrid can easily exist!
A rare genetic abnormality can produce a female looking offspring that is not fertile like the queen.

[rapfamily4]

Garog is a hybrid in my eyes ...sooo why not a female hybrid as well?
@Joeliepoo and @Sly. created the true Skaarj

You're right! It's good to know it!

[Darkloser]

For the lore aspect :
The only females Skaarjs present in the Unreal universe are the Queens. The Skaarj works like a hive, with different castes, like our ants for exemple. This insectoid ancestry is confirmed notably with the Pupae which is the most insect looking of the Skaarj race. The Skaarj warriors fight to become the consort of the Queen, explaining the frequent conflicts beetwen the different tribes.
I think it would be against the idea of the lore to introduce a "pure" female Skaarj warrior, as they function like a hive.

However the idea of a female Skaarj Hybrid is clearly possible, as they are the result of experimentation by the NEG (New Earth Government) to mix Human and Skaarj DNA to create superior fighters. Since IronMonkey's model looks a lot like a female Garog, and Garog is seen as a hybrid by members of the community rather than a pure Skaarj, then yeah it's totally plausible and could be interesting to see it in game.

That was your little Unreal history lesson. Next week we will learn about how giant halos blowed demons from hell during the Strogg-locust war.

[Sly.]

Did I hear someone drop my name in this thread? (Oh yeah, I'm back!)

[MENTION=255131]IronMonkey[/MENTION], your model looks like a very good start! Quite some professional work there.
Lore-wise, I think explaining them either as hybrids or "competing queens" that just happened to survive and become very rare "female drones" as an alternative to the Skaarj-hybrid way of doing it (which I would still prefer myself) could work too. Think of it, bees also have multiple queens, it's just that the first kills the unborn. It's their way of making sure that there is a queen so there is not just one queen-egg. Considering that Skaarj are an intelligent race, I don't see why they would still have to kill the other queens.
But anyway, this thread is about the model and not the lore, I guess.

So, I couldn't resist but make a paintover of it, I hope you don't mind!
v1:

v2 with Queen support legs:

I've written why I made the changes on the pictures.
For easy reference, here is a screenshot of the queen from Unreal 1 (source: Liandri Archives).

Let me know what you think of it and keep us posted about any updates you do!

[Mll]

v2 with Queen support legs:

I've written why I made the changes on the pictures.
For easy reference, here is a screenshot of the queen from Unreal 1 (source: Liandri Archives).

Let me know what you think of it and keep us posted about any updates you do!

Perhaps the lore could see her as an under-developed queen? she would have the support legs, small nipples, and perhaps a more queen-ish head, but retain more humanistic traits like bipedalism and opposable thumbs

[papercoffee]

Did I hear someone drop my name in this thread? (Oh yeah, I'm back!)

This was on purpose
I love this new mentioning system

[Sly.]

Sneaky, hehe. Yeah, I like that system too!

Perhaps the lore could see her as an under-developed queen?

That was my thought when I added those support legs. Maybe the remaining Skaarj Queens (after the first one became queen) simply develop differently by... no idea... maybe under the influence of some chemicals the first-born queen emits? So in the end from the (for example) four queen eggs you get one Skaarj Queen and three female drones.

[MΛuL]

That is coming along really nicely IronMonkey (and sweet paintover Sly). I hope you can finish it out and get it in the game.

[Darkloser]

I'll be honest, I'm against the "under-developped" queen idea. I'm all for the Hybrid experimentation by NEG however.

Since the Skaarj queen is the pinnacle of Skaarj society (you live and die for her), it would be unwise to make drastic changes to her, as it could make her produce "inferior" or weaker Skaarjs or make her totally infertile.
And for the Skaarj queen lifecycle (from Pupae to fully mature), I don't know if she need to fight or have a stage like that. Skaarj Queen are incredibly rare, and probably the only way the Skaarj can reproduce. So it is vital that she remained protected (and so avoid conflict) and be able to produce offspring as soon as possible.

But well... if everybody else want it to go the other way... then be it, I'll just be disappointed.

Aside from all the fluff bickering, the model is really well made.

[Skaary]

Hot chica. She must be in game!