Hi guys, Thanks for all the comments, i`ll get onto all of them as soon as possible. But for now :( i`m going to re-install maya and if that don`t work i will have to re-install windows and every thing else, what a bummer. The reason is that i can`t do much as it is running tooooooo slow i`m waiting 1-2 minutes just to move a UV and then maya crashes now and again. I don`t know the exact problem at the moment whether its the model or not ??
But for now here is the latest update to see if i have the right idea on the stripes. "I`LL BE BACK" as soon as i can. Sorry about this :( . P.S. in case you are wondering, i have:--- 3200+ Barton AMD CPU @ 2.2ghz, 512 mb @ 400mhz, and a MSI GeForce 5700 FX 256mb Graphics card, and some other things... so i`m not too short of power. It started stuttering out of the blue not to do with the modeling coz other things, games etc. do it also.
Thanks again and i`ll HOPEFULLY see you soon..
I`m not giving up on this.

sounds to me like a virus or spyware. download, update and run ad-aware by lavasoft http://www.lavasoftusa.com

also you may wanna try defragging your computer tonight, dpending on how much you have on your comp it will probably take a few hours.

Hi, thanks for the info, i`m gonna do a total re-install anyways on a spare hard drive i have and ONLY have my 3d work on it.
I always run: zone alarm, avg anti virus and ad-aware when ever i`m online and all the tests/scans were ok. So doing a re-install will get rid of all the crap m$ put onto the computers (or some at least ;) ). Thanks.

its not always a virus or spyware. Alot of the time the computer has had just too much stuff on it. Even when you uninstall things registry entries and different file are still on the computer.

UPDATE...
Hi, just sorted it all out (I THINK).
Turns out it was the 3D model after all that, something was wrong somewhere, But the game i had problems with works fine now.
Anyways doing a clean re-install i got rid of some of the M$ crap on the computer. ;)
I took the model right down to the basics and left just the left hand side, deleted all the construction history i had (I couldn`t delete it before as i had a bone/skin setup) and deleted anything i didn`t need anymore.
I`ve just gotta put it all back together again and i`ll have a update picture maybe next day or so.
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UPDATE...
Sorry i havn`t been in much over the week, i hope to get back to modeling soon as possible.

More ideas
 

It looks great however I agree with the others. You need to fix the claws, add some muscle definition, fix the shadowing, blur the raptor a bit, work on the floating, and work with the textures. Something that wasn't mentioned that would make a huge difference, would be to use darker colors. The raptor is far too bright, that takes away from the realism. The eyes could have a little more gloss too. But hey it's looking great, just keep at it.

Hi, sorry for lack of updates but i havn`t had much of a chance to tweak the model, plus the dam thing still runs a bit slow.
I can do the muscle definition and have an idea for the floor around the feet, but i need help on the lighting part.
I am using 3 lights, 1 as the sun which is quite far away from the model, 1 to the right and 1 by the belly just enough to give a bit of light.
All are point lights, am i right on this ??
I`ve tried 1 ambient light as the sun and the model is too soft, e.g. no bump.
I have also tried a directional light but the model is way to dark even with the intensity turned all the way up.
Also shadows only seem to show up using the point light way.
Any help much appreciated, Thanks.

I'd like to see your final render so far.

The model is just great, but it just doesn't look great, the lights, the textures and the materials are terrible, I think. Maybe you shuoldn't use the backgruond image at all.

Mayby i shouldn't say so, cos i couldn't do a model like that myself. :)

If you are using Maya 6 and want to use this background image why dont you take advantage of Mayas IBL (Image Based Lighting) option. Right now the model needs sorting texture wise too, as its looking too much like a plastic kit. Get some good lizard reference such as Iguanas and Komodo Dragons and go from there.
I dont wanna sound too harsh but this is a c+c forum afterall., and the only way to see your mistakes is have others point them out.

Cheers
_J

Mayas IBL? I don't think the creator of the raptor knows much of it (and i wuold like to learn abuot it myself :D). Tell us more. Where is it, how to use this option?

Hay, any comment is good nomatter how harsh it is, It all helps me out to see what i`m doing wrong.
This is my first real attempt at modeling and so far i`m pleased of how it`s going and how it`s turned out.
I know i`ve got to do lots of things and all the comments help out.
I`ve also tried that image based lighting thingy but i havn`t a clue but it sounds good in the maya help.
Thanks.
P.S...
I`ve been doing all of my renders in software mode to get the shadow to work.
Is there a way to get the shadows to work in hardware mode in which the model looks much better in detail ???

A Quick showing of what i meen of hardware render.
Also no background !!

IBL is in the render globals menu, its part of the mental ray renderer. Just hit Mental Ral tab and Image Based Lighting is down in the lower section. Hit create and it will create a sphere or cube, and then you can load an image onto the sphere. In the AE for the sphere you must hit the Emit Light Tab in order for this to work. Be warned render times are quite long but the result can be worth it.

_J

I'm tempted to agree that the background image isn't needed. It will probably be quite tricky to get the model to sit convincingly in the background picture. There is one way to massively improve this image and i think its relatively simply. You need to paint up a better texture. As Jango said find reference of lizards. At the moment the raptor looks far to mint condition. You are using just 2 colours for the skin by the looks of it.