Create Character Illustration and an Animation

We are currently working on a prototype for a tablet application aimed at teaching kids a foreign language. For the application we need two things. First (1) we need to have a mascot/avatar created, and second (2) we will need a set of simple animations of the character. About the avatar: We would like to have an avatar that is easily adaptable. A simple character that with small additions, such as a hat or a moustache, can be adapted to many different themes and situations. The target audience for our first product are kids ages 3-6, but we would like to be able to adapt the character for applications aimed at older kids and teenagers. We have attached a copy of a placeholder avatar that we quickly created at the start of the project. The idea of the avatar was to keep it very simple and adaptable, you do however not necessarily need to create something close to our idea in terms of look and feel. We have also included two collages of images to show the style of illustration that we like and do not like. From them you can see that we prefer a style that is not too childish or overly cute. So, while we want even young kids to like the look of it, we would also like for their parents to like it style wise. We prefer a "flat" look to the illustration (even if its created from a 3d model), and we don't mind if the style is a bit wacky or tongue in cheek. The animations: The role of the avatar in our prototype will be to act out the meaning of words in a song. The song we will use to test out our concept is " If you're happy and you know it" The animated actions for the prototype would be the actions from the song: 1) Avatar smiling or being happy 2) Pointing at head to indicate "and you know it" 2) Clapping its hands 4) pointing at face with both hands to go with "and your face will surely show it" 5) Stomping its feet 6) Shouting hooray 7) showing three fingers to indicate the number 3 For the prototype testing we only need one to three still images per action. Later on for our our later prototypes/beta version we will need full animations, and to be able to easily produce various facial expressions and movements. We will be happy to provide further info and clarifications upon request. Regards, Timo