The Adventures of Little James
JND
The Adventures of Little James (TAOLJ) is a story world to inspire people to appreciate the small things in life. I started this project as a way to express my fun-loving sense of adventure, push my creative boundaries and collaborate with other industry experts.
The world features five characters, Little James (curious adventurer), MiaKat (crazy fluffball), Webasaurus (techno whiz), Zee (mindful ninja) and Printomatic (creative genius).
I created the characters, branding, website, clothing, animations and snapchat lenses.
You can see more at theadventuresoflittlejames.com
What we did:
- – Character design
- – Branding
- – Animation
- – Website design
- – Snapchat lenses
Our Process
Ten years ago I designed four characters to represent different design services for my digital portfolio, and a mini me. That Christmas, I made a Little James USB figurine and gave it to clients as a gift. The response was amazing. People sent me photos of Little James at their work, in their house or with their kids. Inspired, I started a Facebook page and took him with me everywhere I went. Little James summited Mt Kosciuszko, kayaked on Lake Tahoe, walked the streets of London, experienced a Boeing A380 simulator and gazed in awe at the Eiffel Tower. Hundreds of photos kept coming in - Little James had a community!
I launched the TAOLJ website and shop. The Little James USB now came in rocket ship packaging, with a pipe cleaner travel scarf and swappable expression heads.
In 2017 I collaborated with illustrator Charles Santosa to develop Little James and friends into 3D character sketches. Animator Phil Jennings created 3D models from the sketches in 2018. We created a proof-of-concept animation to show how the characters would interact with live footage plates.
I keep the crew as 3D-printed figurines on my desk. They inspire me to write stories, create content and take them out and about on adventures. I’m currently working on a series of short animations based on mindfulness and a new set of snapchat lenses. The Adventures of Little James continue to evolve!
