11. App Icon/Mascot Design

Since this app/toy is meant to be targeted at children, I figured that a cute mascot would be great to add to the app, and also serve as the app's icon.
Moodboard
I decided on a simple, chalky/sketchy sort of aesthetic, with bright, primary colours and a smiling expression. I managed to find some free photoshop brush resources and got to work.

Early drafts
As you can probably tell, I was deciding between either a teddy-bear-like design, or something which was vaguely bunny-like. But in the end, it was the blue cloud thing that I chose in the end. This decision was justified by the fact that this toy module is meant to be able to be attached to many different types of plush toys, and thus it made sense to have an icon that was more vague and could kind of represent the "soul" of the toy. 
"Neutral", "Singing", and "Asleep" drafts
I decided to call this little mascot character "Ami", partially because the name of the project is called "Amicus" (wait have I mentioned that yet?), and because "Amica" means "friend" in Latin (when in doubt, name shit in Latin :D). I know it might seem kind of vain but I swear I didn't name the mascot after myself. 

Anyhow, this mascot will have different expressions for different pages in the app. I'm still considering whether I'll keep it the same colour or have it change colour. In the last tutorial, Chia Yeh suggested that it would be cute to have the mascot be animated. Lin Yew suggested that I should consider making different variations of mascots, so users can pick the one which is closest to their plush toy. 

Edit* Made the gif version! Decided to just add it here instead of making a blog post which is just a few gifs lol. 

Version 1, just the cloud body shifting

Version 2 (final), with the facing moving slightly, like it's nodding to something
I have to say I find this freakin adorable. Like just looking at that little nodding cloud makes me smile :D

References:

DeviantArt. (2015). Chalk Brush for any situation chalk and pastel. [online] Available at: https://mattiamc.deviantart.com/art/Chalk-Brush-for-any-situation-chalk-and-pastel-505938845

Winters, M. (2014). Chunky Chalk Brush. [online] DeviantArt. Available at: https://markwinters.deviantart.com/art/Chunky-Chalk-Brush-169431540

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