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Character Turnaround
I think some of the best characters are ones that reflect their story. I went into this project knowing I wanted to tell a story with the character. That’s when I read the prompt of a cold rat that likes taking pictures and wants to see the Northern Lights and I immediately thought, “I could tell a story about poverty.”
I was focused on creating a character with the idea they would be used as the protagonist of either a comic or animated show with the target audience of older toddlers to teens. I wanted them to be able to watch an enjoyable cartoon show while also being able to take away a message and taught a valuable lesson. I felt inspired by shows like the 2009 Fantastic Mr. Fox; 2018 Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles; 2023 My Adventures with Superman. All of them teach a valuable, sometimes heavy, topic while still appealing to kids through their bright colors and fun shape language. I wanted to incorporate this in my rat.
The lesson I wanted to express was empathy. Through my rats backstory, I wanted kids to see the struggle of poverty, big or small, and learn to empathize with those who might be less fortunate than them. I wanted the kids who did have to live through this struggle to be able to see themselves in the character. This is where I bring in the “cold rat” aspect of the prompt. I tried to bundle the rat up with what I imagine to be thrifted items he bought or borrowed. (Yes I’m aware he’s not wearing pants, it’s what the fur is for- cartoon logic.)
I also wanted to teach the kids another lesson about hope, and how sometimes following your own passion is something worth doing. This is where I brought in a plot. Despite his struggles as an underpaid, overworked, under stimulated young adult, Lucio take the chance to do something with his passion for photography, and throughout his journey I imagine him coming to discover himself along with his place in the world around him that he never got to before. Kinda like a coming of age story.
I feel you could definitely feel my inspirations really shine through with my slightly humanoid, stylized proportions of a rat. I loved how the artist of TMNT pushed the boundaries of the shapes of a human body and a turtle to make the characters so expressive. Though I dialed it back, I did try to capture that with my rat.
I was originally going to have really desaturated and a little dull color palette to set the tone. But then I remembered my target audience and rethought the colors. I picked more saturated and bright colors, but not too much. I was thinking of the colors they used in the Superman cartoon I talked about before. I found the colors vibrant but still grounded in reality which I thought would be great for what I was going for. If there’s really anything that I was dissaisfied with about the colors is that he looks a bit too clean and polished for someone who lives in poverty. But I didn’t want to have to many different colors with the thought that the more color there is , the harder it makes the animators jobs if this was an animated show.
