Rig Gloria Hippo in Blender

I have an OBJ of Gloria the hippo and I need it transformed into a production-ready Blender file with a full skeletal, facial and muscle-based rig. The finished rig must let me switch seamlessly between expressive animation shots and clean static poses.

Scope of work
– Build a complete body rig: IK / FK limbs, proper spine and neck deformation, tail controls, squash-and-stretch where appropriate, and clean naming conventions so I can follow the hierarchy easily.
– Add a robust facial system: jaw, lips, cheeks, brows, eyes, and ears with enough resolution for cartoony lip-sync as well as subtler emotions.
– Implement muscle simulation or deformation drivers that give believable volume preservation when the limbs bend or the body compresses.
– Weight-paint everything so the mesh deforms smoothly with no pinching or collapsing, especially around joints and the belly.
– Provide intuitive control shapes and a simple picker so animators can dive straight in without extra setup.
– Optimise the scene for Blender’s current LTS version; no external add-ons that require paid licences.

Deliverables
• .blend file containing the fully rigged Gloria hippo
• Any custom driver or constraint scripts used, clearly commented
• Quick playblast or viewport turntable showing major controls in action

Once I import your file, I expect to hit Render or pose a few frames with zero extra tweaks. If you’re comfortable pushing Blender’s rigging and muscle tools, I’d love to collaborate.