Nich's Character Design

Massey Design Student, Character Design Assessment blog! Making cute and funny Olympic mascots woohoo!!! (personal art: prettyroyalpain.tumblr.com where you can see more art from me)

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Turn around of Pete Pigeon, buff and ready to brawl!

Keeping his design simple at the back, more detail around his facial area

Also to note in case it isnt mentioned earlier, I chose to use stripes and lightning/ zig zag marking shapes to replicate some of the similar shapes not onlyh in sport wear but also the british blag without being too obvious

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final simplified silouettes of my final team! :D going with friendly round shapes

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Final colour palette choice, lightened the cream, and lightened the brown too.

Happy vibrant energetic.

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tweaking colour palettes, liking the last colour pick, trying to get the colours to be cohesive and also show a nice range of contrast.

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Promotional material for my British olympic mascots!

Wanted to focus on fitness preparation and lifestyle that would be good for audience members who are children or family setting.

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Some comical buff pigeon art of Pete, as he lifts 4 elephants and the passion of the United Kingdom.

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Trying different colour palettes, I haven’t worked much on colour pieces this year so im a little out of practice, as you can probably tell (yikes). Also no matter how much i fiddle with my monitor setting i just cant get it quite right, so apologies, but ehhh all well. Thinking at this point im gonna go with my original choice of natural tones mixed with pops of colour but play around with the shapes and markings and different shades so that tonally they match better together (from the feed back in class )

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Rationale and some more

My task was to create four mascot characters that could be used in a redesign of the 2012 London Olympics. 

I decided to use the domestic pigeon, British bull dog, red squirrel and European mole for each character, because they are important animals to Britain, iconic, some not necessarily found only in the UK but are used in a wide range of literature and media from Britain. I also chose these animals as they each bring different qualities of build and personality to the over all design. The pigeon is an animal I think of in relation to London, although its usually seen as a pest, I wanted to try give it more positive qualities and challenge myself to make a likeable pigeon character since theyre usually seen as creepy or gross. The British bull dog was picked due to it being a very well known breed of dog, as well as many dog breeds originating in the UK, dogs are an important to people, becoming mans best friend. The red squirrel was picked because red squirrels are exclusively found in Europe, and their populations have been declining due to the widespread grey squirrel population from America competing for resources. Lastly I chose a mole because I wanted an animal representing the paraplegic athletes to be naturally impaired in some way, rather than chopping off their leg just because. I was also interested in the blind running and football, and how they would have seeing athletes that accompanied them while playing. I created Billy Badger to be Mandy Moles seeing aid and companion. 

I experimented with different shapes silhouettes seeing which features I could push to convey their personality and purpose. I knew straight away for Pete I wanted him to be strong, simply because the idea of buff birds makes me laugh, and often people don’t like pigeons because they can look freaky, so since I can’t make him beautiful or cute, making him funny is great! I wanted to bring an element of comedy and lightheartedness to the characters, after all people of all ages would have to enjoy them from children to elderly across the country. Because of this I focused on top heavy, strong shapes for him, ones that would emphasise his arms and head. For Sandra, a key feature of theirs is the tail and cute little feature, I thought the glove on the tail as well as their little paws would be great! So i went ahead with making the tail super big and heavy, and focusing on round shapes, like fists and juxtaposing with angular shapes like the feet and ears as I wanted their personality to be ambitious and feisty. Biff I wanted to be cheerful and passionate, as a supporter and fan he is the solid thing that brings it all together, there wouldn't be an Olympics if no one watched it after all. Dogs are loving and loyal creatures, bull dogs in particular are solid and strong, so i went for block shapes, but more rounded than angular since i still want him to be friendly. And Mandy I wanted to be gentle and loving but also capable and focused to contrast with the rest of the group. Moles shapes are often very round and sort of roll looking, I loved the thought of Mandy running along with her big claws and paws made for digging, but still quite small feet in comparison with the rest of her body. I went with a more bottom heavy, balanced shape for her silouette to differ from the other silhouettes. 

As for naming I researched names with English origins, though some are more alternate versions of the original. Pete means solid stone, like his personality. Mandy means deserving of love, as I believe that many disabled people, physical or mental are still stigmatised and suffer from prejudice, I wanted Mandy to not be a character to be pitied or disgusted with, as disabled people are often in society, but like the athletes that actually perform be a loving role model that’s really awesome at her sport! Sandra means protector, she’s gonna punch her way through anything, her opponents, the patriarchy, and endangerment of her species (even though they’re low risk now). Biff means playful fighting, which suits his personality of supporter and fan, to cheer on the athletes, as well as a dog, always up for some fun, as well as alluding potentially to his origins as a fighting breed that can now be a house hold loving pet.

Colour schemes I didn’t want to be too obvious (such as flag colours or olympic colours, which can look very clashing together) and I wanted a range of bright popping colours to draw attention and create a fun vibe, i also wanted some more neutral colours to contrast with that. 

As for markings I wanted to allude to the angular lines and shapes in the British flag without being too obvious, and have a constant pattern or motif within each design across all of the characters.

A fantastic energetic team full of love and ambition, ready to compete and play! The buff bird Pete, stoic and angry but loves it! Sandra the feisty fast moving boxer, gonna give you a run for your money!  Mandy gentle outside, but brutal when in game! Biff with love and passion in every fold of his fur! What a team!

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Country brand values - Britain

Patriotic, passionate, courteous, noble, ambitious, pioneeering, brave, strong and true. An established ‘old’ country, with lots of rich history, wars, victories, and pride. Unicorn and Lion coat of arms (symbolic of country pride, and joining of all regions of the UK, by war or conquest, England being the Lion and the Unicorn Scotland). One of the only countries with Royal family and nobility still in power (sort of), and having a long history of monarchy, actually relating to Spanish and Germanic blood lines. 

Manners, Passion for football. English tv shows showing varying amounts of comedy, drama, reality, murder, lifestyle. Great literature, Conan Doyle, Shakespeare, Jane Austen, J RR Tolkien, George Orwell, CS Lewis, JK Rowling, Virgina Woolf, Agatha Christie, to name a few. 

Origin of many sports, including rugby and several of its sub forms, boxing, football, cricket, croquet, tennis, squash. 

Third most populated island country in the world. 

Small but full of many different people from all over the world and many generations of different religions and races spread about. Some areas of the UK are very mixed racially and with established communities spanning generations, with origins from China, India, Africa, Spain, South America, Middle East etc. while other areas can be very homogeneous, with mainly Caucasian people in tight nit communities. 

Areas span from highly densely packed ares of people living together in cities such as London and Manchester, to Suburban and Rural areas such as Market Harborough or Kent. 

Iconic celebrities and figures are: Queen Elizabeth II, David Beckham, Simon Cowell, Churchill, Margret Thatcher, Princess Diana, Robbie Williams, Julia Andrews,Elton John, Gordon Ramsey, Adele, Danielle Radcliffe, Alfred Hitchcock, 1 Direction, Anthony Hopkins, Ian Mckellen, Amy Whinehouse, Stephen Fry, Billy Idol, Oasis, Sex Pistols, Charlie Chaplan, Michael Caine, Noel Fielding.

Some of their most well known athletes, not necessarily just for the olympics, include: Jessica Ines Hill, Mohammad Farah, Andy Murray, Paula Radcliffe, Steve Redgrave, Kelly Holmes, Colin Jackson, Bobby Moore, Jacky Stewart, Lenox Lewis.

Main Religions: Christianity, Catholicism, Protestantism, Judaism, Islamism, etc.

Architecture ranging from Gothic, Medieval ages, Tudor, Modernist, Post Modernist etc.

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compilation of mascots ive found, not just for the Olympics but other public events that I thought were funny or cute and recognizable. Mainly they have simplified silouettes and work well in costume. Also simplified cute faces, able to show emotion, but not over realistic or detailed, which i believe helpes them not to look creepy.

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more mole studies for Mandy! i want to focus on her bread loaf shape, but also round her out more, kind just make her a cute round loaf.

also drew her with flowers because even though she cant see them they must feel soft and nice (given to her from a fan).

Drew Biff being his usual self and supporting whatever sport he’s invested in. going from waiting patiently for the game to start to cheering and shouting in shock, and then concentration on an important play.

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All of the British team showing tips to keep in mind when exercising. Could be good for advertisement material and putting out positive campaigns for fitness and health during the Olympics. I'll clean these up digitally. Could be used in posters, TV ads if animated or even a small short for children.

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Sorting out Pete's physique and what he looks like in a turn around, also testing shapes and basic looks for Mandy mole as my parathlete. Was considering bats as well, since they have poor site and use echo location. But I think moles come off as more English and kinder going from other media associations in Britain. Wind in the willows for example. Kind, timid, mannered. Bats are nocturnal as well so there connotations of night and vampires and magic or omens. ( Though I think they're adorable).

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Sketching out basic shapes and designs for Sandra squirrel, billy badger, Pete facial expressions and comparisons between facial types of the other characters. Also studying glove shapes and types and seeinf how that ties in w Sandra's silouettes and just trying to flesh out more her anatomy and how she looks fromd different angles. Same with billy badger even though I don't end up using him as a main. (He is Mandy moles football partner support).

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Thinking of colour palettes besides the obvious flag colours and olympic ring colours and important meaning for each colour. also debating still between which animals to go with. I’ve decided against rabbits since they are found in other Western countries, aren’t necessarily British. A robin is cute, but I’m really keen on buff pigeon and don’t really want two bird species since Britain doesn’t come across as a super bird country. Also changing mr badger and swapping him for a mole instead as my paraplegic character, since i wanted an animal that has a disability in reality as well, rather than just amputating their leg or crippling them.

Above are also name choices for each character and basic name meanings in Europe. Decided Billy the badger is gonna be Mandy the moles support, who runs with her. I really liked the blind runners and being joined to your partner and the team work, but also football is suc an important part of British culture that I’m tempted to make Molly a foot ball player instead Yeah i think I’ll go with that.

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bull dog skeleton studies and human skeleton comparison, badger sketch studies from google photo references, and pigeon studies, as well as buff pigeon concept further explored. Seeing how I could make the pigeon strong, muscley, yet appealing, not overly cute, still keeping it bird looking, but also without it being the next spawn of satan. Since lots of people don’t like pigeons I wanna make him comedic, but also valued and stay away from skulking scavenger on the streets. Just a beef cake bird that skips leg day. For the badger I’d like to keep smooth round shapes and lines, though there is also the issue of how to show their facial expressions, not going with solid black, change facial structure to be less natural.

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more siloette work, trying to keep simple blocked out shapes, its something that ill try to continually practice in teh future in order to make better characters. like ideas of pigeon being top heavy as shown in previous sketches, badger being round and curves, bull dog is more square and blocky, squirrel kinda like a coma or a swoop motion, the tail being the strong solid point.