Meet Squawk, the flapping parrot. I really wanted to try a flapping bird, and luckily enough I had a friend's birthday that I needed a present for. He agreed that a flapping parrot would cover it, so we talked about colors and voila! Happy Birthday Coj!
Alright, now that I've said something nice, I can tell the rest of the story. This bird was a nightmare to make. Each wing took absolutely forever, and it got so monotonous just stapling more feathers together. Also the wings became really heavy by the time they were done, so I had to staple on even more support.
The plan was to shoot Squawk outdoors in his natural environment, but it was a cloudy and wet that day, so he just got heavier and more droopy. Luckily we were on our way to deliver him to his new owner, so Erik and I were able to shoot him inside his new home instead.
I guess it was a little interesting making the bird... I got to figure out the mechanics of something flapping for myself. If you notice in the pictures, there's a string that drops down from Squawk's body, and when pulled, he flaps his wings. I really like how his feathers turned out, and the wetness from outside helped a little too in making his feathers look more realistic. I ended up really liking Squawk after I accepted he was done and I didn't have to work on him anymore.