I have started modeling the "Death" character. Routine stuff. What I'm really excited about is finally sitting down and taking time to learn how to make an IK rig. I based the rig construction on what I remembered from the human meta-rig that used to be included in older versions of Blender, and used a tutorial to help with figuring out how to make a good IK setup. The most useful thing I found was being able to use unparented bones as IK controllers so the bone chain doens't get confused and start freaking out, and some bones as pole targets for the elbows and knees so they are always point the right direction.
Also, using B-bones instead of the default bone shape allows you to segment a single bone into many little pieces and applies a bezier curve when that bone is moved (the amount of curve can be manipulated), which allows for a natural curving of the spine, and the forearm to twist from elbow to wrist.
