Creation of a mascot is a process, I would say, of giving birth. Here we want to show how we look for an image. So than you would understand our prices and why we ask questions about your project.
Cat and Boy mascots: backstage
Characters & VK public design for educational startup.
Here you can see final images:
1st step — check Brief (or Task Description) or create one if it's non.
We had to create a mascot for the educational project. So we started from comm with owner. She is a teacher and a tutor with deep respect to education. Widely thinking but received her cultural basis in the times of USSR.
So we've got a direction of our searching: our project is about students, but not for them. It is for their parents. Parents need to see the symbol of a capable child whom they can proud of.
2nd step - searching of a prototype.
→ We looked for photos of well known, genius and successful people in their young age. Steve Jobs, Mark Zuckerberg, and Elon Musk are as examples here.
→ Plus we looked for jews, cause they are famous for their ingenuity, originality and charisma.
→ And some possible images of existing cartoon talented characters.
3rd step - searching of a character. Hero-centric & filmic pipeline.
Here we should:
→ find out the properties of young, genius and charismatic children. So we would imbue our character with features of real people. And make him a symbol of them.
→ create the first mood board and find something in common with all people we've found. We selected the "warmest" refs and put them closer to the circle. Interesting moments were marked . And....
....tring to create the first image:
Too anime style. We need more soviet and conservative look. So we do more:
Ok Google! That's not bad. Client was satisfied. We go to the next step.
4th step - searching of a look.
We are looking for a head. Successful moments of a form etc, etc... A lot of searching iterations:
So as our art-director likes to do cute and naughty characters encharged with a life energy, we had an image of well feeded boy slitly reminded Steve Wozniak in childhood :))).
Creation of a body...
It's cool, but client didn't accept it. We've lost our way some moment. :)
It's understandable: our clien was a delicate woman, don't say rood words and nothing like that. :) With soviet values, but wiedly thinking. She couldn't accept the image of a hooligan.
Redesigning a character look for client's personality. So as first of all client should be satisfied by it and then all of us.
At last, yes, we need nipper-genius ;)) Accepted by the client!
Trying to do final look:
Love from the first sight between the client and mascot :)
We got it! Final look of boy — APPROVED!
But...?
Boy is cool. But his internal character must be disclosed better.
In films and cartoons we usually got a concept of each person in action: you see how mood of hero changing due story; you see hero reactions to stresses and normally situations. You reveal inner world of each character during observing character interaction with other heroes, in changing circumstances, in different cases.
Hot to gain same but in images?
Well, we should add something with that our guy can interacts and during this interaction he will reveal everything. Cat? Cute cat!
Well, cat should add that fatness, that the boy loose during design process ;))). It was our art-director as soon as he was upsetted by the fact of refusing from the fat boy.
This is it!
