Ok, I'm really very new to maya right now, so this might all go hideously wrong at some point. I've just finished the cartoon dog tutorial. It's the only tutorial I've really actually "done" but I've also watched a few of the other free ones (sorry SM you won't see any of my money till I get paid ), and at this point I'm reasonably confident that I can produce something half decent of my own.

I've decided on a Wasp. It was actually my girlfriend's idea which I thought fitted the bill for the kind of detail I'm looking to attempt. I'm aiming for realistic but, its more than possible that, it will probably end up as unrealistic... but hopefully far from cartoony. I will need some of you guys to help me when I get to the wings I think, not really sure right now how to make them - ie should I have the wing modelled? Or perhaps just texture the wing in? I am going to attempt to add more detail to the head and abdomen areas tonight, I will post anything I'm happy with.

Here's what I've done last night (getting a bit quicker now after Kurt's puppy tutorial - in this model I'm using the same technique). Comments, suggestions, criticisms, and any spare cash are all welcome