After talking with Justin on Tuesday, we decided that my idea of animating my pets would be a good way forward- the other ideas just aren't doing it for me as much right now, he could see my passion for the project, and encouraged me to just try and get a ball rolling in a more technical/anatomical area with this idea in mind. So as soon as I got back I sat down and started tinkering around with things. I ended up making models (all different purposes) to help me understand the shapes, anatomy and movement of a canine/quadruped in a better light (and I had quite a bit of fun doing it). 

Basic structure (Wire and Clay)
Basic structure with a bit of muscle (Wire and Foil)
Simplistic structure/main focus points (Polystyrene, toothpicks and wire)
Then we started to get more technical, I wanted to feel and be able to control the movement in my hands to later try again with connecting this into Maya.
More complex, moving figure (Wood, Clay and Wire)




A rough gif walk cycle, not the best- but the start of a framework to give me the knowledge on how a walk cycle could look. (I can't crop it so it can be bigger because it was done on an app on my iPad)

I also decided to take to Maya, just to run a few quick rough tests on how one leg COULD work. (This is when I decided to build some 3D models to help me out because working from a drawing wasn't completely translating it to me) Although none of it is yet a complete success, I feel confident that I'm heading in the right direction.