Initial Sketches

Here I have done some initial rough sketches of what I imagine the main and minor characters of my animation could look like-

Main Character

My plot I have chosen focuses around a mysterious cat who appears to all under bad superstitions, but turns out not to be the source. I explored a range of potential styles I have seen in a number of cartoons and tried to resonate them. 

The character Baron Humbert von Gikkingen from Studio Ghibli's "The Cat Returns"was the most inspiring for my sketches. He is a surreal cat figment of imagination that talks and helps the protagonist.  I like Ghibli's unique representation of a cat and the stylization of the character.
URL- http://forums.wolfire.com/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=14303&start=0

  


I really enjoy the form of this character Umbreon from the television series and gaming franchise "Pokemon". Again, a unique stylization of a cat-like creature. The simple flat colouring and bold outlining appeals to me.
URL- http://pldh.net/dex/sprites/umbreon

This mobile phone japanese accessory brand "Niconico Nekomura" are well recognized by their popular ear phone jack cat accessories. The simple design attracts alot of young woman, and I love minimalistic style and their 3D forms. This is a nice simpler style to transfer into a 2D animation.
URL- http://weheartit.com/entry/35834359







This card represents the Dash character from the anime "Cardcaptors". Its form is a cross between that of a cat and a fox. I like the harmonious, mysterious mood it creates through its big eyes and flowing tail and ears. These features suit the personality it is given.
URL- http://es.sakuracardcaptors.wikia.com/wiki/Carrera_(The_Dash,_%E9%A7%
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Minor Characters

The human body is extremely complex, and will be complicated to draw and vector for this animation. I think a more minimalistic style will work best for my animation and suit the innocence mood I am aiming to create. 

The "Adventure Time" style works really well for  this brief, as the characters have a basic but unique appearance. As facial features are better avoided to display emotion and mood for this assignment, having the simplistic dot eyes and basic mouth are ideal for the human characters to have.
URL- http://video.tvguide.com/shows/Adventure+Time?length=fullepisode

I came across this image whilst browsing deviantart, and really loved the characters structure! This is the sort of delicate simplified figure I am wanting to recreate for my characters.
URL- http://m4thz.deviantart.com/