Minor Project: Georgie Tokay Gecko - Modelling #2

As the leg had taken longer than I anticipated and I found the toes a little challenging, I decided to to attempt to use the back leg as a basis for the front, so duplicated the leg and began re-positioning and rotating to get the shape I needed. It took quite a bit of tweaking but I think using the back was definitely a good choice. 

Minor Project: Georgie Tokay Gecko - Modelling #1

I wanted to also make a start on Georgie as I feel like he has the most complicated feet, which proved true, and I wanted to dive straight in to this and it would help me when modelling other character feet. Admittedly it was a lot more confusing than I anticipated, I ended up going over lots of sections, adding edges, and deleting half a leg at one point because the way I was modelling just wasn't working, but I'm really happy with the results. 

Minor Project: Stevie Leopard Gecko - Modelling #2

I went back in to my Stevie model and added some more loops to his tail to make the ridges more rounded and better pronounced. Next will be legs. 

Pips Pet Post #4 - LittleFoot the Gargoyle Gecko

Today is someone not featuring in my animation, LittleFoot my gargoyle gecko. I currently own 4 gargoyle geckos, at one point had 5 but lost Chomper back in July 2018 due to suspected MBD related issues (next post). For now, enjoy the stunning colours of LittleFoot, who when fired down is a strong monochrome and when fired up a muddy tan/brown. Another thing I love about gargoyles - their colour range and how one gecko can look like a completely different animal depending on their mood. LittleFoot is part of the trio of hatchling geckos I took on in March 2018 from a closing down reptile store, when I got him he weighed in at 7 grams.

   

This is LittleFoot today, now a confirmed male and weighing a healthy chunky 28g, who is less good at sitting still for photos now. 

Minor Project: Stevie Leopard Gecko - Modelling #1

Minor Project: Character Orthographs - Georgie Tokay Gecko

Pips Pet Post #3 - Georgie the Rescue Tokay Gecko

Today is about Georgie (George Tokay) my first Tokay Gecko. I picked him up for free from Gumtree from previous owners who said he "wasn't friendly", not surprising as Tokays are known for their feisty temperament. He was barely recognisable as a Tokay, tiny and always dark (fired down) with MBD (metabolic bone disease) which is caused from improper housing conditions and not providing the correct food/vitamins/supplements. I was actually worried he wouldn't make it for a while, but through intensive care and hand (tong) feeding him as much as he would take every day, he eventually gained weight, and got strong enough to properly climb and even eventually hunt on his own. He is now in a large 90cm high vivarium with 2 female companions I got for him about 2 months ago now, as Tokays are a rarity for geckos in that they do well in captivity small social groups, of course providing there is plenty of space for the animals and correct husbandry.

I adore Tokay gecko colouring, when fired up they are a bright mint with orange or red spots. Or at least a wildtype is, but I wont go into morphs right now. My 2 females are more grey/green and burgundy than Georgie however who really is a stunner. I also love their eyes, their pupils are a really interesting shape and its fun to watch them change size depending on the light level, and they also work independently of each other, so the left can have a light shining on it and be closed, while the right is more open on the darker side. 

Minor Project - Character Orthographs - Stevie Leopard Gecko

I wanted to start off with Stevie the Leopard gecko and Georgie the Tokay gecko as they both have similar body and head shapes, as well as Stevie being arguably the most complicated animal model, so wanted to get these guys sorted first. 

I had some issues trying to line up the tail ridges exactly but I'll base them off o 1 view mostly when modeling. 

Pips Pet Post #2 - Sunny the Ball/Royal Python

Today is dedicated to Sunny, my largest/heaviest snake, although not longest. She's a 6 year old albino enchi ball python, and a total sweetheart. 

Albino enchi is her morph, and snake morphs depend on the genes the snake has, which determine colour and patterning in each individual. Certain genes cannot mix and can create animals with birth defects, or are "lethal combos" and the babies will never hatch/survive, others produce odd male/female ratios in the offspring. Ball pythons have arguably some of the most interesting and varied morph selections, with thousands of different morphs available through combinations of the base morphs, and breeders working on different projects are still now producing "worlds firsts" of different morphs. In general the more morphs a snake has (more genes) the higher the value, but some are undesirable because of some issues, commonly the spider gene. 

Sunny is an albino enchi, meaning her main morph is albino, but she also has enchi, which is what gives her her second shade of yellow in her patterning. An albino can only be produced by pairing 2 snakes that carry the albino gene, as it is a recessive gene. Meaning, sunny who is full albino could be paired with another full albino to produce definite albino morph hatchlings, or with a male that is het albino, with a chance of some of the eggs being albino hatchlings. That's the simplest terms, morphs can seem confusing at first but are extremely interesting to look into and see what great combination morphs can be produced, the chance and ratios of certain animals being produced by combining different morphs, etc. 

Minor Project: Storyboard