The Evolution of Flight

This animation visualizes how ancient birds might have developed the ability to fly, according to Ken Dial at the University of Montana. Although intentionally left ambiguous, the main character was modeled after Archaeopteryx. This dinosaur is the earliest known ancestor to birds. However research shows that Archaeopteryx was already capable of flight, so more fossils must be unearthed before we can truly know which species evolved wings first.

In this animation I created a CAT rig from top to bottom. I built a unique bone armature, rigged it to a low-poly mesh, and animated it. I also went through extensive means to build a lush forest environment from low poly assets, and used Adobe After Effects for post-processing.