Characteristic of the Owl

I have started to think about the movement of the Owl ie the wings. I have started to take into consideration the way in which the Owl will operate. The type of movement that the i want for the Owl is a slightly rigid movement, but i don't want it to be realistic.
The main focus on the owl is going to be in the eyes. The characteristic of the owl is doppy and very unintelligent in comparison to the size of its head. Therefore when the Owl blinks it will be heavy, and sometimes slow.

Reference from Valiant & legends of the guardian

As reference i have looked at the two films Valiant and Legends of the guardian. I will be looking more in depth into the movements and characteristics of the Owls in Legend of the guardian. I will also be looking at the timing and the pace of the animation. I will also be looking at expressions of the owls to see if i could possibly take elements of that and apply it to my animations.

Research on Barn Owls

Like "typical" owls in the family Strigidae, barn owls have forward-facing eyes, excellent vision in dim light, and very sensitive ears. (Research shows that the common barn owl can locate prey by sound alone in complete darkness.) Tytonids differ from "typical" owls in having long, compressed bills, rather short tails, and rather long legs. The facial disk is heart-shaped instead of round. They lack the feather structures called ear tufts that many typical owls display. Their dark eyes are comparatively small and oval-shaped. The inner edge of the middle claw is serrated, like a comb. Barn owls use this claw to preen their feathers.

Most species in this group have a pale belly contrasting with a darker gray or brown back. The feathers show a beautiful allover speckling. Females tend to be larger, heavier, and darker in color than males.

The smallest member of this family is the Oriental bay owl, just 9 inches (23 centimeters) long. Common barn owls vary widely in size, and some members of this species are also very small. They may weigh as little as 6.6 ounces (187 grams). The longest and heaviest barn owls are female Australian masked owls at
2.8 pounds (1.3 kilograms) and 22.4 inches (57 centimeters).


Read more: Barn Owls: Tytonidae - Physical Characteristics - Typical, Darker, Family, Feathers, Species, and Shaped http://animals.jrank.org/pages/793/Barn-Owls-Tytonidae-PHYSICAL-CHARACTERISTICS.html#ixzz15SkhEFNh

Brief Outline

Before i go any further i want to find out more of the characteristics of the Owl that i am going to construct. The type of Owl that i am going to construct is a barn Owl.

Main Role

I have discovered that i will be producing a 3D Owl in Maya. In order to do this i will do some research into Owls. The Owl that that i am going to model has already been designed by Depa who i will be working very close with. I will also be animating as well as modeling.

Outline

For the 3rd year i have discovered that i will be working on Depa's project which is called Leap of Faith. It is a story of an old eccentric librarian, has a spiritual encounter from a leap of faith. It's a typical Autumn day the Librarian sweeps the leaves off her path outside and goes back inside to continue writing her book until she runs out of ink.......her life suddenly changes as she begins her spiritual journey.