Fast Characters View RSS

Kitty Nerd 11 Aug 2016 4:52 PM (8 years ago)

Kitty Nerd endured some rough high school years to help you make incredible websites. He took hits from some pretty shady bully cat characters, but has now seen them peak as fast food managers and little league coaches, while he rakes in the big numbers with his coding expertise.

He can knock around javascript, having it run here and there as he wishes, just as if he were toying with a mouse. He loves playing with HTML even more than he loves playing with his favorite ball of yarn. He can make C++ his litterbox. There’s no coding language that stands a chance against him, or you under his tutelage.

Get ready to buckle down and study with the digital fat cat until you can turn your development obstacles into your own personal scratching post. Just please refrain from using your laser pointer during class, because it will derail his lectures. He’s an expert, but is aware of his feline limitations.

Happy and Curious 13 Jul 2016 9:21 PM (8 years ago)

More than anything else, people ask Happy and Curious how his parents arrived at his name. Just after he was born, his mother noticed him smiling, and his father noticed his keen interest in their fingers. The only way it would work was to have it both ways. He jokes that his parents were one thing: indecisive!

But he’s totally cool with it. His parents raised him well, presenting a strong model for his character. They viewed the job of a parent as that of a “life designer,” believing HC would imitate their illustration of a life lived with integrity. Their dedication paid off in a wise son who knows the value of a good name.

HC works as a diplomat, serving as an ambassador to the giant pandas. Red pandas, like HC, only eat young bamboo plants. This can cause the giants to fret. They worry that enough stalks won’t grow to full size, which the giants love to eat. That’s when HC comes in to conduct peace talks. He never goes to or from work without his joyful sense of wonder.

Nutty the Squirrel 7 Jul 2016 2:16 PM (8 years ago)

Nutty the Squirrel has always had a blast reading the funny papers. Every time he thinks he’s seen it all, he finds something new that cracks Nutty up. This morning’s joke was so good, he stored it in his cheek to share it with his next tree neighbors. After they had unwrapped the crumpled, soggy paper from itself, they said, “I can’t read this.” Classic!

Other times, he’ll use strips of the papers as strips of carpet on the floor of his nest. His guests try to make sense of the remains of the comics through his dirty footprints, but they have a hard time focusing through Nutty’s endless laughter.

Hilarious as the comics are, the puzzles keep him sleuthing for hours. If there’s an end to the fun in the funny pages, Nutty hasn’t found it yet. He goes nuts wondering, what will they think of next? You can find out with him!

The Most Famous Cartoon Characters & Mascots – Part 2 27 Mar 2013 6:58 AM (12 years ago)

Part one of our most famous cartoon characters and mascots is a much loved post and we’ve been asked to follow it up time and time again. So by popular demand here you go! Enjoy these characters for who and what they are. They get into our heads and once they get in there, they have a ton of fun. I bet you’ve got characters and mascots that you grew up with … I’ve got a couple of favorites from when I was a kid, I’ll tell you about them as they show up in my list below. Here goes!

 
 

Alfred E. Neuman

A familiar face to every kid in America, Alfred has been there with us since we were old enough to recognize a face. Thanks for being there buddy. Your wikipedia page is pretty cool too.

 
 

Snoopy

Like other icons, Snoopy just feels like he’s always been there. We love you Snoop.

 
 

Optimus Prime

Leader of the autobots and all round good guy, Optimus is a role model who carries the heavy burdern of leadership with humilty, grace and strentgth.

 
 

Woody Woodpecker

Cheeky, fast and with a laugh you’ll never forget. Once this bird gets in your head, you’ll never forget him. (P.S. More than any other character, some people were a little upset Woody didn’t make our first list.)

 
 

Goku

Our Asian friends will know and love Goku best. The main character in Dragon Ball, Goku is as a household name in many countries.

 
 

Minnie Mouse

Minnie showed up in 1928 and has been making kids smile ever since. Like a lot of characters, she’s aged verywell and at this rate will be around … forever!

 
 

Cornelius (Corny)

Maybe not the most high profile guy around, this rooster has nevertheless been in the background with a silent cock-a-doodle-doo on Corn Flakes boxes since the early 1900s.

 
 

Daisy Duck

In 1940 Daisy came along and fit right in with the rest of the gang. And since then, she’s been givings us laughs and smiles in countless shows and movies.

 
 

Dora the Explorer

A guide, teacher and some might say a hero. Dora shows us that being curious about the world around us is cool and fun. No matter what age you are.

 
 

The M&Ms

Ahh these two chocolate mascots have been getting our attention and our chocolate dollar for a long time.

 
 

Boo-Boo

Yogi bear might go off the rails even more if Boo-Boo wasn’t around. Yogi sure is popular but it just wouldn’t be the same without ole Boo-Boo there by his side.

 
 

G.I. Joe

Less a character than an entire team, the characters at G.I. Joe haven’t reach the epic level of fame that others in this list yet they’ve steadily been household names for decades and that earns them their spot right here.

 
 

The Jetsons

Back in the early 60’s the Jetsons splashed onto the screen and they’re still around. Maybe it’s because of them we’re all just a little bit let down we don’t have flying cars yet?

 
 

Tony The Tiger

Tony made his debut in 1951 and has been bouncing around touting the joys of Frosted Flakes ever since. P.S. As parents get more health conscious and sugary cereal sales plummet, Tony might be out of a job soon. If you need a charismatic Tiger, give him a call.

 
 

Megatron

Supreme villainous leader of the Decepticons, Megatron is the ying to Optimus Prime’s yang.  Like any good villian, he always comes real close – but not quite – to winning.

 
 

Mr. Peanut

It’s strange because whenever I think of a pack of peanuts (which really isn’t all that often) I still can’t help but see this guy in my head, all the time!

 
 

Mowgli

It was 1894 when Mowgli first showed up in the Jungle Book, however it wasn’t until 1967 when most of us came to know him from his appearance in the Disney classic by the same name.

 
 

Power Rangers

No one has energized little boys to run around living room zapping the furniture more than the Power Rangers. Born in the early 90’s they rose to fame in no time at all.

 
 

Obelix and Asterix

These two wacky Gauls (that’s like, an olde French tribe) have been causing mayhem in the most amusing way for decades.

 
 

Chester Cheetah

If you need a fix of alien food technology covered in magic cheese dust, Chester is has you covered.  We’ve been thanking Chester and lickin’ that yellow powder off our fingers for years.

 
 

Stewie Griffin

A one year old genius with an upper-class English accent and a lean towards world domination, Stewie has been cracking us up for as long as the Family Guy has been around.

 
 

SpongeBob SquarePants

In 1997 SpongeBob came along and started making us laugh with his awesome brand of weirdness. Appealing to a wide audience, he’s a favorite of this author.

 
 

Terrance and Phillip

This Canadian comedy duo don’t exist anywhere except on South Park episodes. They’ve got a brand of humor that will make you laugh or wince.

 
 

Felix the Cat

Felix started out in 1919, back in the “silent era” when movies had no sound. His age and striking appearance makes him one of the most recognized cartoon characters worldwide of all time.

 
 

Beavis and Butt-head

Socially awkward delinquents, these two teens have been up to nothing of value and making us chuckle since they first appeared on MTV in 1993.

 
 

Peter Griffin

Working class Irish American Peter Griffin has had us tuning into the Family Guy for years.

 
 

Bobby Hill

Bobby Hill is the kid I wish I was when I was growing up. He’s super cool exactly because he doesn’t try to be.

 
 

Captain America

More than 210 million comic books sold can’t be wrong, can they?  Along with Superman, Captain America has been making blue and red tights cool for a long time.

 
 

 
 

Itchy & Scratchy

These two little guys are a cartoon show within a cartoon show. No doubt the inspired by Tom and Jerry, they’ve got what it takes to make this list.

 
 

Gumby

Kermit isn’t the only character proving it’s cool to be green. Gumby has been wobbling around with his friends Pokey and Prickle over the course of 233 episodes since 1955. Not too shabby!

 
 

Tintin

Perhaps not so famous in North America, Tintin and his pooch Snowy are so well know in Europe, they an open invitation to lunch anywhere they want.

 
 

 
 

Iron Man

In 1963, Iron Man was brought to life by Stan Lee and the guys over at Marvel Comics. For a long time he wasn’t as famous as Spidey, Batman or Superman but that’s all changed now.  Take a bow Ironman.

 
 

Poppin’ Fresh

Mascot design Poppin’ Fresh A.K.A The Pillsbury Doughboy was created in the kitchen of an advertising executive hard pressed to come up with a good idea. That was 1962. He’s had steady employment ever since so I guess he was a pretty darn good idea!

 
 

Did you like this list of cartoons and mascots? Go ahead and rate it and tell us what you think!

London 2012 Mascot Designs 7 Dec 2010 11:52 AM (14 years ago)

Every Olympics needs at least one mascot.  Apparently, the 1972 games in Munich the Olympics was the first time a mascot was used for the Olympics.  It was a dog (a dachshund) called “Waldi”.  That was 1972! That seems so recent doesn’t it? I would have guessed that the Olympics has been using mascots for centuries … at least! So anyway, once I got over my shock that Olypic mascots have only been around for 40 years I got to looking at the new mascot designs for the London 2012 games.  Here’ s what I discovered.

2012 Mascot Designs are Metallic

That’s right, metallic. Forget cute and furry and cuddly.  The design team for the London 2012 mascot designs has gone into the future and come back with mascots that look like characters from a science fiction movie.  Their names are Wenlock and Mandeville and they almost look like a couple of electronic gadgets come to life.  Think of your silver iPod that grew legs, arms and a head.

Over at the 2012 mascot design team they decided to showcase ideas that are really outside the box and we commend them for taking creative risks.  The mascot colors and textures break into new territory and successfully usher in a who new look for character and mascot design for years to come.  Taking this kind of chance shows how confident the designers are at presenting these two mascots to the world complete with back story and video to boot! You can watch the video of their story and more over at the London 2012 site.

Free Mascot Design: “Jesse” the Bear 1 Dec 2010 6:12 PM (14 years ago)

Alright so everyone knows mascot design makes us happy. So we’re extra happy to announce that Jesse is ready to be released into the wild! That means you get Jesse and you get him for free which should make you happy, which makes us happy, which means everyone is … OK, never mind!  So let’s meet Jesse shall we?

This tough but friendly bear has the confidence to capture the attention of any audience and hold his ground.  He was designed with a sturdy frame and kind heart and will see you through the good times and the bad. He’s got presence and like all great mascots, the ability to stick in people’s minds “Hold on a minutes, I’ve seen that bear before!”

Share this mascot design

If you find this mascot design useful we ask that you share it with other people who might appreciate it.  Important: We appreciate if you link to this article when using or sharing Jesse.  It helps us keep out little studio alive! This mascot design is released on the GNU General Public License.

Download this mascot design

You can download Jesse as a fully finished mascot design.  He comes all ready to go in one of our Character Packs.  Don’t worry if you you don’t know what a Character Pack is. It’s awesome and has Jesse inside in full color, grey scale and black and white in both vector and bitmap formats.

Big mouthful of geek speak that was.  Download it and unzip it and let us know what you think in the comments below!

Cartoon Elephant Mascot, Mr.Bucks 26 Jun 2010 1:45 PM (14 years ago)

One of the funnest experiences we’ve had in recent time was the mascot design for Mr.Bucks. I mean, take a look at this guy. He’s got style, cool, pizzaz and cash dripping offa him. The client wanted to make sure that Mr.Bucks was anything but your average cartoon elephant. They key words in the creative brief were confident, confident and you guessed it, CONFIDENT.

Other traits we had to incorporate into the design were movement, perfection and confidence. Oh yeah, we already mentioned that three times already … but it was important. If you look at Mr.Bucks you’ll see he walks tall and assertively without being overbearing or too aggressive. He still comes across as someone you could approach but you realize that whatever you say better be interesting and to the point because this guy has work to do.

Working with the client we narrowed down a look and feel that we could use as a base and then with some tweaking, the final sketch was approved. From there, it was down to picking the colors which would work well to enforce the raw strength of this character.

How to hire a character illustrator 13 May 2010 11:16 PM (14 years ago)

If you have a website, comic or any of a hundred other reasons for needing a character illustrator. You will need to know how to find and hire one.

First of all you will need to establish in your own mind exactly what it is you need from the character you need designed. Is it suppose to be aggressive, passive, friendly, scary, big, small, and the list goes on.

You need to establish to yourself exactly what your character’s purpose is, because you will need to be able to clearly transmit this information to the character illustrator. Also you should make sure the character illustrator you find asks for this information, because if they aren’t interested in your requirements, you can be sure they will not do a good job.

So you are going to need to be able to tell a character illustrator whether your character is for a website, a poster, a billboard, a newsletter, a logo, a comic or any other reason. They will need to target their work accordingly, but will require the information to do so.

There are a number of places you can look for a character illustrator. You could look to Craigslist, search the internet or even ask at local art conventions, but my recommendation would be to look to the end of the article for a great resource.

Whichever route you go to hiring a character illustrator, you need to be sure they can do the job. There is little worse than hiring a character illustrator to design your website logo, and it comes back unusable. If you wish to avoid this scenario you need to only work with artists who have a provable reputation for working with other companies. You do not want to hire someone who will “Give it a shot” if its your business. You need someone will get it right, as they have many times before.

I also recommend you agree terms before hiring a character illustrator, concerning whether or not you can revise their initial design.

Regardless of who you hire, if they are only prepared to create a finished product without consulting you during the process. You have to expect it will probably not be what you are looking for. This isn’t because the character illustrator themselves aren’t good, but even the best will need to revise their ideas to achieve perfection. If the company you talk to isn’t prepared to work with you every step of the way, that is the time to walk away and find one that is.

I just want to take the time to once again advice against getting friends to help design your character. A proper character illustrator is trained in what they do, and this is for a reason. Why a friend may have your absolute best intentions at heart, that will not give them any ability beyond what they already had. It comes down to common sense to a degree. I know if I hired my friend to fix my car he would do his best, but as he isn’t a mechanic he would still mess it up. Its just the same with character illustrators, and I highly recommend you turn to professionals.

Traits of a great character design illustrator 27 Apr 2010 11:14 PM (14 years ago)

This article will be of interest to anyone considering hiring a character design illustrator, or becoming one themselves. Regardless of which path you are on, identifying the traits of a great character design illustrator will be of great interest to you. First we must really look at the purpose behind a character design illustrator, and then analyze what it would take to be, or identify a great one. After all, if you going to hire a someone, you want to be able to assure yourself that they can do the job.

A character designer is not just a friend that draws nice pictures you hope to utilize for a website or other purpose. The have-a-go heroes of the graphics world are fine for the fridge, but when a company needs to have a logo or mascot created, it is important that their company is properly represented.

There are many steps involved in creating a character that is usable in the real world, and these include: Discovery, sketch, color and of course delivery.

A great character design illustrators first and most important trait, is of course understanding the requirements of the customer. Lets say the customer is looking for a mascot for a kid orientated learning website. They write to the illustrator but just ask for a mascot that looks like a lion, wearing a teeshirt with their company name on it.

A good character design illustrator will tell them this isn’t enough information, and would ask what the purpose of the character is. On discovering it is to be used for a kids website, they would make the lion look friendly, or at least not scary. You see the reason you need to be working with professionals when your company is on the line? Its because otherwise you end up with a mascot or character that ill fits the purpose, and may be unusable.

As we have stated the first step is important, and if the illustrator doesn’t bother to ask the company exactly what they are looking for, and why, they probably will do a poor job.

Following this should come a further stage of negotiation with the customer, namely the sketch phase. After the character design illustrator believes they have a good idea of what the customer wants, they should send sketched for confirmation. This illuminates confusion down the line, and if the illustrator doesn’t do this it creates the possibility of the customer later getting an unusable product.

Even after the sketch has been confirmed or altered to the customers satisfaction, there still lies the further issue of color. The customer will need to be able to determine the color, and if it doesn’t look like they imagined, have it altered. The reason for this is simple. A customer doesn’t necessarily know what color will look best until they see it, and a character design illustrator should know that from the start.

The method of delivery is another factor, but this will obviously depend on the customers requirements. However I suggest that if you are hiring a professional, make sure they plan to deliver upon completion, in a manner suitable to your needs.

The main thing that separates an average Joe from a great character design illustrator, is that they work with a customer, as apposed to working “at” them. If you are looking into hiring a character design illustrator I highly recommend you assure yourself they are a team player, and not a fly by night optimist. By the same token, I also recommend any kids thinking of getting into this line of work to realize, it isn’t just about drawing a picture. It is about working with customers to achieve their ends and needs with beautiful and relevant art.

Racoon Mascot Design 12 Apr 2010 9:17 PM (15 years ago)

James got in touch with us for a new mascot design. Conceptually called “Rocky” he wanted an upright, bipedal Raccoon that was confident and happy and strapped with gear such as a climbing harness and a helmet. Here are some of the concept sketches the team came up with.

Rocky had to be a character that would appeal to adults as well as students. Above all he needed an outdoorsy feel and be charming and cool without trying. With some back and forth and feedback from James the final Rocky he loved was the mascot you see below.