Makuta Visual Effects

Paul Neale created a realistic Falcon character rig, feather and wing system for Makuta Visual Effects. The camera would be very close to the character as it led the viewer into the opening shot of a movie. In the end the shots were not used how ever.

The feather system contained over 11,000 individual feathers that could be animated by sculpted sculpting them with a proprietary brush system called Bird Brain that was developed by Paul Neale. Dynamics could be added to create the appearance of wind passing over the Falcons wings and body. 

The dynamics for the wing feathers are driven by simple bend and twist modifiers driven by a dynamic spline that is affected by motion and wind in the scene.