See More Avatars from: Syn-Squee

23 May 10 | List Price: 800L$

While we’ve seen Syn-Squee step up its game in terms of their sculpting quality, we see another infusion of cartoony character in their Gecko avatar. Huge-eyed and brightly coloured, we take a look Syn-Squee’s rendering of members of the Gekkota family.

Out of the Box:

• Retractable Claws
• 8 Facial expression combinations complete with numerous Tongue Positions and Eye States
• 2 Eye States (Command Activated only)
• Blink On/Off Toggle
• 47 Eye Texture/Colours
• Moving Eyes
• Muzzle-Talking Function

Measurement	Value
Script Time / Memory (With HUD)	~0.3ms / TBD
Script Time / Memory (without HUD)	~0.1ms / TBD
Avatar Rendering Cost (Scale Here)	~430
Modify?	Yes
Copy?	Yes
Transferable?	No

Build and Skin:

The Syn-Squee Gecko avatar comes with a bright assortment of body colours that imitates the likeness of the creatures in real life very well. The textures over the body are very simple, though there is plenty of shading to accent body regions. Additionally, in different areas of the attachments and the body skin, there is some sheen that provides a smooth, almost wet look. Other than where you can see creases along the side of a leg (in some skins), the textures are technically well done and complement the avatar’s style strongly.

Each skin is different; all of them have unique markings to go with their colour scheme. The photo below shows some of the variety that’s available to customers.

The sculpt quality itself is also well done, getting across the features of a gecko with a good degree of exaggeration. There is not too much or too little exaggeration, landing the avatar into a comfortable realm of cartoon-ish traits and artistic expression. There is no nobbling, wrinkling or such in the sculpts, and creases are minimal at the very worst. This avatar has been built to be simple. While the validity of the Avatar Rendering Cost (ARC)  is under debate, the avatar manages a surprising score 430, despite its quality and detail.

Attachments:

Lower Body:

The feet for this avatar are gecko-like, 5 toes with a good amount of space between them. The soles of the feet are very flat, while each of the toe-digits starts off skinny, but ends in a thick, bulbous tip. At the end of each toe are sharp-looking claws which users can choose to leave out or retract. For all colourations of gecko, these claws are white. While most people may miss it, the underside of the hand and foot-paw attachments feature the tiny little suction-cup like structures (setae) that allow Geckos to adhere to many a surface. While these little bumps and grooves on the surface are not sculpted, the textures do an excellent job on their own.

As the feet are large and exaggerated, plantigrade leg prims are used to smoothen the transition between foot and leg. These too are exaggerated in their size and shape, but merge well with the leg with their almost cone-shaped appearance.

The only other attachment on the lower body to mention is the tail; a single flexible prim or sculpted tail that ends in a point. The textures on the tail meld very well with the body as a whole, and the additional touch of shine on the top surface of the tail makes it appear a bit more organic.

Upper Body:

The hand-attachments follow in appearance with that of the foot attachments. The 5-fingered structure looks distinctly hand-like despite the bulgy fingertips. On the underside we find the same suction-cup/setae which gives the palms and fingers further definition. The fingers are not poseable, but maintain a static, neutral and relaxed looking position that suits just about any environment that the avatar finds itself in. A wrist prim smoothens the transition from the large hand-attachments to the shape arm.

Head:

For this avatar, a a lot of effort seems to have gone into making the head stand out as the centrepiece for the avatar. The included HUD deals mostly with the head’s options. Right off the bat, one can see that the head is hugely expressive. While users cannot easily modify and customise facial expressions on their own, the 8 included expressions do their job extremely well, each with a unique and colourful vibrance that gives the avatar a bright and friendly face. Below are some samples of the facial expressions.

Before we discuss more of the face, we should mention that the avatar uses a prim neck which smoothens the transition from the body shape to the very wide head. It does this well, but beware that sometimes, depending on the quality of your animations or your animation overrider, the neck may look a little odd in specific positions.

The eyes are the focal point to the face; two very open, round orbs that rest above the muzzle. The textures themselves are bright and plentiful; where users can choose between choices with either a round or a slitted pupil. The pupils are large and dark, while the texture of the eyeball has a watery shine to them. The eyeballs themselves do not move, but the eyelids do. There are a few different states that users can choose from through commands in the provided notecard. For the most part, the eyelids themselves mimic Gekko eyelids very well and help with the facial expressions.

The muzzle itself is set into a massive grin, with a rounded muzzle and very high cheeks. This imparts extra friendly personality to the face, and blends with the bright, and often ‘happy’ colour combinations that accompany the avatar. The interior of the mouth itself is simple, with a bottom jaw that can open to a considerable width, and a very flexible tongue that can stick straight out, to the side of the muzzle, and even arch up and lick the avatar’s left eye. This addition of eye-licking further defines the avatar as a Gecko and offers a fun, eye-catching conversation piece.

Features and Heads-Up Display (HUD):

The HUD for this avatar is very self-explanatory, controlling every facet and option that the avatar features. A few options are only available through commands, which users can find in the included notecard. A photo reference of the HUD is included above. While this avatar is not ground-breaking in terms of features, it makes up for it in appearance and the power of its 8 facial expressions. Below is a picture of the aforementioned eye-licking facial expression. It’s quite humorous and a huge highlight to this avatar.

Customisation:

The avatar comes as modifiable and copiable, so users are able to change and modify the avatar’s appearance to taste. As we mentioned, there might not be as many options in facial expressions as some are used to, but that doesn’t hold this avatar back from its modification potential. Additionally, the head is of clearly irregular shape, so hairs for human-shaped heads will not easily fit on the head. Some extra modification may be necessary to achieve that.

Conclusion:

The Syn-Squee Gecko is a fun reptilian avatar that infuses character and personality into a bright, and obviously very happy-looking avatar. Not everyone may be a fan of the cartoonish appearance or the huge eyes, but there will be a number who feel this avatar is undeniably unique and quite cute. Avatars like these show the imagination of their creator, as well as their adventurous qualities.

This review was written by Forepawz - Contributor and Senior Editor | Filed under Avatar Reviews, Syn-Squee
Tagged gecko, lizard, reptile, syn-squee, synchra.