Doubt It Ducks for Web & Board Game Marketing

content for and with as the marketing engine (with content to be posted on instagram): Doubt It Duck — Character Design Brief For Illustrator Commission The Brief I need a cartoon character reference sheet for "The Doubt It Duck" — the mascot of an animated Instagram Reels series for a party game called Doubt It. This reference sheet will be used as the anchor image for AI video generation, so it needs to be EXTREMELY clear, with clean outlines and consistent proportions. The style should feel like a modern flat vector cartoon — think classic game show energy meets internet meme culture. Bold, readable at small sizes, and funny. Character Personality The Doubt It Duck is overconfident, a little smug, and always wrong. He's not mean — he's the kind of character you root for even as he fails. Think: a contestant on a game show who raises their hand with complete certainty and then buzzes in with the hilariously wrong answer. He takes himself seriously. The audience does not. That's the joke. Visual Design Body: Classic cartoon duck proportions — round body, short legs, big expressive eyes. Not realistic. Should read clearly at 200x200 pixels (social media thumbnail size). Signature accessory: A small bow tie. This is his "I'm a professional" detail. Color: Bright red or deep teal. Whichever reads best against the character. Color palette for the duck himself: Body feathers: Warm white / cream (#F5F0E8) Bill and feet: Bright orange (#FF8C42) Eyes: Large, expressive, dark outline with white sclera Bow tie: Deep teal (#008080) or red (#E63946) — your recommendation welcome The podium: In every scene, the Duck stands at a simple game show podium. The podium should have the "Doubt It!" logo on the front (I'll provide the logo file). Podium color: Deep navy (#1a2a4a) with a subtle gradient to suggest stage lighting. Required Expression States (8 total) Please deliver the character in each of these emotional states. Each expression should be clearly different and readable at small sizes. CONFIDENT — chest puffed, one wing raised as if about to make a grand declaration. The "I know this one" face. This is his default state. SMUG — half-lidded eyes, slight smile, wing resting on podium casually. The "obviously" face. Used when he's about to give his too-high answer. THINKING — one wing under bill, eyes looking up and to the side. The "hmm, let me calculate this" face. Brief transitional state. SHOCKED — eyes wide, pupils tiny, bill hanging open, slight backward lean. The "wait, that can't be right" face. Used when the real answer is revealed. DEFLATED — feathers drooping, eyes half-closed, bill pointing down. The "I can't believe I got that wrong again" face. Post-reveal state. EXPLODING — comedic shock where feathers actually fly off in all directions, eyes pop out on springs (classic cartoon style), bill falls completely open. Used for the most dramatic wrong guesses. CELEBRATING — rare state for when he's right (which almost never happens). Wings up, confetti-ready, huge smile. POINTING AT VIEWER — breaking the fourth wall, wing extended toward camera, with an expression that says "what would YOU have guessed?" Used in the caption hook / CTA moment. Deliverables All files in SVG (vector) and PNG (4000x4000px transparent background). Full character reference sheet (all 8 expressions on one sheet) Each expression isolated as individual file (for AI video generation use) Podium with Doubt It logo as separate element One "hero shot" of the Duck at the podium in CONFIDENT state — this is the primary reference image used for all video generation Background Color Reference The character will appear on these rotating background colors. Please confirm the duck's design reads clearly on all of them: Coral: #FF6B6B Teal: #4ECDC4 Sunny yellow: #FFE66D Deep blue: #2C3E50 Style Reference Notes The tone to aim for sits between: The visual simplicity of classic Schoolhouse Rock characters The expressive range of modern webcomic characters (The Oatmeal, Sarah's Scribbles) The game show energy of a Price Is Right contestant card This is NOT: A realistic duck A cute/kawaii duck (he should be funny, not adorable) An aggressive or scary duck A generic clipart duck He should look like he belongs on a game show stage and is absolutely convinced he's the smartest person in the room.