Over a year into to maintaining this mod and it finally occurs to me to set up a discussion thread on this topic. I'm kinda slow sometimes, guys.

First, I'd love love love to have this mod (and the pending follow up mod) animated. I really would.

However, there are some very real issues as to why it's not. In no particular order, here's why:

• The cost of Maya. It's expensive.[www.autodesk.com], and I simply do not have that sort of disposable income at this point.
  
• By establishing Maya as the software to animate portraits, Paradox all but gauranteed that their portratis would be the only original portraits to be animated. Any other animated portrait set you see is using Paradox rigging on a roughly humanoid form. If you look at my critters, that won't really work without breaking the portrait.
  
• I've looked at Maya, and had the trail version. This thing has a 90 degree learning curve (at least for me). I'm sure I could get it, in time. But, I have work, family and freelance work that comes first. And this would require more time that I am willing to devote over at this point to learn, assuming I could afford it in the first place.

Now, if (and that's a big if) you know Maya, can animate original artwork, have copious amounts of free time, and are willing to help a brother out, I'd love to work with you. But I don't want to try to force fit any of these portraits into an already existing animation mesh, because they'll just not look right.

And, that in short, is why the portraits are not currently animated.
Cheers,
~S