Character Design Iterations: Narrowing It Down

As mentioned in a previous post I managed to whittle down my selection of characters from 15 down to 6, with the help of my questionnaire. From here I will be narrowing this list further, eventually down to one final character that I will take forward into a realised game concept. I will do this using both my tacit knowledge up to this point as well as doing some more research along the way.


It was important for me to gather opinions, but now that I've done that I feel I should I make my own voice heard by actively inputting the fundamental knowledge I've learned - this allows for some informed decisions, as well as the sub-conscious psychological ones provided by myself and others, to refine my character selection.

Below are some sheets I have produced for the 6 characters, showcasing some colour palette tests, the types of shapes used in the characters' silhouettes as well as some finer iterations of their designs. Under each character's sheets I will detail the pros and cons of each character and ultimately I will decide on a character that I would like to take forward from this point. 

Character 1 - Robot

Pros
- memorable silhouette
- simple but effective design
- design gives potential to create mechanics

Cons
- mascots don't tend to be tall (with a couple of exceptions)
- lots of complex shapes also not typical of mascots

Best palettes
- 1, the focus on grey tones as a neutral with the striking blue to highlight segments of his body works nicely
- 4, all of these colours are centred on shades of brown and red which keeps him cohesive and represents values like friendliness which are important for a mascot 

Character 2 - Boxer

Pros
- small and cute
- lots of round and smooth shapes to his silhouette
- easy to tell what his abilities might be

Cons
- harder to make him appeal to a global audience since he is human
- potentially quite a generic design

Best palettes
- 4, in my (maybe controversial) opinion, the skin tone a nice cultural middle-ground and the colours are bright without suffering from being too similar or too contrasting
- 8, the use of the lighter blue aims to highlight key features of his design (those that have potential for in-game mechanics) 


Character 3 - Alien

Pros
- very round and smooth to accentuate cuteness
- an alien might be seen as more "unique"

Cons
- there isn't much in his design to show what abilities he might have

Best palettes
- 3, follows what I feel are traditional elements for an alien (the greenish skin) and yellow isn't used too often as a central colour for mascots, but it's a colour that can be associated with happiness.
- 6, despite his non-human nature, the blue in his eyes helps ground him into humanity which could make him more likeable within Western cultural context

Character 4 - Bunny

Pros
- anthropomorphic (animal/creature with human traits) characters are tried and tested within the mascot industry
- as a recognisable creature, her design naturally sparks ideas of game mechanics 

Cons
- no mouth which means she might be less able to emote (at least in subtle ways)
- she is a "girly" design which could deter a large portion of an audience

Best palettes
- 1, the colours in this design help push her away from being too "girly" which could aid her general reception, she also looks like a carrot which is a nice motif with her being a rabbit
- 6, having taken inspiration from the likes of Minnie Mouse I can definitely see that these are colours that compliment each other nicely

Character 5 - Bull

Pros
- as with character 4, anthro characters definitely work well as mascots - probably because they appeal well to children who are a big market for mascots
- a unique and memorable silhouette
- the horns indicate abilities he could have

Cons
- perhaps quite generic
- it wasn't a design that I felt I could experiment with "skin" colour too much on

Best palettes
- 1, for some reason I was quite drawn to the use of orange for this character, I felt that it complimented the shades of brown used for his fur and it also has positive connotations and contrasts nicely with the blue
- 6, orange and yellow are happy and warm colours that give this palette a friendly vibe, the colours are also placed in a way that each segment of his body is separated 

Character 6 - Clown

Pros
- I can't think of many (if any) clown mascots, making him quite unique
- since clowns are an established thing, ideas of mechanics and abilities spring to mind quite easily

Cons
- clowns do have a lot of bad connotations (often related to horror stories) making him less of an ideal mascot candidate
- clowns tend to have complex colour palettes which is also atypical for mascots who need to be easy to remember 
- since he is human, there could be some cultural issues, especially if his face is painted white

Best palettes
- 1, the choice of colours here are quite "traditional" (red nose, a prominence of blues) which lend the design to being quite easy to remember
- 3, the colours are bright and fun without being too complex 

Now, since I'm the most indecisive person on the planet, I still haven't been able to narrow this list down to one, but I've halved it (we're getting there!) so there's now three top contenders. I'm going to write up a small bio for each of these three and compare them more critically - I'll likely ask for opinions from others again as well. Watch this space!