Because this final character has no limbs or ears there's no point in setting up a tiny IK chain for the body. Instead I will use variety of 'deformers' which can be used in conjunction with each other to simply bend, twist, melt, explode, bulge etc geometry.
Bend deformer set up, Y axis is clamped so it doesn't 'grow' with the bend so it looks more realistic.
Twist deformer applied, this can be used if the character is to walk, it could bounce and twist gently as if it were skipping between its feet twisting its body.
The shapes look really good when bend and twisted, the eyes will deform with the mesh as they are part of it so I will have to be careful not to go too extreme with the deformations if I don't want the eyes to stretch too much. I think they look fine in this context though.
Bulge: This can suck in or blow out, which is obviously great for jumping and landing using the disney principles of animation stretch and squash to add dynamics.
Bend deformer set up, Y axis is clamped so it doesn't 'grow' with the bend so it looks more realistic.
Twist deformer applied, this can be used if the character is to walk, it could bounce and twist gently as if it were skipping between its feet twisting its body.
The shapes look really good when bend and twisted, the eyes will deform with the mesh as they are part of it so I will have to be careful not to go too extreme with the deformations if I don't want the eyes to stretch too much. I think they look fine in this context though.
Bulge: This can suck in or blow out, which is obviously great for jumping and landing using the disney principles of animation stretch and squash to add dynamics.