This guy was originally designed for an article that appeared across five issues of a print magazine, called Publish, in the Netherlands (an IDG publication aimed at digital media publishers). The character workshops introduced the basics of 3D character design, modeling, lighting, rigging, and animation. The workshop was also available online from Mastering 3D Graphics (subscription content) but they don't seem to be running anymore.
Click the below link to see the short workshop animation of Loony Bull (1.6Mb Cinepak codec avi file, no audio). The file is compatible with both Mac and Windows media players.
The majority of Bull's textures are standard Hash Inc. Animation:Master algorithmic materials with just a few image decals for the eye pupil, hair, and mouth areas. He's posed with a conventional IK (Inverse Kinematic) skeletal hierarchy; with additional hand, eye and mouth flexibility driven by pose sliders for muscle shape deformation. I did tweak the look of this guy for a while; however, the mouth area could do with a little more spline density for a wider range of expressions while still keeping the head's volume intact - other than that, I'm reasonably happy with the look. So, ready to run through some animation tests to refine his setup? I think cartoon style exaggeration is the order of the day.
Loony Bull's a lot of fun to work with; he's in a style I enjoy (as you can probably tell from my other characters). So if anyone out there needs any illustration for children's books, in similar fun 3D character style, please do get in touch!
