Littlenobody FABLES | ODIN English Bull Terrier – Refining the Egg-Shaped Skull

With LUMA complete, work begins on ODIN, the English Bull Terrier from Littlenobody FABLES. Every creature in the project is built as a physical armature puppet to provide character reference material for SORA 2, supporting the production of a 2-minute 30-second animated short exploring fables, morality tales and emotion through visual storytelling.

Before building the armature, the challenge was understanding one of the breed’s defining features: the distinctive egg-shaped skull. Rather than arriving at the final design immediately, this stage became an exercise in observation, refinement and learning through multiple sculpting passes.

First Pass – Finding the Shape

The initial sculpt established the overall proportions and allowed the silhouette to be assessed from every angle. Marker lines were added across the head to help maintain symmetry and identify the relationship between the eyes, muzzle and centre line.

Although the first pass captured the general form, photographing the sculpt quickly highlighted several areas that could be improved.

It became clear that:

• The forehead needed a smoother continuous curve.
• The cheeks felt slightly too full.
• The eye position required refining.
• The muzzle needed to project more naturally from the skull.
• The overall profile wasn’t yet reading as a Bull Terrier.

Rather than viewing these as mistakes, they became useful information for the next sculpt.

Second Pass – Refining the Profile

The second sculpt concentrated on simplifying the form rather than adding unnecessary detail.

Material was gradually removed and reshaped to create a cleaner transition from the crown of the head to the nose, producing the uninterrupted curve that gives the breed its distinctive appearance.

At the same time:

• The muzzle became more defined.
• The eye sockets were adjusted within the profile.
• The jawline was refined.
• The facial proportions became more balanced.
• Paper ear templates were introduced to test size and placement before committing to the final build.

Seeing the temporary ears attached helped judge the overall silhouette long before any permanent construction began.

Using Photography as a Sculpting Tool

One of the most valuable parts of this process was stepping back and photographing the sculpture between each round of refinement.

Viewing the head through the camera revealed proportion issues that were easy to overlook while sculpting. Comparing photographs side by side made it much easier to judge whether each change moved the design closer to the intended character.

The photographs became more than documentation—they became part of the design process itself.

Building References for SORA 2

Every sculpting pass expands the reference library used throughout production. Recording the evolution of the design not only documents the making process but also establishes a consistent visual language that will support future image generation and animation.

Looking Ahead

With the overall skull proportions established, the next stage will focus on developing ODIN’s facial features and translating the simple egg-shaped form into a character capable of conveying warmth, curiosity and personality.

Conclusion

The first sculpt rarely provides the final answer. Building ODIN’s head became a process of observing, testing and refining, with each revision bringing the proportions closer to the unmistakable silhouette of an English Bull Terrier. Sometimes the biggest step forward isn’t adding more detail—it’s recognising what to remove.