This is going to be the main character in my short film. If I ever finish it! I am trying to make this as realistic as possible and do it all my self. Below is the my start on the skeleton, which is the only thing I have done.
This project is more about making the character than the film. I wanted to learn each part of character creation: modeling skeleton, muscles, skin, feathers, texturing, rigging, and animation. If I was doing it for a client, then yes, I would definitely look at getting or buying a model, but for a personal project I am actually looking forward to the experience. I am not saying that using someone else model is a bad idea.