Hey mpicone - looks like a good model, though I might give his jacket a collar, and also the inside of his mouth is looking a little odd at the moment - I might make it a little darker so it is not the same color as his skin.

As for a book on rigging and animating I can definitely recommend Mike Mckinley's 'The Game Artist's Guide to Maya'. It's really cheap and full of helpful info -

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/078...lance&n=283155

Hope this helps. Looking forward to more updates.