First animation test with new wing!

First time animating the new wing! I really need to get back into practice. It is pretty messy and I know I can do much better. But as much as it is the first time I've made ball and socket joints, it is also the first time animating with them. I'm happy with the folding movement so far, and need to pay more attention to all details next time. Also need to improve the setup in my room as I was looking at the screen from a distance, which didn't help in noticing all little details. Most important to study some moving birds again and prepare before animating with some sort of dope sheet or at least good notes for myself. I noticed when working on our 'fowl play' stop motion short earlier this year what a world of difference this can make...

Definitely want to get the fanning mechanism in place soon as well, and maybe already attach some primary & secondary feathers to the rods for the next test. If I can get my screen closer to my work and do some preparation before the next effort, then hopefully there will be lots of improvement.

One other thing I noticed during animating is that I will have to be really careful handling the shoulder joint. It is important that this joint is tight, as otherwise it can't hold the weight of the whole wing. But at the same time it need to be possible to animate it smoothly, as a small movement at the side of the shoulder will mean a large movement at the tip of the wing. So I need to be able to make really small and precise movements with the shoulder joint... Best I can do now I think is using two hands and grip the chest part firmly when moving the joint carefully.