Once and Future Skinner Supreme

Before Courtnall6 rose to popularity, there existed an Englishman whose skill and style were unmatched by any other. That man was Gryphon. Though there is little known about Gryphon, his love for strong women and the bronze age of comics is apparent in his work. When others were still trying to figure out mapping, Gryphon was skinning, fxing, and writing tutorials for the Freedom Force community.


In the midst of bad Mspaint and comic photoskins, Gryphon's add-ons shone above all. His work was the true beginning of high quality skinning and it forced everyone to recognize the artistic merits of skinning. Heavily influenced by the in-games textures, Gryphon perfectly blended mainstream characters into the Freedom Force universe. No longer did custom characters look out of place battling Timemaster, they were now perfectly integrated and available to all.



With his Heralds of Freedom, Gryphon proved he was not only artistically gifted at skinning but also at character designing. The HoF skins remain some of the most original reimagining of the Freedom Force universe ever. Heavily influenced by his birthplace, they reflect the cultural and social difference between the States and the UK. A perfect example of this is recasting hot-headed Latino superhero, El Diablo, as the Hindu Sorceror, Tejas. In many aspects, his Heralds outshine their American counterparts in design and originality.

With a style that undoubtedly influenced every major skinner, Gryph released his base skins for all to use. This forced FFers across the globe to Limewire illegal copies of image editing software to emulate his bold use of color and lines. Though there were many who tried, none could capture the true essence of Freedom Force like Gryphon.

Despite being inactive for years, his legacy lives on not only through his own work but through every character skinned using his base. Years have past and other top skinners have come and gone, but Gryphon forever remains the one true Skinner Supreme.

Want to see more of his work? Visit Gryphon's Freedom Force.

- The Spectral One