The Smoking Bubble Person

This was an exercise in creating a character rig in Autodesk Maya, but instead of sourcing a model from somewhere else, I ended up making my own. This taught me a lot about body proportions, character modelling, rigging and posing.

I am not trying to promote smoking in any way with this work. Smoking is a terrible addiction and nobody should quit trying to quit. This one is still trying.

Reference & Inspiration

I thought it would be interesting to try and copy the rubbery Michelin Man. But instead of the more athletic body, I gave the Bubble Person a more “realistic”, thicker one, with more emphasis on the belly.

The Process

Here are some snapshots of the rig skeleton.