A quick update on the building of the characters. The first 9 images show how I shaped the ball of expanding foam that I'll be using for the buffalo's body. Using a handsaw, I gradually removed sections from all sides while trying to keep everything symmetrical.

 

 

The image above shows the underneath and the wooden block that the legs will connect to. It's still fairly big and will probably take 3 blocks clay to cover, but at least it's light. Maybe I can seal it with PVA and paint it matt black - no harm in trying.

 

Having reworked the lion I realise that there are still some problems to figure out. The torso is still too long and the pelvis is too wide. I'll have to strip off the clay and redo the armature. Still it's better to find out now before I'd started on the other lions.

 

I also found that when the legs are moved the joints split open. I might have to think about making several limbs and swapping them around for the different positions.

 

Shoulder joints split from torso when front legs are moved.

 

An overhead view shows how badly the leg joints connect to the torso.