My new model, the kiwi, has proven to be a challenge for a flightless, football shaped bird. I was sure that creating believable fur-like feathers through layered transparency planes instead of using a hair plugin or fiber mesh, would be passable, but the effect far surpassed even my expectations. Kiwi are flightless birds endemic to New Zealand. They are mostly nocturnal and live underground in burrows. At around the size of a domestic chicken, kiwi are by far the smallest living ratites (which also consist of ostriches, emus, rheas, and cassowaries). For their relative body size, they lay the largest egg of any species of bird in the world. There are five recognized species, which several subspecies and variants. Other cool facts about kiwis: -The young chicks are not fed by parents when fledging. They survive on a large reserve of the yolk in their bellies. Chicks fledge after 6-10 days. -The kiwi is the sole survivor of an ancient order of birds. DNA sequence comparisons have yielded the surprising conclusion that kiwi are much more closely related to the extinct Malagasy elephant birds than to the moa with which they shared New Zealand. -The kiwi’s long slender bill has nostrils at the lower end, giving it an excellent sense of smell. -The kiwi bill, unlike most bird bills, has some flexibility. This helps it root out earthworms, grubs and other insects and plant material it finds in the soil. -The kiwi had no natural predators until the Māori arrived. All their current predators were introduced by humans. -Despite the Kiwi awkward appearance, it can outrun a human and uses it’s sharp claws to kick and slash an enemy. -The Māori believed the Brown Kiwi emitted a high pitched "keeeweee" cry, from which their name was derived. -New Zealanders throughout the world are called “Kiwis”. This is probably due to a first World War New Zealand battalion that used the kiwi as it’s emblem and later was used in association with the New Zealand Army Football team. Rendered in Poser 2014GD with no postwork. Models include Enchanted Forest (Stonemason), Puiri Moths and Kiwi (Ken Gilliland)