Character Design for a Rhino Business Mascot
I had the pleasure of designing a brand new character mascot for a manufacturing construction company. They approached me to develop a friendly rhinoceros to represent their business, both for internal documents and external marketing efforts. The goal was to have a fresh new character that could work well for their branding. They also wanted me to provide them with multiple poses of the character and some supporting images to use for various materials and needs.
As with any concept art or character design project, I always start with a few style sketches for the client to choose from. These are the options I presented to them. They immediately gravitated towards #1. It’s always fun to see clients instantly connect with a concept sketch! The only real change they requested was the eye to be a more beady small eye, and the expression changed a little.
Here’s the revised character concept sketch, based on my client’s requested changes. As you can see, there were only those couple small changes within the face, based on their artistic preference.
The next step, after my client’s approval, was to finalize the initial pose. This gives the client a final look to approve for the character. They requested their logo be added to his polo shirt and loved it!
After that initial character development, I was able to continue forward with sketches and finals of the additional 8 poses of Rex the Rhino. It’s always fun to be able to bring a character to life through more poses and expressions.
In addition to the character and poses, this client also asked for illustrations of a medley of supporting items. They relate to their industry and can be used alongside Rex the Rhino or used separately, whatever the marketing calls for. It’s important as you develop your branding, to have imagery that matches with your mascot and other graphic design. To have cohesiveness in all of your images/designs adds a greater level of professionalism to your company’s brand.
And an added update!
My client was so happy with our initial work together, that shortly afterwards, they approached me again for another illustration! This is the initial sketch concept for their calendar cover.
And here’s the final illustration for this company’s calendar cover, after the requested changes they had for some of the text and the background beams. I was very happy to work with them again and look forward to continued work in the future.
Are you looking for a unique, appealing character mascot for your business? Feel free to reach out to me and I’d be happy to talk about your artwork needs and prepare a proposal for you!
