Research into recording Foley Sound and Sound Effects

What is a Foley Art?
Foley is the reproduction of sound effects which are added in post - production to increase the quality of audio for films etc. The sounds can be any sort of sound wished for such as footsteps or winds blowing etc. It creates the sounds so that they sound as realistic as possible, therefore they are needed to make the clip as a whole to look realistic. It can be used to cover up unwanted sounds, and also to enhance sound. 
What is a Foley artist?
A Foley artist creates realistic ambient sounds that match the film that the ambient sound is being created for. They create the sound themselves in their own way by recording themselves doing something.
How do the Foley artists create Foley?
The artist will be in a recording studio by themselves alone, and they have a microphone and many other recording methods around them, they then move the equipment so that it is close to what ever it is they want to record so that nothing else is heard other than that, for example if the sound needed in a film was an actor running the foley artist would record themselves running around in a recording studio, then they would dub that sound over the actual recording.
What skills do Foley artists need?
The main skill that  foley artist needs is to be creative and have a good ear, for they need to be able to see some items and notice that if they use that item it will sound like something completely different, for example for a bird flapping its wings they would use two leather gloves hitting each other, and the artist needs to have the talent to recognise that this unusual item can create that sound which  is completely different.
What is the advantage of using real objects rather than computer generated?
The advantage of using real life objects is that they sound more realistic, and can be easily accessed and recreated if they do not sound good enough, rather than having to find and download and pay out millions for softwares to create the noise intended.