Owl creation and Benito on Unity

 I have Benito on Unity now reunited with his family.

The Owl is coming Alive:

This is another character from Benito The BellBird, The Owl. The Cute Owl is completed.

Working on skin weights on Benito's body

I created IK handles for his foot, arms and wrattles then several controls for the joins on his body. Almost done for the animation... My favorite part!

I have been working preparing Benito's body for rigging. I am using a combination of the paint skin weights tool, a weight hammer tool and the component editor tool in Maya 2014.

I think the result is pretty good. I am confident to start working on my IK handles and controls for the animation. I can't wait to see him come alive...

Benito colored and modeled

During my two weeks in Costa Rica, I had time to contemplate the beauty of Monteverde Cloud Forest, Benito's home. At this time of year bellbirds are hard to see and even though I couldn't find one, I enjoyed admiring this beautiful area and listening to the sounds of the forest.

I am sharing some Monteverde images that keep inspiring me to create this book.

Benito's model is completed. Now I have to create the rig for his animation.

 

In our way to the Cloud Forest...