About the Mascot

Octavia was designed based on the greater roadrunner of the American southwest. Growing up in New Mexico, I had grown an affinity towards these particular birds and felt they would make a great base for a unique mascot to help promote my illustrative work.

Octavia as seen in the initial illustration of her character.

The unique shape of the bird’s crest and colored feathers around the eyes have always appealed to me in terms of having great aesthetic. Most of her colors are adapted from nature, though I have embellished some of her color palette to give a more fantastical appearance.

Their eyes are encircled by a ring of light blue and orange feathers. In Octavia’s case, I changed the orange to red while keeping the blue natural.

Greater roadrunners are plumed in a bluish-black on their backs with a sandy colored tan on their bellies. This same sandy color speckles their backs, creating a unique pattern of spots across the majority of their plumage.

Octavia’s beak and legs also retain the coloring from her real life counterparts.

I embellished Octavia’s plumage with a galaxy pattern to simulate the speckles and spots seen on a real roadrunner’s feathers. I did decide, however, that a few of these spots should carry over to help create a distinguishing profile for the character. Overall, I feel her design helps characterize a few parts of my own interests that truly allows my style to shine.