How I did It!
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More about that Armature
The Boots
In the creation of the armature, I encountered numerous stop signs. The easiest to deal with was the boot situation. He has large duck like feet, and due to the mold-making process we utilize at SCAD the boots had to be re-sculpted a few times to accommodate a tie down and make silicone injection as seamless as possible. In the end it turned out great!
What's Up with the Fly Rig?
Due to the weight of the Bird Man a connection point for a fly rig was non-negotiable. Unfortunately, because of the range of movement desired in the short animation he couldn't have it simply come out at his hip. After some consideration we decided to aim it out of his back tail, nestled between the wires for his legs. A curious look, but in the end worked beautifully in animation.
The Wing Situation
Of course, I couldn't have made this easy on myself. I could have had a winged character and not wanted controlled movement, but that's not who I am. From the get-go the design had to allow for a wire armature to run through the entirety of the wing. This killed my original hope for a beautiful skinny wing, but I got over it. It was incredibly challenging to navigate but, in the end, I am really happy with what the wing was capable of.