Character Design: Chocolate Covered Leprechaun Ears

I recently completed work designing a mascot for a new product, Leahy’s Chocolate Covered Leprechaun Ears. It’s a new confectionary product, fine cashews dipped in rich chocolate. They’re shaped like, well, leprechaun or elf ears (hence the name). I’ve sampled them and they are delicious! Easily as good or better than the name brand chocolate covered nuts you’ll find at the grocery store. (Yup, I tried those too. Market research is tough but somebody’s gotta do it.)

I was hired to design a mascot for the packaging. The client requested an elfish character whose ears resembled the chocolate-covered cashews. The product will get its big sales push twice a year, once around St. Patrick’s Day and again around Christmas. The client needed an elf/leprechaun character that could work for both holidays.

Above are several rough concept sketches I submitted, along with the final design. The “ears” will be on the market soon, and I’ll be sure to post more info as soon as they are available.

(Please parden the large copyright notices. I know they’re ugly but I’ve been hearing more and more stories of other artists whose work is getting ripped off online. On top of that there’s new copyright legislation looming in Congress, the Orphan Works Act, which, if it passes, will make it even harder for artists to protect their work. So for now this is one solution I’m experimenting with. Sad but necessary.)