Introduction

This is a high-quality cormorant character. The project includes the model, textures, feather cards, rig, and animations. All feathers are arranged based on real-life references, with body feathers created using model-based feather cards. All character materials are rendered with Arnold to achieve realistic material effects. The rig includes preset wing-folding controllers, making the resulting animations more consistent with natural motion. The project provides a fully rigged project along with four realistic animations. This character was created in Maya 2024 at real-world scale.

Model Details: The model consists of the body, eyes, and multiple sets of feathers.
Textures and materials: There are 66 .tx files which support Arnold, all in 4K resolution for best quality and details. The materials of the character and the hair are rendered with Arnold renderer to present realistic effects. There are 2 UV sets of the body, which support single quadrant or multiple quadrants.

Meshes

Body: Vertices: 19,485, Polygons: 19,545
Eyes: Vertices: 1,028, Polygons: 1,088
Multiple Feather Sets: Vertices: 438,713, Polygons: 334,954

Total: Vertices: 465,351, Polygons: 361,422

Animations

Unlooped swimming animation at 30 fps, frame range 1-145
Unlooped look-around animation at 30 fps, frame range 1-151
Unlooped take-off animation at 30 fps, frame range 1-151
Looped flying animation at 30 fps, frame range 1-13

Rigging

With detailed controllers, it's easier to create postures and animations, the features are as follows:

CTR_crv_MASTER – Root character controller, with customizable attributes:
DEF_jnt_Vis controls the visibility of skinned bones;
MCH_jnt_Vis controls the visibility of auxiliary bones;
Mesh_Type controls the mesh display mode.

CTR_crv_gravity – Body (excluding feet) controller, with customizable attribute:
RotateOrder controls the rotation order.

CTR_crv_head – Head controller, with customizable attributes:
Head_Follow_Target controls whether the head follows the parent controller;
RotateOrder controls the rotation order;
Sec_control_Vis controls the visibility of secondary controllers.

CTR_crv_L/R_B_leg_attr – Hind leg attribute controller, with customizable attributes:
Foot_Eversion controls foot eversion;
Foot_Inversion controls foot inversion;
Foot_Pivot controls foot pivoting;
Heel_Raise controls heel raising;
IK_FK controls IK/FK switching;
IK_Stretch controls IK stretch;
PoleVector_Follow controls whether the pole vector follows the legs;
RotateOrder controls the rotation order;
Stretch_Control_Vis controls the visibility of secondary stretch controller;
Toes_Curl controls toe bending;
Toes_Raise controls toe raising;
Toes_Spread controls toe abduction and adduction.

CTR_crv_L/R_tail_fea_attr – Tail feather attribute controller, with customizable attributes:
Feathers_A_Ctr_Vis controls the visibility of feather A controller;
Feathers_A_SecCtr_Vis controls the visibility of feather A secondary controllers.

CTR_crv_L/R_wing_fea_attr – Wing feather attribute controller, with customizable attributes:
Feathers_A_Ctr_Vis controls the visibility of feather A secondary controllers;
Feathers_A_SecCtr_Vis controls the visibility of feather A controllers;
Feathers_B_Ctr_Vis controls the visibility of feather B secondary controllers;
Feathers_B_SecCtr_Vis controls controls the visibility of feather B controllers;
Feathers_C_Ctr_Vis controls the visibility of feather C secondary controllers;
Feathers_C_SecCtr_Vis controls controls the visibility of feather C controllers;
Feathers_D_Ctr_Vis controls the visibility of feather D secondary controllers;
Feathers_D_SecCtr_Vis controls controls the visibility of feather D controllers;
Feathers_E_Ctr_Vis controls the visibility of feather E secondary controllers;
Feathers_E_SecCtr_Vis controls controls the visibility of feather E controllers;
Feathers_Follow controls whether the feather follows the parent controller;
Shoulder_Feathers_Ctr_Vis controls the visibility of shoulder feather controllers;
Shoulder_Feathers_SecCtr_Vis controls the visibility of shoulder feather secondary controllers;
Wing_Follow controls whether the wing follows the parent controller;
Wing_SecCtr_Vis controls the visibility of wing secondary controllers;
feather_UD_sec controls whether feathers on WingCoverts and CovertsMIV are displayed.

CTR_crv_neck_attr – Neck attribute controller, with customizable attributes:
Follow_Target controls whether the neck follows the parent controllers;
IK_FK controls IK/FK switching;
IK_Stretch controls IK stretch;
Stretch_Control_Vis controls the visibility of secondary stretch controllers.

CTR_crv_spine_main – Spine root controller, with customizable attributes:
RotateOrder controls the rotation order;
Sec_control_Vis controls the visibility of secondary controllers.

CTR_crv_L/R_eye_blink_expr – Eyelid controller, with customizable attribute:
NictitatingMembrane controls the rotation of the nictitating membrane.

Additionally, the face, body, and wings come with more auxiliary controllers, and more.

Specifications

File format: Saved as .mb files by default. It can be saved as .ma files if necessary.
Version supported: Created with Maya 2024. Maya 2024 or above is recommended for compatibility.

Caveats

The XGen hair in this Maya character asset has been converted to interactive grooming, offering fast loading and efficient rendering. Although the original guides are not included, you can customize the hair by adding XGen modifiers as needed. All XGen hair in the scene is set up with Arnold materials, ready for rendering.
By default, Arnold uses GPU as the render device, and the sampling setting is suitable for medium quality output, as is shown in the preview image of the character. If you need a fine-tuned image, you can modify Arnold settings to your hardware limit.
The animation scene comes with Arnold lighting, which can be modified if required.
Except for the above, the character can be rendered directly.